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2025-03-21T12:55:49.124235
| 2012-09-03T03:26:11 |
3079
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
During an application/interview should an applicant justify leaving a current faculty position (pre-tenure)?
I have been in a tenure-track position for 3 years and am going back on the job market. Would I be expected to "explain" why I am leaving, especially when it is pre-tenure? I suspect that a search committee might think I'm leaving because I felt in danger of not receiving tenure -- that is not the case here. However, my reasons for leaving stem from a two-body problem that I'd prefer not to disclose until after an offer is made.
A more concrete way of asking: how should the application cover letter look different, coming from someone currently holding a faculty position compared to a newly minted PhD?
Faculty move all the time. Sometimes it is because of personnel issues, sometimes because of divorce, and sometimes people just get sick of the town they're in and are convinced the grass is greener on the other side of the country. You don't need to give a reason until the job talk dinner when you'll be plied with alcohol and encouraged to reveal all. Remember: most schools think that they're the best, so from their perspective you're applying UP. :-)
It's not uncommon for people to move because of two-body issues, and if you're not comfortable disclosing the specific reasons, one possibility is to mention (at interview time) that you have non-academic constraints that force your departure from a place that you like.
Having said that, you're not going to get an interview call unless you're a superstar and everyone wants you OR you have some positive argument for why you're interested in a particular university. So in your cover letter you'll at least need to provide some positive reasons.
Thanks Suresh. My impression is that it cannot help me (and can possibly hurt me) to reveal a two-body constraint before an offer is made.
That depends on the two-body situation. If you're applying for a position in the same city as your partner who already has a stable position in that city, that's a reason for moving that wouldn't create any issues for your new employer. If you're trying to create a situation where the new employer hires both you and your partner, then yes, you'll want to avoid revealing that until you have an offer.
Just watched a friend do this, with a two body problem. His line: the place he was at was a good fit, tenure was all but assured, BUT he was convinced the place he was interviewing was enough a superior fit to consider a pre-tenure jump. He would always fall back to that line of flattery. He and his husband were hired, after the usual two body drama; meaningless counteroffers, offers of a later position opening, etc.
could you be more precise on the last two sentences?
Sure: universities lie to get 2 bodies for the price of 1. The spousal hire is always 'later' and they can provide some other thing that is not that person's hire right now, and surely the hire will come. It will be opening next year and the spouse is an excellent fit and it is all lies and good intentions. The way to get the spousal hire is to hold out for it, and it alone. You must force your new dean to go out and argue on your behalf for the hire of your spouse. You must ignore the lies, politely. I have watched this happen many times. I do not miss this.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.124647
| 2012-08-18T16:50:12 |
2890
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Giving up good position because of studies
I earned my Bachelor Degree in Computer Science 5 years ago. From the moment when I have a diploma in my hands, I thought, enough I never return to academia, no matter what happens. I was very keen to start working.
By the moment I changed few workplaces. I wanted to try all kind of positions that computer science man can get. All my positions were not very interesting. I wouldn't say I became very experienced programmer, I have some experience, but I don't have a field I am good at, and actually I am not too worried about that. The main problem I think is I don't feel that I do something useful or something challenging, actually, I feel that I waste my time. I do my job, but I don't feel I contribute to myself.
Few years ago I realized that may be it's worth returning to academy. Simply, just because I remember it wasn't boring. I sent few application letters to few good universities in my country, but they didn't apply me. There were universities that just refused without any explanation, and in few of them I fault in interview.
In this situation, I decide if no official program is allowed, I can just take few courses of Master Degree in any university. The result of my first course was very terrible, I think I was the worsen student on the course. But afterward there was a gradually improvement in the grades (I never took the same course twice). This year again I sent few application letters with my grades, and I was applied by all universities.
The problem is by now I have a very good position in very successful start-up company. The position is very hard and almost all the time in the office I am under a high pressure, but of course, there are benefits of a successful start-up company, fast promotion, investment, but still I have a feeling that I am doing something wrong.
I don't have a decision yet, either postpone my studies or give up good position. Have you found yourself in a similar situation, when you have give up a lot, just because you want to do something you was dreaming about? Particularly, have you gave up you job for studies, and do you regret about your decision?
tl;dnr: A few years ago, I didn't like my computer programming job. I was good enough at it, but the job wasn't very challenging and didn't offer much room for personal growth. I felt like I was wasting my time. Even though I had sworn that I never would, I applied to grad school. I was not accepted as a full-time student, so I just started taking classes as a non-degree student. Initially I did badly, but over a few years I improved. Recently, I was admitted to grad school. But by now I have a great job in a fast-paced startup. So I'm torn about whether to quit my job to return to school. What do you suggest?
Do you like your current job? Quitting seems like a bet.
An important consideration is "window of opportunity". How long will you have the chance to go back to school? Will the school be happy to let you defer for a year? In contrast, if you leave your current job for school, is there a good chance that you could return to work there after you finish a masters degree?
Also ask "What are my long-term goals?" It sounds like you mainly want to be challenged and experience personal growth; perhaps also to "do something useful". Do you have others long-term goals? How likely are you to be happy and on your way to these goals in 5 or 10 years if you stay at your current job. Grad school can be fun, but it's often just a way to delay "real life" for a few years. If you get a masters, will that really help you to be happier with your life and where you're headed 5 or 10 years after you finish school?
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.124954
| 2012-05-27T15:28:04 |
1743
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
What can I do as a graduate student to maximize my chances of obtaining a professorship?
I've already completed my first grueling year of the PhD program, and graduation is still a yet to be seen light at the end of the tunnel. I'm very sure that academia is for me, and I really want to obtain a tenure-track position in my field (computational science). I know that universities often look very highly upon doing a post-doc and accumulating plenty of journal publications. Of course, open faculty positions are extremely competitive and I'm sure that everyone applying for them have those qualifications already. I'm curious if there is anything else I do as a graduate student to help maximize my chances of getting a Tenure-Track Faculty position in the future?
I don't think there's anything "special" that's unique to applying to academia that a graduate student can do to increase the odds of becoming a professor in the long run, particularly if one is going to do a postdoc later on.
The two areas that might help are:
Gain teaching experience that goes beyond the standard "recitation section" leader—that is, into actual lecturing and other forms of direct interaction with students, as well as formulation of assignments and examinations. This might make a difference at schools which are more teaching-oriented rather than research-oriented.
Formulate a well-defined scope for your future research activities, and also develop the tentative outlines for the first few projects that you'd start in that field. This is an essential part of any professorial application, and the sooner you start working on it, the more polished it will be when you're ready to apply for positions when the time comes.
Beyond that, what makes someone a good candidate for a postdoc are essentially the same qualities that will help in being a good candidate for a professorship later on.
If the student is planning to follow the postdoc route, a web presence as a grad student doesn't make much of a difference, in my opinion, on increasing the odds of getting a professorship. But having a good web site helps a grad student regardless of career destination; so obviously it wouldn't hurt for someone thinking of an academic career.
In what sense do you mean "having a good website"? What qualities does this entail, and how might it help in the future?
A good website should have your CV, links to publications, and a description of your current research (and perhaps planned research as well, if you're applying for positions). It should be well-designed to provide information, and easy to navigate. As for benefits: a good web presence will provide you with an independent platform to show off you and your work.
I think the single thing that most helped me get a tenure-track job was that during my postdoc I gave lots of talks at conferences and in seminars at other schools (something like 30 talks in 2 years, including those I gave at my postdoc institution). First, this helped a lot with networking. Second, and perhaps more important, all this experience gave me a ton of confidence in my ability to give good talks. That confidence spilled over into the rest of my interviews, which was generally a very good thing.
I didn't really start giving many talks until during my postdoc, but in retrospect, I wish I'd given many more in grad school.
All grad students know that if you want a job in academia you should publish lots of good papers. But many of them don't grasp the value of learning to communicate clearly and to publicize their work. During my postdoc, I set aside 2 or 3 weeks to learn how to draw good pictures to go into my talks, and I think that skill has really improved their subsequent quality. Personally, I do everything using beamer and tikz (presentation packages for latex). However, your specific tool is not so important. Ask around and find a tool that is widely used and supported by folks in your research area, then invest the time to learn to use it well.
The second really important thing you can do is network. When I was in grad school, I had no concept of how important networking is for a career in academia (in fact, almost any job). Many of my papers have grown out of conversations that started at a conference. Once people know you, they invite you to speak (at their school or at a conference session they're organizing). As you get to know more of the key researchers in your area, you find it easier to keep up with important new developments (which better inform your research, etc.).
Do awesome research.
Publish it.
Get famous people to rave about it.
Everything else is noise.
Assuming one has satisfactorily done 1 and 2, how does she go about doing 3 - doesn't it automatically follow from 1, or is there some "Self-promotion" involved?
Of course self-promotion (and parallel promotion and guidance by your advisor) is involved. This is why PhD students should give lots of talks, why they should network at conferences, why they should have a polished web site, why they should develop fruitful research collaborations, why (in my field) they should publish at least one paper without their advisors.
I'm in your field, and I'm a bit later in the game than you are, as I completed my PhD in 2010. Here's some advice, in increasing order of importance.
A very good way to get a feel for what it takes to land faculty positions is to take a look at the departments you would like to work at in the future and scope out the Assistant Professors. Many of them will have their CVs and Teaching and Research Statements updated to when they applied for the position.
You will need to cultivate several strong letters of reference, hopefully by working with some of the bigger names in your field.
Try to go to a few job talks, as this will also give you a sense of what a strong research agenda looks like, both in terms of accomplished work and future directions.
You will need some teaching experience, but being a great classroom teacher will not get you a job if your research portfolio is weak unless you are going to a school that focuses on undergraduate education.
Computational Science is a bit of a funny field, as we live at the intersection of several very different fields: physics, mathematics, computer science, and usually some scientific application. These fields all have their own rules for hiring and promotion, and this is important to understand, because you will almost certainly land in a department that is not titled Computational Science.
You need to statistically look good, because the members of the hiring committee will have almost no other grounds for justification besides what is written in your hiring application. This means you will absolutely need a good number of high-quality journal publications, preferably at least 5, when you apply for a faculty position. Conference papers only count for a Computer Science department, and you may need twice as many to be considered in that direction.
I guess I would have to ultimately choose a target department in one of the intersecting disciplines, and publish well in that subfield.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.125498
| 2012-09-21T20:15:25 |
3357
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
How many referees are required on a resume/CV?
I have looked at a number of academic resumes to get a feeling for what people expect. I see that the number of referees that people give at the bottom of their resume varies quite a bit.
My question is whether it is essentially always better to provide more referees or whether one should rather stick to a maximum of say 4 ?
I would not include any names in the CV itself; only the sentence "References are available on request." If you do decide to list your references, the last sentence on your CV should be "Additional references are available on request."
@JeffE thanks a lot for your comment ! What would be your rationale not to include them on the CV ?
If you're sending your CV as part of a job application that asks for names in advance and your references have agreed to write letters for that application, then I think it's okay to include them in the copy you apply with. But if you're just maintaining an up-to-date CV on your web page, leave them off.
For whom? A student, a faculty member or someone looking for an academic position?
I assume you are creating your CV for some application (job or graduate studies). I understand that having three to four good referees is good enough. You need not provide more than that. I am particularly speaking about the academia in US and I believe it would be different elsewhere (e.g. UK).
Of course you may put different referees according to the requirement. I mean you may need to create different CVs for different occasions. Some referees would be better able to acknowledge your work for a given situation. For example you may need to take a recommendation letter from a (for example) Mathematics teacher when applying for graduate studies in Math.
In fact I have also seen that many people do not put the references. In an application process, they are required to separately provide the names and contacts of the referees.
For entry level professorships I have had requests for between 2 (second tier school with no established research groups) and 5 (first class research group at a R1 in a desirable climate), with 3 being by far the most common. Adds requesting high numbers are often seeking stars and will often state that they will consider tenured placement for qualified applicants.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.125750
| 2012-08-29T19:49:50 |
3039
|
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Stack Exchange
|
How to formulate good problem statements in CS research
Short background: I started my PhD last November and now I am helping a master student writing his MSc thesis. I still have problems when I need to formulate a concise research question and even, at least in workshop papers, some publications fail in formulating clear research questions as well.
The topic the CS student writes about is the following. There is this work by Bracha on pluggable / optional type systems, e.g. for scripting languages. The student wants to solve the same problem that these 'pluggable typesystem' solves. But he is using dependent-type theory, i.e., to check that values in the scripting language are valid according to a given type. This can solve (or better solve) problems related to scripting languages (e.g. security problems in web programming; because everything is basically a string in scripting languages).
I find it hard to come up with a concise research question. (And possibly also with a method to evaluate the approach).
So, my question is:
Are there any references that can help me to formulate valid research
questions?
The closest reference I have found is this mini-tutorial by Mary Shaw.
From Germany there is also a Memorandum that is interesting, but the focus is only on information systems research and not CS. (I can't find a link to the long version in either English or German yet.)
You mean something like this? (What does your advisor have to say about that? I guess he shifted this supervision on you?)
This seems at least a little area-specific, especially between more "systems" and more "theory" oriented parts of CS.
@Raphael your link was helpful, but not not exactly what I was looking for. Thanks also on the pointer to ask my advisor. My advisor is currently on holiday and when he is back he is probably catching up with work and not easily reachable. Also I though I might get a better answer or new insights here.
@Nicholas Thank you as well for the link. It is a very good reference. However, I would need more examples (e.g., this is a good research problem/question) for different areas of computer science (e.g., theoretical CS vs. Programming Languages and Software Engineering; the MSc thesis falls in the latter).
@Suresh I think you are right on the point. I know theoretical CS publications that have similarities to math papers. Then there are areas where it is hard to come up with a good thesis for research work.
Perhaps I should start by looking at very good CS papers and look there for good CS research questions. But I would need very good 'everyday papers' and not something like Papers by Alan Turing.
Maybe look at the thesis proposal of Dan Licata which is in the very area your friend wants to explore. Or at least, the title of the work starts our right.
Another thing: look at (important) paperes of the field. They usually contain "open questions" or "future research". Try to figure out what the big players thought interesting but have not done yet, and start from there.
Often the correct problem formulation only becomes clear after you have the solution in hand. It's relatively rare to actually solve the precise problem that you set out in advance to solve. (Or maybe that's just me.)
Have you tried the following:
Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers. Chicago: University of
Chicago, 1987. Print.
It's a very nice book and is applicable to CS (unlike many other research methodology books).
Formulating good research problems comes from experience. If you understand an area well, you will see the fundamental concepts. From there, your problem statement is simply an articulation of these concepts. For a beginner, this is very hard. Advice: try to cut down the problems into sub-problems. Some will be easy, and some will be 'hard', and solving them means the rests become easy or open new doors. So construct a work breakdown structure (WBS).
Try to formalize the problem; i.e., derive a mathematical model for the problem at hand. This will help focus your mind on key concepts or variables. For example, for an optimization problem, you might decide on an objective function, and after that determine all relevant constraints. This will be an iterative process.
Start with a toy example, with as many assumptions that you need to make it a toy example. Then slowly generalize and once you have enough intuition, then formulate the key problem to be solved.
Problem formulation is crucial phase in the research process. It start from; what is known at certain point of time and what is gape/defect/uncertainty/challenge/weakness in existing knowledge/system/model/solution or answer to a quest. Also Problem formulation starts from thrust/quest/hunger for new knowledge/knowing to unknown or need for exploration/extension/enhancement of the existing knowledge at a point of time. Finally Problem formulation precisely needs to define and draft the statement of the weakness in aforementioned knowledge using crystal clear words with preferably directional hypothesis. In statement it should cover 1)what is required?, 2) desired inputs and outputs with desired features and inter-linkage.
I reviewed this answer because someone raised a Low Quality Posts flag. I must admit I failed to see why it's bad. It's not a spam nor abusive. I could not find any source it came from, i.e. it might not be plagiarized from somewhere. Would the downvoters explain why it's bad? Thanks.
@scaaahu I was the VLQ, but I didn't vote it down. I did it because I found it hard to understand. (Btw, the flag became "disputed".) Probably the downvoters had the same reason. Now I think maybe I was too eager to flag it, my habit is nicer in general.
@peterh Thanks for replying. I was afraid I was missing something so I asked the question. Now, I understand. Yes, I agree this post was hard to understand. But, please trust me, I have reviewed thousands of posts and many of them are much more incomprehensible than this one. Sorry about the disputed flag.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.126236
| 2013-02-05T11:05:32 |
7801
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
What is the most appropriate time frame to apply to a Postdoc?
Possible Duplicate:
How long before PhD graduation should I start applying for post-doc positions?
I'm about to start a Postdoctoral program of 1 year, after that, there is a high possibility that the project won't go on. Hence, I have to find a new position.
What would it be a good time frame to start contacting professors to find a second postdoc, I found that applying very early usually ended up in me being not a suitable candidate because I had no immediate availability.
I know that there is no one size fits all time frame, but in your experience, what would be a better practice?
Charles answer here (https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/5303/4231) applies to your case. Some positions will start right away and some positions will have a fixed start date set in the future. I suggest you start looking around 6 months into your 1 year postdoc, at first focus on positions starting later: that info should be in the job advertisment. Then, if you have not found something suitable, focus on positions starting right away when you approach the end of your postdoc.
Do not wait until your postdoc is finished to look for a new position.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.126377
| 2013-08-23T04:40:54 |
12100
|
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Stack Exchange
|
Can I reliably determine the quality of a journal by checking citation numbers in Google Scholar?
I have recently come across this journal International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications(IJACSA)
The journal provides acceptance notification within 15 days. This raised red flags, but then I performed a Scholar Search for thesai.org and seems that most of their papers have decent citations. So, how reliable is scholar search when evaluating the quality of a journal or how to interpret the results from scholar search ?
EDIT: As pointed out by Nate Eldredge in Publishing again acknowledging the original publication of oneself
this journal is on Beall's List of Predatory Open-Access Publishers. But this again raises the question how reliable is scholar search then or what are ways to search reliably for a research papers.
See these related questions: http://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/101/how-do-you-judge-the-quality-of-a-journal and http://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2034/does-impact-factor-reflect-the-quality-of-a-journal.
NO, even if you omit the phrase "in Google Scholar".
ah thanks. Lots of insightful resources there
Even in case you generally accept numerical measures such as citation counts or the h-index as a measure of quality, Google Scholar seems to be rather unreliable in them. In the case of evaluating individual authors, let me cite the Wikipedia article on Google Scholar:
Vulnerability to spam — Google Scholar is vulnerable to spam.[26] Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley and Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg demonstrated that citation counts on Google Scholar can be manipulated and complete non-sense articles created with SCIgen were indexed from Google Scholar.[27] They concluded that citation counts from Google Scholar should only be used with care especially when used to calculate performance metrics such as the h-index or impact factor. Google Scholar started computing an h-index in 2012 with the advent of individual Scholar pages. Several downstream packages like Harzing's Publish or Perish also use its data.[28] The practicality of manipulating h-index calculators by spoofing Google Scholar was demonstrated in 2010 by Cyril Labbe from Joseph Fourier University, who managed to rank "Ike Antkare" ahead of Albert Einstein by means of a large set of SCIgen-produced documents citing each other (effectively an academic link farm).[29]
I'm not aware of a case where this has been exploited by a predatory journal, but if a publisher wants to do that, it doesn't seem to be too difficult.
By "decent citations" I assume you are referring to quantity. Attempting to determine the significance of a journal by the number of citations is a very bad idea; see for instance this paper showing that such things can be very misleading.
Just ask any experienced researcher in your field; if they're not familiar with the journal, you should probably stay away.
Potentially an even worse idea is attempting to determine the significance of a piece of research based on the significance of the journal it is published in.
The reputation of certain journal depends on the fact that who are the peoples who publish their work in that journal. If they are reputable peoples then off course the journal is reputable and hence is reliable. Now how could one guess about the reputation of peoples publishing in that journal?? Well that is the real thing that comes from years of research experience and your supervisor can help you on that.
The citation metric are not only sufficient. I have seen math journal with impact factor in fractions are much superior to journal with 3+ impact factor.
IJACSA has been accepted for indexing in the Thomson Reuters Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), a new edition of Web of Science launching in 2015. and its not indexed in SCI or SCIE. If you are looking for journal indexed in SCI or SCIE, IJACSA is not the journal.
https://www.researchgate.net/journal/2158-107X_International_Journal_of_Advanced_Computer_Science_and_Applications
This is not answer to the question: "how reliable is scholar search when evaluating the quality of a journal or how to interpret the results from scholar search ?"
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.126809
| 2018-05-08T18:32:00 |
109396
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Advices to Manage Academic Department
I am a new faculty who happen to be chairing a department of 25 professors. Are there any standards/procedures I should follow to organize the work in our (computer science) department? scheduling, teaching loads, accreditations, QA, graduate projects,..etc are all duties need to be carried on sometimes in term basis.
All I can say is you got screwed. Universities should not allow departments to make new faculty (even if they are new with tenure) to be chair. That is just not fair.
@StrongBad Unless they were explicitly searching for a department chair, which does happen.
Hire a really really really good administrative assistant who is experienced in all university procedures. And start relationships with chairs of related departments who you can ask questions. Copy everything possible from them (forms/procedures/timelines).
@Dawn Please consider converting your comment into an answer.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.126925
| 2013-07-31T22:36:09 |
11559
|
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Stack Exchange
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How to grab the attention of a new area's big names to read my work?
I am a beginner researcher in a relatively new area. I published two papers in a conference directly related to the general field of my research (the general field is Artificial Intelligence or AI). Still there is no major conference for the new area; only one workshop and several special editions in top journals. As I am progressing in my PhD thesis, I see I am becoming a self-citation researcher.
Although the new area is attracting more people within AI and other disciplines, I am worried about my research. My advisor is happy and enthusiastic about my work. The big names in my research are well recognized in the AI field in general. My question is how to get their attention to read and therefore cite my work?
In my experiences, small workshops are better than big conferences to draw scientists' attentions. The smaller the workshop, the easier it is to approach people.
Ask your advisor for help.
It's generally acceptable to e-mail senior scientists a copy of your paper. Say who you are and who your advisor is, describe your paper very briefly, and tell them that if they have any comments you'd be grateful to hear them.
Most will ignore you, don't take it personally -- it's not something that will "count against you", unless you do it too often, or to people who's research has nothing to do with your paper. Usually this just means they're too busy or have nothing in particular to say. But you might get a couple of interesting and/or supportive replies. I did, when I was a grad student.
Nice. should I prepare a canned email to all of them or target everyone + how my research is related to his/her work? should I be very selective? or send as much as I can? is there any acceptable rough number for how many people I email?
Get face-to-face time with them. Email is a “least effort” solution if you have no other possible way, but the way to sell your research is by informal discussions. There are many ways to get one-on-one time with big names, some of which you can pursue alone, some of which your advisor can help with:
Introduce yourself during a conference, preferably in a rather informal setting. If the conference has a poster session, engage the discussion if they pass in front of your poster. Otherwise, it is perfectly acceptable to spot them in the crowd, introduce yourself, and say “I have a poster over there and I would like to discuss one of my conclusions with you”. Just be polite, and courteous if you see they want to opt out.
In a smaller conference or workshop, just ask the guy a question after his talk, in a way that relates their work to yours. Possibly follow up with some discussion during a coffee break.
Get your advisor to invite Prof. Big Name to give a talk in your department, and among the activities scheduled during their visit, arrange for a discussion with him.
Invite (or get your advisor to invite) Prof. Big Name to be on your thesis committee!
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.127187
| 2012-12-04T21:19:42 |
5610
|
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|
Stack Exchange
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current PhD applicant applying to another university
if a current PhD student applying to another university within the same country, is it required to expose the fact that he/she is currently enrolled in another university?
is it a right for the grad studies office to know my current status? if yes; why? what is the difference?
Specially in case if the student does not want to transfer the credits he/she has taken in the previous university.
Yes. If you are a student, you should say so in your application. Otherwise, your CV will have an unexplained gap for the time you've been at your current department. Unexplained gaps raise red flags with admissions committees.
In your statement, you also need to explain why you are applying to the new department instead of completing your PhD at your current department. Moreover, you must do so without disparaging your current department, even if you have legitimate cause to do so; nobody likes a whiner. Good reasons to move include a change in your own research interests, your advisor moving or retiring, following a spouse.
Above all, do everything above board. If possible, you should also request at a recommendation letter from your current advisor; if not your advisor, some other faculty member in your department. If you apply secretly, you risk burning all bridges with faculty in your current department.
Credit transfer is a completely orthogonal issue.
Thanks Jeff. May I ask why If you apply secretly, you risk burning all bridges with faculty in your current department. I do not think there is a professor would accept a student telling him I want to move to another university. What about if the student rejected and somehow stayed with his current supervisor. Would you please elaborate more in your thought about this.. I agree that the student should tell his supervisor and thank him but after finding another opportunity (and officially accepted) not before.
I do not think there is a professor would accept a student telling him I want to move to another university. — Actually, most faculty I know would be supportive if the student told them in advance. I have written recommendation letters for my own students who were unhappy in my department and wanted to move elsewhere. (Some successfully moved; some eventually stayed put.) My MS advisor wrote me a recommendation letter to move to another department for my PhD. We're all still on great terms.
On the other hand, a sudden departure makes it difficult (or impossible) for the advisor to hire/admit a replacement if the student is needed for a particular project. In that case, you're not just leaving; you're screwing over your old advisor.
Absolutely. A PhD is a long-term relationship, taking two people's valuable time – not only for the duration of the dissertation but forever afterwards you will be linked to each other, affecting each other's reputations with your own. It is an expensive and rare opportunity. You should be completely honest on an application, and this certainly includes explaining any previous commitments you've made. You need to explain exactly how and why you have broken them. Frankly, I took one student who had stopped a previous PhD, and he stopped mine too, so I would be very unlikely to take such a student again. Though a strong and clear letter of recommendation from the previous supervisor might convince me.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.127451
| 2015-11-28T03:41:52 |
58993
|
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Stack Exchange
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Should a statement of purpose for a PhD application be single or double spaced?
I'm applying to several math PhD programs for the next fall term, and they all require a statement of purpose of 1-2 pages. However, none of them seem to give concrete spacing requirements. My statement is too long to fit under double spacing, but meets the requirement under single spacing. I've looked up this question but I've gotten mixed messages.
If you're working in MS Word, 1.15 is the minimum line spacing for readability, but 1.2 or 1.3 is more pleasant. 2.0 would only be needed for editing a hard copy.
It probably doesn't matter, although you should review the application instructions carefully just to make sure they don't specify this.
My impression is that admissions committees don't care much about issues like this; certainly I don't care when I serve on these committees. In particular, I have no idea how many applicants have used single or double spacing, since I've never paid any attention to this issue.
The purpose of the length restriction is twofold: to keep the committee from having to read unpleasantly long documents, and to keep applicants from feeling they have to write a lot. The precise cut-off is not so important, which is why it is usually not specified carefully (for example, by a word count or detailed formatting instructions).
You may annoy the committee if it looks like you are trying to cram as much as possible into your statement of purpose. If you use a 10pt font and tiny margins as well as single spacing, it will look like you are gaming the system and trying to write a longer statement of purpose than anyone else. That's not the impression you want anyone to have of your statement. However, I don't think single spacing is problematic in itself. Just don't go overboard with space-saving tricks. (If you use an 11pt font and standard LaTeX margins, you'll be fine.)
FWIW, I read tens of SoPs every year, yet I don't remember the last time I read a double-spaced SoP.
I don't remember the last time I saw a double-spaced anything.
@JeffE A submission of mine had to be double-spaced recently. It took me by surprise.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.127657
| 2019-07-17T08:11:31 |
133456
|
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Stack Exchange
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Postdoc interview result
I have given an interview for a Postdoc position at UCSF, USA by an Assistant Professor recruiting his 1st postdoc. I was interviewed three times (1st over phone, followed by two skype interviews).
In the last interview the PI described about his on-going and future projects and he went on to say "when you come here to my lab..." Which I believe was a slip of tongue.
At the end of the discussion, he told that I will mail you the decision letter in a couple of days. It's been a week since that happened but I have not got any reply yet. Does it mean my application is rejected or its too early to think so? When should I get in touch with him.
We know no more than you do. I'd give it another week, then ask about the progress of your application via email. Good luck!
@ Emma Thank you for replying, i agree with you but... its very difficult to wait in such case.
I know it's difficult, having been there myself. The only thing you can do is have patience.
Does it mean my application is rejected
No, it doesn't.
It just means that for whatever reason, the decision or informing you of the decision is delayed.
or its too early to think so? When should i get in touch with him.
You could get in touch now, or wait another week or so.
Before I started a postdoc in Canada I had the same situation and I asked (I think the PI had promised to let me know informally in two days, but then I still heard nothing after a week) . The PI then quickly replied that she had to clarify some issues with the funding agency before she could inform the successful candidate. Several more days later I had a postdoc offer, and one year longer than originally advertised.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.127819
| 2016-06-12T08:00:42 |
71197
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
What is expected when submitting to a conference
I am planning to submit an abstract to a conference (pure mathematics). In the webpage they have the options of filling in the title, providing a pdf file of abstract and an option of providing a "full text/other file". I am not sure about the last option.
Do I provide one of my paper that I will talk about? That seems weird as I (most of the speakers I guess?) will be talking about a series of works. Or do I need to make a new pdf file, summarizing all the works covered? Or do I provide the beamer file? Or nothing at all?
Is it common that when submitting an abstract to a math conference, one has to also submit a file which describe their talk in some details?
It is typical to just provide a title and abstract. In my experience, they are usually submitted in plain text or TeX format, not even in pdf. You are never asked to provide a paper, though for some conferences you may be asked for notes later. Based on your question, I guess the organizers want you to submit a file that they will just link to on the webpage for an abstract, which could be a pdf or plain text. If you're still uncertain about what to do, just ask the organizers what they prefer.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.127996
| 2014-06-20T04:12:47 |
23699
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
IRB (Institutional review board) : Do journals ever check? Does anyone ever check?
I've got a project underway that involves human subjects, and I got IRB (Wikipedia Link) approval. I'm thinking about my next project while working on this one. I'd like to collect some exploratory data for the next one, and potentially make use of it in any resultant publications. Nothing involves any real risks to respondents, so I feel that there are no ethical constraints binding me.
But as a practical matter, will anyone ever check that any findings were pre-approved by an IRB to be looked-for? What might the consequences of ignoring IRB be?
This is social science.
I would assume that the journals don't care, as IRBs seem to be only an US thing. However, presumably, your university might get very upset as circumventing IRB approval might get them into legal trouble.
IRBs are most certainly not only an US thing. Every paper in a reputable psychology journal that reports on a study done with humans will need to adhere to the Declaration of Helsinki, which calls for independent ethical review - meaning an IRB.
IRB=Institutional Review Board, aka Ethical Review Board. I had to google it. People in fields relevant to the question and answerers will certainly know, but for the culture and the sake of the reader, I think good question should be self-contained.
@StephanKolassa I was not aware of that. You live and you learn, I guess.
@Taladris You are right. I edited the question accordingly.
I'd say it's a slippery slope thing. You might not think that this study involves no risks to the respondents, but you might be wrong, and if you're not you may be the next time. Better be on the safe side and not get used to circumventing these regulations.
@stephankolassa Not all countries have IRB, at least not for social science research. While ethical principles always apply, not all research is conducted under their supervision. In the US, the NSF has discussed eliminating IRB oversight rules for most social science research.
OP here: thanks all for the answers. I'd obviously not be asking the question if it weren't such a hassle to complete, even for expedited review. Particularly when you're not super-sure of the amount of investment warranted.
Depending on your institution, an IRB approval might be quite inclusive. At my PhD institution, IRB exemption covered an entire research project including pilot testing, the main project, and any spin-offs provided that no additional risk was involved and the number of research subjects did not exceed the original number reported in the IRB application. If your institution has similar rules, you should be able to get an exemption for a substantial research endeavor and wrap multiple sub-projects under that same banner.
@Thomas When has the NSF discussed eliminating IRB oversight rules for social science research? Where have these discussions been recorded? My understanding of the NSF is that IRB issues for social science research is very much alive and kicking, and I'm not aware that they will allow social scientists to work unfettered by the IRB: http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/human.jsp
@BrianP I shouldn't imply that these discussions will lead to policy change (which has to go through DHHS rule-making, if not Congress), but here's a report on some recent discussions from an NSF co-sponsored workshop.
@Thomas This report refers to revisions around the "common rule." But, there is nothing to suggest that the NSF has "discussed eliminating IRB oversight rules for most social science research."
@BrianP Perhaps I should have said "significantly modifying" rather than "eliminating" and "much" rather than "most".
The lawyers check when something goes wrong, that's for sure.
I have never heard of a journal checking for IRB approval. However, as @xLeitix notes, your university may care very much, since doing studies on humans without IRB approval may get it into legal issues.
And I personally know of one case where departmental colleagues initiated a scientific audit of a professor, requiring her to dig up all documentation (filled-in questionnaiers, raw data, ... and IRB approvals) for some studies they were concerned about. Everything checked out all right, but if the IRB approvals had not been there, the PI would have been in very deep doo-doo.
So: get your IRB approval, and make sure it's safe and sound, with scans and electronic backup. Keep it for the requisite number of years, even after the study has ended and been published. Inquire of your university how long that is. Given today's cost of storage, I would keep the scan around indefinitely.
I've never had a journal check, but I've published in a number of journals who require you to out and out say it's been approved by an IRB, and lying on that...is a bad idea.
To add to Stephan's answer, most university IRB's have specific protocols for exploratory research which does not involve going through the full IRB panel. Such things are variously named (with various levels of fact-checking and paper work):
Exemption from IRB.
Expedited IRB.
Here is one relevant link to get your started. Moreover, you can always file for amendments or extensions to your existing approved IRB protocol which are usually granted pretty quickly.
One of my advisers always told me to have your IRB bases covered. You never know when or if you could be scientifically audited.
These are not just for exploratory research. Most social science research qualifies for exemption, provided it meets certain criteria and involves minimal risk.
Agreed. To give one specific example, for our full 2 year project (on usable privacy and security) we had to go through the full IRB review. However, when we wanted to spin-off a part of the study to collect data for exploratory work for another study, we received an IRB exemption.
I submit to a biology education journal and they have just started requiring the IRB number or a letter from your IRB saying the project is exempt.
It's possible to get a backwards exemption if your institution is the forgiving type and your protocol is sensible... Getting signed consent and so on.
This is generally not possible with the social sciences. Consent involves making somebody aware of their risks and benefits BEFORE participating in the research. It is not informed consent going back to the individual AFTER they have participated in the study.
Sorry I wasn't clear - I meant using a consent form signed by the subject before they participate, even if you have no "official" study information sheet or an IRB number on the form. If you treat the subjects as if you did have an IRB in place, it makes it more likely you can get an IRB approved afterwards.
Still not as sure as getting one to begin with, of course... but sometimes a researcher does want a bit of a beta test.
Nothing involves any real risks to respondents
While potential risks count against approval, no risk doesn't imply no need for approval.
E.g., if I'd want to measure native blood cells (no treatment but immediately dilute with physiological NaCl, place under the microscope, measure, and destroy). As for the amount, a drop from the finger-tip is more than enough.
For this*, the safest possible sample is my own: I cannot infect myself due to the contact with my own blood. Nevertheless, ethics approval does not distinguish who the human in question is, and I'm treated the same as any one else: I need approval.
There are even ethical guidelines that just plain forbid this:
1.5 No one should work with his or her own blood.
Obviously, for all experiments on students & colleagues there is always the question how to ensure that there is no pressure for them to participate. As this pressure could come from superiors, it logically has to include oneself. IMHO this alone is sufficient to require ethical approval for such experiments.
* things would be completely different if the sample were cultured or transformations were involved, etc.: there risks would increase if working with own samples.
I agree with all the posted answers that emphasize adherence to all IRB issues. I disagree with anything that suggests it is not that important for social science researchers. Indeed, there are some forms of social science research that is exempt (e.g., use of de-identified and publicly available data sets), but a lot of it must go through the review process.
The part of your question that has not been answered is the consequences of ignoring IRB. Federal regulations exist with respect to IRB, so you can be sure that your institution will take it very seriously.
http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/45cfr46.html
At minimum, you can fully expect an IRB to shut down your program of research if you are in violation of IRB rules and regulations. This is a very serious issue, and you must adhere to all aspects of IRB throughout your research. Indeed, it can be very challenging, but the challenges will be far easier to manage than the consequences if you are in violation.
If you are in doubt about any IRB issue with your research, talk to your IRB directly. Do not assume your research is exempt.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.128658
| 2023-08-14T07:08:21 |
200622
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Is PhD program in the US universities fully funded especially in Stem programs?
I am asking this question because I am considering applying for PhD in Electrical and electronics engineering in US.
Does this answer your question? How does the admissions process work for Ph.D. programs in Country X?
For my university, yes, basically all the Ph.D. students have financial support. TA, RA, or fellowship.
No, there is no automatic "funding". But what is normally available to most doctoral students in STEM fields is a Teaching Assistantship or possibly a Research Assistantship, in which you spend several hours per week assisting in either a course or a lab, respectively.
These are common but not automatic. An international student might need appropriate language skills to qualify.
Also note that these are common in most STEM fields because there is a need for assistance. For example, in a Math program the TAs assist in the huge undergraduate math program. In some lab fields there is a need for a lot of lab assistants to aid with research. I don't know specifically how this applies to engineering fields, however and it would depend on the university and its overall program.
Either a TA or an RA will cover both tuition and a modest stipend for living expenses. Without either, you normally need to pay tuition, which can be very high.
PhD programs in STEM in the US are usually fully funded. Sometimes this funding comes from the university and you are expected to teach or TA a certain number of classes each year. Sometimes it comes from the faculty member you are doing research with. In either case, it is more like a job than a scholarship: You effectively earn your stipend and tuition waivers by doing work for the university or your professor.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.129083
| 2016-06-29T01:41:18 |
72055
|
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Stack Exchange
|
Should I do a STEM PhD with my own funds?
I have lost my TA position in a US public university after my first year. I was not kicked out but lost my funding due to poor TA performance. I got a 4 GPA and As in all my assignments.
My family is not millionaire but my mother and grandmother offered me to pay my tuition (19k a year) plus living expenses (10k for a 9 month academic period). They have a small profitable business in Latin America. Yes I am a foreigner. They told me I MUST finish what I started; otherwise, I will not be able to do anything in the future.
But I have contacted my advisor and he told me that even though I am allowed to continue the PhD with my own funding, the graduate committee is still a little upset with me because of my poor performance.
How should I approach the committee? Will they make my studies more trouble and more difficult?
On the other hand, my advisor and many people say it is not a good idea to pay for a US PhD.
I really want to finish that program, not only for my family support and encouragement. I also like my research field, though my university is not well known and all grad students are funded by TAships. No one has an RAship in my program.
If I don't have to be a TA, will that help me produce better research?
Anyway, I do not intend to get a US tenure position anyway. I will probably end up with running the business of my mother and grand mother in my country. But I do really love science and my field.
We can't make a decision for you, we can't predict the future actions of the graduate committee, and we can't predict your future research productivity, so what exactly are you asking us?
You lost your funding because of your bad TA performance, but a PhD is all about research. I cannot understand why the committee would be upset if your research was going fine? Not being a TA will give you more time to do research.
@user18244 First year Ph.D in the US was almost certainly all coursework, no research work.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.129376
| 2015-09-27T05:58:01 |
55060
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Should I emphasize my existing PhD in my master's application?
Should the fact that I already have a PhD in another (useful) subject be downplayed on the personal statement? I'm concerned that it would make me look unfocused, but I also think I may want to emphasize it because it demonstrates prior success.
In case it's relevant, my PhD is in physics, and the Masters is in Computer Game Engineering. I am applying to a one year, full time taught Masters at a UK institution.
A person qualified in another area (such as a Phd in Physics) who wanted to learn a new topic (like computer game development) would likely be welcomed on a full-time taught masters course. Full-time taught masters courses are often designed for those who want a change in direction and have the motivation to focus for the year to achieve that goal.
There are people who want to be an astronaut, for example, who go back and learn new skills and knowledge and collect several degrees in the process.
You do have to have an interregnum in employment, as a full-time course is exactly that. A lot of daily, weekly and monthly time needs to be devoted to it to learn all that material that others will have picked up in a three year Bachelor's degree.
I teach on such a course and we have many "career change" applicants who are well qualified in other fields. It is quite normal.
One thing to consider is whether your target discipline is known to be a haven for career-changers. If it is, your Ph.D won't hurt you at all and will most likely help, as the program won't have to worry much about your academic capacity. Just about any professional or applied program fits this template.
Disciplines convinced that one must have a lifelong monastic devotion to them to study them at all will be less accommodating.
I hope you will weigh in on this related question: http://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/55085/what-are-some-examples-of-jealous-fields
In the US, humanities departments have a reputation for expecting extreme levels of exclusive dedication. It was certainly so for the Spanish literature and linguistics department I dropped out of way back in the day.
Depending on where you've attained your PhD, your degree would certify a level of dedication to your work regardless of the subject. This level of dedication would relate to the effort you could put to the new area too.
I presume Physics is not too far from Computer Game Engineering either. What you've learnt from the previous course could benefit you in this course.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.129610
| 2012-08-12T19:48:04 |
2834
|
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Stack Exchange
|
How to annotate/summarize research papers for long-term retrieval?
I am new to my field (cell biology / immunology) and I would like to ask about the best practice to annotate or summarize research articles and reviews for long-term retrieval. When I start reading into a new topic, I end up highlighting almost each paragraph of the paper/review. This doesn't make any sense, and it is actually making me slow and frustrated and it is holding me from reading more. Could you please share your thoughts.
Update: although two very important points of how to approach new papers and how to tag them have been addressed in the answers so far, my main concern was about the new acquired details which I can't remember a few months later. For example, I read a paper about JAK/STAT signaling two months ago, now I can't remember for example which JAK attaches to which cytokine receptor and interacts with which STAT. I need to skim through the paper again to find this piece of information. So, what I am looking for is an approach to accumulate the new knowledge and to facilitate reviewing them without the need to skim through the paper again and again. I know this will come with experience, but at the beginning there are too many new facts to keep track of.
Thank you for you feedback, I totally agree. I hope one of the moderator can transfer the question to academia.se. Please all excuse my ignorance of the different boards at stackexchange.com I am really impressed by the collaboration here.
I find it important to be as active as possible in your reading, especially for papers close to the questions you are working on. If you are only highlighting, then this is largely a passive activity, and does not help much with retention or even later rereading. If you are making notes, it is a little bit better, but still largely passive.
For important papers, I try to read the paper and then write up a quick summary for myself of the key ideas relevant to my interests: a sort of mini-review or personalized-abstract of the paper. For papers that don't contain important tools I use, but contain facts I have to cite I usually include a section that lists in what settings I would expect to cite this paper. This helps a lot at the writing stage. These little summaries of the paper are usually too rough and critical to be useful to others, so I keep them private.
I usually organize these summaries in a little personal wiki like Tiddly Wiki where I can tag and do full text search as well as include links to the original PDF of my computer. Each article gets its own tiddle and is tagged according to topic. Other useful tools are available in:
Is there any efficient non-linear note-taking software?
For some heavy papers (say important math papers) the reading has to be even more active. Usually including reproving the theorems and sometimes presenting these proofs to others in my group.
Since I read papers electronically, and save the PDFs to my drive, I put the most useful part of the paper, along with the first author's name, journal abbreviation, and year in the file name. It means I have long crazy file names but I always know why I saved that paper even if it was years ago. For example:
Chang_ChemRev_2009 - polymers for photovoltaics - PPV on p. 5874 and figure 3.pdf
This is a useful hint, I have not thought about before. It's indeed a "crazy file names" but I am depending on a Reference Manager "Sente" which may not allow to rename the file the way you describe it (understandably), however I usually add a comment explaining the reason the I added the paper for which serve the same purpose.
I save the file separately from my reference manager, and then link the reference to the PDF.
In related news, JabRef is a reference manager that allows you to rename the paper as you wish, as long as the name contains your "canonical abbreviation" for the paper somewhere.
I tried to copy-paste the key ("most relevant") sentences from the paper in a form of list, by using just text editor (to make it searchable).
Drawbacks: 1. after 30-40 papers this text file started to be really big and difficult to search. 2. when I come back to this paper again the "important" parts are, in many cases, different from what was annotated from previous reading. 3. unable to sort the notes easily to categories. 4. in many cases even several sentences are not enough to express the finding.
Then I decided to excerpt the facts from the article pretty much the same way as they are prepared for Beilstein chemical database. I read an article briefly for the first time to roughly split it into logical pieces. Then I read it thoroughly sentence-by-sentence and make sort of reference card for every fact originally described in it (no information from references is included even though it may be relevant), although facts that go with "data not shown" count. In the reference card I have special fields to specify all available information on how particular fact was discovered including methods, experimental model etc. Every card contains reference to the original article, list of tags that can be key words or any other words that help to find it including their synonyms and abbreviations to facilitate search and grouping similar facts from different articles together. The card may also contain relevant references (if any). Tagging enables to assign the same fact to several different categories.
I'm using jabref as reference manager (I read the comment that you use Sente, which I don't know). Jabref allows me to assign a paper to different groups, and also to set up grouping in a hierarchical way.
In addition, I can put notes that are searchable (however, usually I don't do that but write them on the paper). I guess that's what I'd do with your JAK/STAT things. Sometimes I write the important stuff on a new sheet (if the margins of the paper are too small) and file that together with the paper.
I'm still going mainly with printed papers, as I can have a whole bunch of them besides each other and keep the overview which says what while writing.
My current approach consists of two parts.
First, I make use of a Reference Management Software (in my case Papers), which allows me to highlight/annotate PDFs and to write notes for each PDF. It's easy to do a search which covers all the notes that I write, and even the internal text of the PDF. PDFs may be tagged or assigned to multiple categories/subfolders; they can also be exported with or without annotations.
Some examples of Reference Management Software (of which I have experience with 1-4):
Papers
Mendeley
Zotero
Sente
Endnote
Second, I write a summary in a review article for each major topic that I am looking into seriously. I previously used Microsoft Word to do this, but have since switched to LaTeX/bibtex due to the convenience of being able to handle hundreds of references (or equations). The usefulness of a review article format is that it is easy to convert into a manuscript (keeping equations, references intact) when the time comes to write a journal paper. Furthermore, should I need to revisit a research area that I have not touched for many years, a review article allows me to quickly refresh my memory. Having all the relevant references in a single place also helps. A side benefit is that I sometimes send my review articles to collaborators to help them get up to speed.
I started a new strategy as follow: I am reading the article, taking notes, and then generating Q&A of the most relevant facts. I am using a flash card software with spaced repetition to help me review them. By doing so, I am no longer worried about forgetting things and more concentrated on understanding things. As I read more and more, I hope to reach the stage where only the recently published idea/concept are the ones which goes into my flash cards program. I know it's a tedious workflow, but I believe it will pay off soon.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.130295
| 2016-03-27T23:11:00 |
65822
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
How to react when professor wrongly corrects you in public?
I recently defended my master thesis.
One thing only went wrong: I said a certain method was rather new (which it was!) and the most senior professor in the room (my supervisor was not there, he had an unexpected meeting) contradicted me, telling me that it was old and had been done in the lab for ages.
Honestly, I just gave in. He seemed so sure and I did not dare contradict him.
However I was sure before and of course I have since checked, the method is indeed new, the professor was just plain wrong.
What should I have done in the situation?
I'm not a fan of that style but it wouldn't be unheard of for someone to say something like that on purpose (knowing full well that their statement is wrong) to get you to defend your background knowledge.
BTW, "unexpected meetings" of advisor during a student's thesis defense are nonsense. Although, hopefully, most thesis defenses are pro-forma, the advisor needs to be there to be sure that nothing goes wrong unexpectedly. No one would quibble if someone says they're doing to their student's defense. Jeez. Sounds bogus...
Cannot change that now, can I?
I agree with @paul garrett: the person in this situation who most unambiguously behaved poorly is your thesis advisor. Why not give the most senior professor in the room the benefit of the doubt that his feedback was sincere but mistaken? As to what you should have done: you passed your thesis defense and you looked into the feedback you got, so....great. Congratulations on your degree.
I suppose it's not impossible that it was some kind of test, although I've never experienced or heard of such a thing. It seems much more likely to me that the professor genuinely thought that the new method was the same as the existing one, most likely due to misunderstanding the description of the new technique. This is something I have experienced, on a regular basis. It's easy to deal with if you can spot the misunderstanding and correct it, but if you're not that lucky it's always tricky.
Any chance you could share and find out which method you were referring to in comparison to which method the Prof. may have been referring to? I'm intrigued to know!
The method was CRISPR/Cas, he seemed to think he has been doing that for more than 10 years.
I know less than nothing about the topic, but a quick search shows that the CRISPR part of CRISPR/Cas goes back almost 30 years, and the cas part was identified almost 15 years ago. Perhaps that's what he was referring to, and not the joint Doudna/Charpentier work that is from only 3 or 4 years ago. That is, maybe the senior prof hasn't actually read your thesis, but recognized the names of the parts of the method as not new, and didn't understand from your defense that the work combining them was new. I don't have a new answer to add, so I'm upvoting the "be gracious and move on" answers.
That does not answer my quiestion, but it would give an explanation
FWIW I had a similar thing happen during an oral exam at undergrad level, and I handled it there and then with a quick comment to the effect that since it wasn't really the subject under discussion I'd be happy to talk to the questioner afterwards. Their statement was exactly of the form "I disagree with this vaguely relevant aside", not at all to do with the work I'd done. Albeit my supervisor was present, and according to them I got bonus marks from the other examiners for swiftly handling a derail and getting back on track :) Afterwards... leave it. You can't improve the situation.
the most senior professor in the room contradicted me
This may happen due to any reason.
(my supervisor was not there, he had an unexpected meeting)
Probably, your supervisor was clear about his decision regarding you and the rest was just a formality (which actually happens in some cultures). So he chose to skip that ceremony (and attend that unexpected meeting) because he knew his decision would matter alone.
What should I have done in the situation?
Assuming that your supervisor had a green signal in his mind for you (which, of course, you can guess from the situation), you should have done nothing but tried to pass on with any reasonable negotiations.
Even if the above assumptions are wrong, you should have still done the same, because, considering your this statement:
I said a certain method was rather new (which it was!)
Especially, which it was! part, nothing can go wrong.
Of course, the reasonable negotiations would involve, you trying to defend that with solid arguments and references, while at the same time humble enough to listen to his criticism and show respect to get along.
"Probably, your supervisor was clear about his decision regarding you and the rest was just a formality (which actually happens in some cultures). So he chose to skip that ceremony (and attend that unexpected meeting) because he knew his decision would matter alone." - The role of the supervisor at the defense is generally not to make a decision about whether to pass the student, but rather to support the student.
Did you pass your thesis defense? If so, it's all water under the bridge.
If it is eating you up inside, you could send a polite note to the senior professor (cc:ing your advisor) thanking them for the question and that now that you've had a chance to re-check things, that you are ever more certain that your method is different from the suggested prior method because of x, y, and z; but perhaps you misunderstood his question and there was another earlier method he was referring to, and if so -- could he please send the reference? (tip of the hat to @gnometorule)
If you go this route, I would frame it as a letter of thanks, appreciation, scholarly inquiry, and to keep the tone as non-accusatory as possible. As @guifa notes, some jerks professors view thesis defenses as a type of hazing -- a no-holds-barred opportunity to test your mettle; and what happens in defense should stay in defense. You do not want to drag this out. It can easily blow back in your face or the face of your advisor if the senior faculty member has a thin skin (which unfortunately many academics seem to have).
Again, if you have your Masters, then I would just be happy with that and just make rude gestures towards that senior faculty member from the safety and privacy of your own home. And don't ever do this when you become that person in a position of power.
You changed the question slightly from the initial posting from [what to do after the fact] to [what you should have done at the moment]. As note above, all questions at thesis defenses are fair -- even ones that are built on false or falsified premises. It is, after all, a "defense" and as a scientist you should be able to defend yourself from both truthful and false/falsified statements without having to resort to ad hominem counter-attacks. You respond based on your training and experience what you believe to be correct. And obviously given that you passed the defense, the examiners thought that you gave satisfactory responses on the whole. As Queen Elsa teaches us, let it go.
Yes, I passed. And It is not about what I should be doing now, that cake is eaten - but what should I have done in the situation? I do not really think it was a ruse, he sounded extremely sure.
Valjean, experienced people know how to sound sure... even when they are just bluffing. This kind of (all-too-typical) noise and hazing is less disturbing than the fact that your advisor found a reason not to be in attendance.
I do not think he "found" a reason, the guy is notoriously scatterbrained and well known for it. On top of it, he does not have a secretary and is notoriously difficult to reach (rarely in office, does not read emails) so it is quite realistic he forgot.
@Valjean: Ask for a reference, and not just as a snide remark because it could, still, be quite possible that he was right, not plain wrong, or mock-confrontational: if your method, say, is new but in spirit similar to an existing one, maybe it was an off-hand remark to that sort. In any case, I'd say something like "Very interesting...I honestly believed this method to be novel. Could you give me some reference so I can read up on the prior work you refer to - now or per email later?"
"it could, still, be quite possible that he was right." Indeed. In my own field, I've seen a several papers claiming to have discovered something new that had been published in a standard textbook back in the 1940s or 50s. I guess most grad students just don't read 60-year-old textbooks! There's rarely anything to be gained by telling the re-discoverer about it, unless you enjoy trying to win an argument for its own sake.
No, but this is like THE one new discovery/invention everybody talks about in the field. I think I can mention that here: CRISPR/Cas9
Yeah well this particular thing he was calling old was hailed "breakthrough of the year" by science last year - my subject being biology, science is one of the most important papers there.
I guess you are talking about CRISPR/Cas9 as a method of genome editing, which has been around for about 4 years now, but got a lot more popular last year. In a way he's right too. The original publication is from 2012. http://science.sciencemag.org/content/337/6096/816 And the general study of CRISPR/Cas systems in nature has also been around for a while before the use for genome editing/silencing started.
exactly what I meant by rather new, I said in the defense when the professor said it was new that it was from 2012 ( I knew the exact year) and he insisted it was a lot older.
@Valjean: The knowledge about CRISP/Cas in nature is older. Although I would not go with "a lot older". So maybe the two of you based your determination of this on different understandings of the scope of the topic is what I meant to say.
yes, possible that was the problem. Yet I still dispute his claim of "having used that system for much longer in the lab". He would hardly have used it himself, especially as I know he is no bacteriologist.
What's not relevant or fair at a defence, though, are irrelevant questions. It's likely unfair, for example, to expect a biology student to show the maths behind Raleigh Scattering and how that impacts on the light available for photosynthesis, even if their research is on photosynthesis. Unless their research is actually on spectral responses of photosynthesis, and even then I'd be dubious. Questions can easily be the examiners trying to derail a discussion into something they find interesting rather than what's actually relevant to the research undertaken.
Forget about it and go on with your day.
The question was "What should I have done in the situation?" This seems to be an answer to a different question "What should I do about it now, after the defense?"
No, this answer definitely suits the original question as well. Which is, in fact, what the original poster appears to have done.
Second great one-liner in the academics.SE site, but unfortunately, SE dynamics wish for the explanation on why the one-liner would be appropriated to the matter at hand, thus the low vote count.
@Mindwin Seems to me that sometimes, the best thing to do about an unfortunate "SE dymanics wish" is to forget about it and go one with your day. ;-)
@JesseWilliams no, this answer doesn't suit the original question at all; it is dismissive and unhelpful interpreted as such; and no, the OP clearly didn't "forget about it and go on with eir day" then or now-- the OP is instead pondering how ey could have most constructively behaved if ey had to do it over again, presumably with the goal of cultivating skills with which to respond most constructively when faced with similar situations in the future. I find this to be a laudable goal and a great question since I place a high value on such skills and wish to cultivate them in myself.
Generally, when faced with questions or comments like this one, you need to respond in a way that is open to the possibility that the professor is right, but that nonetheless demonstrates your belief in your own position. Don't give ground too easily, but don't get too entrenched either, since you need to be open to new information.
How you do this depends on how specific the professor's comment is:
If it was just a vague contradiction - "That's not new, it's been around for ages" - then you need to probe for more information. "That's interesting, I've not come across any previous use of this method - could you tell me more about where it's been used?".
If prof responds in detail ("It was done by Professor X in paper Y") and paper Y is not one you've come across, then your response is similar. "That's really interesting, I will look into that. Perhaps we can discuss this further after the talk." Or you might be able to second-guess the method used even if you don't know paper Y. "If they used method Z, then it's related, but our is different because..."
If paper Y is one that you are familiar with, then you have something concrete you can discuss. "That's certainly an important method, and provided inspiration for our work [if it did], but I referred to our method as new because it has these important advances/differences..."
However rude the professor is with their comment, it may still be a valid point, so try not to take it personally. Ignore the tone and just respond to the substance as politely and scientifically as you can.
Finally, it's easy to say all this in hindsight, but when it's early in your career and you're faced with an imposing figure contradicting you, it is only natural to give ground under pressure, and the fact that you successfully defended your thesis shows that you coped well with the overall situation!
Honestly.....it was the first: "That is not new, we have been doing that here for ages". I know that to be wrong, but asking him where it was used as you suggest would seem rather rude to me.
I don't think it needs to be rude. You just need to adopt an attitude of "I'm intrigued to know more because I wasn't aware of this". It's just scientific curiosity, so long as you don't imply with your tone of voice that you mistrust his information.
knowing full well that he could not possibly give a satisfactory answer (because he was plain wrong)? sighs......maybe I am too much into "never confront a monarch in public"
I agree that it's not easy, and your response was a very natural one. But I think that pursuing a discussion is the response that is truest to the spirit of a thesis defense, and to scientific discourse in general. And a professor would not have reached their position if they weren't able to handle someone disagreeing with them.
This seems like the best answer that actually addresses what should have been done in the moment.
Option A - Argue about it in front of an audience and focus attention away from your real presentation. Focusing on proving the senior professor wrong in front of an audience is not going get you anywhere.
Option B - Let it go. Go research it again thoroughly on your own. If you think it's a new approach, gather your research papers that support your claim. After you do your specific research, kindly ask the senior professor for examples of clarity on his comment. (Don't go in his office and slam a paper in his face proving he is wrong.) Go see him in person. Don't send an email because emails have no vocal tone to them.
Overall, I bet that it is not a 100% black or white issue. Perhaps the professor or you are thinking of a "similar" method or a method that goes under a different name. You may call it binary and he calls it base-2.
It's no big deal. Some people just like to speak up and make comments no matter what the situation. The senior professor probably won't even remember what he said after one week. Nevertheless, it is a good learning experience. You get to practice how to deal with confrontations that you were not prepared for.
People (including professors) make mistakes. I have been mistaken myself in similar situations as you described, and would not attribute any kind of malice to the professor's remark during your defense. As @RoboKaren pointed out, you got your degree, and it is mostly water under the bridge now.
In case it irks you a lot, I would recommend not to send an email to the professor, but to talk to him personally, maybe phrasing it as a misunderstanding regarding the scope of the method. An email might come off as somewhat aggressive.
I completely agree here. If you (@Valjean) get any chance to just casually "out of interest" talk with the Professor about the method in question again and possibly learn that (a) either he misunderstood which method you were referring to or maybe (b) it actually had been published long ago (things get republished in science all the time), it may make you feel better about the whole thing.
"Honestly, I just gave in. He seemed so sure and I did not dare contradict him."
You have answered your own question - you shouldn't have done this. If you were sure of yourself and your facts then you wouldn't have given in and you would have contradicted him. You are allowed to disagree with "senior professors" - they make mistakes too. That you did not suggests to me that you weren't sure of yourself or the facts.
Part of these occasions is to test whether you have the self-confidence to know your discipline, know when you are right and to argue your case.
Of course, if you were wrong...
I agree with @Rob Jeffries. One purpose of a thesis is to state your case against argument so that you are on an equal basis. The prof was just doing his job. In your position I would have asked him to clarify his statement and to justify it, just as you need to for yours -- from an equal basis.
I wouldn't blame the OP for not being sure he is right, as sure as you are that your method is new, it's easy to think "this professor has a lot of experience, maybe he knows something I don't" when you're being directly contradicted
Two actions should be taken:
A- Forget about it. Say Thank You and move on during the meeting.
B- Make very well sure that you're right and he's wrong before just assuming you're right. I've seen (and refereed) many cases where someone just knows something is novel when its not. This can happen for many reasons. Keep in mind that this person has been around longer than you have, may well have a wider understanding of the literature than you have, or have an inkling that something that has historically been presented in a slightly different way is exactly what you're talking about but is a little difficult to make the jump.
While I believe user2390246's answer should be the preferred way to handle this kind of situation, I think the safest path would be to acknowledge the contradiction and quickly move on.
That's interesting, I've not come across any previous use of this method, but I'd love to know more. Could we discuss this afterwards?
If they decide to press the issue, user2390246's answer has the details how to handle that, but I'd be willing to bet they won't.
If they agree, then obviously do approach the professor sometime later (preferably in person, during their office hours, after double checking your facts).
It should be noted that this only works if the method isn't central to your thesis and the contradiction doesn't directly threaten the validity of your results. If that is the case, then you have no choice but to push back.
When people disagree about facts, the only useful procedure to solve the disagreement is to appeal to an outside source that is accepted by both parties.
Typically this is not feasible to do in the middle of a presentation, either because such an accepted outside source is not available, or even if it was (say through an internet connection that is active on the spot), it will take away time that is scheduled otherwise. To the degree therefore that rebutting the claim is not essential and/or critical for the purpose at hand, you, as the presenter (and so the one with the higher stakes in the situation), should wisely let it pass.
But it would be a peaceful way to go about the world if you contacted the other party afterwards, by say, an e-mail that would supplant the necessary information about the matter. It is not about you triumphing over him or truth triumphing over falsehood, -it is about helping another person to not make the same mistake again.
This was your defense. You should expect senior faculty to give you challenges and questions like this, because they want to test the limits of your knowledge and usually won't be satisfied until they've gone beyond them. How far can they go before they reach "I don't know?" When you get there, do you have what sounds like a reasonable strategy for how you would find out or resolve a question?
When you get a challenging question like that, the first thing to do is listen and make sure you really understand what the question is asking. Reflect it back to the asker to be sure and to demonstrate you've got it. Then, figure out if the challenge/question is something that is core to your thesis, or a side/auxiliary point. If your main claimed contribution is this allegedly novel method, and the method not being novel would mean you don't have a contribution left, that's a core issue. If you just used the method and the results of it are what's important, and you only mentioned in passing that the method is relatively new, then it doesn't matter so much. Consider saying what you know and offering to continue the conversation "offline" or afterward, when you can find out more details about the citation. With other sorts of non-core questions e.g. about your method or result you can use a response like "I'll have to look that up and get back to you on that." This helps keep the conversation focused on the core elements of your thesis.
More important for the defense, consider and respond to how it would affect your work if the questioner's point is accurate.
For example,
As far as what I found < maybe add, and this is what I did to look >, I believe the method is relatively new. If it's actually been used for a while, that increases my confidence in the reliability of the results it produces and could help make the conclusions even stronger. Thank you for letting me know about this and I'd be glad to continue the conversation afterward to discuss more details."
If he takes you up on the offer to get more details, try to get pointers to authors or papers where you can check. Claims of novelty are much easier to disprove than to support, conclusively. You may still be right, but you're not going to prove that in the moment of the defense presentation nor do you necessarily need to. You need to show how you respond to this potential new information and what knowledge you assert in your response, including some analysis of how that (counterfactual or not) would affect your thesis.
Finally, if you already passed the defense, you can just view the professor's challenge as part of the challenge of a defense, and congratulations on having passed through that process successfully.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.132214
| 2015-04-29T07:42:19 |
44455
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Stack Exchange
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How can I thank/acknowledge people during a short presentation?
In a paper, there is an Acknowledgements section, in which I can thank everyone that helped me along the way. But what do I do in a 15-minute presentation (e.g. in a non-archival conference)? I do want to thank the people that helped me, both for my and for their benefit (in case they may be sitting in the audience, or viewing the talk later in video).
How can I thank/acknowledge people during a short presentation?
As Stephan and posdef already wrote, a (short or long) acknowledgement page at the end of the talk is the standard you see on conferences/talks.
However I saw a few, who had a short acknowledgement as one of the first slides or at the start of the chapters of their hour long talk.
This was quite interesting, since you directly saw, who was responsible for the work and the presenter (in this case the group leader/professor) didn't sound like he did all the work.
Also, you can end on your summary page. The end of the talk is often times the most interesting and memorable part, which is why the summary in the end is quite an intriguing point. And the summary will stay to start the discussion and give the hearer again an overview of your talk.
I believe the reason for having the acknowledgement slide in the beginning is due to how you want to end a presentation: you want to end it at the most interesting part, which shouldn't be the acknowledgements. This goes in line with the "thanks for listening"-slide which adds nothing to the presentation. This, however, does not qualify for why the ack. slide should be up front. One way of finishing the presentation would be Conclusions, then quick acknowledgements, and then display the conclusions again, as these are the important message you want to send.
As a variant on this, consider putting the acknowledgements as the next-to-last slide, with an automatic timer that switches it over to a summary. End the talk at the acknowledgements slide, but the summary appears after a reasonable time and stays up during questions.
I do it as the first slide so that I always have enough time for it.
What about the title page? Co-authors are usually listed there, that's a good start for a list of acknowledgements.
@MarcGlisse Depends on the University/filed. In chemistry afaik it's normally only the presenting author on the first page. Esp. so, if a professor presents the work of his group.
You can put such acknowledgements on the very last slide, which will stay up while you field questions after your presentation (unless you need to flip back to a specific slide to answer a question).
Don't recite every single name in a presentation. Just end your talk like this:
Finally, I'd like to thank everyone who has helped me in this project.
Then look expectantly at the session chair, who should lead the applause and ask for questions, while everyone who is interested can read your acknowledgements on the slide.
Actually I don't like this at all. The last slide is much better used to provide an overview of the talk and topic to elicit questions and give the audience a summary. A list of collaborators is boring and useless to an audience.
@dsfgsho That is what can come in the slide before the acknowledgements. When discussion starts, just flip back to it.
In addition to the other answers: don't forget to put your funders on your acknowledgements slides!
It's common practise to have an Acknowledgements slide, at the very end, before you take any questions.
I disagree with Stephan about the certainty with which he recommends clumping up everyone. While it is rather cumbersome and time-consuming to list everyone, you could single out a couple of people, especially if you have done collaborative work, where some people ran samples, did analysis etc for you.
I mean something along the lines of (the stuff in parentheses are spoken, not written out):
Acknowledgements
Your supervisors group
Steve Smith (for his work on 2D gels)
Barbara McDonald (for her help in data analysis)
Colleagues at the group
Other group
Zack Muckerberg (for ...)
Muckerberg's boss (for the possibility to collaborate)
Other collaborators
Something I see very frequently is an acknowledgements slide that consists of, for instance, a group photo (if the people you want to acknowledge are in your research group). Then particular faces may be circled/labeled. Decent way of showing "hey, these people!" without necessarily having just a list.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.132661
| 2014-08-30T16:38:28 |
27825
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Stack Exchange
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Is it possible to do a Postdoc without travelling?
I am soon to finish my PhD and would love to do postdoctoral research (UK). However, for reasons I shan't go into, it is not viable for me to travel outside of my city and so I am unable to attend conferences/workshops/etc.
Is it feasible for me to obtain a postdoc position? Or do postdoc responsibilities necessarily entail travelling?
I know you said you don't want to share your reasons, but it may well be that people's willingness to accommodate you will depend on the reason. For instance, if you have a medical condition that makes it impossible for you to travel, you may have a fairly easy time getting conference organizers to let you present by videoconference. (In some jurisdictions, they may even be legally obligated to do so.) If your reason were "I can't get decent sushi outside London, so I'm never leaving", then maybe not so much.
Also, for pete's sake, say what field you're in! You'll get totally different answers depending on what it is.
This is somewhat field dependent, but your academic career could be much more challenging if your disability or other circumstances prevent you from traveling. You may need to travel to job interviews at the very least. Not attending conferences to present your research will reduce the visibility of your work, and so you will struggle to get your ideas well known in your field. This could reduce your job prospects. You will need to have your research products well-advertised on the web in order to have any name recognition. Your research may also have to be more ground-breaking in order to garner recognition.
If, for example, you work in Computer Science, conference publications are typically the most prestigious, so the inability to travel to present your work may mean that it is not published.
I don't mean to be too discouraging, but I think you should reevaluate whether or not you can make 1 or 2 trips per year in order to present your work. It may do wonders for how hard your career is otherwise.
On the plus side, you might also try talking to some conference organizers before you submit your work about presenting your results via video conference. I was at a workshop this week where a presenter couldn't make it due to a last-minute problem with his flight, and he gave a great presentation via Google Hangouts. He wasn't there to network, but at least his presentation happened. If your reasons for not traveling are due to disability (including mental disabilities like social anxiety, agoraphobia, etc.), the country where the conference happens may require that they try to accommodate your needs.
Well, research isn't a solo effort, and having a coauthor from your lab present your results at conferences might be sufficient, though not optimal.
Touching on the conference side, you can try to organise one. It is a lot of effort, though, and the viability it depends why you are unable to travel.
@Peteris, I disagree when it comes to future employment. If the coauthor does all the presenting, then the coauthor will get the vast majority of the name recognition, and they be there at the conference to network about assistant professor (or the like) positions. This is pretty critical for postdocs.
It seems your main challenges will be:
Getting some institute/person to hire you as a researcher despite this handicap (that is, assuming you're not hiding your situation).
Getting to know and form relationships with people in your field.
Collaborating with people without meeting them (unless they travel to where you are).
Finding potential positions for after your your post-docs without having "shown your face" there, or to the people there.
In some fields these may be insurmountable. In most other fields their combination will make it extremely difficult - in my opinion - to be a successful researcher. So there's the question of whether you're interested in having what will quite possibly be a mediocre-at-best stint as a researcher.
An exception to the above would be if you're in a group where there's good division of labor, with other people doing a lot of traveling, but also being gracious enough to make the connection between yourself and researchers/interested parties elsewhere so that you're at least partially present. In that case I suppose it's half-manageable.
I can't speak to what primary researchers, or research groups/departments, will require of you; traveling may or may not be a strict requirement and it may or may not depend on the field of study and the country in which you work.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.133089
| 2013-10-29T15:59:10 |
13713
|
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Stack Exchange
|
Is it appropriate to email an eminent researcher in your field?
Sometimes, I feel to contact some of the eminent researchers in my field for any of the following reasons:
Appreciating their research publication (recent times). They publish in top conferences, which are usually not hosted in my country or nearby.
Requesting comments on some of my research hypothesis
Sometimes just because I am a die hard fan of them. For example, probably the only reason I continued with research in Computer Science was due to Don Knuth.
Sometimes, to know what they think on some specific research area that has propagated due to there work. (Probably looks like some journalistic work)
For knowing how did they tackle the pressures or certain situation during their PhD or research. (Yes, it's vague but these questions come to mind and probably should be answered by oneself or personal interaction, but adding it for the sake of completion)
Since, most of them are located outside my country, I can't visit or phone them. So, how are such emails perceived. Is it appropriate to send such emails, given that they are expected to have very busy schedule and it would probably waste their time?
Though I have mentioned my field as Computer Science, the question should be applicable to all the fields.
A polite e-mail can't hurt. Whether you get an answer probably depends on many factors.
Of course, Knuth is a bad example, since he does not read email. Of course that page does note two resticted purpose email address that will be read, but there is zero chance he would reply to any of the above sent to them.
You may be interested in this blog post: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/12/10/how-to-get-george-bush-or-the-ceo-of-google-on-the-phone/
@KevinCathcart yeah, I knew that. Hence saving money and waiting for a good opportunity to meet him in person :)
Many of the criteria you list don't require a famous correspondent. You can learn also learn a great deal from the people in their area who are experts but non preeminent.
Here are some of my strayed thoughts.
Think from return of investments, of yours and your idol's
If you ever perceived that your e-mail would be a "waste of their time," then why send it? I feel that most eminent researchers have a trait of "ignore everyone and head for their goal;" getting acknowledgement and acceptance is probably not their primary concern. A specific e-mail describing how their work has inspired your study/project is probably fine, but I wouldn't go so far to expect they would reply and give specific comments on your hypotheses.
From your point of view, instead of using the energy and bandwidth to send the e-mails, there are a lot more you can do:
There are many ways to show your appreciation
First, they would probably like to see their work being formally cited and, more importantly, applied to the field or crossed into other fields. Each idea geminated from their work is an appreciation by itself, and in the mean time you can also enhance your publication and research paradigm. The plus is: if you have done enough of it, the big shot may actually contact you and give comments.
Second, you can help preaching the researcher's ideas and agenda. You can write blogs, answer other people questions, use their works in your journal clubs or lectures, etc. to subtly introduce the researcher's teaching to the public. Better yet, refine the researcher's ideas, and incorporate into yours. Become a spiritual successor with your own unique approach. And let your career be inspired by the researcher.
You can learn from someone without establishing communication
For some more senior researchers, look for their auto-biography, biography, interviews, and documentaries that feature them. I will probably never be able to talk to Itzhak Perlman, but I learned a lot about him through books, websites, documentaries, and musics that he plays. (And actually, he has a Youtube channel as well, but I am suffering from too much fanboy shyness to write any comment.)
For younger researchers, try look for their blogs, Youtube channels, open courses, or even biographies of their mentors. All these may help you become more familiar with them.
Another way is to indirectly know them. Most of these researchers would have a lot of students or proteges, who may be closer to your rank and more likely to communicate with you. You may build a relationship with them, and learn a thing or two about their interaction with their mentor.
Try technology
For their new publications... nowadays most online journals allow leaving comments online. You may try to say a nice thing or two there. If they write a blog, that's even easier. Some researchers maintain a LinkedIn page or a Twitter account, try connect with them and follow them. Hope for the best.
Use other famous people as leverage
If you really want to communicate with them, also try using other organizations. For instance, you can write to some online radio station and suggest an interview topic and some guests, which of course will include your idolized researcher. You can also write to some prominent podcast hosts and give them a couple reason to invite so and so for an interview. Make good use of crowdsourcing, invite your peers and friends to support your petition.
Some heroes/heroines are better left a bit mysterious
This is sad but occasionally painfully true. Some famous people are better left not known at personal level. They could be immensely arrogant, they may not have a nanogram of social skill, they may be a jerk... Unless I have reconstructed a pretty concrete and reliable image about the researcher from different sources, I would probably want to keep them as what they are in my mind, and as an inspiration for my work.
While many of these topics are excellent points to start a 1-1 conversation, I seriously doubt whether you'd get much of a response over email. This is not to say that they wouldn't appreciate your praise, but that there may not be anything to reply to in particular.
I suspect an email will get a better response if you have specific questions about research content: ideally, a question related to something in a recent paper that isn't entirely obvious. For example, in my field it's sometimes the case that someone sketches a proof idea in a conference paper without a full version, and fleshing this out requires some clarification from the authors.
Of course, you can always add in a question from your list as extra cargo. Then it's a little more likely that someone will reply.
More generally, think about it this way: if you never met someone before, and they came up to you and asked you questions that might be construed as personal (especially 5), or that require you to come up with opinions on the fly (2,4), you might hesitate to respond. The same thing, but without the pressure to say something, will happen over email.
In a nutshell: Sending a polite email on an appropriate topic is pretty much always acceptable. However, don’t automatically expect an answer.
The second part is important. The eminent researcher is probably a busy person, and you have no particular moral claim on their time and attention. Don’t make it sound like you feel entitled to their assistance — “Hey Mr. Tao! I need to understand the Green–Tao theorem for my masters thesis. Please can you explain it to me in simple terms? P.S. my thesis is due next Tuesday.” And don’t be disappointed if they don’t reply.
That said, don’t despair either — don’t feel “oh, it’s not worth writing because they’ll never reply to a nobody like me”! Some may well be too busy or dismissive, but many are also genuinely kind people, and very generous with their help. Others (I have a specific rather famous person in mind here) are simply incorrigible curiosity-hounds, and will happily get caught up for hours by an intriguing problem from a random stranger when they’re supposed to be grading final exams. So they may well reply — just don’t presume it.
On the other hand: what’s an appropriate topic?
Questions about their research can be fine, provided you’ve done your homework. For instance, I had a question on mathoverflow recently which looked like it might have been answered by a particular researcher, but nobody could find the specific paper, and it was possibly unpublished. Writing to ask e.g. “Do you recall which of your papers on $\tau$-categories might contain or imply a result something like […]?” is certainly OK.
Questions about practical matters that may be their responsibility are good — at worst they can always hand it off to someone else. “I’m applying to your department’s PhD programme, and it wasn’t clear to me from the website if students are expected to have a potential advisor in advance. If so, are you potentially accepting new students at the moment? I am very interested in your work because…”
Plain fan mail is OK, as long as it’s sincere and you’re not trying to get something for it! Nobody’s going to mind hearing “Please excuse my writing out of the blue; I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your talk at such-and-such conference. As a non-specialist, I really appreciate the effort you put into making it accessible to a wide audience.” However, if this is followed up by “Incidentally, I am applying for a job at such-and-such department. Do you have any insider advice you can share?” then the initial compliments will look a lot less sincere. Don’t do this!
Possibly questions about your own research. The two big questions here are: again, have you done your homework; and is there a good reason why you’re asking them, not someone else? Asking “I read your paper, and had an idea of how to generalise Theorem 5.3, by such-and-such approach. Do you know if somebody is already working on this question, or is it open?” should be fine. Asking “I had such-and-such new idea in your field. Can you spare the time to give me feedback?” makes you sound a bit like a crank — for this, you should be running it by a colleague first, or a colleague-of-a-colleague, or if you don’t know anyone close to the field yet, try and find someone less famous and with at least some specific connection to you (e.g. geographically closer) that you can write to first.
What’s not appropriate:
Asking for significant favours (unless you have a personal connection of some sort).
Asking them to explain their research to you because you don’t want to read their papers. (That’s what helpful strangers in internet forums are for!)
Personal questions (unless you’re a serious journalist writing e.g. a book on drug use among academics; but in that case you should know about how to get in touch with sources appropriately already).
We can be exahustive here.
If they feel like writing that kind of things to strangers then they most likely have a blog that you can follow, that saves a lot of time for them, by broadcasting. If they do, you can write comments in the blog, that could be appropriate and extend posts and discussion, which is good for them (a chance to clarify something), for you (getting answers, yay!) and for anyone that reads the post and then the comments (and doesn't need to ask the same again...).
If they don't feel like writing that kind of things to strangers then most probably they won't reply. In that case you will be wasting their time (that's bad) and your time (that's worse; selfsteem, please :P ). Thus that's probably not very wise.
If you have questions not covered in the aforementioned blogs, you can ask here, to a crowd of anonymous people. There are many people giving great answers (really, I know my profile is the closest one in distance, but you should check somewhere else). I know we are not so famous and important and wise and everything, but we try to do our best and even if we can understand that you may prefer the advise of other people, we still have a little heart and that hurts. :(
:P Personally, I think it is normal to feel admiration for people that basically are, in some aspect or another, what you want to be and struggle to be in the future. It is probably useful and interesting to get some insight from them, and understand their perspective (personal and professional) on many questions, if you are going to idealize someone and have an idol, probably a rock star is a worse option than a researcher, but I'm not sure whether idealizing and idolizing researchers is any good anyway...
This answer may be biased because I tend to underestimate the relevance of mentoring and I consider more important talent and hard work. I'm also to some extent opposite to you, I admire and appreciate some people, but I'm more introverted, so my natural reaction is thinking to myself: "Stay quiet and don't bother them, you despicable maggot!" (This is clearly worse than idolizing them).
As a final advise, keep your extroversion, it's good for you. That means you will have plenty of things to speak about when you go to a conference and chances to do so. You will love conferences, so focus on publishing to go there (you should focus on publishing anyway). If you like visiting places then that's another big plus.
So work hard and remember, we (a bunch of anonymous people) will always be here whenever you need us, remember us when you get to be famous. Also, write a blog.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.134289
| 2012-07-29T13:42:55 |
2668
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
How to find response time for a given journal in engineering?
I would like to find journals response times? A google search does not give any good results. May be I am using wrong key words.
I am open to find particular subset of journal response times too. Any pointers about this is welcome. this answer gives a list of backlog for mathematical journals. Are there any such other list? How can I find them?
Thanks for comment.
Actually I would like to learn "From submission until a decision". I know "Total time from submission to publication" can take a lot of time.
What do you mean by "response time"? Total time from submission to publication? From submission until a decision? (Incidentally, the variance in these times can be enormous even at a single journal, so the average is just a rough guide.)
@AnonymousMathematician thanks, I edited question
Some journals insert the submission date and acceptance date in a footnote on the first page of the article. For those, it would be easy to look through the latest issue and see what is typical.
I would send an email, or ideally go down the hall, and ask someone who has published in the journal how long it took.
This is better than nothing, but one data point can sometimes be very misleading.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.134460
| 2016-06-22T07:39:31 |
71699
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Is it possible to download paper from academia.edu without being registered there?
Based answers to Is Academia.edu useful? it seems that there are some legitimate reason why many people would prefer not to have academia.edu account.
On the other hand, it might happen that you see a paper there which is interesting for you and which might be difficult to obtain in a different way.
I have noticed that when I find some paper on academia.edu using Google Scholar, I will also have a direct link to download. To give one random example, when searching for ultrafilter site:academia.edu you can see that I get direct download link to this paper. (The link contains the string "expires", so it is probably only temporary.) On the other hand, when I try to find the same paper on academia.edu and try to download it, I am asked to login/sign up.
Is there some way to get the url for download from academia.edu website without being logged in? (This could be useful if neither Google Scholar nor some other searches give me a direct download link to the article.)
EDIT: To clarify (since I received an answer copying parts of the above paper). When I made this post, I was able to download it via the direct download link I have mentioned above. And this particular paper is also available on another website. So this is not a request for a paper. (Requesting papers would clearly be an incorrect use of academia.SE.) It is a question whether the annoying restriction to be registered before downloading something from academia.edu can be somehow bypassed. I have simply chosen a random paper as an illustration.
Google Scholar provides the direct link http://www.academia.edu/download/37277308/Introduction_to_the_Keisler_Order.pdf. It seems like there are two identifying elements: the code 37277308 and the filename Introduction_to_the_Keisler_Order. Both appear in the source of the article page on academia.edu even when you are not logged in, for instance here:
registrationParams: {
doc_id: 37277308,
splash: true,
redirect: "https://www.academia.edu/11902653/Introduction_to_the_Keisler_Order?auto=download",
}
So in theory it should be possible to recover the direct link by piecing them together. I don't know if there is software already available, but it does definitely seem possible to write, for instance, a Greasemonkey script that adds direct download links to these pages.
Of course, all of this depends on the specific format of academia.edu's webpages and direct download links, which are subject to change at any time. In particular, if they find out that many people are using them, I suppose they will quickly change the format to pull the plug and force people to login.
Thanks for your effort. Maybe I am missing something, but the link from your post http://www.academia.edu/download/37277308/Introduction_to_the_Keisler_Order.pdf returns Page Not Found. (At least for me.)
@Martin Hmm - interesting. It seems that there is some sort of referrer check; clicking on the same link from scholar.google.com downloads it, but copying the link target and pasting it doesn't work.
I did not think of that. Using wget --referer http://scholar.google.com "http://www.academia.edu/download/37277308/Introduction_to_the_Keisler_Order.pdf" indeed worked.
@Martin Do you know whether your solution still works? I tried the one explained by the answer, but it didn't work.
@m0_as When I tried the wget command from my previous comment, it worked.
use inspect element (ctrl + shift + i). find (ctrl + f) the link with this word >>amazonaws.com<< . you need to copy the link from 'http' to 'pdf' >>http......................pdf<< , then paste it in new tab or download manager
Is there in fact a difference between inspect element and view source? However, I have tired Inspect element a few times on this page, but I did not find any occurrence of the string "amazonaws". (I did it in Google Chrome, if that matters.)
It does not have to be amazonaws, just search for "pdf".
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.134801
| 2017-11-24T07:15:07 |
99340
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Advice for interacting with students reported for cheating on their midterms
We (professors + TAs) are reporting a few students for cheating on their midterms to the head of undergraduate studies. We had been monitoring their activities pretty closely, since we noticed they had been cheating throughout the semester on their weekly quizzes but felt that evidence was not compelling enough (e.g., 15 minutes, few questions). But with their recent cheating activity on an hour-long exam, we are confident in what we are reporting to the University.
In the event that they are allowed back into lectures for the remainder of this semester, how do we interact with these cheating students? Should we ignore them? I expect there to be some friction between them and us, and I wish to not be too distracted from teaching the rest of the class of students that have been working diligently and honestly.
Treat them exactly in the same professional manner you would treat any other student. Catching someone cheating is a professional matter, not a personal matter, and while it might affect your attitude towards the person, that should (generally speaking) be irrelevant in the classroom in any case.
Just treat them the same as all the others during lectures.
If they want to meet you outside lectures to discuss the issue then you have two options : one: say that the issue is with the Head and the result / decision will be communicated to them, or have a discussion but I would not do this as it could affect the decision process.
At most universities, instructors are expected to report all suspected incidents of academic misconduct. But they do not decide the matter. If the student contacts you, that is what you say: You were expected to make the report so you did, but you don't decide the matter. That is all you say.
If there's a finding of misconduct you will be notified. The usual penalty for a first offense is they get a zero on the assignment. And that's the end of your involvement. You do not alter your behavior toward the student in any other way and you do not discuss the situation with other faculty except possibly any co-instructors or your chair.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.135017
| 2017-12-28T19:30:34 |
101260
|
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Stack Exchange
|
Making corrections to PhD application after submitting it
I am currently finishing up my applications for PhD programs (in the humanities) and, in working on a draft of my statement of purpose for one school that I have not yet turned in, I noticed an error. It is a typo of sorts, the omission of a verb which renders a sentence "nonsensical." The intention of the sentence is still clear but it is quite noticeable. Think something along the lines of "Excited by the interdisciplinary dialogue at Harvard." as the uncorrected sentence, missing an "I am" at the beginning.
The problem is, I have already submitted this mistake in my statement of purpose for four or five other schools. A friend, who submitted corrections to his applications when he was applying, says that it would be no problem to contact the department/admissions administrative secretary with a corrected PDF. I am afraid of making it worse by submitting corrections, but also would love to fix it if I could.
Any thoughts on what I should do? I am kicking myself for not noticing it... what's really annoying, is that I noticed and fixed it in two applications, but must have reverted to a previous draft for the rest of the schools.
All advice/reassurance/chastisement is appreciated, especially if you have experience with such a blunder yourself.
This is not a material error. I wouldn't worry about it. We get much more egregious errors such as uploading the wrong statement (such as for another school) or misspelling the name of the core faculty member you wanted to work with, etc.
You'd think those types of mistakes would be killer, but they really aren't. We realize students are under stress and that application management systems are cumbersome. We're all human in the end.
What's most important is the qualifications of the applicant as a whole.
"You'd think those types of mistakes would be killer, but they really aren't." I would imagine we'd have to take the universality of this statement with a grain of salt...?
I’ve done grad admissions for over a dozen years at two different R1 institutions and must have now read well over 2000 applications. Minor errors are not something that I’ve ever seen seriously raised at admissions meetings.
@RoboKaren It wouldn’t be raised at admissions meetings if it led to being excluded in the preselection. I agree that OP’s mistake probably wouldn’t qualify for this but a consistent disregard for common rules of spelling (or other sloppiness) would lead some people to immediately filter out an application without even reading through it.
@RoboKaren Thank you so much for your comment. I appreciate someone on "the inside" with understanding. Heck, it might not even be noticed, given the awesome capacity of the human brain to read what is meant even through weird errors... Also thanks to the others who commented. I'm taking this as a moment to more thoroughly read through my statement and writing sample once more, and get a fresh pair of eyes on them, before I send them to the last few schools. Thankfully I don't think this is a pervasive problem in my writing. Happy New Year and many thanks for the input.
If the applicant is consistently sloppy, then yes, that would be grounds for exclusion. But one or two errors in an otherwise strong portfolio? You have to remember the statement is just one component of analysis, we also look at letters as well as the coursework, writing sample, research portfolio, etc.
The answer to your question will probably depend on the department, more so than on the field. Asking if you can replace your essay will probably not hurt your application, but your request is unlikely to be met.
At my institution, for instance, PhD applications are handled first by a few staff members, who will make sure all materials are complete and assign your application to one of the faculty members who you have mentioned in your application and/or who are in the admissions committee. If the secretary has already forwarded your application, then there is nothing the applicant could do to correct it. If it has not been forwarded, there is also nothing you can do about it as the staff members are advised to not accept any separate materials other than letters of recommendation, especially by email, except under very special circumstances (a typo is not one). In this case, your email will probably be ignored or responded with a friendly "there's nothing we can do about it", which will not impact your application in any way, but will entrust another task to the staff members, who are already very loaded.
However, do not send your updated statement on first contact. First make sure that they will accept it (call/email them), and only then send your updated statement. I believe my university provides a specific url for the applicant to upload additional documents.
I am not in the humanities, though.
Agreed. We don’t usually allow files to be swapped out post deadline as that would be a huge administrative headache. The only exception I’ve seen is allowing late letters to be snuck in, but we’ve been cracking down on even that.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.135428
| 2017-12-07T03:57:36 |
100093
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
What if I get B's in my first semester in graduate school (engineering program)?
Why is getting A's so important?
What if I did not have the background to pursue graduate education but nonetheless I decided to enroll in a graduate program?
I am in graduate school. I got straight A's at my local university (undergrad studies) and was admitted to the graduate program in engineering by one of the Big Ten universities. I am working diligently and extremely hard, and I have come to realize that the preparation in math and engineering from my undergrad institution was not even close to the preparation that students at my current institution have received.
I neither come from a research background nor have a strong mathematical background, but I am responsible and can learn the material so I know I am smart. However, my previous engineering school could have done better at training us as engineers, I would say that our engineering classes did not developed our problem solving skills and/or analytical thinking which is something I tried to learn on my own. I did what I could to learn what I believe had to be taught to me, which is why I was accepted into my current institution.
But it is so frustrating to feel the difference in knowledge and problem solving skills that other students seem to have just because they were instructed better. Currently I am getting B's for my graduate classes, and it is my first semester. So I would like to know, do grades really matter? Should I drop out after all of this hard work? What about the ones like me who want to have a better future and pursue grad school but did not have all the opportunities and sufficient preparation but can still do good, maybe not getting straight A's right from the beginning but definitely later (which is what I am aiming for and I know I can do it). However it is a bit discouraging, when all I find on the internet is "B's are like C's in graduate school" that statement seems to be unfair for people like me who work hard on school and research.
Judge yourself against yourself, not against others. // Keep up the good work!
What is a Big Ten university?
You know what: The fact is, if you get Bs... you get Bs. You could have done better, but that is something everybody tells themselves at many points in their life. Anything besides the fact I just stated is just perception. Your perception of your self-worth. Other people's perception of what a B means at the moment you get it and 10 years later. (Hint: 10 years later I would perceive it as not much different to an A. A lot of water has flown down the river.)
http://phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=469
Ultimately, your grades as a graduate student matter very little, except for:
A handful of employers who have GPA requirements for graduate programs;
Fellowship programs, which may require a GPA minimum;
The academic regulations, which may also specify a GPA minimum to continue in good standing.
However, it should also be noted that most graduate courses are based on the premise that a grade lower than B is a failing grade. Therefore, it's better to get A's than B's in graduate classes. But, at the end of the day, having B's is probably not going to impede your career much—especially once you enter the working world.
(off topic) Can grades exist in a two-state equilibrium? A schrodinger grade would mean that a grade can be either an A or not A, until you look at one's grade that is.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.135952
| 2015-08-22T11:02:35 |
52082
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Is it ethical (or legal, if applicable) to say you have a degree in X if your degree was in "X and Y" (single major)?
There are departments in many schools that offer "hybrid" majors, such as:
Computer Science and Engineering
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Materials Science and Engineering
Molecular and Cellular Biology
Nutritional Science and Toxicology
etc.
Let us say you earn a degree in the respective area of one of these majors.
For example, let's say you earned an M.S. in Computer Science and Engineering.
Continuing with this example, let's say that down the road, you are asked to certify that you have the degree in one of the majors (say, an M.S. in Computer Engineering).
Are you ethically/legally/etc. (as the case may be) allowed to claim that you have such a degree? Or are you only entitled to claim that you have exactly the degree written on your diploma/transcript and nothing else, even if it seems like a subset of what is written?
Notes:
If the answer differs between the Bachelor's, Master's, or Doctorate degrees, please explain each one.
If the answer is different for different majors, please explain how/why. And if the answer is different in different situations -- e.g. if it is different in different countries -- please explain how and give typical examples for each case, keeping in mind #3 below.
Obviously, in some cases, you may even be technically allowed to falsely claim you have a degree. I am ignoring such cases here; for the purposes of this question, assume I am only talking about cases where it is indeed not okay (either legally or ethically) to falsely claim you have a degree.
In a legal context, you should ask a lawyer. In an informal context, you should either report the name of your degree verbatim, or make a good-faith judgement based on the actual content of your degree program.
My degrees are mostly in the joint subject of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Past undergraduate, however, I pretty much exclusively studied in the computer science side of the department. Thus, I find it appropriate and accurate to describe myself either as having EECS degrees or CS degrees, but would not claim to have EE education past undergraduate. Likewise, my CS education included enough hardware and systems education that I am comfortable saying I received CE education.
I think a similar analysis can be applied to any composite major. Most people and institutions understand that department names vary across institutions, so as long as you do not attempt to deceive about the skills you gave, it should be OK.
I'm not sure why you describe most of those as "hybrid" majors; what they seem to have in common is that they have the word "and" in their names. The answer is that it depends both on the degree and the context of the question.
The difficulty is that names of departments vary wildly without a whole lot of meaning. For example, the distinction between "Computer Science" and "Computer Engineering" gets handled different ways---some schools have two separate majors, while some call them both "Computer Science" and have a computer engineering track. A degree called "Computer Science and Engineering" is yet another program covering some piece of the same area. What it's appropriate to represent it as would depend on exactly what was covered by your course work.
Similarly, a degree in "Electrical Engineering and Computer Science" is not simultaneously a degree in "Electrical Engineering" and also a degree in "Computer Science". Depending on the program (and, likely, the specific courses taken), it might be essentially one or the other, or it might involve learning some of both but missing some topics that most electrical engineers would so and also some topics that most computer scientists would see. So if someone is hiring electrical engineers, it's probably not a good idea to just describe an EECS degree as equivalent without some explanation. (Though that explanation might be, "at my school this was an EE degree" or "I took the EE focus, so it's basically an EE degree".)
Put differently: if someone asks what your degree is for a professional purpose, they're probably not deeply interested in the precise name of the program. What they're interested in is what you learned in it, and that's the question you should be trying to answer.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.136258
| 2023-03-05T03:37:38 |
194030
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Is it possible to learn some basic mathematics using an app?
I am interested in developing an app for students that are starting a grade career involving mathematics. It is a real problem that they start with almost no knowgladge of basic mathematics and there is no time to teach it in the curricular courses. Is it possible to help they learn some basic properties of operations with real numbers like product, sums and exponents using an app? They are really confused about which operations are "allowed" and which are not. For example when is it correct to cancel two "x" or some doubts that involve operator's precedence. I know that behind this, there is a lack of understanding about the meaning of the equations they write. Do you think is it possible to impart this knowgladge with an app? Do you know any existing app that aims to do this? (i could not find, but I am not good at research). Sorry for my bad english.
Consider asking this at Mathematics Educators Stack Exchange.
Later asked at Mathematics Educators Stack Exchange as I suggested.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.136385
| 2017-12-20T03:12:36 |
100861
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Pros and cons of having a Ph.D. advisor who is (possibly) younger than me
I applied for a Ph.D. position.
A new assistant professor who would join that university next year reached me and asked whether I wanted to work with him. I have been working for two years since my Master graduation. I think his direction suits my interest.
He began his Ph.D. right after undergraduate study so I guess he is probably at my age, 27 or 28, even younger. If we are both 40s, I might be ok with that.
Are you looking for someone to tell you how to feel, or...?
No, I just ask others how to feel. I feel exactly what I am feeling.
Right now the question is too broad and will generate opinion based answers. Better would be to ask if some of the concerns you have are valid.
What are you worried about exactly?
Swallow your pride. There is always someone much better than you at something and that's okay because it gives you opportunity to learn. If you would rather work with another professor for a legitimate reason then do that. But don't bite the hand that feeds you.
Your question is unclear - you mention “he is at my age, 27 or 28” then you say you are in your 40’s ... Teachers come across students of all abilities including those who are smarter in particular areas ... they still help them.
@neuranna Your edit introduce two problems. (1) As Solar Mike pointed out, what is the OP's age? The OP never said he is in his 40's in his original post. (2) The current version changes the merits of the original question. I understand your intention was to make it less opinion based. But, this edit brought in some confusion. To the OP, please look at the edit and do some edits if needed.
@SolarMike I roll back part of the original post. Hope this would make things a little bit clearer. To the OP, please look at the current version. Please edit it if it is not what you want to ask. Thanks.
There is no question.
@Mark There was a question in the original post. Someone edited it out. Now, it becomes no question. I did not want to start an edit war, so I just brought part of the original post back. Hopefully the OP will edit his post to make it clear when he comes back.
There is a Chinese proverb
學無前後，達者為先
One of the English translations I like is from the page
In Learning, there's no first or last;
When one learns and progresses fast,
Then the last shall become the first --
She would be my Teacher at last.
And another translation from the page
In learning there’s no first or last, but whoever becomes enlightened and understands relevant subjects first is the frontrunner in the field. (Paul D. Young)
As you get older, it is basically dead certain that you will at some point be reporting to someone who is much younger than you are. Think about why that has to be true. If you're still stuck, ask yourself how old you think your supervisor will be when you're in your 60s. You need to get over it.
I think the research interests and experience of a supervisor is more important than their age (and sex, race, etc).
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.136795
| 2018-05-10T20:34:19 |
109565
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Teacher has done nothing all semester - should I say something?
My Teacher for a required course has been completely unreliable for any amount of actual teaching. He is honestly the worst teacher myself or pretty much any of the other students have ever had.
It's online, and it's actually very obvious that he's taken the format of his lesson plan directly from another teacher as many of his materials have their name listed instead of his. He'll ask for things on assignments that are very confusing (for instance, meet with your groups and discuss x) and the student body will be frantically messaging each other trying to figure out if we missed something because we were never assigned groups etc. It's not just us asking each other either, we send him messages. At several points it took him until after the assignment's deadline to respond to any one of us, so this isn't a one off occurrence.
His version of MLA format that he expects is adjusted, but how it's adjusted is up to speculation and seems almost dependent on how he's feeling. The only thing that he actually has to grade (since everything is online - he just pointed us to do pre-programmed worksheets from the book company) are three written reports at the tail end of the semester.
The problem with those reports is that because of the unclear formatting I, and a few others, received a drop in grade with no explanation or "this isn't what I was looking for". Nevermind that we've been wondering what he's been looking for but rarely responds to anyone about anything. The same thing happened with the next assignment but I lost significantly fewer points and I have zero idea what the difference was between the two formats.
I understand that Teachers have to work incredibly hard and they are often undervalued comparatively to that, but even giving him an incredible amount of leeway I have to be honest and say that he should never have picked up this course if he wasn't actually going to teach us. Is this something that I should bring up to the school's HR? This semester has been absolute torture for all of us and it's ridiculous that anyone should be "taught" like this.
Does your institution asks for anonymous feedback from students at the end of semester?
I think this might be a problem beyond evaluation, as students seem to be treated unfairly. Try bringing this up with the department chair?
@TheDoctor They do. It just seemed so outlandish to me that this person is doing such a reprehensible job that I was considering reaching out openly. I hate to pull out the old "I'm paying for this." but it's true. I will say (and I state this afterwards because it's just occurred to me) there have been massive cuts to education lately and it may be the cause to him having to pull extra classes because of lack of educators, but then maybe my complaint will help them with that cause as well? I'm not sure.
I bold the actual question to make it more clear. But, I think this question needs more improvements. Can you take sometime to organize and shorten it to make it more answerable?
@Ben it's an explanation of a bad teacher asking if it should be brought to the attention of the school. I'll look at rephrasing or deletion as it seems to currently fall under opinion.
It's quite common for a teacher to use materials produced by someone else. Sometimes they're even required to. Also they don't always have a choice in what class they will teach. Overall from reading this it is difficult to tell if you are blowing a few slip-ups out of proportion, or really are dealing with the worst teacher ever. What specifically do you want done better? Better feedback on your grade? A chance to discuss assignments before they are due?
I would say definitely yes, do issue a complaint. Though as others have pointed out, get a group together and formalize it, so (even if correct) it does not sound like a "whiny rant". - Something I would add, is that potentially the group leader is well aware of the problem, but has no support from management to change things...
@ASimpleAlgorithm Sometimes really weird things happen if people are kept due to internal politics... - The ones who suffer are the staff that want to teach/work well and the students...
If you had done something organised in the third or fourth week things could have been changed, but leaving it until the course is complete - this can be taken as you just finding an excuse for not doing so well... Bringing up this type of issue early is much more effective for both sides...
@SolarMike I've maintained an A in the course, though just barely, and the problem is that it isn't a big enough issue within the first 4 weeks to warrant attention. The Lesson Plans are two week durations and typically the first LP is basic reading and chapter problems. I do understand your point, but there seems to be bias in the comments and answers to this question. I'm not a punk kid who screwed up his semester and hates the teacher, I'm a near 30 year old who literally has an A in all of his courses this semester, and is legitimately concerned about the lack of quality in the course.
@zfrisch my point still stands - if this had been raised earlier, then changes could have been made. How would you accept the solution of this course being cancelled and replaced so you do it again, in a new format with a new faculty member, next semester? The options are limited , at best, for you and your colleagues, but for the next incumbent there may be a possibility of change...
Not if this is the format you're going to bring your complaint in. You really need to get a group together with very clear, well documented, explicit examples of the problem behavior and bring that to the attention of the administration. You've probably got an ombudsman who would be a good first place to bring such a complaint to.
In an online class, luckily everything is pretty well "documented," except perhaps if attempted communication was by email instead of the learning management system. (This doesn't take the place of preparing a few explicit examples, but this does mean there's a lot more documentation available once someone in charge agrees to look.)
Don't make them look it up. Print it out and bring it with you.
Agree with ombudsperson as the place to start rather than HR. Figure out your top ~three complaints (maybe "incomplete syllabus", "lack of direction/rubric for assignments", "lack of feedback/response") and find 1-2 good clear examples of each to print out and bring with. Also do some thinking about what outcome you're looking for - do you just want it brought to the university's attention? Do you want a different grade or someone else to re-grade your work? Do you want a refund and the chance to retake the class?
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.137325
| 2017-05-26T17:55:24 |
90064
|
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Stack Exchange
|
How to respond positively to a scientist's rejection e-mail (PhD program)?
I am a Molecular biology post graduate from India. I enquire about PhD vacancy to various potential principal investigators (PhD supervisors) by sending my CV and cover letter. When I receive a rejection mail like mentioned below, how do I respond to the scientist? I would like to have good rapport with the lab as I aspire to join the lab later. Or should I ask any questions?
Examples of rejection e-mail:
Thank you for your interest in joining our lab. Unfortunately, I'm not looking for a phd student. Good luck
I am sorry but the lab is full
I would probably not bother to reply; the negative answer that you got seems to have to do with the fact that there are no open positions. The best you can do is to keep an eye open for PhD positions being announced in the future.
Many labs receive many such email requests every week and don't even have the time to look at them in any detail (unless, of course, you are applying to a particular advertised position, but that was obviously not the case here). The best course of action on your side is to not respond.
You should try to apply to advertised PhD programmes rather than just send uninvited CVs and covering letters to all possible labs. The chances to secure a position in this latter way are very slim, IMHO.
These are per se not mails that require any response. Most likely, the matter is finished for the scientist. The most I would write back is
Thank you for the information.
Sincerely, Ak2817
If you wish to stay on the "good side" I would definitely not respond with further questions or inquiries at this point.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.137498
| 2013-08-08T13:15:09 |
11749
|
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Stack Exchange
|
Easy going advisor versus expert advisor and research experience
I am fortunate to have a very nice, easy-going advisor (the last because I have seen some horrible PhD advisors). He respects me and my work (I did my master degree under his guidance). Then, I went to another university and returned to him again last year. I am a first year PhD student now. However, I have some issues regarding my research.
First, my advisor does not know much about my area even though he's encouraging me to pursue on it. To make it clear, I can't consult him in my specific area (I do consult him on other things though).
Second, he's not aiming high (top conferences) on publications. He mainly publishes on mid/ lower mid conferences and happy with that.
On the other hand, I have met a professor who is a big name, expert in my area, affiliated with a top university and my work is highly influenced by his research. He also seems to have a very nice personality (I have chatted with his students). I met him several time on different occasions. and he showed an interest to work together for a joint paper.
Most importantly, I believe changing university will result in a better research experience for me. In particular, I will join a lab with different enthusiastic grad students with critical guidance unlike my current situation where it is only me and my advisor.
About funding, I have external funding and will continue regardless where I am.
I am really wondering which path to take. I am addicted to what I am doing but need the guidance and research experience which I am greatly lacking with my current supervisor.
Update:
The question is: How to approach this professor for acceptance ? specially without saying anything bad about my current advisor.
It seems like the academic choice is obvious to you. To the extent to which this is a personal choice, I'm unsure strangers on the internet can help much.
@CharlesMorisset I have updated the content. Hope this will make it more clear.
@AlexBecker My main concern is what to say if he asked me why I want to work with him instead of my current advisor.
he showed an interest to work together for a joint paper. is the answer to your question. I think your true problem is how to tell your current advisor.
@scaaahu I am new to the academia culture but working together is totally different from working under his guidance. what the legitimate academic reasons I do have when sending him an email to accept me as PhD student? Obviously, *my current advisor does not know the area, your university is a top school, * are not good reasons.
@scaaahu Yes that's true but I need to email him first just to make sure he's willing to accept me.
I think saying you're interested in his research area and the school he is in without mentioning your current advisor and school would be fine. Still, I think getting the consent and the recommendation letter from your current advisor is your problem. I bet he will say yes because he is a nice guy. However, you'll have a bad feeling when you do it.
@scaahu one shouldn't feel bad for making a perfectly logical decision. There is no personal attack on the supervisor, but simply a set of very good reasons why moving institutes makes sense for seteropere professionally.
@PaulHiemstra I agree with you. Just that knowing it's the right thing to do is different from actually doing it.
Maybe you can ask your current advisor (the easy-going guy), to be your co-supervisor. This is done by many Ph.D. students and sometimes the co-supervisor is even from a university in a different country. It could be a good solution to work under the supervision of this expert in your area and at the same time maintain the collaboration with your current supervisor with whom you get on so well. That's what my supervisor suggested for my future Ph.D.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.137802
| 2018-04-22T16:25:07 |
108533
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Tenure-track reference letters: previous supervisors versus outsiders
I remember reading in The Professor Is In that the tenure-track references should be from external members, not only your past advisors/supervisors.
That book is written aimed at social sciences, maybe, so, for Computer Science, in Canada (and the US), how important is it really?
I imagine that it would not be a dealbreaker for a rockstar, and that exactly how much impact would depend on the case/institution/competition, but what can I expect the impact to be?
Are you talking about the applications for the applications for tenure-track jobs, or for the tenure conversion application?
@aeismail For the jobs, not TT->Tenure. One problem at a time :)
I think the direct idea from the book is that the reference letters could be strengthened by including at most one from a more objective person not on your committee or not at your university. Certainly the main letters would be by those knowing you best.
It's a lot harder to have non-advisors write letters for a tenure-track application in most STEM fields, largely because of the more direct connection between projects, funding, and supervision in STEM fields versus humanities fields.
In the applications I've reviewed as a hiring committee member in engineering, pretty much every letter came from either a PI or co-PI of a project the applicant worked on as either a graduate student or a postdoc. If there was a letter from an "external" member, I don't recall seeing it. However, it certainly wouldn't hurt if such letters were available, so long as it's a helpful letter of recommendation.
This isn't true in all of STEM. In (pure) math, it's typical to get "external" letters.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.137986
| 2017-12-25T14:54:21 |
101127
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Applying in Germany - how far back should the documentary evidence go?
Let's assume that some of your applications go for W2 professorship positions at the German universities of applied sciences. One of such potential employers asks the candidates to supply
Lebenslauf, belegt durch Zeugniskopien und Nachweise der beruflichen Tätigkeit [...]
(CV, supported through credential copies and evidence of occupation [...])
Let's assume you have been on a lot of academic short-term contracts and stipends since your undergraduate studies. Is it really expected that you supply all the documents (over 15 in your case)? Or are documents for the recent n years sufficient? (Yes, you asked the person in charge, and that person did not respond. Moreover, you know noone from the faculty...)
On the one hand, you may be afraid that in case of a huge number of incoming applications for the position there could be a pre-selection phase, in which some assistants would reduce the number of applications to look at by simply filtering out the applications which are not 100% conforming. Or that some committee members insist strictly on the rules.
On the other hand, properly preparing all the documents would take you 1 full working day. Reason: the documents are not in easy-to-handle formats (PNG, multi-page TIFF with different-size pages, white paper, etc.), the salary needs to be blackened, all kinds of printer issues have to be dealt with, etc. One day is a lot for you. It is unknown whether any of the next 100 potential employers would need these documents (the previous 60 did not need them), so the work you are doing might not be reusable.
@Roland It's in other formats than PDF, including pure paper. Not only some scanning of old junk is necessary but also blackening the salary (partially to meet the obligations of the former employers and partially to have a better basis for negotiations). Overall, simply preparing the documentary evidence would be 1 full working day or more for you.
@Roland Even if I work in Germany later, it can happen that I'd never ever change the employer...
@DSVA Each single action (say, purely scanning) takes minimal time. The scanner is done within 10-30 seconds per page. But scanning properly (failures do occur from time to time), organizing the scanned documents into directories and files, naming them properly such that you'd be able to find them later, blackening the salary (without adobe acrobat in linux), and printing (dealing with the tranditional issues while printing) - all that, combined, does take a lot of my time. How did you do it?
@DSVA Oh. I see. Batch-scan is possible if you both (1) have a document as separate sheets (and are not afraid to detach the sheets if it's not the case) and (2) have access to a machine that does batch-scanning. As for me, I'm afraid to unstaple the original document (since I might need to show it in its original form to someone else later), and I don't have access to a batch-scanner. As for blackening, are you not afraid to show your old salaries to the new employers? Or are they always sufficently high?
If you did not get an answer from the person in charge, I see two possibilities:
Go all in and send all documents. You have them all ready anyway (you have them, right?) and if they request it, they can have it. If you go for this option, make sure that your CV is well organized and that the whole application document is perfectly ordered as well.
Just attach the most recent ones and add something like "Complete documents can be given if needed". This may save you some time and maybe the committee will not need the documents anyway.
From my experience, these rules often sound more strict than in reality and in reality the committee often does not know the exact rules anyway. But there is always the possibility that some committee member insists on following all rules to the single letter.
Another thing: Often there are two people to ask questions about the ad: The dean and the head of the committee. You may also ask other faculty members at the institution if you happen to know somebody there.
Another remark: As a head of a search committee it is pretty normal to receive phone calls close to the application deadline, so it a question is urgent, rather call than write an email.
Thank you. I'm afraid that there could be a preselection phase, in which some assistants would reduce the number of applications to look at by simply filtering out the applications which are not 100% conforming.
I haven't heard of such a preselection process by assistants happening for such a position.
I would not bother to include any contracts that pertained to your time during your undergraduate days, either at the bachelor's or master's phases, since it essentially represents part-time work during your studies. Nor do you need to show a work contract for your doctoral phase—your diplomas and transcripts represent the needed documentation for those phases.
You do need to account for your time after your doctoral studies are complete, and for any significant period of time that elapsed between your undergraduate and graduate studies, if any. (If it's a summer, you don't need to submit anything; if it's a year or more, you should have some sort of accounting for that period. If you were working in Germany, you can request Zeugnisse from employers to confirm your applications, without having to disclose your salary and other confidential information.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.138438
| 2017-09-15T13:32:09 |
96031
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Is it immoral to read scientific articles if you find them as pdf on Google without having access to some official libraries?
I like to learn things even outside my university degree and I wonder if it is moral to read articles found online on blogs and other sources?
Then Google simply becomes the library and you would have to dig elsewhere to uncover what the library does not (want to) show you.
There's nothing morally wrong with reading blogs and most online sources, so I'm going to assume you mean published articles and books.
When it comes to journal articles and books, it depends. Many articles that are freely available online are legally published / published with the author's permission. Others are not. Obviously papers posted on the author's website, or websites like arXiv are okay, but for other listings it's a lot less clear. It's up to you to make your best judgement as to the legality and the morality of the access you have.
This also of course presumes that you think it's moral to support closed-access journals. Some people feel that closed-access journals are a bad thing and should be opposed. To those people, doing anything other than seeking out illicit versions would be morally wrong.
thanks for the answer. my question was more related to morality not necessarily legality although I think legality is also a complex issue here. But if someone did not made his article freely available maybe it is not ok to read it anyway without paying.... it is his right to make his article paid but when I want to read about something and I just search on Google I get many results and I cannot verify the source for all of them... it is really confusing. I guess it is not easy to be careful about things like this.
@yoyo_fun I did write about the morality of the action. My personal opinion is that people who publish research are contributing to a whole sum of human knowledge that it is immoral to deny people access to. If you want to be selective, go to a different field. Academic research is a public good.
I don't see how "some people feel" can remove a moral question.
I’ve reworded my last paragraph.
Note that many journals allow authors to post preprints or even the "official" full text on their websites. In such cases, there's clearly no ethical dilemma involved.
In cases where such behavior is prohibited by the journal, then there is a bit of a dilemma. The "fault" is shared, between the person who posted the infringing content and those who read it.
As I see it, the fault lies with the journal prohibiting this.
@Arno: The journals are exercising their rights under copyright law. So do we blame the people who devised copyright law? (I'd say yes, given the excesses of it right now, but that's personal opinion.)
The fault also lies with the author if they don't make it freely available. Also with congress and with Disney's lobbyists for supporting our ridiculous unconstitutional copyright regime.
@aeismail The fact that journals are legally allowed to do it doesn't make it automatically moral/ethical. Sometimes the ethical thing to do is waiving your rights, or even going against the law.
@Federico Poloni you're right, but neither does the fact that a law is morally wrong make it automatically right to go against the law. We cannot just dispense with the law because we have different moral convictions. There are many convictions in a plural society; the fact that it works regardless is not least due to there being just one Law.
@FedericoPoloni: fortunately, things move (if slowly). E.g. in my country (Germany) authors (if the work was mostly publicly funded, and after some embargo period) always retain a right for secondary publication now.
If you're talking about research papers, there is absolutely no ethical reasons why you should buy the access to them. In fact, publishers like Elsevier are taking advantage of the power they have to gain money on what's free and open : Knowledge.
Research papers are never meant to be sold but shared so the unethical part comes from publisher. If you want to find free research paper, go on Sci-Hub!
Publishers provide a service that was needed and they get money for it, I don't find that unethical. The problem is that technology is changing and at least the distribution aspect - one core service they provided - is a lot easier/cheaper to do, yet the old distribution way hasn't died out yet. The immoral part of selectively providing access to something that arguably should be public data is how we as a society "decided" to organize and finance the publishing process.
Well, here's one ethical reason: if nobody paid for journals, all the people that journals employ would lose their jobs. You can decide for yourself how big a reason you think that is, but it's certainly not no reason at all.
@David: If nobody bought cigarettes then a lot of people would lose their jobs. That this is an ethical reason for buying cigarettes sounds really screwy to me. Replace it with "crack cocaine" or "Somali pirates" if it helps. I would certainly like to claim that this is "no reason at all."
@Darkwing The unethical and immoral part of the publisher's deal is to force the authors to pass them all copyrights for their published work.
Well, there's the point that it's against the law. Maybe the law is wrong, but that doesn't automatically make it right to break it.
@henning Soocks hasn't mentioned the law. Their answer is about ethics. Whether it's ethical to break an unethical law isn't really a question for this site in my opinion.
@MJeffreys Maybe it's not a great fit for this site, but the question can't be answered without considering the legality of the action.
@DmitriZaitsev: but then, there's no law whatsoever that prevents you, me or others of founding a journal that doesn't have such practices. So IMHO, the power of the publishers is based on the lazyness of scientists. (And there are some examples where sufficiently important scientists decided to do something and actually did it.)
@cbeleites Most scientists prefer to focus on their work rather than fixing the unethical work done by publishers. I don't think it is fair to call it laziness. There is now some hope to change this impasse and everyone is welcome to help: https://gitlab.com/publishing-reform/discussion/issues
Reading things on blogs is fine, it's what blogs are for, but you shouldn't cite them, blogs are not peer reviewed. Well, maybe you can cite them as "personal communication", obviously you shouldn't plagiarise them.
There are a number of legitimate ways to get PDFs on line, for example if they were published open access (the journal or conference lets you have it for free, probably because they charged the authors or their universities already), or if the authors put a pre print online (this is entirely legal) or if the authors or someone else put the final version illegally on line.
This last, being illegal, is as such at least somewhat immoral; it is theft from those who hold the copyright. The next question is, are you culpable for reading such a PDF, or indeed obliged to figure out whether a PDF you find online was "liberated" illegally, or whether it was circulated legally? Even if you decide or know that the PDF is illegal, if you are a utilitarian of some form you might ask: is the good that would come from you reading it greater than the (probably negligible) harm you do by reading it? Of course, other forms of ethics never accept that the ends justify the means.
Thrown into the mix, it has long been legal and common practice that if you ASK an author for a copy of their paper, they will just send you an offprint. In recent decades, this is a PDF. So you might also consider starting to read a paper, deciding whether its good, and then asking for a legitimate copy that way. Or you could decide the good you would do by asking he author is outweighed by the time you would cost the author, and keep on reading the PDF you already have.
As an academic, if I find out about a paper that I can't read, I both ask the author for a copy AND ask my library to buy access to the journal. That's because I think it's far more moral for publishers to charge for reading than for authoring an article, but I also think the reason I accept a low university salary is to be in a university with access to knowledge. That's another way to read articles legitimately of course – go to a library!
"but you shouldn't cite them, blogs are not peer reviewed" is a dangerous statement. Surely if the OP uses ideas presented in a blog post in their writing, they should cite them!
Thanks I've addressed that inappropriate interpretation. (But not the inevitable libertarian jerks that downvote any time I defend people getting paid for their work.)
There is the concept of open access wich many journals are starting to focus on more. There are many quality peer-reviewed papers that are open access. I think most easy way to reach those quality papers is through scholar.google.com. As far As I know when you see the PDF or HTML link in the scholar.google.com, they are open access and you can find most of the paper's abstruct there even if they are not available. If you are interested on those, you can mail to author as said above. In short, If you find open access journals, you can read them, to find legal, open access articles, you need to choose your websites carefully or you can ask for full text articles that you can't find online.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.139304
| 2016-07-13T16:13:12 |
72744
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Should I pay up the rest of my tuition?
I'm from a third world country sponsored by my government to study in Canada. I messed up my last year and my full scholarship was revoked, so I had to repeat a whole year with my own money. You won't believe how much I have to pay as an international student just for 2 semesters.
Fast forward, after I graduated and a couple month of unemployment, I manage to land a good job in my country with my audit (transcript and diploma held by the uni until I fully pay tuition fees). But the tuition fees are still a lot due to the conversion rate.
So now, I don't know what should I do. They (the university) will throw away my cert and transcript in one year. Should I pay up the fees which I had to take loan at my country bank when I could use it to buy property?
I know it is immoral to not pay debt but when you are in third world country, immoral is least my concern. I might even fake my certificate just in case I want to change jobs, which is unlikely.
Do you really want to mess up again? Apparently you did not learn the first time.
IT doesn't make sense for the university to destroy your transcripts if you don't pay. Destroying the transcripts removes all reason to pay because w/o transcripts to get there is no reason to give them the money.
You can't seriously be asking to be put at ease to not pay fees due (additionally, to who might be the employer of some members of this site), or to counterfeit your diploma. Given the tone of your question, I assume you might be trolling; but if not, the answer is:
Yes, you should pay up the rest of your tuition.
No, you should not fake your diploma.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.139484
| 2018-07-28T16:20:18 |
114378
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Admission for MS/Phd in Computer Science after BE/BTech from India
Should I go for MS/Phd CS (Masters en route to Phd) in USA? I'm very Passionate about research in my field. But I have very little to no research experience. But have done internship in my field of area. But I'm average in my academics. rest of the requirement I can satisfy like SOPs and Recommendation letter. also my Gre score is 324. should I apply?
If you don't apply, you don't get accepted. But you know that already.
I don't know how to evaluate your undergraduate education, nor should you ask this site for an evaluation. But it will be evaluated by any school you apply to. The analysis (breakdown) of your GRE will also depend on the field you are in, in this case CS. Lack of research may not be an issue for an entering MS student, but that depends, like everything on the institution.
Being just "average" in your academics doesn't sound like a plus. However if the entire institution is very rigorous, then that needs to be taken into consideration. Being average among the world's ten best scholars is not so bad.
Your acceptance, however, will depend on more than numbers. The competition for admission is steep so be able to explain in any application what is unique in your background that makes your future success likely.
You can do a quick evaluation of your own, by comparing your own course of study with what you find typically in undergraduate CS programs in the US. If the courses are about the same and you did well you will likely get consideration. But if the courses are vastly different, you will, again, have to show how and why you are qualified. Make your own case.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.139646
| 2018-08-25T12:55:05 |
115825
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Does Arxiv count as publication?
I am an undergraduate student graduating next month. I wrote a research paper done by myself, but it's been rejected by two journals sofar so I haven't been able to publish it.
I am applying for scholarships and having a published paper would improve my chances.
If i upload my paper in arxiv, is it considered as published paper? can i write it in my cv as published paper and what is the most suitable way to write it *in my cv?
Thank you!
@NajibIdrissi then should i just let it and take it to bookshelf for ever? Is there any place to put "a rejected paper" or a place to collect a bunch of rejected paper?
Not an answer to your question, but if the paper has been rejected twice you need to know why before you decide if you want to make it part of a permanent public archive. If you have not gotten useful feedback from the journals then you probably want to find your own reviewer—a person with solid domain knowledge who and experience in writing published papers but not affiliated with the work who would be willing to read it and give you an honest enumeration of it's weaknesses.
No, it's not considered a published paper in the usual sense of peer-reviewed publications. ArXiv is meant as a preprint server where you upload preprint versions (essentially polished draft versions) to quickly disseminate your research, before submitting it to a scholarly journal where the paper undergoes peer review. Only after the paper has been peer-reviewed and published by the journal do you have a "real" publication. (Depending on your agreement with the journal, it's then possible to update the arXiv listing to reflect revisions made to the manuscript during the publication process.)
It's still appropriate to list such preprints on your CV - especially early on in a career, when you might have few peer-reviewed publications. This is fine as long as it's made clear that these are preprints, or manuscripts under review or similar.
This. It goes on you "List of Publications", but you don't refer to the paper as "published".
I would say it does count as a publication if you need to reference it in your own work/papers. So if you publish a result you can reference this ArXiV paper.
However, it does not count as a peer-review publication in the sense that it does not "add" points/credit to your cv.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.139899
| 2021-03-11T11:00:50 |
163695
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Can we add articles downloaded from Sci-Hub to a meta-analysis study?
Is it safe and legal to add articles downloaded from Sci-Hub to a meta-analysis study(unpublished)? Will it make any difference? Are there any consequences?
Are you intending a meta-analysis of Sci-Hub itself?
Based on the answers so far, you may need to clarify whether you discovered papers by searching SciHub, or just used it to access articles discovered in a structured search elsewhere. Many meta-studies use structured searches on sites like PubMed that often direct you offsite to access the full text of an article. A reviewer won't know (or ask) if it was accessed via SciHub or an institutional subscription service. But if you're searching SciHub and discovering articles there, you would report that in your study, and the legality/safety of using it would depend on the materials accessed.
I greatly appreciate your reply!
If the study is done from home (due to COVID) hence, unable to get institutional access and 2. If a structured search is done in popular databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, etc., but unable to find a few open access articles, 3. if there's a narrow deadline; what is the best way to find full-text articles, to include in a meta-analysis study?
If you disclose that you downloaded it from Sci-Hub, one cannot rule out that you will suffer legal consequences one day (alongside, perhaps, social punishments based on moral grounds). But given the almost non-existence of a legal enforcement against the individual use of this 'pirate', I find it unlikely.
To be on the safe side, you should simply not disclose the source from which you downloaded that publication. Mention it, discuss it, cite it, but do so without telling the reader how you acquired the PDF. This would be too much detail anyway.
(Yes, a meta-analysis would do good to disclose how it came to include certain studies, but it does not have to tell the reader in minute detail how you downloaded each study's PDF.)
On a fundamental level, science is (needs to be) reproducible. Obscuring how one acquired one's data makes it difficult for others to reproduce one's work, not to mention raises questions about how reliable the data is in the first place. -1
Hiding things seems to me to have ethical implications. Not disclosing things, for example.
@Allure How often do you encounter manuscripts mentioning how and where they accessed a given cited article? Excepting citations to rare historical manuscripts I find it incredibly rare to mention anything beyond what's contained in a standard citation. Do you also object to such citations, which generally say nothing abut which online repository or physical library was used to access a given article? I agree it's preferable to use an official source, in order to guarantee one's research is based on the official version of record, but that's a somewhat different matter to obfuscation.
@Allure In light of MikeyC's comment to the question, I should clarify that I assumed OP just downloaded articles from SciHub, rather than using SciHub as a search engine to identify articles to use for their metaanalysis. If SciHub is part of the methodology that should certainly be disclosed.
@Anyon I assumed the opposite side of MikeyC's comment, pretty much.
One use of Sci-Hub is just laziness. There is a lot of stuff there that was put there illegally, but most of that stuff is also available from ethical sources. An academic librarian, for example, can get access to an enormous amount of stuff perfectly within copyright law. Perhaps it isn't so convenient, but no one will, at any time, question your ethics.
Some things can even be provided by their authors and/or publishers if it supports research.
There may be some expense, but grants can cover such things. Better, I think that you use only things ethically obtained.
Getting proper access also makes the question about reproducibility moot.
If I understand it correctly, some of the stuff on Sci-Hub was uploaded by authors perfectly legally and without copyright restriction. For such things, the source is immaterial.
People may have legal objections against Sci-Hub. But ethical? Really?
@Maeher, sorry, I don't understand. Are you suggesting use of Sci-Hub in general, is ethical? The legality is pretty much settled, I think.
@Libor, if you want a change then work for an ethical solution. First, find a way to finance the publishing system in a way that doesn't disadvantage people. The system we have isn't perfect, but nothing seems to be replacing it. Piracy is not the answer. But I expected this to be a downvote magnet. That doesn't make it wrong. But it does bring out the folks who don't much care about ethics. Or are willing to compromise themselves when convenient.
@Buffy Of course the use of Sci-Hub is ethical.
@Maeher, how about buying stolen televisions in a back alley? Same? You make no argument. The statement alone is just lazy.
@Libor I should hope you're not under the impression that subscription journals don't give out copious discounts to "Anyone who doesn't live in the US and have a grant".
@Buffy You are the one making the claim that something completely benign is unethical. The burden of proof for that extraordinary claim is on you. No party is hurt by the use of Sci-Hub, so what is your argument that it's use is in any way unethical?
@Maeher what do you mean it's completely benign? It breaks copyright law. You can't claim no party is hurt, since the copyright holder is hurt. Even if there really is nobody hurt, there are other things which hurt nobody that is nonetheless criminalized, e.g. incest.
@Allure You're confusing legality with ethics. Being illegal does not imply being unethical. And no, the copyright holder is not hurt. The author (who still hold the moral rights in my jurisdiction) still gets nothing. The publisher would not get a single cent more if any of the legal alternatives described here were used. Just because something beaches copyright does not mean damages actually occur. The only way the publisher could make any additional money would be if a person is clueless enough to buy the individual paper. And such a person wouldn't know about Sci-Hub to begin with.
@Maeher Two things. First, some people (like me) consider what is legal to be ethical, and what is illegal to be unethical. Second, if you truly believe the copyright holder is not hurt by piracy, you would also believe that copyright law is unnecessary. The fact that Pirate Parties worldwide have failed to be elected is a sign that that is a minority position.
@Allure that is an .... odd stance to take, considering how much laws differ between different jurisdictions, whereas ethics should largely remain the same. It's certainly not a mainstream view among jurists and I'm sure ethicists would strongly object. And no, it does not imply that copyright law is unnecessary (my own views on that are irrelevant). "Piracy" can cause actual financial damages, but in this specific case it does not.
@Maeher ethics should largely remain the same it doesn't in my view, and ethics vary by jurisdiction. You have probably heard of examples, e.g. whether it is ethical to breastfeed in public. As for the economic argument from piracy, that is a complicated topic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_infringement#Economic_impact_of_copyright_infringement) so I will need evidence to believe that "in this specific case it does not".
As I've made my point clear, I will leave this pointless discussion here. Suffice to say that your views on ethics vs law are really "out there".
@Maeher or so you say. Do you have any statistics to back that up? You've already claimed in this specific case piracy does not cause financial damages, which is likely problematic by the way. For example, the reader could request the document from their library, which notes that the journal is in demand and therefore decides to subscribe to it. Are you aware libraries track denial statistics closely?
No.
Yet Sci-Hub has drawbacks for text-mining research, Hart-Davidson says. The pirated papers are in unstructured PDF format, which is hard for programs to parse. But the bigger issue, he says, is that the data source is illegal. “How are you going to publish your work?” Then again, having a massive private repository of papers does allow a researcher to rapidly test hypotheses before bothering with libraries at all. And it's all just a click away.
Source
This may be a bit too strong. Not everything at Sci-Hub was uploaded illegally, breaking copyright. I think the site itself has an ethical issue, but not every person using it does if they take responsibility.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.140561
| 2022-03-04T12:05:32 |
182969
|
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Stack Exchange
|
how would you consider an offer of 8000 shekels (2460 USD) in Israel for a postdoc position?
Hi, how would you consider an offer of around 8000 shekels (ca 2400 Euros or 2460 US Dollars) in Israel for a postdoc position?
A bit of context: it would be a 3rd postdoc, applicant's age 36 yo, with international experience (4 countries), including R&D in multinational corporations and a second master degree (I mean in addition to bachelor, master and PhD).
Note 1: the first offer was around 6,100 shekels per month. Then, it became around 8,000 shekels per month.
Note 2: According to the website Glassdoor, the average monthly salary of a PhD student in Israel is 8,047 shekels per month (Ref.1) , while the average monthly salary of a postdoc is 10,489 shekels per month (Ref.2).
Note 3: From April 2022, the minimum monthly wage in Israel would be 5,400 shekels per month (Ref.3), while the average monthly salary for Israel would be 11,667 shekels per month (Ref.4) (in September 2021).
EDIT --> Note 4: As far as I understood, the contract would be for a trial period (up to 6 months), and, based on achievements/performance, the contract would be extended to "several years" (and I guess still as postdoc, but just my guess)..
Any thought is very welcome!
References:
(Ref.1):
https://www.glassdoor.it/Salaries/israel-phd-student-salary-SRCH_IL.0,6_IN119_KO7,18.htm?countryRedirect=true
(Ref.2):
https://www.glassdoor.it/Salaries/israel-postdoctoral-salary-SRCH_IL.0,6_IN119_KO7,19.htm?countryRedirect=true
(Ref.3):
https://www.timesofisrael.com/minimum-wage-to-increase-gradually-to-nis-6000-by-2025/
(Ref.4):
https://www.timesofisrael.com/average-wage-in-israel-dips-slightly-as-economic-recoverycontinues/#:~:text=The%20average%20monthly%20salary%20for,from%20the%20COVID%2D19%20pandemic.
Note that 8000NIS scholarship is tax-free (while the average of 11k you state is before tax). In STEM fields, postdocs in Israel commonly get ~10,000NIS, Phd students ~8500, MS.c Students ~7000. In non-STEM fields there are less funding options and the amounts might be smaller.
@RanG. please note that it is not acceptable to use scholarships to replace working contracts, especially at the PostDoc level.
Would you please state the field?
Thanks @RanG. for your comment. However, I do not understand why you assume that 8000 NIS is (i) a scholarship and (ii) tax-free. I/we do not even know if it is a scholarship and/or tax-free. Also, in case it was a scholarship, I do not understand why it would not be a regular contract for regular worker (i.e. not a scholarship). Indeed, as far as I know, scholarships are generally for students (right?). Again, many thanks for your comment!
Thanks everyone for your comments, very interesting! @Nobody, the field would be multidisciplinary / physics
To obtain an estimate, compare your current city and salary with the potential future salary and city here: https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/
I assume it is a (tax-free) scholarship, because this is the most common method for paying a student/postdoc in Israel. 99% of the students/postdoc positions are paid that way. But certainly, you should verify this with your host, maybe their funds are of the 1%. Last, it is tax-free by Israeli laws. However, if your own citizenship imposes other rules and there is no tax-treaty, then things might be different for you.
This seems like an awful offer, but it really depends on your personal circumstances. The pay is very low and the contract duration is very short. I was paid more as a first year PhD student, and that's a long time ago.
@RanG. Thank you for commenting... Talking to some Israeli friends I understood that there are not many fundings in Israel for research and this is the reason why many people end up in doing research abroad.... However, I still think, but maybe someone will make me change idea, that offering, as initial offer an amount very close to the minimum wage (i.e. 6100 shekels per month), and around 2000 shekels less than the average PhD salary is not fair
@AnonymousPhysicist thanks a lot for your comment.... Looks like you did the PhD in Israel... If yes, it is very relieving to see that someone who did the PhD there could confirm that such offered salary (6,100 shekels per month first and 8,000 shekels per month after) would be similar or even less than for a PhD student.... This is unbelievable
an offer of around 8000 shekels
average monthly salary for Israel would be 11,667 shekels per month
If the average salary is a realistic value, I think it is a very good offer, if and only if one of these two conditions is true:
it allows you to get an unlimited visa for working in Israel and in the following 2-3 months you find an average position with an average salary
accepting the position you are guaranteed you will have a professorship or at least permanent employment afterwards (and you are 100% sure you would accept such a professorship/permanent contract).
Otherwise it is just exploitation: you are doing independent research work as a PostDoc and you are paid less than the average worker in a country? That's despicable, such behavior should not be promoted nor accepted and it should be called out. Please name at least the field and the University.
You are doing your 3rd PostDoc, probably in a 3rd different country: what are your motivations? what is your plan A? what is your plan B?
I am a hard time understanding what you are saying in this answer. What makes you think there would be a guarantee of a professorship afterwards??
@xLeitix In short: I am only saying this offer is appalling, even more considering the first offer was around 6,100 shekels per month, unless there are future benefits attached. I am in no way thinking there is a guarantee of professorship afterwards, but it may be the case as such kind of offer is(was) possible in other countries.
Hmm, ok. It seems to me if there were substantial additional benefits to the position OP would have probably mentioned them, but I retract my downvote.
Hello @EarlGrey, thanks for your comments!
Please see my "EDIT --> Note 4" about future perspectives.. The contract would be for a trial period (max 6 months) and, based on the achievements, the contract would be extended for "several years" (not specified)....
@EarlGrey: About your first point: I do not know if there will be an "unlimited visa for working in Israel", and I do not know if "in the following 2-3 months you find an average position with an average salary". As far as I remember, none talked about possible changes in the salary for the postdoc after the trial period.
@EarlGrey: about your second point: As far as I remember, none talked about a possible professorship after the trial period (up to 6 months)... only about a contract for "several years"...
About "you are doing independent research work as a PostDoc and you are paid less than the average worker in a country?", I can say what I found on internet, the same references I posted, i.e. the offer would be around 8,000 shekels per month, the average monthly salary for Israel would be 11,667 shekels per month. But also, I would remind you that the first offer was around 6,100 shekels per month, i.e. almost 1/2 of the average monthly salary for Israel (11,667 shekels per month), and not that far from the minimum monthly wage in Israel (5,400 shekels per month).
@EarlGrey: About "You are doing your 3rd PostDoc, probably in a 3rd different country: what are your motivations? what is your plan A? what is your plan B?"... I would prefer not to comment in this regard... but thanks for asking! :)
@EarlGrey: In addition, an offer around 8,000 shekels per month would be, according to Glassdoors, the average monthly salary of a PhD student in Israel is 8,047 shekels per month (Ref.1). Therefore, does this offer look like for a PhD student instead of an offer for a 3rd postdoc worker?
@limone Regarding salary increase: what i meant is that you can take that offer, start working in Israel and then get out of the academia and find a better salary (and another job). That is connected to my question about your motivations: if you plan to stay in the academia, in general it is a good idea to apply for your own fundings, especially after PhDs, to show you can be a research manager (professors are unfortunately required to be manager, too), if you enjoy research ... it is time to look for a research position, either in research industry or in a research public body.
@limone it is up to you, we cannot decide for yourself if working (underpaid) several years as a postdoc is meaningful or not. It maybe the best option you aim for, the only one or whatever. Purely money-wise, it is a bad offer unless you get one of the two benefits I listed in the answer.
Given the state of the world, this is very likely OP's plan B. Plan A is "PANIC!!!1".
@Lodinn Given the state of the World (nuclear power occupying foreign land) I really hope this is plan Z ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_occupation_of_the_West_Bank#:~:text=The%20Israeli%20occupation%20of%20the,continues%20to%20the%20present%20day.
"I am only saying this offer is appalling" You should edit the answer so it actually says that.
I agree with @AnonymousPhysicist.... I accepted the answer, but it is not extremely clear...@EarlGray: I mean, you wrote "I think it is a very good offer, if and only if" and then "I am only saying this offer is appalling"...... Please just state clearly if the offer is very good or very bad (looks like you want to say "it is very bad", except in case that two conditions can be met...but still it remains a bad offer, or something like that, right or wrong ?)
@AnonymousPhysicist "it is a very good offer, if and only if [...] Otherwise it is just exploitation" I cannot be clearer than this.
@EarlGrey Yes you can. For example, replace the sentence with "This offer is exploitation unless one of these conditions is true:"
@AnonymousPhysicist thanks!
EarlGrey I agree with @AnonymousPhysicist here. You can certainly be clearer. Starting an answer with a sentence that contains "this is a very good offer" simply does not communicate "this is bad offer", even if you add a lot of unrealistic conditions to it. Why not write "This is a terrible offer unless the (highly unlikely) following things are true:"?
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.141336
| 2023-02-09T06:30:52 |
193340
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Becoming good at writing papers without being overwhelmed?
After a career in the industry, I started to work in research as a graduate student/research assistant, and I am learning to adjust my working and thinking style. That process is a little painful, but I also enjoy broadening my perspective.
I am genuinely thankful to work in a great team with bright and friendly people. Everyone is younger than me, including the Head of the department. I can imagine writing a dissertation someday if I find an interesting topic.
The thing that puzzles me most is the process of writing papers. My Head of the department and two colleagues that have more experience seem to be especially good at it. While I seem to be good (or very good? I get good feedback.) at writing sections of papers that I get assigned, the initial idea-finding and structuring work elude me completely. I listen to these guys talking about paper structures on topics I am familiar with, and it is as if they speak in another language. So I decided to play on "easy mode" and structure a paper that I had planned to be the lead author on in the classical approach, following the steps:
This is the problem.
This is how I show it's a problem.
This is how I solve the problem.
This is how I show that I solved the problem.
And be done with it. So I called a meeting with my colleagues and the Head of the department and presented it (poorly). In the same session, my experienced colleague presented his paper idea and had already picked a conference with a date and deadline and a Call for Papers. And not only that. The Head of the department went off and looked for stories to tell around my topic and how to use it in connection with historical data that we got and how that would distinguish us in the eyes of reviewers and that it would be best to present practical, applicable research results to go with it. Now he is much better at this game than I (and everyone else in the room), and his advice is excellent. But I also feel pretty overwhelmed and discouraged. I intended to keep it simple and not overextend myself on my first try, and he raised the bar and expectations by a factor of three. I bet he didn't even notice because it comes to him as quickly as breathing.
My wife, who is also a professor, says I should not give up and not be discouraged.
So I want to know:
How do I learn that way of thinking?
What are the questions I need to ask myself?
Are there checklists or so online?
How can I avoid burning out on my first paper?
What do I miss?
Please try to boil it down to one single question, as otherwise the question will be closed due to being too broad.
Does this answer your question? Are there resources for learning how to write a scientific paper?
"We excel at what we repeatedly do." (Aristotle) Your concern is like someone who picks up basketball and happens to be neighbors with Michael Jordan who shows him tricks, and gets discouraged by Jordan always beating him in pickup games they also have.,
@Sursula, I can limit it down after having distilled the useful (for me) stuff from the other link you posted. give me a little time, please. :-)
Also look at "The sense of style" by Steven Pinker, I found it useful for getting a feeling of how to think about writing papers
Your story suggests you need to become better at storytelling. That suggests you go read stories. So pick some novelist you like and some popular creative nonfiction writer you like and read their work. Also, read Eco's How to write a thesis (or however the title is translated into your language), not so much because any of the practical advice helps but because it's good (i.e. entertaining) storytelling on a familiar topic.
Actually your "easy mode" steps look pretty good. Maybe what happened shows in the first place that you did a pretty good job, giving the others the idea that there is much potential in your work. No reason to feel discouraged there, rather encouraged.
There Are Only Two Good Ways To Learn To Write Research Papers
1. Read Research Papers
If your current path requires publications or original research, you have to be reading academic/research papers anyway. When you do, pay attention to how they are written. They have structure associated with them, and they really don't vary all that much.
When it comes time to write something up, you will have a venue in mind, so go read (or at least skim) some of the recent papers from that venue. Read them specifically for how they are organized and structured.
2. Write Research Papers
The only way to truly get good at something is to do it. But there are built in guard rails in most academic settings to prevent you from writing your first paper "blind."
One will be the publishing guidelines of whatever venue you select. Much of this will be devoted to minutiae that you're really not worried about right now-- margin spacing, fonts, captioning of diagrams, etc. But in my discipline, those documents are usually structured like the academic papers themselves. I've been known to use them as templates.
Another will be writing workshops or perhaps even full fledged writing courses given by your university. Depending on your prior writing experience (or lack) these can be very helpful.
Finally, it's not reasonable to expect a starting graduate student to produce a flawless research paper, as the sole author, the first time. That can happen, but that is not the expectation. My cohort of graduate students generally co-wrote our first papers with our advisors in some form or another, even if it is just "Student writes draft, advisor gives feedback, lather, rinse, repeat." This is part of what you are learning.
By the end of your program, you should be much more accomplished at this, and need minimal guidance. But at the beginning, yes, it can seem daunting.
Throughout the course of my Ph.D., I've been collecting resources, books, articles and videos on improving academic writing. I collected links to all of them in this Notion page.
All of these have helped me enormously. Not only in improving my writing, but also in gaining clarity of thinking, and in developing research ideas. It has been a long journey, but with enough time dedicated to writing regularly, drafting, and editing, you will improve. ...and you might even find that academic writing is enjoyable! Good luck!
My papers have a specific structure; i.e., I think of writing a paper as filling in a 'form'. Consequently, writing a paper becomes easy because its organization is given. For each section and its corresponding paragraphs, I know exactly what type of information to gather and also their flow. All I have to decide is which information or arguments or facts to use for each section and paragraph.
For me, the structure is one of the challenges. How do you find yours?
@AndreasSchuldei After many years of trial and errors, and looking at what other people do, and learning from reviewer comments. Also, have a look at academic writing or tips. There are many resources on the Internet.
There is a good deal of literature to suggest that to be able to write good academic papers one needs to master multiple skills. The good news is that the skills are both identifiable, separable, and learnable. I have found that it has been helpful to have a guide to the various skills involved, and also helpful to have a way of practising the skills individually rather than trying to master all of them simultaneously. By identifying and separating the various skills, I have found the process of writing much less overwhelming than I used to, although I would hardly claim to be an expert.
I wish that I could claim to be the originator of the ideas in the previous paragraph, but in fact I have learned them by first discovering (in my university library), and then obtaining, a copy of the book "Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks: A Guide to Academic Publishing Success" by Wendy Laura Belcher (ISBN:<PHONE_NUMBER>918), and by working steadily through the book not just once, but several times.
I commend the book to you.
Thank you for addressing the topic of being overwhelmed. Reading through the material suggested in the other posts (and linked from the comments and answers in this post) seems to be an underestimated part of the learning process.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.141977
| 2023-03-02T08:02:20 |
193946
|
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Stack Exchange
|
Second MSc degree after a PhD
I hold a MSc degree from a small university and had planned for a second MSc degree from a highly-ranked university.
I am now uncertain about my plans since I have received a PhD offer from a top university and I am wondering whether pursuing a second MSc is necessary for securing good postdoctoral opportunities or not.
To make my question clear: If I apply for a postdoc after successfully completing my PhD, will my application be assessed based on my performance during my PhD studies, or will my MSc be taken into consideration as well?
Regarding an ambiguity in your question, would the second MSc degree be something obtained after completion of the Ph.D. you currently have an acceptance offer to, or something obtained before accepting any Ph.D. offers? In any event, it seems silly to me to pursue another MSc degree (presumably in the same field, although this too probably should be clarified, which in fact could give the appearance that you didn't learn the material the first time) if you feel capable of successfully completing a Ph.D. at a "top university". (continued)
So I suppose the real question is, do you feel that you are very, very seriously incapable at this time of completing a Ph.D. at the university you received an offer from? If so, it would also mean -- which seems very unlikely to me -- that they seriously misjudged your background and potential when you applied for the Ph.D.
A month ago, I received an admission letter for an MSc program. However, this week I received an offer to pursue a PhD. Now, I am considering whether it would be beneficial for me to undertake the MSc program part-time while pursuing my PhD studies.
Are the fields of the second MSc and the PhD program the same? or different?
Not same, but some how close to each other
To make my question clear: If I apply for a postdoc after successfully completing my PhD, will my application be assessed based on my performance during my PhD studies, or will my MSc be taken into consideration as well?
Related: https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19424/is-getting-a-second-masters-frowned-upon
All the time you spend on doing that second master is time you cannot spend on something else, like publishing an article. If I were hiring a postdoc and I saw you with the second master and you with an extra publication, then I would be more impressed by the extra publication than by the second master. So my advice would be to not do the second master, and instead use that time to be good at your PhD.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.142176
| 2018-05-28T03:13:11 |
110411
|
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Stack Exchange
|
Current state of French mathematics school
France has a very strong reputation historicaly in mathematics, and many famous mathematicians studied in their top universities. But is it still the case? I am particularely interested in the current state of their top graduate programs. How do they compare to top programs in the US/UK? In your opinion, is France an atractive and competitive option for graduate math school? I have read very mixed opinions about this and rankings are very inconsistent with French universities. For example in Shangai ranking in mathematics, Marie Curie is in top 3, while in other ones using a different methodology it is not in the top 40.
Not exactly the same, but I did my PhD there in computer science, and every professor I talked to had an impressive grasp of the math/theory part of it. Even people that worked in non-math parts of CS. It's rather impressive...
I agree with @NajibIdrissi. One should also notice that all those Fields medallists studied in Paris. So Paris is a top place in maths, other parts of France maybe less so.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.142306
| 2020-11-15T04:39:36 |
158842
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Is it possible to apply to a masters program without letters of recommendation?
I've been out of undergraduate for several years and am applying to graduate school. However, I'm hung up on how to obtain the required letters of recommendation.
While I did exceptionally well in undergraduate, I am pretty introverted and I graduated awhile ago. I didn't cultivate deep, long-lasting relationships with any of my professors.
Since graduation, I have worked exclusively with individuals who speak minimal English and come from cultures where letters of recommendation do not exist besides, and with people who are living with extreme mental disabilities. In both of these professions, I have been my own supervisor.
Frankly, I am feeling very up the creek without a paddle. I don't know where I would be able to get one letter, let alone multiple. Is it possible to apply for graduate school without letters of recommendation? How do you go about compensating for this?
Please ask only one question per post.
How many is several?
This varies across countrires. E.g. in Germany, I'm not aware that any letters of recomendation are involved. Your Bachelor grades must be sufficiently good and that's pretty much it.
If it is within a few years, you may be able to contact prior professors that you feel may remember you.
Otherwise, if you do not think that you can produce letters of recommendations, then I recommend you contact potential graduate schools. In fact, I believe that you should always contact potential graduate schools BEFORE applying (no matter the circumstances.) This helps you understand what they expect, prepare for potential problems, and ask any questions that you may have.
In your case, they will be able to talk with you on how to “compensate” (as you called it) for your lack of letters of recommendations. I do not know what country you are applying in, but I know that in my country (America) there are admissions counselors per each school you are applying to (for instance, religious studies admissions counselor for somebody who is majoring in Southeast Asian Religions.) If that is the case with you, then make sure you contact the school rather than the university directly to get the best possible answer.
Every school, let alone university, operates differently, and there are some schools where it may be a nonstarter to apply and then there are others that you may be able to get a waiver and/or a probation easily. Honestly and again, your best bet is to contact potential graduate schools directly.
You might get lucky if you look for them, but most programs will want recommenders who can speak to your abilities, and be able to overshadow shortcomings such as low GPA, etc. Not having recommenders is going to be a serious issue, even if you do find a program that doesn't require these recommendations, especially if you have a low GPA or some extenuating circumstance that would need to be explained.
If you are thinking of professors from who you would want letters of recommendation from, why not just ask them to start with?
These questions might also be of use: https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/20323/if-i-cannot-get-sufficient-recommendation-letters-what-can-i-do?rq=1 https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/23485/3-4-years-since-i-graduated-how-should-i-time-asking-for-recommendations
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.142923
| 2023-02-02T08:45:03 |
193118
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Can one host professor take multiple JSPS fellows?
Almost 2.5 months ago, I approached a professor in Japan to be my host supervisor for JSPS fellowship. I also sent him my research proposal and he asked me to do some correction.
In the mean time, I got busy with multiple other works (research paper writing, examinations etc) and therefore it is taking almost 2 months to give him my updated proposal.
My questions are,
1.Is it normal to contact host after such a long time?
2.If he has already decided to host someone else already (due to my delay), is there still scope for him to host another JSPS fellow (i.e. me ?)
Firstly, it is important to understand that there are 2 categories of JSPS Postdoc: one for Japanese applicants and another for foreign applicants.
UPDATE: The previous text was incorrect: according to last year's FAQ posted on JSPS site, it says there is only a limit in terms of simultaneous applications by one host researcher, but there is no limit to the number of Postdocs that a researcher can host:
Q2002: If I, as a host researcher, am already hosting a fellow, may I
also apply to host another fellow? A: Yes, you may. There is no limit
placed on the number of individual fellows that a researcher may host.
However, the hosting of multiple fellows should be done in a way that
is not disruptive to the hosting system. As many researchers must be
supported under the program with limited financial resources, limits
are placed on the number of applications that may be submitted at one
time. Please check the Application Guideline in advance.
Nevertheless, this fact does not have a significant effect on the rest of my answer: just because a professor is allowed to receive multiple people does not mean that they will necessarily accept anybody. Some professors may decide that they only have time, resources and patience to accept one single person, or even no one at all.
In fact, I know one case where a professor had already accepted one JSPS applicant, and refused to accept anyone else from a different category, unless the applicant was strongly recommended by some trusted fellow colleague.
To be blunt, you should not have taken so long to reply. At the very least, within the first month you should have sent a short email to apologize for the delay, and give an approximate timeframe for submitting the revisions. By waiting so long, you are at risk of sending a strong message to the professor that you have given up, or that you are not taking the JSPS application very seriously, or that you have moved on to something else. Just because the professor has discussed the proposal with you in the past, this does not give you any excuse to neglect your duty to keep him informed about your situation. In any case, you should urgently contact the professor, give a sincere apology for the delay, and ask if he is still able to accept you as an applicant.
The only person who can confirm whether you can still be accepted as an applicant is the host professor, so you should contact the person as soon as possible.
I don't understand. If a fellowship can last for more than one year (can it?) then, can a professor add up to two new researchers each cycle or only maintain two at a time?
Thanks for bringing this up, my original answer was based on what Japanese professors had told me years ago, but it seems that at some point the rules have changed. My apologies for the incorrect info.
Makes more sense now, thanks.
Thank you for your response, it helped a lot. Yes, I am trying to send him the updated proposal as soon as possible
The other answer is not correct, the JSPS application guidelines explicitly say that
Each applicant (host researcher) may submit up to three applications. However, if an applicant submits more than one application, s/he should assign them a priority order.
This answer seems to be about applicants. The question is about (host) professors. Clarify?
@Buffy It appears JSPS uses the terms "applicants" for "host researchers" and "candidates" for "invited overseas researchers". The link also clarifies that "Applications must be submitted to JSPS by a host researcher in Japan via the head of his/her university or institution.".
@Anyon, then their remains the issue of "submitting" multiple applications vs supporting more than one, especially in terms of the prioritizing requirement.
@Buffy Yeah. I also saw that the FAQ Q2002 indicates "there is no limit placed on the number of individual fellows that a researcher may host", but that the application guidelines may limit the number of applications submitted at one time. The quote given in this answer is about the rate limit.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.143350
| 2015-07-06T21:14:07 |
48394
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Is there a powerful exam template that doesn't require an engineering degree to use?
Microsoft Word is the standard product for documents in my department as far as the administration is concerned. Final exams go through a work-flow that involves department secretaries creating a standard cover page, professors providing "content", and the final product is approved by the department chair. In 2001, this was OK. Now, after having used online course systems such as Moodle with question banks, I find it really frustrating.
Word has been inadequate (for my exam preparation) for years. Here are some of the reasons:
There's no template (.dot or .dotx) file that contains the formatting information for that which is a university exam, including styles for short-answer questions, multiple-choice, essay, etc. Secretaries just send me last semester's exam, with the updated cover page, and I'm asked to update the content of my exam. I once attempted to define numbered questions in Word styles, but the Word styles have become polluted over the semesters (especially when other instructors are involved, who may or may not use Word styles properly). It's a nightmare to try to strip out the junk (especially since the cover page has some formatting styles that get introduced). Sadly, most secretaries use Word as a kind of hi-tech typewriter, and there's no separation of content from presentation. A template idea means nothing (which is a human problem).
Although there is auto-numbering for questions/pages/etc., I haven't found a way to automatically number the various question types, e.g., essay questions, multiple-choice questions along with the answers to questions, keeping them all on the same page, etc. Again, the result winds up being some hacked-up typewritten solution where one must manually re-start numbering at the proper place, etc. Moving or adding a question or answer is disruptive. I'm sure there's a clean way to do this, but I've never had the time to grok it or found the .dot/.dotx file that made it easy in Word. Customizing lists is a nightmare in Word (it has to be done with care or the numbering is all wrong). Surely someone has solved this problem for exams!
Exams are manually graded, so it's very useful to have grader zones to keep track of points when marking. The solution is to make a Word table on the cover page (or the last page) and update it for each question and its value. Again, it's a failure (to me) that in 2015 we must update these tables manually when the points/question or order of questions change. We're basically using Word as a typewriter despite the power of Microsoft. I tried in the past (2005?) to use Word variables for the point-values in questions, but short of writing a macro in VB, I wasn't able to generate a grading table automatically.
So, along comes a graduate teaching assistant who points me to the exam class in LaTeX. Awesome! It solves all of the above problems! Except, it's a LaTeX environment, and that's going to cause problems with the non-technical part of our exam workflow. Getting the secretaries (or technicians) to 1) install the proper LaTeX environment on their machines or 2) to learn to use typesetting language is going to be a barrier for several reasons. What's more, I'm pretty sure I'll get stuck maintaining the cover page for the entire university in LaTeX if I convinced them to go down that road (the post-doc who created the LaTeX style for a PhD thesis here got stuck with supporting it).
Even the more use-friendly LyX is too much, because of the complex installation in Windows. The Exam layout for LyX is far from easy to use (there are a lot of embedded LaTeX commands still necessary).
But the exam class in LaTeX is awesome -- here are just a couple of examples:
I started using Word in 1984 with 5 1/4" floppies, before a mouse was needed (it was optional). I remember thinking how cool the idea of paragraph styles was... They have existed since then. But where is the Word equivalent of the Exam class from LaTeX? Did it die when Framemaker was bought by Adobe in the 1990s?
OpenOffice has a couple of templates, but they're specific for styles of questions (e.g., Multiple-choice template, Essay template).
What powerful exam template do you use that's secretary-friendly?
Word processing programs just do not have a document class concept. The best way to make them work like LaTeX is to turn them into LaTeX.
What do the secretaries do? Is it fixed content (subject/year), or may it change from time to time?
@davidmh Secretaries check grammar and general readability. They verify %, total points, and update the cover page with the numbers of questions and total pages. They will add date, time for final or midterm exams.
As far as I know, my department doesn't provide secretarial help for preparing exams (except possibly in huge multi-section courses, but probably not even there). I prepare my own exams in LaTeX, without even the benefit of template (except for copying last semester's exam and deleting all the content). It works for me; maybe it would work for you.
Final exams go through a work-flow that involves department secretaries creating a standard cover page, professors providing "content", and the final product is approved by the department chair. — [shudder]
@AndreasBlass it's not so much "help" as it is work-flow. Once a secretary has received approval for the content of an exam, she validates the format, cover page, etc. She sends it to a repro service and then to the proctoring service (who take care of verifying student ids, etc.). We actually have to prepare finals like 3 weeks prior so all this can happen...
Can you generate the whole thing into a PDF, in LyX or LaTaX and then get the sectary to give feedback as a PDF comment then update it? Then they only need a pdf view like adobe or foxit
I think "[crappy situation]...despite the power of Microsoft" must be a typo for "...because of the power of Microsoft".
More seriously, let me just comment that I have worked in a number of departments where secretarial staff deal with LaTex documents, e.g. for exam typesetting. Of course there is the issue that it is more technical than word-processing, but if the main jobs to be done are validation etc, rather than actually typing anything, the secretary will hardly need to look at the underlying .tex file at all. For any data such as date, start time etc. that need to be entered, one can help by commenting the .tex file appropriately .
"she validates the format, cover page, etc" in LaTeX these tasks go away, because the style makes them correct. The remaining tasks (making copies, etc) can be done using the PDF output.
@potentiallydense The trouble with validation arises when the higher administration decides some new directive (about using cell phones or how many times a student can go to the toilet during the exam) must be included on the cover page, or the font size for page numbers changes, etc. In LaTeX many changes like these require expertise beyond what most secretaries are trained for.
"Microsoft Word is the standard product" <- That's your problem right there.
For LyX, I created my own, improved exam.layout (available on GitHub) that uses LaTeX's exam class and it's working well (although LyX does have its quirks).
It's documented in exam_layout_doc.lyx and a sample is included as sample_exam.lyx.
Here's an example from the cover page (based on the Exam Class samples in its documentation):
... and some questions:
Not all Exam Class features are supported, but a lot of things are doable from LyX with my layout file.
So, you want LaTeX without having to write LaTeX. The solution? Write a LaTeX code generator!
You don't seem to have many different kinds of questions, so your user can input them through a form, similar to how Google Docs works. Then, compile. Last time I tried, MikTeX was pretty straightforward to install on Windows, and it will automatically download necessary packages as needed. Another alternative is to offer it as a webserver.
Isn't LyX a LaTeX code generator? Anyway, I like the idea, but it's still only half-baked. There are more and more online LaTeX environments being made available.
LyX generates LaTeX code, but it is a lot more powerful/general that what Davidmh is suggesting.
@Fuhrmanator you need only three or four kinds of templates. The backend is just a few lines of code. To your user you don't expose a full LaTeX environment, but just an interface that lets you choose type of question (free text, multiple choice...), and a box for the text.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.144159
| 2013-03-07T15:38:27 |
8444
|
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Stack Exchange
|
Submitting the same paper to more than one conference in economics
I am aware of the post relating to this topic here. However, it doesn't say anything for the paper relating to the economics. I would be glad if seasoned econ colleagues could clear out the confusion in this regard.
Do you have a specific reason to believe the answer would be different for the field of economics?
Yes, because I didn't see any restrictions clause on the calls. However, I want to make sure whether this implies that it is ethically acceptable.
I wouldn't expect to see a restriction on the calls; they don't list all possibly types of bad behavior, with the disclaimer, "don't do this." Looking at the site in the linked question, there are a number of economics journals who are members of the organization; I would imagine that would be demonstration enough that this behavior is universally recognized as unethical.
The "duplicate"'s answer appears to say that doing this is taboo, but in Economics academia it is perfectly common practice. I just returned from a conference where I saw some of the papers presented for the third or fourth time.
If in doubt, ask the conference organizers about their policies. I have seen people give essentially the same talk at multiple conferences.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.144326
| 2013-02-26T13:22:28 |
8229
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Stack Exchange
|
What is the downside of not pursuing postdoctoral fellowship position?
Suppose after graduating from a PhD program, you don't do a post-doc. Are the chances of getting a tenure-track position severely reduced? Also is it possible to do a post-doc after a completion of a masters program (probably should be called a "post-masters")?
What will you do instead of a post-doc?
@DavidKetcheson: take a break.
is it possible to get Assistant Prof position without post-doc (i.e. right after PhD completion)?
@seteropere - It's possible, but in most cases, it's pretty unlikely.
@eykanal - It depends on the type of institution. It is extremely unlikely to get a tenure-track position at a research level institution without a postdoc, but it is considerably more likely in a lot of fields to get a tenure-track position at a primarily undergraduate institution without a postdoc. In my department we have 2 individuals who did postdocs and 5(myself included) who did not.
@BenNorris - Excellent point. These positions also make great springboards to other positions at larger universities later on, with the added benefit of more security at the outset (as compared to a typical postdoc position).
The purpose of a postdoctoral fellowship is simply to gain the skills detailed in this answer to a similar question, notably:
Get involved with obtaining funding
Build an international reputation
Start collaborating with external parties
Learn how to manage projects and a lab
Start to devise a strategic research plan
Improve your publication record
If you have all those things from your work as a graduate student, then you should have no problem finding employment and furthering your academic career immediately after you earn your PhD. Most students don't, which is why they try to find a postdoc position to help them gain these skills before attempting to run their own lab.
Currently, I believe this is a very field-dependent issue. In physics, for instance, it would not be possible to get a faculty position without a postdoc (or even two postdocs) unless you're an Einstein-level talent. In some fields, such as engineering, it may still be possible to get a position directly after a PhD—but in such cases that candidate is usually told to take a year or two, do a postdoc, and then start the faculty position.
However, I think that it is in general a very bad idea to just "take some time off" if one is planning to pursue a faculty position. Working in industry or doing something that keeps one active in research is probably OK, but a "sabbatical" that doesn't contribute toward a CV in any way will likely set off some hackles on the part of the search committee.
In computer science, postdocs are relatively rare. I believe this is true in most engineering fields.
At least in my field (ChE), nowadays all faculty candidates are expected to have a postdoc before beginning their positions. This also appears to be the case in math and physics, as well as materials science.
What people expect from a candidate for a tenure-track faculty position is the ability to guide research and to set up an independent research group. The candidate will have to prove extensive (almost) independent research experience and a research vision to last for many years. A post-doc candidate will be stronger in these requirements than someone just graduating with a PhD. It is not impossible to get a tenure-track position directly after the PhD, but I think chances are better with a post-doc.
Nevertheless, if you just graduated and there is a position announced which fits your profile, by all means apply for it. Even if you're not successful, it may give you valuable experience.
All types of faculty positions I know of have a formal PhD requirement, so usually it is not useful to skip that.
What if you are interested in teaching colleges?
@bobbby It depends on the educational system. Check the formal requirements for positions that are announced and that you would be interested in, and do what best advances you towards those. For pure teaching probably gaining more practical teaching experience will be useful.
I'll also add, that even if you are at a teaching college there is a good chance you will be involved in research at some level (primarily with undergraduates, but possibly graduates depending on your institution) if you are in a STEM field. However for a teaching college having some teaching experience is probably much more important than a post-doc. Of course it all depends on the institution.
Let us start from a different perspective. What is required to get a tenure-track position?
I would say that two things are primarily used as criteria in the selection process: number of publications and ability to secure funding. Related to the publication list is of course aspects of publications, publication rate number of citations and the impact factor of the journals in which you publish. Exactly how these aspects are weighted is varying. Note that rates are important so it is not exclusively a matter of pure numbers.
In both cases time is an aspect and obviously you will standa a better chance the more merits you can accumulate which takes time. I do not know what other possibilities might exist to get some time to improve your merits. In some cases you might be temporarily hired to do teaching. Teaching will of course also be a merit but not on the expense of research. and under such circumstances contnued research output may be a challenge. So obviously a Post-Doc should give you a head start but I would not see it as an exclusive prerequisite.
"Post-Master": Since this concept does not formally exist, I could see there being opportunities to partake in research by being a lab-assistant or something similar. Any opportunity to widen your experience and possibly getting you into the research activities, especially publishing would be beneficial fo r the future.
what if you are interested in liberal arts colleges?
@bobbby Yes think of everything in a broad sense. I do not know what typical work opportunities might exist in different disciplines and of course opportunities might be better in some than in others
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.144799
| 2012-07-12T18:45:22 |
2416
|
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Stack Exchange
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Should graduate study be done when you are not fully interested in the subject matter?
This question is somewhat broad, but this place seems like the best place to ask. I have been accepted for an information assurance program, but I am a computer science major and my main interest lies in software development. Should that deter me from deciding to study information assurance?
Another factor in the decision is that the program is through scholarships for service, so it is a 2 year program with 2 years of work in a government position for information assurance. Ultimately, I recognize it is a subjective decision. The core question I am trying to ask is, should you do graduate study even if you are only partially interested in the subject matter? In other words: how committed do you need to be to the subject matter for graduate study to be worthwhile?
On another note, we continually see news about huge networks with cybersecurity issues. Sony's Playstation network, LinkedIn, and I think I read today that Yahoo! accounts may have been compromised. With the growth of businesses and services online, it seems only natural that an adept skill-set in information assurance would be beneficial.
An unmotivated graduate student will usually be a lackluster student at best. These students will be more likely to be distracted by whatever their true interests are.
Moreover, in a program like the one you are describing, you will be making a very significant career detour. You would be advised not to make such a move unless you are absolutely sure that it's something you'll want to do for the next four years, since you will have a payback requirement. If you're not sure about it, this is the kind of move that can wreak havoc on your career—particularly if you (re-)discover your dissatisfaction after the classwork is complete, and the service period begins.
This is very good advice and reiterates what the little voice inside of me has been warning me of. I have great motivation, but not in the interests of information assurance.
Some people do further study because they are interested, indeed passionate about the topic matter. Others do it to improve their job prospects/career outlook/ultimate pay packet.
Ask yourself which category you fall into. If you are not interested, then you may not enjoy it and may not succeed unless your motivation is more financial.
I think this advice applies more to terminal/professional degrees than to research-oriented degrees. Certainly you should not join a PhD program to study a topic you don't care about.
@JeffE: Which is what the question is about.
That's the OP's specific situation, sure, but the question asks about graduate study in general.
Some students (especially graduate students)
might take a few courses for credit to see how things
go. Invariably, at a later time they can usually be
used toward a degree or transferred.
The standard to be admitted as a special student varies.
Within the Ivy League, applying as a graduate level
special student, say at Harvard University,
is competitive.
See my answer regarding this as stated on this forum
below:
https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/61120/123306
I do not think this is an answer to the question.
The very first sentence he states is important.
So I apologize if I was I was broad
To be specific, you should probably not go into anything that you are partially interested in, but that is obvious I feel
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.145092
| 2013-10-21T19:01:39 |
13579
|
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Stack Exchange
|
Is it possible to create a mutual relationship between full-time work and a PhD program?
Having experienced academia through masters, and work via part-time and full-time jobs, I plan to pursue PhD and keep working full time. However, my plan is to create a mutual relationship between work and PhD program in which research feeds work and leads new assignments, and work assignments helps research through results and my employer as well.
I am not sure about the case in the other fields, but I think this should be valid for CS people. Do you think or know whether this is possible? If so, do you know any examples of such programs or people who work in this particular way?
The other questions is how might this relationship help or hurt PhD studies?
There is already a question about possibility of working full-time and pursuing PhD simultaneously. However, this question considers working in a completely unrelated area with respect to PhD program.
There is another question that explores the possibility of working on extra activities such as start-up project while pursuing PhD.
It is not unheard of to have people work outside of an academic setting on their PhD thesis. For instance, in the US national laboratory system, there are a number of graduate students working on their PhD thesis. It's not a large number—maybe a dozen or so per laboratory—but it's not zero, either. In countries such as Germany and the Netherlands, it is also not uncommon to be employed as a PhD student in industry; however, the financing of that is somewhat unclear to me. (They may receive the equivalent of their stipend, or they may receive a "professional" salary.)
That said, I suspect it will be difficult to find an arrangement which will allow you to work full-time and receive both a graduate stipend and a full-time salary. Such arrangements would be generally frowned upon by both university and the external sponsor.
Disclaimer: This originated as a comment to @aeismail's answer but rapidly got too long and complex to warrant being an answer. It's however intended to complement his answer primarily...
I can't speak for Germany or Netherlands but in Sweden you are officially employed as a PhD, thus you do get a "professional salary" and not a stipend, albeit that salary not being on par with what you could earn out in the industry. I cannot say for sure but I have heard that it's a similar system in Germany.
The so-called "industrial PhD"s come in multiple flavours. The type I have seen most commonly are employed by a company which has a certain interest in a particular type of research. Basically by establishing a collaboration with a research group in a nearby university where there might be more resources (time, instruments and most of expertise) they send this student to do a PhD "in-between" the two organisations, figuratively speaking. It's usually a beneficial position for all parties involved, at least on paper, since;
the company gets the research done, with near-minimal costs.
the research groups gets a grad student that is practically free
and the student gets well-paid (often better than her colleagues in the research group) and usually gets better deals through her arrangement with the company in question.
Another way the industrial research might work is, if the company in question decides to have the necessary resources to conduct research in-house. Then you are practically working as a regular employee, you just get to do R&D and publish your results (usually after being filtered to a level which your company is content with).
Finally, about keeping a full-time job and a full-time PhD position at the same time, if you do pursue such a course, make sure you double check your contract(s). Because we are government employed here (in my university for sure, but I think it applies to the rest of Sweden as well) and have pretty decent salaries, we are required to prioritise our research duties. In other words, we are required to not have any other full-time commitments besides our employment. I can imagine that similar fineprint might exist elsewhere as well
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.145448
| 2014-10-27T10:18:22 |
30650
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Stack Exchange
|
If I don't participate in research in first couple of years of PhD , how much am I losing?
I completed my MS in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and was planning to do an PhD in Operations Research. But after first few weeks in program , I decided it was not what I wanted to do in long term and dropped out.
There is a background to this- my untenured MS advisor refused to sponsor my PhD . Another well known professor in the department came forward and offered me a good stipend but I dropped out from his lab after couple of weeks.
Things had become too caustic even before I joined his lab. The PhD professor wanted me to help him with some algorithms in the final month of my MS, but my MS advisor shooed him multiple times saying that I was very busy, when in fact I was free all the time. My MS advisor wanted me to make her a co advisor and get her a piece of the tenured professor's project, it didn't work out and since then she has become pretty vengeful towards me. She rejected job offers from our research sponsors after MS saying I was doing PhD and was not interested in working for them.
I think at this point I have lot of ill will against me in my department mainly due to active efforts to undermine me by my MS advisor.
In my university ,we need to take around 30-40 credit hours of subjects and pass candidacy and continue the dissertation.
I am taking an completely different route to PhD. I am taking 9 credit hours every semester (full time course load is 6 credit hours) and at same time working full time as Data warehouse SW developer.
It's very strenuous(My long commute, job and courses and assignments occupy at least 17-18 hours of my day) but I am able to manage them and it's working pretty well as I get paid around 135K at my job.
Is this is an ideal approach until I finish my subjects and then see if any HCI lab in my department can take me in? Can I expect things to calm down in 2 years time.or what can i do right now to improve on this situation?
Or am I really hurting myself here. My concern at this point is after my candidacy, no lab will take me back because of no recent research work. By the way, I don't need to finalize an advisor for the dissertation right now, I can take candidacy exam in dept. by forming a temporary committee .
One advantage I may have is I will have enough money by that time to volunteer in a lab for around an year to prove my worth. But again I am afraid my MS advisor may actively sabotage any of those efforts. I have been afraid and tensed for past few days thinking about this.
Edit : I am from Midwest US
What is HCl? How long is a PhD in your country? Who funds you? Also, why would you MS advisor actively try to hurt you? If you have some proof, you should consider bringing this up to the department.
I don't understand either how your PhD prof. offered you work, but she managed to reject it. Did he offer it to you through her? How did you learned that he made an offer? Why didn't you tell him you were indeed free?
I presume he means that someone told the MS supervisor about a job that James might be interested in, but the supervisor ran them off without consulting James.
@Davidmh , HCI is Human Computer Interaction and I am from US. So when the other prof. asked my MS prof. for borrowing for a day or two to fix his algorithms she denied him saying i was too busy even though i was free (and this happened 3 time). When research sponsors came to my lab and asked for my resume ,she came in between conversations and asked them to forward my resume to her and she would forward it to them. I understood the message and didn't forward my resume to sponsors and i was into conflict avoidance mode with my advisor. I knew she wanted to screw me real bad but she couldn't.
@james234 did you tell her you were actually free? Did you followed up with her, asking if she had forwarded your CV to the sponsors? I still have a hard time figuring out a reason for her to do active sabotage.
@Davidmh Well she never forwarded the resume to them. Infact she actively persuaded the sponsor to recruit a completely new guy who had joined the lab recently . And at multiple times during our meetings she told me to drop my Phd with the tenured prof. and go to other univs and i shouldn't care what the other prof. thinks of it. When i asked her why she never gave me an answer. I asked my other labmate why she was doing this and he told me that she wanted me to stay in her lab for Phd and the fact that i went to another lab was insulting to her. But this is all just background info
If "135K" is in USD, why do you want to break your back over getting a PhD when you're already earning $135K pa? That's an extraordinary amount of money.
@LightnessRacesinOrbit that is a typical pay for a data warehouse engineer. My project architect makes over 400K just for FYI. But i am far more interested in research than consulting and working in IT. I just see my present job as a temporary gig to help get me where i want to.
@james234: Whatever your country is it is mental
If my understanding is correct and she's still your advisor, then she may be able to intentionally fail you in the exam and brings an end to your PhD.. Do not wait till the exam
@james234 If you really want a PhD, I'd suggest quitting your job and relocating to a different university. In my view, if you are not participating in research, you are not getting a PhD.
@AnonymousPhysicist In an ideal situation i could do that. Buy i have enquired for funding with most of the professors i know and all of them are content with continuing with their masters students for PhD. I cannot sustain a Phd with no funding and working on my job for first couple of years not only eliminates the need for funding , but also i can complete my course requirements in that time. What is the drawback here?
The drawback of maintaining your job is not doing research, and therefore missing the point of a PhD. If you can move to a better university there will be more funding opportunities.
@AnonymousPhysicist I am making up my plan for next 2 years as i move along .I can do something like volunteer work for a professor to work in their lab over weekends (That gives me atleast 16 hours to work on research ). At this point ,thats all the time i have. So will it be a good idea to ask a professor in HCI dept about that. Also leaving my present university is not an option.
@AnonymousPhysicist It seems like the OP is in a PhD programme where the first two years focus heavily on courses (I've only heard of one such case in Europe, but OP is in the US). I would absolutely agree with you if the OP was in one of the situations familiar to me, where you jump into research with no to minimal course requirements at the beginning of (a typically short 3-4 year programme). I am not saying you are wrong, but still wondering if your advice is as much on point for somebody with a mandated course-heavy start of a PhD programme.
I think it's better to be involved in research from the beginning of a PhD program, but I've seen plenty of programs designed to discourage starting research until the student has passed the qualifying exams. Both models can lead to good PhDs and good careers afterward. You appear to be in the enviable position, assuming you can sustain it, of being able to save a substantial portion of the salary from your day job so that when it comes time to start some research, you can do so with your own funding. If the project goes well, and you are good at research, you may be able to complete your dissertation more quickly than someone who has to work on a funded grant which has deliverables other than your thesis.
i am in a pretty weak position within my department now. In Worst case scenario , i may have to go back to my MS advisor till i pass my candidacy. I need guidance on which subjects to take to reach candidacy. If i ever have to go back to my MS advisor , can i face any potential adverse consequences like willful sabotage of my Phd ?
Yeah, but if the reason she was sabotaging everything else was because she wanted you to do you PhD with her, then the odds are somewhat lower that she'll sabotage the PhD itself. Though, if she's mad enoug, anything could happen. That being said, I think you need to find someone trustworthy in the department to talk to about the prior sabotage. If it happened as you said, it's something a good department would want to look into and stop.
i just took your advice and asked an office assistant( a close friend) who processes GRA contracts asking if she has any info. It seems my MS advisor has hired a new Phd student from outside . I have been her MS student for past 2 years and the assistant thought my MS adviser may have asked me to leave univ. so that she doesn't look bad in the dept. ( the fact she ditched her student and hired new face from outside ).So if i had left the univ. following her advice she could have told people in department that she wanted to offer me Phd but i left for job on my own volition.
Find a new advisor, as quickly as possible.
Where is the department Chair in this situation? Depending upon the structure of your college within the university, that is generally the individual with whom you can discuss both your questions regarding research and your situation with your MS advisor. It sounds as if you need someone who can deal with the administrative aspects of the situation - the person who signs your MS advisor's annual review.
If that doesn't work, you can go to the Dean of your college, or perhaps the Dean of Students. In my years working in Academia, the Dean of Students was always a powerful individual within the university. You shouldn't have to deal with the petty issues that you're experiencing. You should be able to focus on your degree and its associated research.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.146354
| 2014-04-10T14:22:49 |
19175
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Stack Exchange
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What is the likelihood of a PhD admission if a professor agrees to supervise?
A very nervous potential PhD student here!
Long story short, I have been applying to quite a few bioinformatics PhD programs in the US and been rejected from most of them. I did my masters in the UK, and had unfortunately fallen ill during its course and had to take a break so didn't end up doing great. My undergrad GPA is ok (3.12). I did however do good work during my Undergrad and masters, and have a really supporting recommendation letter to show for it.
I had a very promising interview with a professor from a Flagship State University who has agreed to supervise and fund me (Research assistantship). Suffice to say our research interests match a lot and I also think the professor would be a great supervisor. The professor has also been actively following up on my application within the department.
My question here is, what are my chances of getting admitted?
The department doesn't have a "PhD program" per se (i.e. traditional program where students are admitted and then find a supervisor). Students seem to contact supervisor and find funding through that route and then apply. I am not sure how the application processes work in the US.
If you have a professor with shared interests looking after your application for an ad hoc position, I think your chances sound good. Best of luck!
that sounds promising ! Thanks for your wishes !
Your odds are better than they might be otherwise, but they're not necessarily 100%, either.
Part of the issue is that some schools may not recognize or honor such "claims" or "gentlemen's agreements" to fund people after they are accepted. More importantly, the issue is that US admissions are typically done at the departmental level, not the faculty member level. That means that a professor telling you that you'll be admitted is not necessarily a guarantee, because the admissions committee has to make that call. (On the other hand, if the advisor in question chairs or is a powerful member of the admissions committee, that changes things substantially!)
Good points, but surely the professor who "agreed to supervise and fund" the OP's PhD would already know all of this and would know the situation in their own department. If we assume that any reasonable professor would not agree to offer a PhD position that they could not deliver on, then the question of how confident the OP should be reduces to the question of how trustworthy the professor seems to the OP.
When I contacted the admin office, they replied that students are funded via research assistantships from the grants obtained by core faculty members (the professor is one of the core members). So wouldn't the professor have a significant say in the process ? after all it's their money(in a way..)
It depends on when the "match" between advisors and students takes place. If students are assigned advisors before enrollment, then yes, the advisor would get a say, but advisors have less individual power when the assignments are made after arrival.
In addition to @aeismail answer; I would say it depends to the university policy/routine in handling applications.
Most likely there are three entities involved in any application:
School/Faculty of Graduate Studies (GS)
The department
The potential supervisor
Your chances depends on how applications are usually processed between these three entities.
Some schools they just need a commitment from a faculty member to accept you; ( that is, GS decision always align with the supervisor decision).
Others the final decision is made through GS - after receiving the input from the department.
to be fair, there is nothing mentioned specifically on the website, just that need to apply before a certain deadline to be considered for all fellowships.
This answer is coming from my experience at one major research school in the US.
This is department dependent. In some sciences (e.g. those where many professors have their own "lab"), it's essentially a prerequisite for you to have a professor who is willing to work with you and let you join their lab. So, in this situation, having this commitment from a professor is not a particularly strong "+" for you, but not having such a commitment would probably rule you out entirely.
In other departments (e.g. my PhD department: Statistics), a vast majority (if not all) PhD students did not have an advisory commitment from any faculty member before applying. However, it did appear that those who ultimately failed the qualifying process (exams, etc.) were those who had not had significant research progress with any faculty. I don't know if this was a causal relationship or just the simple fact that those who were working on research were those that were generally better equipped to pass the exams.
Well in all other places where I applied, they had a "PhD program" sort of system - get admitted, funded as a TA for first 1-2 years, do classes, do lab rotations and find supervisors in that time. This program is the only place I applied to where you gain the commitment of a supervisor, then only apply.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.146778
| 2017-09-20T20:31:05 |
96284
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Stack Exchange
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Diversifying the academic institutions one attends
I am planning on doing research mathematics at a university or similar institution as a career. I have heard that it is important to diversify your studies (not attend the same school for undergrad, masters, and PhD). Is this true? What if I am already going to a good school, with the potential to work with people in the forefront of my field?
I am currently doing my undergrad degree, but when it comes time to do my masters, is it important to find a different school, or will staying in the same place hurt my job prospects? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Where are you located?
The University of Waterloo
Specifically I'm studying pure math with the intention of going into analytic number theory (if that helps)
sorry, I meant which country. I don't know about US/Canada - in Europe it is usually suggested to not do undergrad, PhD and postdoc all at the same place, but most people do the bachelor and master at the same university. Often also PhD, then go elsewhere for a postdoc. Unless they already have a bit of a family with kids, then they might stay where they are for good.
It's not a hard and fast rule. It's one factor to consider among others.
It's just about showing that you work well in different contexts. You can also mitigate somewhat by working with another prof at the same school. The concern, as I've heard it expressed, is that if you only ever worked with one prof (s)he might have 'carried' you through your PhD, or that you might be so set in his/her ways that you won't be able to adapt to the way things are done at other groups.
While this is generally true, it depends heavily on the field and subfield. Pure math is a little unique compared to many other disciplines, and in my experience has a much higher rate of students staying with the same university/department/advisor from undergrad through PhD--perhaps because if you find a professor working on a given topic you'd like to study, there's a decent chance he or she is the only (or one of very few) person in the country doing it. I know a decent number of people in pure math who did this, and at least two of them are now tenured math professors at research universities--so I don't think it's guaranteed to hurt your job prospects.
I would talk to the professor(s) you're interested in working with and ask for suggestions specific to studying analytic number theory.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.147015
| 2012-04-26T02:57:52 |
1284
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Stack Exchange
|
When should conferences precirculate papers?
I have been to a few conferences that worked based on precirculated papers. That is, everyone submits their papers in advance and the assumption is that conference goers who come to a given talk have read the paper in advance. In principle this seems ideal, we can use that face-to-face time to discuss work instead of just listening to people read their papers (this people reading their paper at a conference thing happens all the time in the humanities). In what circumstances should conferences precirculate papers? Is it something that is best for small conferences, or are there good examples of large conferences that work this way too?
@Trevor Can you show us some examples of conferences you've attended that pursue such a format?
So here is a link to why the American Historical Association suspended doing precirculated papers http://blog.historians.org/news/1352/suspending-precirculated-papers-at-the-aha-annual-meeting As some have suggested in answers, the best successes I've seen with these tend to be small workshops.
I've seen some workshops in the CS field (more specifically in a subfield of Software Engineering, e.g. VaMoS - see workshop format -, in which there is a kind of "precirculation of papers", before the event take place. The workshop format includes a kind of "discussion session", in which, before attending the event, one paper is sent to an attendee other than the paper's (set of) author(s), so that he/she is in charge of reading the paper and preparing some discussion slides. During the event, after the paper's presentation, the discussant will provide attendance with his/her point of view on the paper, thus promoting the actual "discussion session".
Indeed, it is a small-scale precirculation of papers, in a sense that a paper is sent previously to only a few people (usually an author of another paper). However IMHO such a format provides event's participants with an interactive environment (in the worst case, at least you, as a paper author, will be sure that at least one another peer has read you paper... lol).
Quoting the mentioned workshop website:
Each session will be organized such that discussions among presenters
of papers, discussants and other participants are stimulated.
Typically, after a paper is presented, it is immediately discussed by
pre-assigned discussants, after which a free discussion involving all
participants follows. Each session is closed by a general discussion
of all papers presented in the session.
To be very honest, I guess it's not feasible to do such a thing in big conferences, due to time constraints, but for small (and focused) events, like workshops, I guess this idea is very welcome.
As I said before, there are some other workshops that follow this same format: FOSD and PLEASE.
I can't see this happening in any sort of large-scale conference. This would involve too much work and logistical planning on the part of everyone involved to be successful. It's hard enough to get abstracts for many conferences—let alone finished papers far enough in advance that people have time to read them!
In addition, this last point is another major obstacle: people don't have a lot of time to read all the papers that we're supposed to, let alone a bunch for a particular conference. The main reason why I would undertake that much work was if it were for a relatively specialized workshop in my personal field of endeavor.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.147323
| 2012-05-12T03:17:58 |
1525
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Stack Exchange
|
How do you avoid favoritism and personal relationships from affecting grading?
Universities do encourage close cooperation between students and faculty. However, how does one prevent close working or personal relationships from affecting grading, so that it can be carried out fairly and uniformly? Is there a method of avoiding "playing favorites" with students a faculty member has a "closer" relationship with than others?
I removed all previous comments, as they are no longer relevant.
Sorry, but that edit was inappropriate. This new and different
question should have been asked as a new question. I would revert if I could.
@dmckee I agree with you, and I’ve opened a discussion on meta about our policy in such cases
I would suggest to design a rubric to assess the work of students. The design of a rubric is difficult and may require a lot of work for the teacher, but it will isolate the grading process from other factors. Here you can find a book about rubrics.
One of the advantages of using a rubric is that students can easily observe how their work is going to be evaluated. Another advantage is that teachers can easily apply the same criteria across all the work to be graded.
If at all possible, have all papers and/or exams graded by two people independently, for example, two teaching assistants / graduate students. Then the official examiner can browse through the results. Where the two agree, one can directly go along with it. Where they don't agree, the examiner can judge what is correct.
This protects not only against favouritism, but also against simple, honest mistakes in grading. Of course, it's possible that two or even three all make the same error, but that's why students have the opportunity to appeal, don't they?
Where possible, exams and courseworks should be anonymised before grading. But otherwise, we have to depend on the professionalism of academics, a strategy I think is sometimes undervalued. Academics are professionals, and one part of many professions is striving to be objective.
Of course, psychologically it is impossible not to be influenced by knowledge, but it shouldn't be assumed that academics can't compensate for this adequately to give fair marks. Some people may actually overcompensate and mark students they know harder, not easier, but hopefully the experience of learning from working with faculty makes up for this risk.
The ultimate academic "grade", a PhD, is entirely assessed by letters written by people who know the holder both personally and professionally. Again, the same is true in other industries.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.147638
| 2015-05-17T01:16:31 |
45547
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Stack Exchange
|
Professor wants my "non-funded" master's data
I have recently abandoned my master's program. Long story short, she was a very strict director who always put me down. I didn't get along with her, and she never gave me any emotional or financial support. Now that I have quit, she asks I do a backup of all of the work I have done for her. I don't think it is fair that I have to give it to her, especially since there was no funding AND she kind of forced me to quit. I can't find any rules that adresses this type of situation.
Should I give her what I have done since I produced those results while being her student?
Here are more details: After 4 semesters, she told me that I didn't have the abilities to complete the masters program, and that she didn't know what to do with me. While it is true that my work wasn't the best, there also were a lot of problems with the actual project which explains why we weren't going as fast as she would have liked. She went on to talk to the dean, and I went to see my co-director for some alternatives so that I can complete my studies. He came up with a new project,with less interactions with her and more with him, which she rejected. She said that seeing how I have "not produced a single result", she won't start a new project. if I want to continue with her, I have to complete a number of tasks (on the original project) within the semester, and if I fail to complete them, the project is over. Since I was (still am) in a deep depression from working with her, I refused to continue seeing how I don't want to get psychologically weaker. I left school and hoped to get all of this behind me, but she then writes to me saying that since I decided to abandon, I need to give her my all of the data, articles, and other works. I don't understand why she wants my work when she says that I was an incompetent student who hasn't produced any results.
She never did any investment apart from giving her time, I paid for all of my studies and did my own research alone. I don't think I owe her anything.
Did you have a contract (e.g. e-mail exchange)? Also, where in the world are you? The laws differ. Depending on the situation, you might even be able to sell the data for money, as it is the fruit of your labor.
The answers so far have focused on legal obligations. I don't see that as very relevant - even if the advisor/university did have a legal right to the OP's work, it seems very unlikely they'd go to court to get it. I'd focus more on the academic or professional consequences to the OP of either sharing or withholding the data. Initial thought for the OP: do you know the fable of the dog in the manger?
@NateEldredge: The ability (or lack of it) of another party to enforce their potential rights on research results IMHO doesn't negate the existence of a dependency between copyright and professional decisions. On the other hand, I agree that the ethical aspect is somewhat less dependent on legal obligations.
Do you not want to give the data to your former supervisor because there is something more you would like to do with it in the future, or simply to spite the person whom you feel treated you badly? The latter seems hard to justify from an ethical standpoint.
Maybe think of it this way: you left because your supervisor lost confidence in your ability to do the work you were assigned, even to the extent of having "not produced a single result". Given that it's all the same to you, would you rather your last interaction with her prove her wrong or prove her right? Behaving professionally while leaving a bad situation can be a source of comfort and closure to you in the future. Behaving badly can be a source of regret.
From the information you have provided, if you don't want to give her your information, you don't have to, at least not from a legal standpoint, since you were self-funded. I don't understand why you are posting here to ask about this. Are you trying to get validation for your actions from strangers? Do you want them to tell you it is Ok? I suggest you just do as you want. And, with respect, I disagree with @PeteL.Clark. I don't think ethics enter into it. And you are under no obligation to show professional courtesy to people who don't show you any.
Do you intend to work on this project again in the future? Do you intend to have any interaction with academia? If yes to either, can you salvage anything from the work?
I faced a kind of similar situation. I complied because (a) it only took a few mins (b) I could forget about it more easily (c) I didn't want to stoop to her pettiness (d) I wanted to be able to honestly claim that I'd always behaved reasonably and done everything possible to achieve the project aims (f) I had already salvaged stuff that I believed was entirely mine and could be published.
She never did any investment apart from giving her time
Whoa, there! That sounds like a significant investment, to me. Indeed, it's hard to see what other investment you could reasonably expect her to make. She's not responsible for your funding; she can't do the work for you because it's supposed to be your master's project, leading to your degree, not hers.
Nonetheless, it is typical for an advisor to provide sufficient guidance intellectual contribution to the project that they could reasonably expect to be a co-author on most papers coming out of the project. This is joint work and it belongs as much to your collaborators as to you, even if you don't get along with your collaborators any more.
What does it cost you to hand over the material? Do you expect to benefit from it in some way that will be diminished by giving it to the professor? If it costs you little or nothing, it's hard to see any justification for not handing it over. "I don't like her" is spite, not justification. The main benefit that I see from handing it over is that you can expect to be a co-author of any paper that results directly from the work you have done. And, if you do hand over the data, you should make this a condition.
You should also consider the impact of your decision on your future career. If you intend to leave academia then it's probably minimal: you're unlikely to be asking for a reference from this professor and it's unlikely you'll have any interaction with her in the future. However, if you intend to stay in academia, you need to think carefully about this. People's perceptions of your actions will depend very much on who they think was at fault. If, for example, your professor has a reputation of being difficult, maybe you gain sympathy from the community. However, if she has a reputation of being reasonable, trustworthy and easy to work with, there's the danger that you acquire the reputation of being difficult to work with, falling out and torpedoing projects.
While some your points are valid and should be considered, at the core of the answer you're mixing professional conduct and ethical one. Sure, they significantly overlap, but still the concepts are different. Moreover, your suggestion to make conclusions on a particular situation (circumstances of which, unless made public, are known only to those involved and witnesses) and, correspondingly, build perceptions about a person, based on general reputation of a professor is IMHO unfounded and wrong.
@AleksandrBlekh I'm saying that people do build their perceptions of unknown person X based on what their acquaintance Y says about X and how trustworthy they feel Y is. Whether people should do that is largely irrelevant.
Fair enough! I hope that not all people build their perceptions, entirely based on third-party opinions.
"The main benefit that I see from handing it over is that you can expect to be a co-author of any paper that results directly from the work you have done" only works if the OP does get authorship, which the OP needs to negotiate carefully before handing over the data. In particular, in that situation I would not hand it over without written agreement that the OP will be co-author and that they will have veto power on the resulting manuscript. By the sound of this supervisor, she may not necessarily be willing to agree to those terms.
@E.P. I'm not sure what one can conclude about the supervisor's attitudes given only one side of the story. But I agree that all parties need to be clear what has been agreed to.
I disagree with @AnonymousPhysicist - AFAIK, based on US Copyright Act (Title 17 of the US Code), copyright is, by default, assigned to authors of original works, with some exceptions (for details, see the Act or the article linked below). In addition to those exceptions (which, I believe, don't include specific references to academic environment), it is important to emphasize the term "joint work", as it very often is applicable to academic and research environments. For that, you need to check your student handbook and/or other university policy documents. For a brief, but more readable than legal text, explanation, see this page.
I want to mention that my answer above is focused on works, which includes papers and other literary and audio-visual artifacts. Works might also include secondary data, however, determining the original data's copyright is more complicated, as it depends on various factors, such as institutional policies, sources and methods of gathering the data.
The more relevant copyright doctrine is the work-for-hire doctrine which effectively defines the author as the employer. Disney, the company, is the copyright holder for its film. If there was no payment or contract, that seems unlikely to apply here.
@BenjaminMakoHill: I don't see how work-for-hire concept is relevant to the case of research of a student, who is by definition not employed by university.
And the OP made it clear that the work was not funded, so I don't see any way it could be considered "for hire".
The student probably entered into a contract to comply with the university's intellectual property policy when they enrolled.
@AnonymousPhysicist: I highly doubt that the university's IP policy would declare students' (not researchers'!) work the university's intellectual property.
I'm not a lawyer, and I think that this whole discussion over who owns the copyright is pointless
Copyright law gives copyright owner a monopoly over distributing copies of copyrighted work. So if University has that monopoly OP can't lawfully use the data for his own good. Hovewer copyright owner can't (I'm not a lawyer) force anyone to give back a copy of copyrighted work.
University shouldn't also be able to force you to do any work for free (and backing up two years of work is a serious effort), so answer: "I'm busy" should be accepted.
In my university there is no regulation stating that student is obliged have their work properly backed up. So you are not obliged to even have the data on your computer.
So IMO you are not obliged to give back the data. Wheter you should depends on whether you want to leave academia (and you are sure that you'll never want to go back to academia). You need to decide that yourself.
If you give the data back, plesae note that you should, at least, be a co-author of all publications based on your work. On the other hand, even if she promises to give you co-authorship, you'll have no means to enforce that promise.
"even if she promises to give you co-authorship, you'll have no means to enforce that promise" -- well, if your work really appears uncredited in a reputable journal, then you can write to the editor laying out your claims. If it appears in a disreputable journal, then frankly, who cares?
For starters OP would have to search journals for publications of OP professor and his group, which is hardly practical. Second thing is more important: if they take his work, develop it and then publish (in plain words: if they dont commit plain plagiatarism) --- his claim would be very weak.
"say that due to hard-drive faliure you lost all the data" - as I grow older I find this kind of stuff more uncomfortable. If OP doesn't want to give the data back then they can just say no.
OK, perhaps it depends on the field. In my field, preprints get posted on arxiv.org daily, and I skim the list anyway- I'd notice pretty quickly if someone posted something relevant to stuff I'd worked on. Yes, if the professor develops things so much that it is not recognisably based on the OPs work then indeed the claim would be weak.
@P.Windridge as for the "hard-drive failure", I'm not saying I would do that myself. On the other hand it seems that whole situation is very uncomfortable for the OP already, and if he can find a solution to this situation that is easier for him (and should be less confrontational than saying no) I wouldn't judge him harshly for choosing it. I have slightly modified my answer, so ethical aspects are more prominent.
I gave this answer a -1 for recommending that the OP gratuitously lie in a professional context. Either the OP is obligated to turn in the work or not. If he is, then not turning it in and lying about it is two instances of misconduct. If he is not (which in my opinion is much more likely) then he can just reply negatively or (simpler!) just not reply at all. Lying in a professional context to avoid being uncomfortable is not a good precedent for the OP: presumably he still wants to be a professional something in the future.
Typically students' work belongs to the university. The professor is responsible for keeping track of it whether she wants it or not. The professional thing to do would be to provide the professor with all the records of your work. In fact, your supervisor should have told you to do that on a regular basis when you started, not when you left.
In what sense do you mean "belongs" here? For instance, in my experience, it typically hasn't been the case that the university holds the copyright to work done by students.
Having had to deal with this issue first-hand (in my administrative capacity, not in my lab!!), I can tell you that at most if not all US institutions any data collected in a PI's lab belong to the PI. However, the student holds the copyright to her written work.
It is generally accepted that universities have some claim to products and inventions created by students as part of projects, but I'd need a lot more convincing before I'd accept your assertion that my theses belong to my university and not to me.
I'm sorry to hear about this difficult situation and your resulting depression. It sounds to me like you feel like you're being taken advantage after a few semesters of bullying and put-downs. Do you think your former supervisor is a narcissist? If so, you might want to read up on that disorder before deciding how to respond. Here are some options to consider:
If you give her your material, that represents a significant amount of time to back up the work. You won't feel great while doing it, because you'll probably feel like you're being non-assertive and bullied again. That said, you might feel better knowing that by doing so, she's less likely to contact you again and that you can close that door and begin to move on. If she's a narc, this is probably the least dangerous option, and that might make you feel better about taking this option - knowing that you have other choices to ignore/decline her, but that you're choosing to do this for yourself to minimize damage. If you go for this option, you will want to politely email her the information and also indicate that you're not interested in continuing communication with her in the future. You'll want to give a lot of thought into your response, but something along the lines of: "Attached is the information you requested - I trust this meets your expectations. I am currently moving into a different direction, so we don't need to stay in contact, but I wish you all the best with your future research."
If you are feeling too down for that, then you might temporarily feel better to ignore the request. That might solicit more emails from her, which probably won't help you - you'll probably feel guilty or bad about yourself every time she writes. She could also get increasingly aggressive. This therefore wouldn't be a long-term solution - only if you are too down to deal with it "right now".
Another alternative is an honest "no" along the lines of: "I'm afraid I can't attend to this at the moment - this represents a significant time investment and I'm currently quite busy doing other things at the moment. I am currently moving into a different direction, so we don't need to stay in contact, but I wish you luck with your future research." This is all true, because you're busy trying to recover and presumably find another route in life. Like the other options, it isn't great, because if your former supervisor is in fact a narcissist, she might get pretty toxic (mean, slanderous, etc), and she's in a position of power while you're not.
This is a tough call - there is not easy or right answer in my opinion. No matter what option you go for, remember to be polite. Also try to be compassionate to yourself no matter what you decide. Good luck!
I am a professor (UK). Ordinarily work produced by students belongs to the University - I believe our policy is that submitted work belongs to the University which is a subtle distinction.
In practice, if you don't provide her with the work they aren't going to do anything about it. So if your professor was as unpleasant as you suggest, just keep the work in spite.
Which is it -- "work produced by students belongs to the University" or "submitted work belongs to the University"? And a big, fat -1 for advocating spite as the overriding principle.
Personally I vote for spite over taking the doormat approach. Maybe she will think harder about maintaining a good relationship with students in the future if she wants favors from them after they have left. I know I have zero use for the efforts of students who I would fail. I also wouldn't even expect my emails to get a response in her case.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.149195
| 2015-08-19T16:21:18 |
51798
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Stack Exchange
|
How to leave graduate school without pain
I am an international student in one of the top universities in Canada.
The graduate admission in Canadian university is a little bit different from other countries; if you want to pursue Phd, you have to have a Master first, and Msc program here is usually admitted with funding (everything paid by supervisor). Currently I am second year of a Computer Science program and going to get my Msc degree within the next six months.
The problem is that before I came here, I told my supervisor I will do a PhD with him. After I came here and dig more into the area, I found out that I am not very interested in his current research. Additionally, my supervisor is not really giving me much support, the funding for the project is actually paid by another PI not in CS. My supervisor is a full professor and does not care much about what research his students are doing, he really enjoy his life a lot (often leaving the office very early). I think what he wants is just to produce some phd students to show he is still active (I can see this because every meeting he seems to talk about phd stuff, and he is kind of really pushing me into phd because he only has one phd student right now, two student in total including me).
Because of this, I want to leave with only a Master degree. The process is that before you finish your Master, you have to fill a form to indicate whether you want to continue Phd with current supervisor or not. This form has to be signed by the supervisor before you graduate with Masters. I think if I directly tell my supervisor I am not doing phd, he will be mad at me and prevent my getting Master degree.
So, should I get admitted in the phd program first and then quit later, or just leave now? If I do the former, I can search for a job first and then tell him I am not interested in academia career anymore. How can I leave with Master degree peacefully?
High, and welcome to Academia.SE! I'm afraid I'm having some trouble understanding your question. Can you please try to organize it a bit more clearly?
Could you clarify whether there is a separate admissions process for the PhD program, or are you automatically admitted and/or enrolled if you indicate a desire to continue on the form?
I tried to clean it up, leaving as much of the original text as I could to keep the flavor.
Thanks a lot for helping me to organize the words more clear. And response to Pete L. Clark's question: Yes, I will be automatically admitted in the PhD program with current supervisor if I indicate a desire to continue on the form. If I don't want to continue, I also need to indicate this in the form. And the supervisor has to sign it in either situation.
Some thoughts:
Don't decide what you want to do with your life on the basis of not annoying your current supervisor. If you really want to stop at an MSc then do that, but if you really want to do a PhD with a different supervisor then see if you can do that. Or you might decide you prefer the freedom of a supervisor that doesn't much mind what you do.
Your supervisor is a professional. There's a chance they'll be really nasty, but it's more likely they will behave properly and sign the form, even if that isn't what they personally want.
Lying is not a good path in Canada (well, not for most people at least).
I'd say: Lying is not a good path in Academia, and neither is in any environment that cares about ethics. You simply shouldn't lie.
@yo' I don't have enough experience of the whole world to rule out the option that there's somewhere where lying currently helps people. It would be better if that wasn't the case, but I don't think the world is perfect. That place might be closer to home than you'd like to think.
Have a conversation with your superviser. Having an unfounded fear that "he will be mad at me and prevent my getting Master degree" is not a good basis to make decisions.
I'm saying this because:
Faculty are people too. We know that students' interests and plans in life change.
What would your faculty adviser stand to gain by preventing you from getting a Master's degree? In all likelihood, this would simply yield a lot of follow-up work for your adviser, without any extra gain.
You use the implicit assumption that faculty members are vengeful and mean ill. I think that there is little empirical evidence for that to be true, but it is also generally a poor strategy in life to expect negative attitudes from anyone unless you have concrete evidence to the contrary. If you treat people as if they were evil, they will treat you negatively. If you treat them as if they are partners in your journey through life, they will treat you as a partner.
This is a question for the director of graduate studies in your department, or your department chair.
Administration might advise you to wait with the form, or put a white lie on the form. They will probably appreciate your letting them know your plans in advance.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.149904
| 2023-09-01T01:40:18 |
201350
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Is it allowed for a scholarship beneficiary in Australia to earn more than a stipend?
I am a PhD (research sector) student with full scholarship. I normally work 4 hours every day (Mon-Fri) which means I worked for 20 hours per week and 40 hours in 2 weeks, from 7pm-11 pm shift. According to my scholarship I am only permitted to work 8 hours per week and 16 hours in 2 weeks between 9am to 5 pm.
According to recent work limitation, student can only work for 48 hours. This month my professor offer a casual research assistant position for 3 months. when I calculated my earning it would be more than 1,200 stipend i earn every week.
Because of this offer I have reduced my night shift to 16 hours per week and 32 hours in 2 weeks with addition of 16 hours from the offer granted to me in my faculty making it 48 hours in 2 weeks.
Now here are my concerns, I need clarification on the following:
As a PhD on research status, I think I have no work limitation but people said it is only for phd or master by research on self funding that do not have work limitation. Please kindly let me know the fact on this matter
The second question is that the casual research assistant salary and my second job salary together is higher than my stipend, please Is it right ? Hope I'm violating any rule?
Please kindly help me I need clarification urgently.
My professor is not aware that I do other job because I go to school everyday and I am making remarkable progress in my research as I have published few articles within one year of my commencement.
Thanks in anticipation of your response.
You need to check whether your visa has any work restrictions and whether your scholarship restricts you to only work for the university or related to your studies. From what I can tell masters/PhD by research students do not have any work restrictions unless their scholarship or visa has restrictions.
Your scholarship limits your work. You're exceeding those limits. I don't know how it works there, but where I'm from the penalty for that could include loss of the scholarship and even needing to pay back what you already received.
@mkennedy Thank you for your comment. Here is the condition on my visa: The 48-hour requirement does not apply if:
● you are the holder of a Student visa granted in relation to a masters degree by research or doctoral degree and you have commenced the masters degree or doctoral degree. According to visa 48 hours are allowed but for the school 16 hours are allowed in 2 weeks. All together I am within 48 hours. I maintain 8 hours per week within 9am to 5pm, while i do shift from 7pm to 11pm night. My concern is about the income if there is rule not to earn above the stipend
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.150149
| 2012-04-03T03:42:30 |
989
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
How to find a good part-time programs by reputable business schools?
I have a bachelor degree and work for a marketing research company as a senior research analyst in Morris County in NJ. Having this day-time job, my options for further education remain part-time programs only. However, I do want to get a formal degree from reputable part-time programs, such as part-time MBAs/Master degree. Not just some random courses or certification training offered by community colleges or education institutions.
I work till 5:30 everyday so I am only available after that or on weekends. And the place of lecture has to be close enough to my office/home. Not some place too far away.
I am wondering if there are any programs meeting these criteria. I am not sure where to find, who to ask or which website I should look at to search for these kind of programs. Where should I start? What are the other things I should consider when I plan my further education and choose the programs?
Baoye,
There are plenty of accredited online MBA programs at accredited institutions. In Maryland, where I am, Frostburg State University offers an AACSB accredited MBA fully online. University of Maryland University College also has a good online program. A little effort on Google should find other programs, perhaps even on New Jersey.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.150296
| 2015-05-20T19:31:26 |
45753
|
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Stack Exchange
|
Information in my Thesis incorrectly represented in another publication
Recently I came across a publication that referenced my PhD Thesis in a literature survey. The citing is correct, however, the information that they sited is incredibly erroneous. In a table, they claimed that my thesis (in Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting) reported values that it simply did not. The only information apparently from my thesis is reported in a table (Table 3) and nowhere else.
This is the publication in question.
Given the journal and publisher, is it worthwhile to attempt to contact the authors to fix the error?
Volume 1, Issue 1... and the PDF is created by convertonlinefree.com. Ha. I think it's fairly safe to say that no one of any repute is likely to take anything the paper says seriously (because the writing and formatting are so bad, if nothing else), but an error is an error. It will be interesting to see whether a predatory journal actually cares, but these articles are usually published without any peer or editor review whatsoever so I wouldn't bet on it.
I've never seen a byline refer to an author by "Mrs." before. (In other news, I have never heard of "piezoelectric energy". There are an awful lot more things on heaven and earth than are dreamt of in my philosophy.) Also, the opening sentence is: "In this modern world we are finding solution to many problems with the growing technologies." I would prefer "It was a dark and stormy night."
Looks like this publication isn't on the predatory publisher list only because it's so new and crappy. Ignore it.
@PeteL.Clark I needed that laugh this morning.
Yeah. I was thinking along the same lines, but wanted some other opinions.
Thanks guys!
No, there really isn't any value in you trying to pursue a correction here, given how sloppy the presentation of the articles is, and how poorly presented the linked article in particular appears to be.
Basically, it would be much ado about nothing; very few people, as the commenters have pointed out, will try to take the published work seriously; even fewer will bother to check the references and dig through them to figure out that they've apparently been grossly mischaracterized by the authors of the paper in question. So, I don't think there's any besmirching of your scientific reputation to worry about.
Moreover, trying to go after these authors or the publisher to make them make changes will most likely prove equally fruitless. There is no quality control or standards involved with the production of the articles, so it seems unlikely that any request for an editorial correction would be honored in a timely manner (or at all).
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.150855
| 2016-01-15T23:27:09 |
61748
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Stack Exchange
|
How to deal with a colleague who always puts you down?
I am just starting out my PhD which will take 5 years to complete and I am dealing with a person in my own research group who cannot stop putting me down every chance she gets.
In our research department in neuroscience engineering I guess she would be considered a very ambitious person. She has good grades and has some papers published despite only being in the university for about three years. But she has a very bad personality and constantly attempts to put me down by comparing me to some of the other researchers in the department.
For example, she will come up and say I know so and so who is in the
same year as you are and he already has papers published, you don't.
Or I know this other person who did really well in a class and even got
the professors recommendation while you are only an average student.
She will non-stop ask me for my GPA as an undergrad, and how I am
doing in my courses. I thought she cared about me at the beginning but I am realizing that she is only exploiting my weaknesses.
She will also ask me about my research focus and tell me whatever I
am trying to do has no value or too small scale. She will openly laugh about my research plans in front of other people and say that it has no value.
Even when we first met she asked me about my background which I said
was in industrial engineering and she just kind of laughed because she
was in some sort of advanced research program which is in her
opinion more prestigious
Finally, she has no moral qualms doing all the above in front of other people. In fact she only does this to me when other people are around.
Worst of all is that she is making an assumption in almost everything. I have a few research papers published, just not at the current university so it is not listed. My GPA was dragged down during first years of undergrad but it picked up and at the end I had a 4.0. Plus she is not doing too well either, only with a few minor publications on very specific applications, and she is only known for certain speciaties and not much of a generalist and knows very little about the fields immediately outside of her research. But do you think I ever tell her this? Call her out about her lack of creativity? Or ask her about her GPA and the courses that she does bad in just so I can tell her that "Mr X is doing much better than you in that course"? Of course not because I am a decent person.
We are in the same research team. We should be working together and learning from each other, yet she behaves this way to me. I was so relieved during first few months when I started out my research because I have heard so much about these kind of people you encounter during graduate school yet I have not even encountered one and everyone is so helpful, but there she is. Since we cannot move forward in an amicable relationship, what is the best alternative for me? Am I being too sensitive?
I would say just bite your tongue and remind yourself that after she graduates, wherever she ends up, interdepartmental politics will make a person like her unhappy. If you aren't satisfied with this answer, it probably wouldn't hurt to bring up your issues with her to your advisor. If it affecting. The performance of your research group, it is an issue they should be aware of.
Industrial engineering is often the brunt of undergrad jokes (we called it "imaginary engineering"), because several difficult "core" classes aren't requirements. However, as a PhD student, you probably weren't in the business of avoiding tough and interesting classes, so you should be prepared to mention what elective you had time for because you weren't taking EM theory. Graduate level courses will help in this regard even more. May not rescue the situation with this habitual offender, but knowing to mention that you studied constrained non-linear optimization methods may (continued...)
help to win you the respect of someone who assumes that coming from an IE program left you with fewer capabilities and tasks you accordingly, even while being completely polite about it. Of course you should substitute whatever high-level skills you've been developing and express them in a way that clearly says "my math is just as good, I simply solve different and equally challenging problems".
@BenVoigt The OP should not appear to try to gain the other person's (let's call her Alice) respect. She does not owe her anything, and does not need to prove herself in front of Alice. She needs to convince her advisers in the regular way, by good work. But it would be counterproductive for her to appear to have to prove herself to Alice. She needs to signal by attitude and behaviour (even more than by words) that she isn't going to join the game table, not now, not later.
@CaptainEmacs: Like I said, it won't do any good for the repeat offender. But said offender may be diminishing OP in the eyes of others, so knowing how to counter that may at times be useful.
@BenVoigt I understand your idea and I would agree if the criticism were factual. However, clearly here criticism is a political tool of "Alice" and in this case, any self-justification sounds apologetic. There is a reason why politicians do not like to self-justify and pretend they were right even if they know very well they weren't. In a politically hostile constellation, radiating confidence and an element of "I know what I want, and your opinion doesn't matter" is more effective than the attempt to give a rational response. Unfortunately and quite diametral to a scientist's instinct.
Someone waved Dorothy Parker through a door saying, "Age before beauty." She replied, "Pearls before swine." That may be apocryphal, and I don't really recommend doing it, but it won't hurt to think, "pearls before swine" now and again.
If you don't mind a bit of sarcasm, tell her only a fool would value her time and genius so little so as to spend it every single day an utter failure like you.
http://www.math.ucsd.edu/~fan/teach/add.htm This post on how to deal with math bullies may be relevant
I can imagine the situation you are in; And it is perfect to play some mind games! Whatever she asks ask back, but in better tone! Ask her out for a coffe, tea or whatever to see her reaction and just play along. The moment you either rage or stop talking to her she "won" but there is no prize to claim.
Weak people need to put others down to feel strong, just as small dogs bark towards big ones to get them scared, because they know they stand no chance. Keep this in mind and everything is ok.
This sounds a lot like a boat programming question. People like your colleague exist everywhere, not only in academia, and I see nothing academia-specific in how to deal with them.
Could it be that she's from a country where this behavior is acceptable? Maybe is just an intercultural thing. Otherwise, I wonder how a chair of a department let's her get away with this.
Always keep in mind that the person's whole behaviour is just a sign of deep insecurities. A person who feels secure in themselves and happy with her own achievements has no need to behave like that. If you try to defend yourself, remember that there is nothing wrong with you, what's wrong is her behaviour.
@BobBrown: Correct answer to "Pearls before swine"would be "you're right, I'm going first. ".
Nothing to do with the question asked, but I never understood the US system re "I have a few research papers published, just not at the current university so it is not listed.". Can someone explain this to me - I am only aware of recognizing papers that were published in a public venue. How does what Female Tank mentions work?
Regarding doing it in front of others: people will soon notice and ignore it. I know a person who is always pointing out how he can do it better, and how his way was always better. Every time he raises his hand, everybody else rolls their eyes.
@G.Bach probably, Female Tank needs a certain number of publications to get her PhD. The work she did before doesn't count, and therefore, it doesn't appear on her publication list for the degree.
It's sad you have to deal with garbage like this. Deal enough of it at work and it just sucks.
Don't let on that it bothers you and just smile sweetly. I love to respond with things like, "Wow, why don't you tell me how you really feel?" And then laugh like the other person has said something hilarious. Tends to stop that behavior pretty quickly. Also I agree it may be cultural.
annoying coworkers are not unique to academia, and there are a lot of strategies for how to deal with them.
I favor the Confusingly Positive/Neutral Response in these situations.
"So-and-so did Awesome Thing and you --" "Wow, that's great! When will it be published? I'd like to read it."
"What was your undergrad GPA?" "Uh, I don't even remember. It got me in here, though, and I love it here!"
"Bah, what you're doing is garbage." "I'm finding it a lot of fun, and learning a lot!"
When she pulls these stunts in front of others, you will look infinitely classier than she for refusing to play the game.
"What's your GPA?" - "Quite nice, and of my studies I particularly enjoyed the hypertensorial Labradov elliptic metahomolgy calculus - I really recommend to learn about it if you haven't done it" (of course, you should know what the hypertensorial Labradov elliptic metahomolgy calculus is ;-)
Let me add one that I've always had to use when a relative of mine asks me about my grades, in order to tell others how much better or worse I am than them. Relative: "What grades did you get?" Me: "My grades were okay, but I don't consider them important." And I really don't, because I consider life >> grades.
That has to be the best answer. Taking the high road and not letting yourself get dragged into a discussion where you can't win is almost always the way to go for such issues.
I swear I saw an article posting basically this (Disarm negative people with obnoxiously positive responses)... I can't find it though. Love the reasoning behind it.
Honestly the best way to "get to" and stop people who do this sort of thing is to just 100% ignore it. The lack of validation of the "oooh, gotcha!! haha I'm awesome" statements they make as jabs quickly makes them feel stupid, and they can't even do anything to avoid that other than stopping.
+1 The strategy here reminds me of this webcomic. More seriously, never losing sight of your integrity is an important lesson here, and will help you throughout life.
To be a real bastard follow up by publicly offering her a muffin. It completely throws horrible people off balance.
I think you need a naturally friendly demeanor to be able to pull this off naturally. Another option is to act like you're well aware they're trying to bring you down and you find it amusing that they're wasting their time so. A broad grin and an "is that so?"
user21820s response may be honest, but denying a persons way of keeping "score" will likely piss them off even more. I agree with Murphy. I think some kind of muffin intervention tactic would do the trick. Either that or a positive "Wow, that's cool. I'm happy for you!" should disarm or at least content them.
I agree with @Aurast – not everyone can pull this off. Overly kind responses must jive with your natural demeanor; otherwise, you'll come off as phony. That said, if you happen to be someone who can use this approach, it can be a lot of fun.
I think people who can't pull this off naturally are probably more inclined to @enderland's commented approach - ignoring her. Though there is a third group who can't accomplish either of those and would end up punching her in the face. (If you're one of those, save yourself some time, don't allow yourself to build up to an "explosion", and tell her to mind her own business to begin with)
The previous answers are quite good, and I'd like to add another possible line of defence.
If possible, minimise interaction with her. You will not learn anything from her (except how not to behave), and she is very unlikely to improve (miracles happen, but very rarely).
If you do not feel in the mood to give cheery/positive answers, another strategy is to respond blandly, such as with a politely interested "Really?"/"That sounds interesting"/"how lovely" or the like. Blandness and being boring (to her, not to others) takes the fun out of trying to upset you.
Most importantly, make clear to yourself that she has no role in your scientific life. She is not your boss or your adviser. You decide what you need. Don't watch how others in your department are doing. The only people you may need to watch are competitors in your research field at other institutions. The progress of some random colleague at your institution doesn't tell you anything about how well you are doing or should be doing. They may rush ahead, and fall back again with respect to you, you never know; fields are not comparable.
Your colleague clearly does not have the ability to judge with confidence where she is placed herself, and she is so worried about others that she tries to transfer this worry to you. Don't let that happen, you are not her emotional recycling bin. At this stage, however, which you describe I do not see a necessity yet to involve any third person.
To add a legal perspective (as a department chair, I received training regarding such matters), some of the behaviors you described will in my opinion very probably qualify as a form of workplace harassment in the United States, assuming that you can be considered an employee (which is not certain and would depend on the particulars of your status in the graduate program). The occurrence of such harassment could be argued to constitute a hostile work environment. If you complain to your advisor/PI/department chair, it will be their legal responsibility to take action to prevent the harassment. As the Wikipedia article I linked to above explains:
An employer can be held liable for failing to prevent these workplace
conditions, unless it can prove that it attempted to prevent the
harassment and that the employee failed to take advantage of existing
harassment counter-measures or tools provided by the employer.
Even if you are not considered an employee, there may be other laws that apply to the situation, and regardless, common sense would dictate that your advisor and department are in a good position, and have good incentives, to address the problem should you choose to complain to them.
To conclude, I'm not saying that you necessarily should complain, but this is one option you should be aware of. Disclaimer: as I said I received some training on workplace harassment, but I am not a lawyer and would recommend that you seek more authoritative information on any legal-related issues before making any sensitive decisions.
I personally have the impression that the bully in this case is merely an insecure person. A lightweight, simpler strategy could well work in the present case. Unfortunately, today even comparatively minor incidents are quickly escalated to heavy-duty semi-legal handling due to increased readiness to "semi-litigate". This is harmful for the trust in the department and should be considered only after all other actions have failed and with thorough collection of evidence.
This is a good example what I refer to as "dropping the hammer" in my answer; triggering legal ramifications would certainly be a last resort (but one should be aware of it for the worst cases).
@Captain a "merely" insecure person could still cause much harm. And yes, a lightweight strategy could work and may be worth trying, not least since dealing with this on her own would provide OP with useful experience in human problem-solving. As for "simpler", actually I'd argue you won't find a simpler approach than complaining to the people whose job it is to deal with precisely such problems, freeing OP to do her work and not have to agonize about what to do. I'm not suggesting suing the university, just getting help from the system in dealing with what is clearly a difficult situation.
Also if you do go this route, you sure better have tried to diffuse the situation yourself and then document violations in enough detail to actually be useable.
@enderland you are correct that documentation would be extremely helpful, but from a legal (or ethical, IMO) perspective, OP has no responsibility to try to defuse the situation herself before complaining. It's fine if she wants to try, but strictly not required.
Keeping a discrete personal recorder (a cell phone always recording (compressed/mp3) audio, a tiny video (or only audio) recorder, etc) on the OP at all times when dealing with this "bad" colleague would be a good idea, "just in case." Provided, having your cell phone always recording isn't against some other laws or school rules. (ps. I cringe a little when wikipedia is a legal source ;-)
@DanRomik No doubt much harm can be done. However, I am a fan of a graded response and skeptical of the legalistic attitude that starts pervading much of public entities in Europe (after the US model). Formally, you are right that the OP has no responsibility in defusing the situation. However, this means that, basically, the response to any problem becomes a formal complaint. This creates a corporate atmosphere where no-one will fully trust no-one else (who can say whether the complaint was appropriate? It cuts both ways), and every transaction will be monitored and on record.
By "simpler", I meant a more "lightweight" strategy which the individual can carry out on their own (as the one in my answer).
@CaptainEmacs honestly I don't see anything ungraded or overly legalistic about an employee at a workplace complaining to their supervisor about harassing behavior on the part of a coworker. The legal part comes in mostly as a way of explaining why the supervisor is legally obliged to act to prevent the harassment, which should be reassuring to the person making the complaint. I do agree there are somewhat gentler approaches that may be worth trying first, but overall this does not strike me as an especially radical or aggressive solution, nor as a symptom of the over-legalism of our society.
A woman in my entering class of grad school sounds just like what you're describing -- callous put-downs, insensitive and uber-competitive remarks about grades and research status, etc. Several of us started off trying really hard to make her a happier human being (she also constantly complained about how lonely she was -- go figure), but it pretty quickly became clear that she was an emotional black hole, sucking in positive energy and emitting none back.
Research requires collaboration, and NO ONE wants to collaborate with someone like that. While still in grad school, she started a promising summer fellowship that she'd been bragging to everyone about having obtained and they fired her shortly after she began because she was so difficult to work with. Now, several years after both of us earned our Ph.D.s and moved on, almost no one currently or previously affiliated with our department even knows what she's doing.
She clearly failed to make the mark on the field she seemed to think she was destined to, and I suspect the person you're describing will either change her act or wind up the same way.
My advice: Do everything you can to avoid and ignore her, and when that's not possible, call her on her bad behavior.
Good advice, although black holes emits energy !!!
Dark Energy? :-)
I am a bit dismayed that the majority of answers here seem to take as a given that the OP is in some contest of wills with her fellow grad student and give advice for "winning the battle," "putting the other student in her place," "effecting her demise" and so forth. (Not all: there are some excellent answers and indeed some which are very close to what I am about to say: just too few of them in the total chorus.) This is fundamentally wrong-headed: graduate school is not a battle of wills with other graduate students. It does (unfortunately) have a competitive aspect, but the competition is not for top spots in the social/professional hierarchy of graduate students: it is for academic excellence and the opportunity to continue one's academic career.
How are these true goals of graduate school furthered by this verbal jousting with a fellow grad student? The answer is clear: they're not. Being the victor in a verbal joust feels better than being the loser, but the victory is completely pyrrhic. The only real victory is to stop playing this game.
The OP can do that as follows: she should think carefully about the range of interactions she has with her fellow student and make a clear, mental divide between activities which are necessary (they may have to work together, after all) and potentially productive and activities which are part of the no-winners game described above. Then, in all future interactions with this other student, she should simply refuse to engage with all overtures that she knows or strongly suspects will be unproductive. She should respond positively to interactions that are clearly productive/professional, and she should firmly move borderline interactions towards the productive/professional direction. All these things she should do completely openly and unsubtly. That there are other people around is a good thing for this strategy: the OP is saying "come to me with professional things and professional things only." To refuse to do that when other people are around makes the other person clearly in the wrong.
Sample response:
"I'm sorry, I've answered questions like that from you before, so I know it won't lead anywhere productive. Do you have anything constructive / relevant / about project X to ask me?"
The lack of subtlety of this strategy should make it straightforward to implement as long as the OP is committed to it. The worst possible outcome I see is that the OP is already so bent out of shape / her fellow student is evil enough that interactions that look innocent to other observers will be handled coldly and professionally by the OP. But that is an acceptable outcome. Professionals are allowed to be cold as long as they make it clear that this coldness is in the service of doing their job. Moreover after a few awkward exchanges like this, all but the most evil/deranged people will learn to stop pushing the button that is not getting the desired response.
Pete, I know this answer is well-intentioned, but I wonder if you would be making the same suggestions if the OP were complaining of harassment of a sexual nature (but still only in verbal form) from a male coworker. This kind of "just refuse to engage, stick to work-related issues and you'll be fine" type of advice assumes the premise that the OP is capable of "just" refusing to engage. I think you are seriously underestimating the perniciousness of this type of bullying (especially by saying your strategy is "virtually foolproof", which I find a bit patronizing), ...
... and your advice comes dangerously close to "blaming the victim". After all, in the context of (purely verbal) sexual harassment I think you'll agree it would be completely unacceptable to tell someone that it is their "engaging" with the harasser that is reinforcing his behavior, and that the solution to the harassment is to just "refuse to engage". So I wonder how you see this situation as being any different.
@Dan: I deleted "virtually foolproof." However I am a bit puzzled by your comparison of one student saying mean professionally-related things to another with sexual harassment. In fact I wonder how you see these situations as being similar...but that seems beyond the scope of this comment. I am not trying to underplay the unpleasantness of the situation, but I also do not find it an uncommon one -- peers and/or coworkers can behave very obnoxiously, and I would rather give the OP a strategy to try for handling it on her own. If it doesn't work, she can try something else.
Let me also say that I do not feel like I am anywhere near "blaming the victim." If someone in your workplace puts you down...don't you first try to deal with it in some way? What's the difference? Is there something wrong with the idea that an adult professional can seek to work out their workplace troubles on their own? Finally, note that I did not at all say that the OP is reinforcing her coworker's behavior. What I said is that some of the other answers suggest adopting similar behavior, and that this behavior is bad no matter who does it.
My point was that this case is not identical to sexual harassment, but is about another, potentially quite severe, form of harassment, which may be equal or greater in its harmfulness to some cases of sexual harassment. So I think it's reasonable to wonder whether in a case of sexual harassment you would also be just as inclined to offer the OP "a strategy to try for handling it on her own" and tell her to "simply refuse to engage". Perhaps you would, but it's interesting to make the comparison and make sure we are treating this case consistently and with the seriousness it deserves.
And I agree with your last point - the suggestions to stoop to the level of the harasser are a bad idea. And I agree there's nothing wrong with trying to work out things between adults if that is a realistic suggestion in the current situation, which I fear it may not be.
I do not see why sexual harassment is brought into the game here. The latter has another, additional, quality, and there is good reason why special procedures are in place there. For non-sexual harassment, however, escalating immediately to the boss will harm the OP's standing no less than the harasser. The OP will be - implicitly - be regarded as immature, unable to stand up for their own, no matter that it's formally the boss' and admin's job to sort that out. I agree completely with @PeteL.Clark's strategy. It will not work well, though, if the OP ends up on a joint project with the bully.
...your answer sounds a lot like the answer I give to people regarding our political system. With the way our system is constructed, voting is either an act of theft via a political proxy or a defensive mechanism to have those political proxies devote their devious natures elsewhere. Either way, the only act that truly wins is to abstain from the system, but those within the State demand that All must submit to their will.
Pete, I would generally agree with the main thrust of your answer here (and feel that it's the same as the main point of my answer). But the thing I would quibble with in the proposed response is the "I know it won't lead anywhere productive" clause, because that is an opening to a point of more debate with the bully (as I'll call her here). My thinking would be even more curt "I'm not answering that", without any explanation at all -- justifying your reasoning is just more ammo for the bully to use against you.
@Daniel: Remember that these conversations take place when others are around. By saying this, the OP is explaining to the others why she is acting in a way which may seem to be gratuitously curt. After having said that, the OP can certainly refuse to "meta-explain herself": debating whether a conversation will be directly academically on-topic is pretty clearly not directly academically on-topic.
If feasible, this is the right approach, and applies to any such workplace situation. It boils down to whether you engage in, or disengage from a fight with a co-worker. If noticed, disengaging from a volatile situation will reflect well on OP by peer and superiors. Also, not only, as @CaptainEmacs pointed out, going to your boss might make you appear less mature than you ideally are or wish to be perceived, a PI (say) has enough issues to deal with, and going should only be a last resort to not allow the trouble-maker to have you appear as the problem student. Stay out of the mud.
Maybe just block her and cut all communications possible
Welcome to Academia.SE: this answer, as is, is of low quality and it is at risk of being highly downvoted and deleted: I suggest you to expand it, by clarifying better your ideas.
I actually think this one line answer is better than many of the answers given here. It could indeed be expanded upon / clarified, but: the correct basic idea, for sure.
'Workplace Bullying In Academia' probably best fits your situation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_bullying_in_academia
It's a more specific form of:
'Workplace bullying', here's an excellent website for strategies to stop it.
http://www.workplacebullying.org/individuals/problem/being-bullied/
'Psychological Abuse' describes the phenomena you describe as well though it's not focused just on the workplace.
'Gaslighting' is yet another term used to describe the phenomena of sabotaging someone's confidence in themselves.
I would have posted more links but wasn't allowed to because I'm new, a form of 'website bullying in academia' I suppose.
There's always one jerk in every workplace, classroom, or other venue where people congregate and they always attack the nicest people in an effort to salve their own insecurities. They attack the nicest people because they're cowardly and know that the meanest people will stomp their butt. It's not your fault and can be neutralized with appropriate strategies. You should try and address it before it blows up though because once it does, superiors, like parents, sometimes punish both 'kids', regardless of which one started it and the innocent kid usually gets punished the worst.
Nitpick: this isn't what "gaslighting" usually refers to; typically it refers to shattering someone's confidence in their knowledge of objective facts, so as to cause self-doubt about one's own sanity/memory/cognitive abilities. It comes from the name of a play.
This person is, roughly speaking, a sociopath. The first step is to identify such a person. Realize that about 1% of the overall population fits that diagnosis, but there is a larger proportion, like 3-4%, for higher-powered positions such as business and government (Wikipedia). So you will tend to run into these people from time to time; possibly expect 1 per class of 30 students in higher education.
And unfortunately, there's also a trend for high-powered women in particular to bully lower-powered women in the workplace; this has been called "queen bee syndrome" among psychologists (Wall Street Journal). So while stressful, be aware that you're certainly not alone in going through this situation.
In 2010, the Workplace Bullying Institute, a national education and
advocacy group, reported that female bullies directed their
hostilities toward other women 80% of the time—up 9% since 2007. Male
bullies, by contrast, were generally equal-opportunity tormentors.
A 2011 survey of 1,000 working women by the American Management
Association found that 95% of them believed they were undermined by
another woman at some point in their careers. According to a 2008
University of Toronto study of nearly 1,800 U.S. employees, women
working under female supervisors reported more symptoms of physical
and psychological stress than did those working under male
supervisors.
In my experience, the most important thing once a sociopath is identified is to cut off the flow of information as much as possible. Don't engage or give out any more data than needed; every tidbit of personal information is just more ammunition or another attack-vector for the sociopath. (For example, I totally disagree with other respondents who suggest getting to know the person better, or responding to particular jabs with sarcasm or like responses; the sociopath does not respond like a normal person in this regard.) "Don't feed the troll" is a more concise way of saying this.
(The only other thing that's worked for me, a little bit, is to possibly use the strategy of "dropping the hammer" as it's called in poker (Urban Dictionary). That is to say, let the little needly putdowns generally go without response, but at a later date when you have some justification for real heavy-duty consequences/punishment, apply it swiftly, completely, and mercilessly. For example: A sociopathic student might have rules on absences enforced with complete strictness; an abusive committee member might be called out on behavior against the rules of the organization to the chair; or saboteur employees may simply need to be fired [see Wall Street Journal link above for the latter]. This is certainly a bridge-burning move, and would of course be undesirable in all but the most extreme circumstances; the one or two times in my life that I've applied this the person became uncontrollably irate, but they didn't bother me after that.)
In your case it's likely best to just avoid and wait out the bully's tenure at your institution, which should be two years or less, and know that "it does get better".
I'm not a psychologist, but I don't think the bully meets the definition of a psychopath. She is a bully, and almost certainly would be characterized as having a personality disorder of some sort, not sure which, but not psychopathy (in my humble and mostly wikipedia-informed opinion).
Advising academics to "expect 1 student in a class of 30 to be a sociopath" seems to be a pretty glib, tending towards irresponsible, statement for someone to make without specific evidence to back it up. I feel similarly about calling someone you have never met "roughly speaking, a sociopath": you are using technical language as though you have technical expertise, but someone with that expertise would almost certainly be more careful. I suggest that you remove this from your answer, which would remain useful (indeed, be more so) without it.
Dear @PeteL.Clark he is right, although his post is highly politically incorrect it is brutally honest. I am sure Daniel have experience with students more than we do. I would like to see research on this topic
@SSimon: I looked into the matter. The leading researcher on psychopathy (Hare, founder of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist) has given the estimate that 1% of the population would meet his diagnostic criteria. Note that this is for psychopathy, not sociopathy, though the difference is subtle. He speculates that the rate is higher in the upper echelons of business and industry: there is no test for this. The idea that being a college student is like being a leading business executive and raises the prevalence of psychopathy by a factor of 4 seems to be entirely his own.
There is no political incorrectness or brutal honesty here; it's an issue of drawing conclusions from an academic study, which seems to me to be done rather rashly. I don't see what is gained by the bold assertion that there is (on average) a sociopath in every classroom. The rest of the answer -- which is very good -- proceeds independently of this.
@PeteL.Clark: I'd argue that what is to be gained is a form of mental self-defense; that one is prepared for it when it happens, and also cognizant that the overwhelming majority of students and coworkers are definitely not in this category. Say 1-per-class (3%) serves as an upper bound for the expectation. Perhaps 1-per-semester for full-time faculty (1-per-3 classes, 1%) could serve as a lower bound? In either case, the mental self-defense posture should be about the same.
Whether the real number is 1 in 30 or 1 in 90, it's true that running into these people in a professional setting is an unfortunate fact of life. I think this answer gives some good advice on how to handle it.
I don't see anything in the OP which suggests that this individual meets more than a small fraction of the criteria for being a sociopath.
"The only way out is to go No Contact." -- http://themindsjournal.com/5-things-sociopaths-and-narcissists-say-to-make-you-feel-crazy/
I will first start off by a quote by Mark Twain:
"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."
- Mark Twain
Hence, the first step I would say is to "keep away" from her. Also, keep in mind that she is definitely considered a "small person". She may have some knowledge, but certainly no wisdom.
Given the extent of her bad behavior as described, you may be dealing with a sociopath here, which can be hard to deal with. No point trying to reason or negotiate with her as sociopaths do not have empathy. One approach you might take is to stick with a few close friends, to have strength in numbers. It is harder for her to criticize you openly when you have friends defending you.
"Pride comes before a fall." I believe this saying has some truth. If you have a religion, you can take comfort in that God does not like such prideful people, though they may be outwardly successful. If you and your friends detect any criminal behavior in her, e.g. faking research results, report her immediately as necessary.
All the best!
I'm a fan of answering people who are obviously trying to deliver a putdown with a backhanded compliment that borders on offensive but is worded in a nice way. This is done a LOT in the South, where I grew up. Southern women can cut each other dead with verbiage that to an outsider sounds quite nice.
Delivered in a "I'm not really interested but I'm being polite" tone, as though talking to a child:
"Well, aren't you precious?"
"Oh sweetie, I bet you feel better for telling me that."
"That's adorable, you're trying to 'neg' me aren't you? It won't work, I'm not going to date you."
"Is that right, dear? Fancy you knowing something like that."
Nothing stings a bully more than being dismissed as a non-entity. That's why they bully in the first place.
Oh, and if a woman from the South says that someone is "perfectly nice", it means she thinks that person is anything but. As in "Well, I don't have much to do with her, but she's perfectly nice." When someone is well liked she is described as "lovely".
This is brilliant, however, very few people can do that convincingly over a long period if it's not in their blood (unless they are Southern-trained). For brilliant put-downs, see also Winston Churchill, or Oscar Wilde. Unfortunately, it's difficult to imitate in real life, plus it requires some refinement on the end of the receiver and bystanders.
Trotting out these obnoxious, patronizing lines is terrible advice and I can't think of any circumstances in which it's reasonbale to address a colleague as "dear" or "sweetie". Don't be surprised if you end up on the wrong end of the harassment accusation if you use these.
@DavidRicherby It's true, some bullying actually works exactly this way, by masterfully using patronising language with an element of plausible deniability. Unfortunately, dealing with bullies is obnoxious business, and the right route to choose is unlikely to leave you clean. I have seen every outcome, from the bully successfully displacing a well-liked person, to proposing a job extension to its victim (possibly to retain control), or to successfully being put in place by an "nuclear-level" reaction of the victim after long-term low-level patronisation. There is no single right response.
I second the answers who recommend "downgrading" the questions' importance and not letting yourself be goaded in this manner.
I do want to add one kind of reply that is not, I admit, quite in that line:
For example, she will come up and say I know so and so who is in the same year as you are and he already has papers published, you don't.
The response that came to mind immediately was "I have a cousin who is your age. She's really nice."
Now that's probably a bit subtle. Whether or not you want to actually play that card, the point is that your colleague apparently cannot help applying some metric that she built her self-esteem with obsessive-compulsively to you. It's a metric she clings to and advertises since she does not trust other metrics to make her look favorable, and apparently she does not trust this particular metric all that much either or she would not need to boost it that much. Don't play her game. Unfortunately, I don't see that you have much chance to make her stop hers since she does not seem to think she has a lot to fall back on otherwise.
I generally try to be honest and upfront with this kind of person initially to see how they respond. For example, I would say something like: "What you just said hurt my feelings and is untrue, I would appreciate it if you would stop doing that."
If that does not work, I move on to confronting them with more drastic measures: "I'm sorry that your lack of self-esteem causes you to put down other people to make you feel better about yourself. Unfortunately all it does is make you look bad to everyone around you when you do it."
After that I would take it up with whomever it would be appropriate to do so, outline their actions and what you have done to attempt to mitigate it. This shows that you have made an effort and stood up for yourself in a respectful and calm manner.
Either way, good luck with this situation, I know they're difficult, I worked with someone I absolutely couldn't stand for two years so I totally understand.
Would you mind sharing whether the two statements you use actually worked, and under which circumstances?
She does it for one of three reasons:
1) She feels bad about herself. By assuming certain facts and commenting on her assumptions in a place where others can hear, she tries to assert a form of dominance over other people to make herself feel superior - thereby stopping from feeling inferior for a brief moment.
2) She wants to make you an enemy. She may feel most driven and perform her very best work when she feels like she is competing with someone. Though this is clearly not the healthiest way to go about it. In a way, this possibly seems like "working together" to her - trying to outdo one another or, maybe even hoping to get together to outdo that other person she is talking about.
3) She may worry about your progress and actually be attempting to help. Like #2, she probably would come off as a very competitive person - and if someone told her the things she didn't do as well as that other person, well, she'd try harder and catch up! Too bad she doesn't have much experience with other personalities and is wrongly assuming a lot of things about your accomplishments.
So, how should you handle her? Well, the response is going to depend on how you prefer to handle these situations, but this is what I would do:
Ask her why this information is important. Why you should care. Why she bothers to tell you this. This will provide more insight into why she does it, while possibly allowing for opportunities to correct assumptions (even if you don't tell her the correct information, you can state which assumptions are false and tell her the concern isn't necessary).
Relay the appropriate message of how you expect to be treated. Points correspond to the numbered reasons above - but regardless of your suspected reason, express your desire that you wish you could work together since you are on the same research team, but that the way she is acting is unacceptable to you.
or
You don't put up with bullying. Either she needs to stay away, or she needs to stop bringing up these (untrue, btw) points, you don't really care how she or someone else is doing - because you are doing fine.
Thanks for the concern, but you are doing fine - possibly now you two can go on to have a decent working relationship.
From here, your working relationship may get better, even if slightly, and become more tolerable, or it may not. Possible follow-ups which other answers go into more detail (in no particular order) may include:
You have to deal with her, make it fun for yourself and watch her squirm
Avoid her
Contact someone with more authority
Note: I'm not proposing this as the surefire 100% guaranteed to work solution, but if you think this might work with her then it's definitely worth a try.
Invite her out for a bite to eat (or find some situation in which you two can talk alone and it does not seem awkward), and discuss the matter with her in private. In talking to her be careful not to upset her as you are dealing with a graduate student with the emotional intelligence of a high school student. In order to prevent this from happening, I would talk to her keeping the following 2 things in mind:
(1) Make sure to give her all the validation she appears to be attempting to give herself by disparaging you. Give her credit where it is due, and do it in the most genuine way possible.
(2) Talk in terms of her interests when asking her to stop. DO NOT make the conversation about you and your needs, only about her. For example, I'm not entirely sure how much you contribute, but if you are viewed as an indispensable member of the team make sure to say something along the lines of how it effects her paper having someone not able to work at full capacity since you are doing group work (or if this is not completely relevant find some other way to relate it to her).
Now if she remains unreasonable even after an attempt to work things out with her one on one, talk to your advisor as mentioned previously in the comments.
Feeding the troll only makes it grow bigger. I would really disadvise doing point 1 at all.
@gaborous The issue isn't the size of the troll, it's the fact that the troll will not stop being rude to her. On average people find it more difficult to be rude to someone who is polite and kind to them, rather than someone who feeds the fire by making obviously disingenuous remarks to interrupt their attempts at bolstering their own self esteem.
ElChapo, while I agree with your comment, I disagree with feeding the ego of an egotistical person. Give such people whatever due respect and credit, but never more than that, otherwise they will usually think that they are right to behave the way they do.
This is a nice answer. I was thinking of suggesting a friendly approach like that myself. I know this won't be the most popular idea, but I think it's worth at least a try. I'd give it +1 if you didn't annoy me rather a lot by using the image and name of a notorious criminal as your SE user handle. I understand it's meant to be humorous but I think it's in very poor taste and suggest that you change it if you want to help your reputation here and for your answers (which seem to be of good quality) to be taken more seriously.
As you do not know how the "troll" will behave, this is a dangerous route. If you absolutely want to play nice, you could try the blandness strategy that I proposed and then - very carefully - probe the ground several weeks later when the attacks have subsided. The distance creates a good starting point to which you can retreat if it does not work out. The reason why I propose that is that a good likelihood exists that if the OP does it right away, troll will try to turn her into a "minion" and it will be even harder to get shot of her then. I strongly recommend creating distance first.
Feeding the troll works quite well as she is not in a position of power. You can control the troll with her favorite food, just like some animal.
Why are people downvoting this as if I didn't add a disclaimer at the beginning? I specifically mentioned "if you think this might work with her." Of course there are situations where feeding someone's ego is not beneficial, but it could possibly work in this situation, and mentioning this option is far better than mentioning nothing at all.
Disclaimer: I didn't downvote you. However, I believe that the problem with that approach is that you cannot easily reverse it. That's why I added a comment to that effect that you should get distance first, before you try something like that. With such people, you do not get many shots to try things before you become irreversibly entangled, so better make it from a position which leaves you a retreat.
Feeding the troll makes it bigger. I have seen inconsequential trolls rise to power by feeding, leaving a path of devastation behind. I agree with "don't feed the troll".
Well to those of you who downvoted, please note that the downvote arrow should be used for things that are factually incorrect/ completely wrong information. Just because you disagree with something does not make it incorrect. The method I suggested may not the perfect solution (which I specifically mentioned in the beginning), but it has a chance of working, and is better than saying nothing at all.
I think people are assuming a certain type of person by referring to her as a "troll". This solution is not targeted at a "troll", but rather at a little girl who feels like no matter what she does, she does not measure up to those around her. I personally see where this answer could be handy, though I think a change of wording could help others - "feed her ego" is basically "giving her credit where credit is due" - not "worshiping her" as others seem to think. (which is why "in the most genuine way possible")
I didn't down vote you, but I can see why people did, as I am now even more strongly disagreeing than before. I know several instances personally where your strategy was expressly wrong and harmful. It may be right, but if it is not, it's not reversible and it is damaging. You state it without disclaimer of the danger (it's not just about trying) - getting it wrong has a potentially serious cost, it's not just "worth a try"; it should only be tried after becoming aware of the possible consequences. I think a disclaimer to that effect would be necessary to make your answer viable.
@DoubleDouble that is exactly what I was referring to. I will edit the answer to reflect you clarification.
As far as I have understood, your main problem is that she is someone who you must work with. I have been in similar situations, and I feel you very well.
I have developed several defense mechanisms.
1. Talk to her!
In the simplest possible way, tell her that her behaviors cause you to have hard feelings. Maybe she is not bad at all and will sympathize with you. Maybe something that you have done has caused her to behave like this. Maybe she envies your work. Just drink a couple of coffees with her and tell her your feelings. Try to be friends. It is harder to hurt a friend than hurting a colleague.
She understands you
She hears what you say and tries not to put you down. That way, problem is solved.
She acts like she has understood you
She listens to you, acts like she understands you, but continues her behavior. In this case, you should remind her that you two talked, and these behaviors put you down. Ask her not to repeat that again.
If she repeats again, decrease your interaction with her. Show that you dislike her behavior by your mimics and your own behavior. By showing, I don't mean just sour and wait for her to understand. Say a sharp word like "mind your own business" or "I don't care what you think".
She ignores
She listens to you, but does not care. Then, you should talk to your advisor. Tell him/her the situation and ask him/her to find a solution for this problem. Before doing this, you should tell your colleague that you will talk to the boss and explain everything.
Her being ignorant about one of her colleague's feelings means she is indeed a bad person and deserves to be told on.
2. Ignore her; don't feed the troll!
Remember that there are a lot of people out there that feeds from others' sadenesses. She might be one of them. Then you being sad about this situation only makes her happier. There is nothing wrong making a person happy, but that would not cost your own happiness. Whenever she says something bad, just smile and nod. Even though it causes you to have hard feelings, pretend that you don't.
3. Tell the situation to an authority
If you are 100% sure that you can't cope up with her behaving bad, just go and explain the situation to your advisor (or who is responsible from the research team). Try not to be so aggressive while explaining, and try to somehow notice her that you will take precautions about this situation.
4. Show her!
That does not mean "snap at her", but rather, "show her that she is wrong". Concentrate on your part of the research and maybe more. Remember that what she said is imperceptible compared to what you actually have done.
What I think is; both you and her having problems about self-reliance. Looking from your point of view, you think having low GPA or less to none publications are something to be ashamed of. She is aware of that as well. Do not let her understand this fact. Even though you know that you could have done a lot better, remember:
"Anger, resentment and jealousy doesn't change the heart of others--
it only changes yours."
Shannon L. Alder
I've had strikingly good results by calling them out on their game. But that's me, maybe you can't. I'm a nice guy too, but when someone ticks me off, I start thinking hard.
Plus she is not doing too well either, only with a few minor publications...
Her put-downs come from her insecurities. A very typical pattern, as you've already found. She's probably doing a lot worse than you even know. So as to not feel so bad about herself, she puts you down. And probably others? She's probably suffering from depression; this is a very common mental illness and she has it bad. Her thoughts are irrational and you can capitalize on that.
Often the insults will mirror her own problems. If she's getting a B-, she has to make you get a D+ or worse, and the worse the better, in her mind. This is difficult for her if you're actually getting an A-, so she'll use exaggeration or outright lies, as you've seen. Or, she'll change the venue: talk about undergraduate grades or something. Don't play along and answer matter-of-factly; instead, make similar insults toward her, and call her on what's really going on - her insecurities. For instance:
she: I know George who is in the same year as you are and he already has papers published, you don't.
you think: she's putting down my number-of-papers cuz her number-of-papers is low, or somehow embarrassing to her. It might not seem embarrassing to you; don't be fooled because what matters is her fears and perceptions, not yours.
you say: How many papers have you published? [adjust this to fit what you know about her] I've got more papers published than you have, don't I? In fact, doesn't everybody in this department have more papers published than you? [you can exaggerate a little if she's already exaggerating - especially as a question.]
she: reacts angrily...
you don't answer her questions, just continue on: So did you bring up George's papers because you haven't published any? You have to put me down because you don't have any papers, right?
Again, adjust this to the realities, and what you know about her. Stop trying to be 'accurate'. You want to say, out loud, what her own fears about herself are saying. Maybe everybody else who hears it, thinks her paper count is OK, but that's irrelevant.
Watch how she works, especially as she cuts other people down - you don't have to talk so you can listen more carefully and think of what insecurity she's trying to cover for. You can use the same weapons against her - practice! Try it out on friends - that's what friends are for.
I remember dealing with a woman who would lash out at people with insults, and when the victim would attack back, she would act really hurt and appear to cry. Out loud, I described this game to everybody in the room. It was like the wicked witch of the west: she exploded with insults and crying, it was astounding really. Nobody else talked to her again. She shut up and went away. Problem solved.
she: So what's your GPA this semester?
you think: I don't have to answer that - in fact, if I don't answer her question, that itself is a put-down. She's paranoid about her own GPA. Probably not too good. I'm glad I looked up her GPA already or I talked to my coworkers to get an idea of her GPA. So now I can hit back and exaggerate just like she does to me.
you say: Well, what's your GPA this semester? [whether or not it's true:] It's down, isn't it? What will you do if you flunk out? [You're asking a question that suggests she'll flunk out - you are not lying by saying she'll flunk out. It's a question, but it'll piss her off cuz that's what she's fearing in her head, rationally or not.]
These comebacks will really anger her. That's the idea. She's a bully, and just like a playground bully, you don't have to win the fight, you just have to make sure that she hurts. Currently, you have been receiving her punches like a playground wimp, and not punching back.
Make sure that often, when she talks to you like this, she gets punished by some cutting comeback - it'll take practice, but the skill will serve you well as you run into more creeps like her in your career. The most cutting comebacks are often the ones that are tragically true. So study up on her: google her, look her up in your university or department, check out her Facebook page or wherever. And use her insults to figure out what's scaring her in the moment - whatever she cuts you down about, chances are it's a problem for her, and you can turn the blade around 180 degrees.
Yes she will get angry at you - she was angry at you before, so nothing's lost. Eventually she'll stop bullying you and trash someone else instead. People won't hate you because you're being mean to her - in fact, people will consider you a hero cuz you're finally fighting back. So don't be afraid to be mean.
-1 Terrible advice, in my opinion. Reacting this way raises the stakes, risks a very ugly confrontation, and makes you look petty and mean as well.
It's not necessarily a bad strategy, very unfortunately; it can work well with nasties. The problem is: it requires massive skill and self-confidence, and one needs to find fun in beating the bully in the same way movie heroes do. Of course, @corvus ' scenario can come true and the thing escalating out of control. But the bigger problem is that most of us academics are here to do our job, not to show off our society saving skills (or we would have done some other thing with our life). So, while we typically want to be left alone, this strategy requires us to be engaged with the process.
You won't have to do it much. If it hurts every time she punches you (verbally), she'll stop. Just like a schoolyard bully. Make sure that any other people in the room have experience with her, otherwise, yeah, you look as petty as her. Good chance you're not the only one being put down.
Part of the idea behind pissing her off is to intensify her immature behavior and show everybody what's going on. Try to time it so that when other people are around, you fight back less, and in private, that's when you insult her more. So when she blows up at you, it'll look to everybody else like it just came out of nowhere.
Am I being too sensitive?
Yes.
What should I do?
You listen and answer to your adviser and no one else.
Of course the administration and some relevant others need to be taken care of without the help of your adviser, but when it comes to your academic progress evaluation and the amount of publications during your PhD, IMO its better not to listen to others. Let her do her thing, all you need to care is your work in hand. You are not responsible for what she thinks (problems of the world in a broader sense).
You are the part of an institution and your adviser is the team leader. If you find someone deliberately trying to put you down, which in turn is interfering with your work, go talk with your adviser and let him/her take care of it.
"You listen [...] to your adviser and no one else." That seems rather limiting to one's prospects.
You listen and answer to your adviser and no one else. -- This is perhaps the single worst piece of advice I've ever read here. Students are neither slaves nor cogs in a machine. Your advisor doesn't own you. Most students need multiple mentors and are evaluated by multiple faculty (for example, the thesis committee). The entire point of a PhD is becoming an independent researcher. Serious workplace issues should be brought to the attention of the department chair, especially if the advisor doesn't (or can't) act.
@JeffEPlease read paragraph following the main block if you haven't done already. Workplace issues if interfering with your work is to be brought to the adviser first. The advise is specif to the mentioned question. The advise along with the explanation can be rephrased like When it comes to evaluation of your work, adviser is the one who you listen to.
"When it comes to evaluation of your work, adviser is the one who you listen to." No. You must not limit yourself to listening to just one person. Ultimately, as @JeffE says, you need to convince people other than your advisor of the value of your work. All sincere and informed opinions about your work are valuable and you cannot afford to live in a little bubble where you listen to nobody but your advisor. Don't listen to the bully -- but because they're not sincere, not because they're not your advisor.
@DavidRicherby I hate to disagree with you. Our research culture tells me to pass every relevant information regarding my work to my adviser, whoever told me when I am under a contract with him/her. This may be criticism, appraisal or a valuable feedback regarding our progress. As a student I would submit these to my adviser and continue making changes iff he/she tells me to do.
I say relevant as there may be a lot of junk which can be thrown away without a second thought. The bully in this question is making such statements.
Of course you should pass relevant information to your advisor and, indeed, to everyone you're collaborating with in research. But what does that have to do with your claim that a research student should listen and answer only to their advisor?
@DavidRicherby As I mentioned in the second previous comment, the answer is specific to the question in hand. The scenario in which a bully deliberately trying to put you down; you needn't listen to her, but to your adviser and no one else in this specific context. I too feel the answer may inconsistent in general applications. Its better to let your adviser know that some one is intentionally messing up with your mind. It may be equivalent to not responding to the bully, but passing the criticism to your adviser. Again, it only matters if the words are affecting your research.
@Sathyam I read the entire answer, and I stand by my comment. Students should not discuss workplace issues (or anything else) only with their advisor. Sure, bring it to the advisor's attention first, but suggesting that it's inappropriate to talk with anyone else is simply toxic.
@JeffE I agree with your point, but once again the answer is specific to this particular workplace issue among all others. Building on, it is indeed toxic if applied to all the workplace issues, but I suppose that is not the point. IMO inappropriate is inappropriate in itself since the answered specified the context of applicability of the advise in the text following the main block.
@Sathyam No. Even for this particular workplace issue, I think your advice is dangerously wrong.
The colleague you're talking about is most likely a psychopath.
No, that doesn't mean "serial killer". But it does mean someone who was born with a genetic and hereditary personality disorder. Her brain's structure is different from ours, and that makes her physically incapable of feeling guilt or remorse.
She's making you feel bad because she enjoys it! That's how different they are from you and me. They actually enjoy hurting people, it's like a sport for them.
This bitch sounds like she's not even stealthy about it. Some of them do it for decades without the victim noticing.
Anyhow. This is one of those cases where the only winning move is not to play. Don't associate with her anymore, and your problem will be solved.
Don't try to reason with her, or get her to see the error of her ways - she doesn't see it that way. She simply doesn't give a rat's ass about anyone except herself, and she sees nothing wrong with the way she is or what she's doing. She simply could not care less.
She may act otherwise, but though they can be extremely convincing - they kind of have to, to pass off as human - you can rest assured that she's just faking it to be able to abuse you some more.
Obviously I'm speaking from personal experience here. Otherwise I wouldn't know so much about these freaks.. Feel free to do some research into "psychopathy", "sociopathy", "narcissism", "borderline personality disorder", "ASPD" etc, they're all essentially the same thing, but with different labels to distract us.
Downvoting me doesn't change reality, you know.
I didn't downvote you, because it's an interesting answer, but: you do not know the reality. It may be as you say, it may be insecurity or something entirely else. You present your stance as if it was close to being a fact - which it isn't. BTW, I agree with your action advice, but I am not sure your analysis is correct (which does not really matter for your advice to be followed).
@Kikka saying that downvoting you doesn't change reality doesn't change reality, either. Your post contains multiple inaccuracies. This site welcomes interesting answers, and opinion-based content is fine, but posting inaccurate or misleading information is a sure way to get your answer downvoted.
@DanRomik, > "Your post contains multiple inaccuracies." <-- No it doesn't.. You don't like me making "unsubstantiated claims", but then you go ahead and do the exact same thing, as if it's fine for you, but not me.
@KikkaKutonen thank you for your opinions. To clarify my position, I would say it's fine for both of us to make any kinds of claims that we want here, as long as they do not violate reasonable norms of civility, and as long as we accept that other people may disagree with us, and possibly downvote what we wrote if it is posted as an answer.
Obviously, if you're being honest, you'll realize that even claims you personally find outlandish may actually be true. That means, for example, that they're not refuted simply by stating that they're false.
You can just let her win the silly game she is playing.
"For example, she will come up and say I know so and so who is in the same year as you are and he already has papers published, you don't."
Your answer: "It's even worse, I had two papers rejected and as a result I need to start over with some core elements of the research that went into it."
"Or I know this other person who did really well in a class and even got the professors recommendation while you are only an average student."
Your answer: "I wish! Unfortunately, I'm doing a lot worse than the average grad student here."
"She will non-stop ask me for my GPA as an undergrad, and how I am doing in my courses. I thought she cared about me at the beginning but I am realizing that she is only exploiting my weaknesses."
You should tell lies about how bad your GPA scores were.
"She will also ask me about my research focus and tell me whatever I am trying to do has no value or too small scale. She will openly laugh about my research plans in front of other people and say that it has no value."
Just tell her with a straight face that her judgment is correct, its quite worthless what you are doing, but due to circumstances you have little choice to pursue what you are doing. You can tell her that given how bad you were as an undergraduate, you are just glad that you have the opportunity to do any research at all, however insignificant.
Terrible advice. Spreading rumours of your own incompetence cannot possibly be a good idea.
@CountIblis Why would that be a good idea?
Spreading rumors about incompetence is not going to cause problems, as you are always evaluated in an objective way. You are not going to get a Referee Report saying that your paper has been rejected because of such rumors. All that will happen is that the troll will start to talk about you with others, but this will conflict with other more reliable information about you, which will lead to the troll losing credibility. The troll is the one who is abusing information, you can then manipulate the troll using false information, leading the troll to her demise.
"always evaluated in an objective way" - that is more than optimistic to believe . Depends on the talent of the troll for intrigue (in this case, may be limited, but we do not really know), that can backfire badly. A manipulative troll can use this self-deprecation to great effect. Unless the OP is better at manipulation than the troll (the OP seems a nice person and this is probably not the case, as intrigue requires practice), one keep completely away from such a strategy. Strongly discouraged.
More directly: lying in any professional context is bad. Lying to make yourself look bad is ridiculously bad. Initiating a purely negative, dishonest interaction with the goal of someone else's "demise" is wholly unprofessional. An acceptable professional response is simply to refuse to engage in negative interactions. The OP can say: "I'm sorry, I've answered questions like that from you before, so I know it won't lead anywhere productive. Do you have anything constructive / relevant / about project X to ask me?" No need to be creative/clever/playful: just don't engage.
@PeteL.Clark Your very latest comment, starting from "An acceptable professional response..." is worth an answer. Very good, very professional. One of the best answers so far.
@PeteL.Clark It's not unprofessional to tell lies to someone who is just playing games. As long as the truth is verifiable, it's not going to cause problems for you, only for the person who has been deceived into believing in it by her own bad behavior. When people find out that she has told things to them about you that are false, and you also deny that you told her that, she is going to suffer, not you. Also you get the person to shut up and get back to work a lot faster if the person gets to hear what she wants to hear, i.e. that you are an utter failure.
It's actually not a lie to give false information to someone who is soliciting for such false information. Only if the expectation was to receive factually correct information and you instead give false information, then you have deceived the person in question, but that doesn't apply here.
" It's not unprofessional to tell lies to someone who is just playing games." Certainly it is, and doing so around others -- as the OP mentioned that all the interactions are -- risks giving misinformation to those who are not aware of the nuances of the situation. Moreover, saying things which you know are false is lying in any situation: that's what the word means. There are situations in which lying is acceptable (e.g. in actual games like poker), but on the job with other people around is not one of them. I would not want a colleague who responded to stressful situations by lying.
I got from the OP's question the picture of someone who is intent on misrepresenting the OP, making it look like the OP is an incompetent fool. Such a person is just going to invent stories about the OP based on half truths. This is why I think derailing what she is doing by telling lies (privately, of course) to make sure the half truths aren't there either, should be considered. If she starts rumors about rejected papers when in fact everyone who you work with knows that there are no such papers, she won't be taken serious when she talks about you in the future.
@CountIblis Lying games are going to bite the OP back. There are some people who get away with it, but these do not need advice from Academia.SE. I follow your sentiment to get back at the bully, but I agree with Pete, this could lead to a disastrous outcome. Have you tried this yourself and has it worked? No, I do not really want to know; if you haven't tried it and know that it works, you shouldn't suggest it (and if you have, you probably shouldn't tell us). You intend it in good faith, but it may end up isolating both the OP together with the bully; i.e. a partial success for the bully.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.157141
| 2024-06-17T17:25:05 |
211490
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Stack Exchange
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Should I disclose my full academic history to graduate school after acceptance
I have been applying to various graduate school programs during my gap year since graduating with my undergraduate degree in 2023. Starting Jan-2024 I enrolled in a PhD program in my home country as a backup plan, and kept applying to various graduate schools.
In one such program, I failed to notify in the application form that I was currently enrolled in another program. I filled in the details before my enrollment in December 2023, and submitted my application around January 24, 2024, after an informal chat with a potential PI sometime around January 22, I had filled in all the necessary and standard details before meeting my potential PI to speed up the process as the deadline was approaching soon and I was not very careful in reviewing my application at the time of submission, this was also my first application post my spring-24 enrollment, so I filled the details in a bit of "auto-pilot" mode, after having filled a lot of applications where I was not enrolled in any other program. At the time of applying, though, my enrollment was very recent, there were no transcripts or much academic progress in the program, so this omission does not significantly alter my application at the time of submission.
Now I have received an offer letter from that graduate school, which I accepted. I noticed this issue when I had to upload some further documents post-acceptance for verification in the same application portal. Therefore, technically I did omit my enrollment from my application at the time of applying. I have now initiated the withdrawal process from my current enrollment, and I will soon officially terminate my current program.
I feel like I should notify the admissions office for the sake of complete transparency and to avoid future problems, but I am also worried my offer might get revoked. What should I do and how should I go about it?
Will the first enrolment be terminated before the second one starts?
Yes, it will be terminated
SHORT ANSWER
You will be fine as long as you end your first enrollment before the second one starts. You do not even need to mention your first enrollment, unless you absolutely wants to.
LONGER ANSWER
I do not know of any rule requesting to mention previous enrollments. Especially in the international context, application calendars are totally out of synchronization and enrolling into various programs is almost unavoidable. Transparency about such situation is (most often, not always) appreciated, but I think it would be frown upon if it was required, and it would be more important for the program which you leave (allowing them to reassign the resources assigned to you) than for the program which you join.
Good luck with your new program!
Thanks for the answer! I am only worried because the application explicitly wanted to know if I was enrolled in another graduate program. I entered "No" which was true at the time of entry but not at the time of submission, I should've been careful, but here I am now. I feel like this is important enough for me to report, although it had only been 2-3 weeks into my enrollment at the time of submission.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.157421
| 2022-08-15T10:37:28 |
187764
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Stack Exchange
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How to be productive as an independent student without any libraries, friends and classroom?
I've started to track my everyday in paper to keep myself more productive. The reason is I'm staying from home in a country without any public libraries. I'm out from college so I've no friends at all now. Most of them are doing jobs or applying for Germany, USA etc. So, I need it. I tried discord study rooms but they weren't very useful as nobody saw what you were doing under the laptop. This is what I track currently:
Morning checklist:
a) Drink water (eg: If I drank water after waking up, I put a tick mark.)
b) Long toilet (eg: If I went to toilet to clear myself up, I put a tick mark.)
c) Make bed
d) Tea
e) Listen to favorite podcast
f) Did you wake up before 7 AM? (If I woke up before 7 AM, I put a tick mark.)
Then
Did you took a break after using laptop consistently for 2 hrs, write how many breaks you took
ie I use laptop for 2 hrs for studying, then ask myself to take a break from laptop. Break for studies is implicit. I take breaks after every 45 minutes. It is made to make myself stop drowning in google search and youtube black hole.
Did you finish majority of tasks by 7 PM?
was your social media under control? eg: I use twitter for around 1 hr on all my browsers.
Was your facebook under control? eg: I use facebook for 10 mins per day.
Did you stayed 15 mins under the sunlight?
Did you switched between subjects, topics every 2 hrs? How many times?
This is done to keep myself efficient. Because I keep getting stuck in 1 topic day and night. And no productivity happens.
Keep track of days to go for final exam date. (i.e if there's 20 days remaining to the final exam, I put 20 in it.)
It's working decently for me. But here're some problems-:
a) It's not helping me for revision. I'm failing to track myself revise regularly. I want to implement a tracking where I can check myself if I revised that day. It'd be even better if it became integrated within the current tracker.
b) Seeing "days to go" getting so close in last days of exam is heartbreaking as I still would have lots of topics to study as our exam time schedule is made in such a way.
c) In the beginning seeing "so many days to go" makes me kinda chill and less effective.
So, I want solution for it as well. How do I solve this problem? I definitely need to track my days to exam, but I don't want to feel like, "today I've infinite time" and "one day I've just 3 days".
d) I don't switch subjects and switch time between using laptops AT ALL in many days.
I am not sure how do I make this process very streamlined that it becomes easier for me to switch off from laptop. I study everything from laptop. I don't even follow any one or two standard textbook that I can just buy them and study from it. I follow on demand content. i.e if I have to learn about "x", I start searching books for "x" and start reading it. I've to weed out the bad books and study from the most relevant book. So, it's not possible to study something for the first time totally without internet.
My question is How do I solve problems a, b, c, and d?
Can you suggest any techniques?
What field, generally or specifically, are you trying to study?
So, a technical, STEM, subject, yes?
I found useful using Org Mode under Emacs for my morning list (which allows me, among other things, 1) to keep track of how much time I spend on each task, 2) to schedule tasks with various periods, 3) to keeps tasks in various files and compile a unique agenda from them, in the spirit of David Allen's Get Things Done methodology). I used to have reminders for "hydrate" as you did, but removed them once the habit was ingrained, to keep the agenda cleaner. Once you adopt a good scheduling tool (orgmode or other), it will help you to solve your four issues:
helping me for revision Schedule a task (on Mondays for me) where you review your whole system.
Seeing "days to go" Have deadlines appear a long time in advance (the default in orgmode is one month, I sometime put a -2m or -3m to extend it).
seeing "so many days to go" makes me kinda chill and less effective: break up large tasks in smaller ones, with deadlines reasonably earlier for each.
switch subjects and switch time between using laptops AT ALL in many days. I am not sure if I understood this problem, but
to switch subject, choose one main subject for a specific day (or half day); and
to avoid getting stuck on the laptop for large periods of time leaving me exhausted, I am using an application called Workrave to prompt me to take a short pause every 25 mns and a larger one every 2h (in the spirit of the Pomodoro Technique. The computer is LOCKED for 5mns, forcing me to look for other things to do in the house, such as drinking or making tea, putting food to cook in the solar oven or checking on it, taking a walk in the garden, etc.
Here is a (slightly edited) extract of my agenda on a typical day, automatically generated by the function OrgMode-Agenda from emacs:
5:59...... REMEMBER: =Remove yourself from people and places where you don’t feel valued and respected.=
6:00-6:30 REVIEW, RESCHEDULE and INDEX Daily agenda
6:01...... LOG (at least) 3 things I am glad of in last 24h
6:02...... LOG Energy Level in morning (1-5 5=excellent)
6:03...... LOG mental clarity (1-5 5=excellent)
6:04...... LOG Health (1-5 5=excellent), health problems and temperature
6:05...... LOG Dominating Thought or Emotion
6:15-6:20 DOWNLOAD Student's drafts (to review while exercising)
6:20-6:30 CHECKOUT Messages on Discord
6:30-6:45 CHECKOUT DAILY Firefox tab of bookmarks
7:00-8:00 EXERCISE in the morning
8:00-9:00 REVIEW PDFs in [[file:~/ToReview/]]
9:00-9:15 PROCESS Some Night and Running Notes (if any)
9:15-9:30 REVIEW electronic mail
I hope it helps!
Perhaps it is just the way you wrote this, but I'm worried that you may be spending too much of your focus on the "time in the saddle" rather than on what you actually do while studying. You can spend a lot of time very ineffectively. You say you've failed this course previously, so something is likely wrong with how you are approaching learning beyond the time you spend at it.
For many STEM fields, such as math and CS, the best study is active study in which you work to solve problems. Reading and watching recorded lectures is passive by comparison. Memorizing won't get you through most exams.
Find materials, such as books, that have a lot of problems/exercises in them and try to solve as many as you can. Books with solution guides are a mixed blessing as it is too tempting to use the solutions and think you understand how to solve the problem. There is a big difference between reading a solution and producing one. In many books, including some of mine, the problems are more important than the text. If you can solve all of the problems in the book, some quite hard, you will be a success with that subject. Much more so than if you memorize the text.
But you also need some way to verify that your solutions are correct.
One issue you have in studying alone, however, is that it is hard to get feedback on your attempts at problem solution. Repetition and reinforcement are good things, as long as you don't reinforce the wrong things by making mistakes that are never corrected.
I just want to clarify that my issue isn't that I find this subject hard or have any mental or any barriers to study it which appears like that looking at your answer.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.157975
| 2024-05-16T13:18:35 |
210631
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
HealthCare policies for (short) medical leaves of absence
Which mechanisms can/should a university set-up in order to implement short medical leaves of absence of their faculty members? Has the situation in academia become worse or has it always been like this?
It seems to me that when a faculty member gets a "medical leave" for a short period (i.e. from half a day to one week),
the workload corresponding to such period is merely postponed (classes to teach, exams to mark, research articles to write, thesis of students from other professor to evaluate, peer-review duties), not removed; and
the expectations in term of "academic productivity" (e.g. number of publications per year, number of students guided, number of thesis reviewed, etc.) are in no way reduced.
ADDED FOR CLARITY
It seems to me that a factory worker is not expected to "work double" to compensate for their absence during their medical leave when they come back to the assembly line, while faculty members are partially expected to do so. Faculty members benefit from many advantages which compensate for such difference, but the application of industrial managerial techniques to academia (e.g. in Chile) is progressively reducing such advantages.
This is an issue, as if n days of medical leave of absence (e.g. for mental health issue) are followed by n days of double workload, there is a strong incentive to continue to work during one medical leave of absence (which is illegal, as the salary is paid by the insurance company rather than the institution, resulting in free work for the institution!).
More generally, medical leaves of absence do not affect external factors such as deadlines to submit to conference or for guided students to submit their final manuscript, resulting in additional pressures (from the faculty members themselves, but sometimes from their colleague or even from their hierarchy!) to work while on medical leave: in a previous academic employment, the post-graduate coordinator asked me to finish reviewing a Master's thesis while I was under perfusion at the hospital (and on medical leave).
My impression is that
When there was less pressure on faculty members to be "productive", work was just not done when a faculty member was on short medical leave, and the academic system "absorbed" the loss, taking care only of longer medical leaves (e.g. one month, one semester or longer);
Formal medical leaves of absence were invented in the context of workers producing physical goods, where one factory worker is easily replaced by another, and a reduction of the workforce by a small factor only yields a reduction of the productivity by the same factor (as opposed to a break in the production line), and are ill-adapted to "creative" jobs, where the production is no so easy to measure, and where workers are not so easy to replace on short notice (e.g. it's not like any professor can teach any course), such as (among other) in Academia.
I doubt that the hypothesis beyond those "impressions" can be demonstrated formally, and even if they could, I doubt that the administration would take them into account and "lower" the productivity expectations on faculty members. I wonder if I am imagining a worsening trend, and if I am not about which mechanisms can or could be implemented in order to better implement medical leaves of absences of faculty members in academia.
This issue is not solely found in academia. What I have seen is everyone else steps up and covers what needs to be done during the leave of absence, and is not just pushed off until later. But that is merely my observations in my workplace.
How much research really does not get done because of a half day to one week leave of absence? If your yearly target is 3 papers, you can't very well reduce this to 2.9 papers because you were off sick for one week. Realistically, some reasonable expectations of such medical issues should already be baked into any expectations of yearly paper output. Of course, as you write, longer medical issues need to be treated differently.
Country? At least in the US, short-term illnesses (less than a week, are often unpaid unless you have paid sick time, which is built into your salary. Short-term disability insurance sometimes doesn't start until after a week or more absence. While paid by the state or country, where do you think that money comes from? Mine is funded via a deduction from my salary and from payments from my company (and others).
@mkennedy I am working in Chile, for a private university, and there is no real tenure (the interval at which you are evaluated increases as you climbs the hierarchy, but the continuation of your contract depends of such evaluation). But I am curious about general solutions, not just for private universities in Chile!
As far as "academic productivity", the scenario that would seem to matter most in systems I am familiar with would be someone on the "tenure clock", with an evaluation after a fixed period that determines whether tenure is granted or not. There may be other promotion clocks but tenure is the important one. In a different system my response may not be applicable.
If a medical leave is sufficiently short, I don't think it's sufficiently influential to do anything. For a week, say, on the scale of a typical tenure clock, it's just not going to be a primary influencing factor over that time scale. I would feel comfortable asserting that many nagging chronic issues that do not cause any official "missed time" would be far more influential, even something like the chronic stress of an ill parent is going to add up to much more than a missed week even without any actual caretaking role.
For longer absences, I think the simplest tool for departments is to move the clock. Delaying a tenure evaluation (or, equivalently, "suspending" the tenure clock) by, say, 6 months is a straightforward way to account for 6 months of missed time. Here's an example of what such a policy might look like:
...adjustment of the probationary period can be made in the following conditions, “when those circumstances significantly impede the faculty member’s progress toward achieving tenure”:
“responsibilities with respect to childbirth or adoption”
“significant responsibilities with respect to elder or dependent care obligations”
“disability or chronic illness,” or
“circumstances beyond the control of the faculty member.”
For teaching workload, I would expect that to be handled separately. In my experience, again, short absences are relatively easy to deal with. There may be specific policies or it may be mostly up to the faculty member. I'm familiar with cases where a class or week of classes is simply cancelled, with the instructor doing their best to impact the course as little as possible though acknowledging that it's likely that something will be missing. Other alternatives are to have someone fill-in, either keeping the same class objectives and material or having someone act as a "guest speaker" to lecture/present on a topic close to their own expertise.
For longer absences, it may be necessary to designate an official substitute. Most often I would expect this to be from an existing employee rather than a new hire, but case of a longer absence it may be necessary to hire a temporary employee or change someone's responsibilities. I would expect these longer absences to mostly be handled at the department level and for them to rely a lot on the soft power of the chair, if it's not possible for the instructor to make their own arrangements.
Beyond tenure evaluation issues, my point is that postponing tasks (e.g. marking exams, reviewing a PhD thesis for a committee, etc.) to after the return from a medical leave is not reducing the total workload (in the month,semester,year), it is just reducing the amount of time available to accomplish such tasks, and thus increasing pressure.
It seems to me that a factory worker is not expected to "work double" to compensate for their absence during their medical leave when they come back to the assembly line, while faculty members are.
I will try to clarify my point in the question.
@J..yB..y This is true of every salary-type position, nothing special to academia.
I might be true for some other administrative jobs (albeit I would argue that people are easier to replace than faculty members), but how is it true of a factory worker on the assembly line, of the receptionist of a building, a sales-person in a shop, a cashier at the super market, and many other salary-type positions?
@J..yB..y Those are all hourly rather than salary jobs in my experience (in this US; this distinction may be very different elsewhere), where an hourly job is something where you are paid for the time working and work exactly for that time on whatever work there is to do, whereas a salary job is paying for your overall intellectual input over a period of time (like a year). For a professor, in particular, a big chunk of the job is also deciding what exactly to work on during their working hours, rather than being assigned explicit tasks to perform.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.158599
| 2013-07-26T20:53:37 |
11421
|
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Stack Exchange
|
Advice for having children during graduate school
My wife and I just found out that we're having our first child. While this is a wonderful thing, it also concerns us a bit. Particularly because we're on limited funds (TA & RA combined salary) and we're still 1.5-2 years away from graduating together. Also, since our academic careers are so demanding, we're also concerned about balancing time taking care of our newborn.
I read the responses in this post, but I'd like to ask for more specific advice for new parents in graduate school. What strategies have you used to enable you to handle having a newborn while both parents are finishing their PhD? Both in terms of time management and making ends meet, financially.
Any personal anecdotes, experience, advice, and tips are welcome! :)
Also related: http://academia.stackexchange.com/q/9589/2700
Should this be CW since it will involve no single right answer ?
Step 1: After you tell your family and friends, tell your advisors.
Congratulations to you both! I had a graduate student who had two kids and saw his wife go through med school while finishing his PhD. The key was (for both) to be highly organized and maintain a strict work schedule helping each other out. He finished with flying colours; she is a medical doctor.
@Suresh I don't think community wiki is suitable for that… either it fits the scope of the site, and it's fine, or it doesn't, and it should be closed
Advice? look for a daycare (do not forget to register in your university's daycare waiting list ASAP)
Congratulations! First of all, you are in for a wonderful and life-changing experience.
However, your life is going to change quite drastically - so try to be prepared.
Some things that come to mind in no specific order (some of these are not specific to academia):
On the personal side, you must first realize that you will have much less time to work. Get used to the idea. The way to deal with this is to organize your time and stick to your schedules. No more random web browsing during work hours - use your time with your child as time for brain rest. As a scientist you may know that it is not always easy to be creative/focused on cue, but you will learn to get used to it with practice.
As JeffE commented, if your advisors don't know yet, notify them. A supportive advisor can make a huge difference in terms of flexible-work time, working from home, and even moral support. I would also try to gently ask if they increase your salary or offer some other kind of financial benefits. Also, your graduation will most likely get delayed, hopefully not too much - try to see that your supervisors are ok with that.
If possible, have your family help as much as possible.
The first year with a child is a huge change and can be quite difficult, especially in your situation. Help each other and be understanding towards each other.
Your school's HR can give you information about benefits you could get for children (healthcare, day care).
You can find tons of used baby/child stuff (toys, clothes) for free or very cheap, because they are often useful only for a short time.
The first 3 (or even 6) months, it's your fun time. There is not much to worry about.
If there is something I want to recommend is to find a spot for your infant at your university day care ASAP. Most of them give students/faculty members priority. Unfortunately they are always full and have +years of waiting list (specially for infants <2 years old). Register your infant ASAP. Of course, after making sure its a good place to put your child in. Then, you will enjoy visiting the baby during the day hours (12-1pm is a nice time to get your lunch nearby your kid). I went through a nightmare when my kid was at day care far away from my university. This becomes worse in Winter because of the weather conditions.
I think you need to clarify your first sentence. Do you mean the first 3 months of pregnancy, or the first 3 months after birth?
@JoelReyesNoche after birth.
In my experience, the first 3 (or 6) months after birth are the most worrisome, especially if this is your first child.
@JoelReyesNoche - I think what seteropere meant was that having an official maternity or paternity leave can be very helpful.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.158932
| 2014-11-27T01:36:34 |
32335
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Stack Exchange
|
Does the graduate admission committee automatically consider you for a Master's program if they don't accept you for their Ph.D program?
I am applying for Math Ph.D programs, some of the schools say in their websites that they'll consider one for their MS program if one is not accepted to their PhD program.
I was wondering if all schools are like that, or it depends?
Thanks
Related: Consideration for MS if PhD rejected
Every department is different.
Some departments might have no master's program at all.
Some do, others don't. I have heard the term 'cash cows' many times when it comes master's student in graduate schools (Because PhD is almost always full funded in a way or another). Some schools might offer you an unfunded master's admission if you don't get into their PhD program, and many applicants think of this as a polite rejection.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.159114
| 2014-09-28T20:02:39 |
29125
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Stack Exchange
|
Advisor says I shouldn't expect to finish thesis soon, but won't offer specific feedback on what is missing; how to react?
I have a rough draft of my PhD dissertation, on which I was working on and off for about a year, but mostly I was doing other coursework. I have about 90 pages so far.
My dissertation advisor tells me that what I should do is pretty much make sure it is well-written and apply the theory to a few examples. By my estimates, if I go berserk on this, I can finish all that in under one month.
However, the dissertation advisor says that usually, it takes about 3 years to complete a dissertation in my department, and I should not expect to complete it soon. Also, he says that the level of my draft was intermediate (some time ago) and not yet advanced (but he hasn't reviewed the current one yet).
When I ask or suggest about expanding the scope of the dissertation / adding additional chapters, the dissertation advisor says he does not think it is necessary.
So, it appears that the dissertation is almost complete, but I should not expect to complete it soon. How should I interpret this apparent contradiction?
What field are we talking about?
The field is physics.
How long have you been working on your dissertation and did it lead to any publication? Also, depending on your subfield, “applying your theory to some examples” is the major, time-consuming challenge.
I started working on it last year, but most of the time I was doing a large number of courses, so the effective time would be more like 5 months, which is of course not much. I wrote a technical report and an article during this time. The article is yet to be reviewed by the advisor.
I looked at previous dissertations completed in my department, and in similar cases, application of the theory to some examples is something like 20 pages and can be a relatively trivial task. This is further confirmed by the advisor's suggestions.
How many pages it is when written up does not necessarily correspond to how much work it was to get it all done right. Having the basic idea and theory may be easy and one is tempted to say "Here's the theory, the rest is trivial", but often only when you try to apply it, you will see the flaws and issues it has. Getting that fixed can be really time-consuming...
if I go berserk on this, I can finish all that in under one month. — So three years sound about right, then. (Ha ha only serious.)
So, you actually want to do a PHD without not even a peer-reviewed publication? In Physics? Not possible. First publish. More than once. Then write dissertation. Then get a PHD. A PHD is not a MSc, where you pass some courses, write a thesis that just makes your advisor and your committee happy (without the prerequisite of a peer-reviewed publication) and instant PHD in less than two years.
To all those focusing on publishing: in some fields (e.g. math) people have gotten tenure-track or tenured positions without publishing a paper. It's extremely rare, and maybe it couldn't happen in the current state of affairs. But there is precedent, so I wouldn't say "impossible". Just very unlikely.
@JeffE Indeed, for various reasons, students often take more time than necessary to complete their thesis, and what you said makes sense.
@Alexandros Actually, I would prefer to have a peer-reviewed publication before graduating, but my advisor does not want me to worry about that. However, there is a possibility of publishing the paper I have completed, as well as papers based on material in my thesis draft. In my department, the expectation is about one paper per year if not enough progress is being made on the thesis, or something like that.
@DavidKetcheson Indeed, it is very possible to get the PhD without publishing a single paper, although I would prefer to have some publications.
@Jake It is not really a matter of preference. Have you ever considered that your paper might get rejected? Or the peer-review process reveals some subtle mistake you have missed and ruins your results? Then your thesis will document what? Your possibly faulty results?
Indeed, for various reasons, students often take more time than necessary — Actually my point was exactly the opposite: For various reasons, students often want to take less time than necessary.
@JeffE: There's a rule I once heard: "To determine how long a task will actually take: make your best estimate, double it, and switch to the next higher unit of time." So "two hours" becomes "four days", and "one month" becomes "two years". It should be Somebody's Law but I don't know whose. (Hofstadter's Law is closely related.)
@Alexandros I have considered that. In fact, I knew that my previous version of the paper I have just submitted to the advisor would not be published; right now it is likely to be publishable after major revisions. However, I am sure that there are no substantial errors in my research, as the concept is sound, straightforward, and already tested. There are many small items to be taken care of, and that is what my advisor refers to, saying that I should have a well-written version of what I have already done.
@JeffE I think that both statements are true in different ways. Students often underestimate the time required to complete work, but they often work with very low efficiency, and especially so if they have unclear understanding of the dissertation process.
@NateEldredge In the formulations of this that I have encountered, the actual time to completion is about twice the estimated time. However, one day effectively consists of about 8 hours, according to a popular convention based on practice, so it is easy to see how a 2 hour task can be stretched out over several days.
In my department we require 4 publications to get a PhD. When I started, the head of studies said that even if I get there very much ahead of time, he would not let me graduate too soon, as an important part of PhD studies are just being in a scientific environment. One year is definitely not enough.
My PhD advisor once told me that one aspect he considers when rating a thesis is how much the candidate did try to go beyond the initial idea or goal. If they are like "I solved the initial problem, here's the thesis, I just want to finish a fast as possible" then they will earn an intermediate grade at the end. Only if they try to go beyond the initial problem, try to at least estimate the further implications or steps or apply the outcome of the initial problem to further problems, they really can earn a top grade.
To my experience, to successfully finish a physics PhD within roughly a year, you have to have had really great luck to find something really excitingly new that provided a huge progress to your specific field. In most cases after one year you can't even tell for sure what the final focus of the thesis will be. Those applications of the theory to some example cases can easily take up more time than the whole development of the theory as there might come up issues and flaws that you were not expecting. Also their importance is not necessarily reflected in the number of pages they make up in the final thesis.
Therefore it seems to me, that you are somewhat belonging to the first type of people mentioned above who are just heading to leave before really having understood the implications of what they were working on.
The topic I am working on is considered to be quite "hot", and the theory I have developed is substantially new. It would be directly applicable to some high-profile research currently in progress at certain major laboratories.
The objective I have in mind for the dissertation is to complete it as quickly as possible, because I have lots of plans and ideas I can't wait to start working on after that, but I will take as long as it takes in order to not compromise on quality and scope.
@user162562 Then contacting some people there and asking for a collaboration to get your theory applied to their stuff should be an easy thing. If the theory is that good and new they should be glad to set up a collaboration and some high-profile publications should result from it. This is finally what academic work is about.
"Those applications of the theory to some example cases can easily take up more time than the whole development of the theory as there might come up issues and flaws that you were not expecting." -- I agree; however, I've already done testing on a few examples, and everything appears to work as it should so far. Also, the advisor is actually recommending me to focus on simply having a well-written version of part of the theory and not to extend the scope + the application to examples, of course.
"Then contacting some people there and asking for a collaboration to get your theory applied to their stuff should be an easy thing."
Thanks for the answer and for this suggestion. I think that it is a good idea, and I will work on that.
PhDs are pass/fail so I'm not sure what you mean for a thesis to "earn an intermediate grade".
What you describe sound like a paper, not a thesis. By all means, finish your current work, publish it, and move on. But that's independent from finishing your thesis. (Warning: I work in a different field with different cultural expectations.)
@DavidRicherby That depends, here in Germany they are graded and the first sentences don't just refer to PhDs but also bachelor's and master's theses.
@DavidRicherby Indeed, in my case the thesis is assigned a pass/failed grade.
@JeffE I am doing exactly what was agreed upon with the advisor for the thesis. On average, in my department dissertations are about 150 pages long (doublespaced), 20 of which is implicit content. Papers, on the other hand, are usually 3-15 pages long, sometimes up to about 30. I am speaking of my field, of course. Right now, both in terms of content and length, the draft is more than a paper, but less than a thesis.
@Jake You seem to be viewing a PhD thesis as being merely a document that meets some specific set of criteria. It isn't. I think you should have a discussion with your adviser about what exactly a PhD is and what is expected of a thesis.
@Jake To build on David's comment, you also seem to be viewing a paper as being merely a document that meets some specific set of criteria. It isn't.
@DavidRicherby That's one of the possible ways to look at it, as form is often correlated to its content. I did discuss this with my advisor, and I read some literature on PhD and dissertations.
@JeffE Quite apparently, a paper is a piece of scientific content, which satisfies conventional requirements for its form. There is often a correlation between content and form, which is why one may speak of content as well as of form. It is often convenient to briefly mention form and management parameters, content being idiosyncratic and specialized.
Science is really a publication driven field, not a dissertation driven one. I would highly encourage to you to put your time in to turning your research into peer-reviewed scientific publication, instead of doing just enough for a dissertation. If you can publish 2-4 papers out of what you have written in established journals your adviser will most likely graduate you. However, I imagine, since this was my experience too, that as you start to write your papers you will find holes that need to be fixed, etc., and fixing those holes will be a substantial part of the work.
Bottom line: focus on doing publishable research and getting published first! After you've done that, the dissertation will be easy and you'll graduate without a problem.
I agree that it would be best to publish 2-4 papers. The subject matter in my case is pretty straightforward, but you are right about certain seemingly small items that may require substantial work. I have a list of such items, and on average, each of them takes about 1-3 days to be addressed. The advisor and I agree that the main concern is that my draft is not very well-written yet, and for the same reason, I don't have much publishable material at the moment.
Trying to get a PhD in a year or two is a bad idea, because employers will not take such a degree seriously. The only exception is if you're a once-in-a-generation talent (and the odds are you're not the next Albert Einstein or Lev Landau), in which case you'd already have a number of publications to your credit and enough work to justify a PhD.
So I would echo Benedikt Bauer's advice and not try to rush through things. Instead, focus on the quality of your thesis project. Have you completed publications? Have you personally explored the ramifications of the work you've already done? What else have you done "beyond the basics" of the original problem?
"Have you completed publications?"
I wrote a technical report and an article during this time. The article is yet to be reviewed by the advisor.
"Have you personally explored the ramifications of the work you've already done?"
Yes, I have done that, but the only thing I head from the advisor on that is that he thinks I should not over-do things like that.
"What else have you done "beyond the basics" of the original problem?"
The advisor wants me to have a well-written version of what I've done, plus application of theory to a few examples, which is pretty much feeding certain data to the method and analyzing the output; this should take about 20 pages, and I can imagine in detail how it will look. There are a lot of ideas that I mentioned, but the advisor does not want me to explore too many of them.
"Trying to get a PhD in a year or two is a bad idea, because employers will not take such a degree seriously." I suppose that maybe my advisor wants me to take time with the dissertations for reasons such as this one.
One paper in any event is not really sufficient for a PhD. Even for a three-year PhD, one would normally require output corresponding to multiple journal papers (or the equivalent in your field). For instance, I expect my students to have completed work roughly equivalent to three papers.
@DavidKetcheson Basically that's true, but getting a PhD is also not a drive-by task. And the attitude that shines through the OP is something like "I was attending some courses the last year and the time remaining beside the course work I wrote a bit on my thesis." It's unquestioned that some famous people may have achieved their successful work in a similar way (as aeismail noted already), but it's quite unlikely that this happened to the OP as well. Also if the OP was one of those talents, I guess their supervisor would show some more enthusiasm about their work.
@aeismail I heard that in some countries like Finland, publishing three papers is considered to be equivalent to completing a thesis. I agree with you on the advisable number of publications. Right now, the content of my draft is roughly equivalent to one "average" paper and one "very good" paper, with lots of extra material that is not yet detailed enough to be equivalent to any number of papers. By the time I complete in its present scope at the expected quality level, it will be indeed roughly equivalent to 3-4, maybe 5 papers.
@DavidKetcheson I agree.
@BenediktBauer In my opinion, I am not one of those once-in-a-generation talents, but I am quite unique and unusual (not necessarily in an exclusively positive way; more like in a mixed way with a lot of positive), which was noted by my advisor and other people. My question is mostly motivated by search of clarity, and I objectively noted that at the moment, I have so far committed relatively little time to the thesis.
I think that I can perhaps technically complete the thesis within a few months of normal-paced work, and the advisor understands that, but spending an additional year or two would guarantee a substantial improvement in its quality, and perhaps that's what the advisor wants me to do.
In all the programs I am familiar with, you become a "doctoral candidate" (or something similar) only after having successfully proposed a topic for your dissertation. Usually that proposal includes several pages of detail regarding what will be accepted by your committee as successful completion. Of course, research is uncertain and there must be some flexibility, but your proposal can be viewed as the basis for deciding when you are done.
If you have such a document, you should reference it specifically in discussions with your advisor. If you do not, perhaps you should create one and iterate with your advisor until he/she is willing to agree to it.
The confusing thing is that what remains to be done is simply brushing up the existing draft, perhaps even deleting some extra material, and adding application of theory to some examples, the latter being already done to a small extent for proof of concept purposes. So it would appear that although I have recently started, I am almost done, but at the same time, the expected timeframe remains about 3 years in total. Perhaps I can practically complete the thesis in a few months and spend an additional year simply improving its "awesomeness" factor.
Do you have a proposal document that defines what remains to be done? If not, your perception and your advisor's may be vastly different.
A formal thesis proposal is not required in my department, but I have discussed this in maximal possible detail with the advisor, which is limited by his time availability and willingness to discuss those details. In the latest discussions, it was apparent that his expectations for scope are somewhat smaller than mine. I can easily satisfy all of the requirements he mentioned perhaps even all too quickly, and he does not think I should be concerned about anything else.
All I can think of is that he wants me to do a lot of additional unspecified work on the thesis, which would be pretty much reworking every detail to a higher quality, and that I should take time doing it, and not merely complete the dissertation plan with sufficient quality.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.160465
| 2013-11-15T14:22:12 |
14129
|
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|
Stack Exchange
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Do Master of Research programs require prior research experience?
I have a research question that I want to explore, so am considering completing a Master of Research (MRes) degree in the UK. I will soon finish a terminal master's program by coursework (in the US), with no thesis option, so I do not have a research background. Is research experience a typical prerequisite for an MRes?
No, you do not need research experience to get on a UK MRes progamme. Though it will help.
It may vary by institution; this answer is based on the one MRes from my subject area.
The UCL MRes in Energy Demand Studies has the following prerequisites (taken from that linked page):
Good numeracy and literacy and an ability to present ideas clearly
An appreciation of the importance of behaviour and society in energy demand
An understanding of or ability to learn basic physics and engineering concepts
Strong performance in a science, engineering or social sciences discipline
The course, in its first half, contains a lot of taught material. This covers, amongst other things, research skills.
Having research skills, or a research track record, will help you with getting onto the more competitive courses, such as this one; and it will improve your chances of getting your study funded too.
One of the selection criteria is (ibid):
how your academic and professional background meets the demands of this challenging programme
so if you can show a research track record, that will help fulfill that criterion.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.160642
| 2014-08-16T04:02:10 |
27234
|
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Stack Exchange
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How does the PhD experience differ for paying students?
Some PhD programs offer students an opportunity to either pay for the PhD themselves or to take a teaching assistantship in exchange for a tuition waiver.
Aside from a lack of teaching duties, are the work requirements and responsibilities of a paid PhD student any different from those of the teaching assistantship students?
I think you need to provide more background information. What kind of differences are you looking at: Profile after PhD? Time available for the research? Performance?
I cannot find any way to narrow the question down, because I have not completed a PhD before and do not know what to expect. I'll try to adjust my question to be more specific though.
But are you trying to choose yourself between those 2 options? Or is this question asked from an adviser point of view? Or you want to hire some one with such background and try to assess his/her profile?
I'm asking from the perspective of a student with the two choices.
I've never heard of a student taking a teaching assistant position as payment for their program. Usually the student is covered by a scholarship and their advisors organises teaching jobs to help the students usually meagre income.
@StephenTierney I have a few friends in the US, and they are paid this way, at least the first years. Sometimes, the advisor has funding to free them from teaching.
@Stephen Tierney: In the US this is extremely common, and in my field in particular (mathematics) almost all students are funded this way. It's very different from paying your own way (which is very rare in my field) and it seems odd to me that the question lumps these together.
There are usually 4 ways to pay for a PhD in my experience in the US:
Out of pocket with your own money or with loans
Get a fellowship or scholarship
Be a Teaching Assistant
Be a Graduate Research Assistant
None of these are necessarily mutually exclusive. TA and GRAships usually come with a whole or partial tuition waiver or payment of tuition. Fellowships and scholarships may come from the university, another government entity (e.g. the US National Science Foundation or Department of Energy), or a private source.
In my estimation, a GRA or fully-funded private fellowship is the best way to pay for graduate school for those whose focus is research because there are no teaching or grading responsibilities to take time away from working on your research. If you intend to go on to a professorship, starting with a TA for the first few semesters or years may help you learn something about teaching, but I wouldn't have wanted the TA responsibilities during the time I was writing up my dissertation.
Myself, I had a GRA with my full tuition paid plus a small privately endowed fellowship administered by my university which supplemented my income. Also, at the time, having a GRA position gave me health insurance. TA and GRA jobs are usually limited to 20 hours a week during the long semesters in the US since you are likely to be in classes at the same time. My advisor frequently upped me to 40 hours per week during the summer and winter breaks to supplement my income further.
Paying your own way, whether with fellowships, loans, or your own personal savings means that you aren't being paid by the advisor. A GRA position may be required to focus on a particular research project that funds the existence of the position. If the money comes from their start-up package or a private source, then you may be given much more freedom in your choice of research work, but either way, the GRA position is a job that allows the advisor to direct your work much more than if you fund yourself.
It should be noted that this is pretty US-specific. Things differ a lot in Europe. Most people in the sciences here are a mixture of GRAs and TAs, but with more substantial salary. Further, it is not uncommon to work at a company and do your PhD as an "external" student.
A fifth option, as hinted to by @xLeitix, is to take advantage of work-sponsored education benefits where one has a full-time industry position while being enrolled in a graduate program on a part-time basis. In the U.S., employers that offer this benefit
(such as most "high-tech" companies that I'm familiar with) cover tuition costs for their employee so long as the area of study is "closely" related to their job duties.
Agreed with both comments. I thought it was clear that my post was for the US, but I have edited to clarify. I lumped employer-sponsored PhDs into the private funding category, but it's definitely worth noting. The other side of this is a model where the employer pays but the employee is on leave. They commit (via contract) to come back to the employer for a guaranteed period after the PhD is done.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.161043
| 2012-05-08T00:13:29 |
1472
|
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Stack Exchange
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Is printed the same as published?
Many teachers at my university have produced custom course books for their students. These books contain all original content, written by the teacher, and tailored specifically for the course and students. The school does publish a trade journal, but to provide the lowest costs available, and perhaps to keep things simple, the school administrators always simply takes the teachers' course books to the school's print center, photocopies them in the necessary numbers, and staples the pages together with a cheap construction paper cover. I am currently preparing some custom textbooks for my own courses.
If these books are prepared in this same way by the university, is it considered “published”?
How might such a work be presented in an academic CV?
If it's a textbook with no ISBN, I think the accepted term is "privately printed." Note that if it is a monograph published by the university, you might want to call it a "technical report."
I don't understand the first question. Is it considered "published" by whom, and for what purpose? I have no idea whether my lecture notes count as a "publication" in any formal sense, but I do include them in my CV (under "Other publications") and I'm certain they helped my recent promotion.
I'd answer Question 2 by a general rule that seems to summarize the corresponding part of Anonymous Mathematician's answer: Tell the truth. In more (perhaps unnecessary) detail: Don't lead the reader to think it's refereed if it isn't. Don't lead the reader to think it's more widely distributed than it actually is. Don't do anything else that makes it look better or more important than it actually is.
"Published" is a vague word, since for example you can even self-publish a book.
Ideally, a published book will have been carefully selected and edited, widely distributed, archived in many libraries, etc. How close it comes to this ideal varies, of course.
I don't know whether what you are describing would meet a formal definition of publication, but I'd be careful about how you describe it.
For example, if your book has an ISBN, is labeled with a publisher like "X University Press", and is publicly offered for sale (perhaps only through the university's website and university bookstore), then I would consider it published, even if only on a small scale. (It may be cheap, but there's no requirement that a published book must have gilded pages.) However, that sounds unlikely to be true in the case you've described.
Instead, you could describe it in other ways:
If anyone who wants a copy can buy one by getting in touch with your department, then you could describe it as a "book distributed by the Department of ... at University X".
If your book is not offered for sale to anyone except students in the course, then you might describe it as a "book prepared as course materials for ... at University X".
You might also want to specify something like the number of pages, to help distinguish between a lengthy book and shorter lecture notes.
The "vernacular" meanings of "publish" and "print" overlap quite a bit, but academically and legally, there are significant differences. Academically, "publish" implies a level of peer review, endorsement, and selectivity that "print" does not. Otherwise, the term "published author" would be a meaningless term. Legally, "publish" also implies a level of editorial discretion and endorsement that "print" does not. If you write a book making a bunch of assertions about someone, then not only you but also its publisher are liable in a libel suit if the claims can be shown false. But if the "publisher" is simply a print shop that allows the general public to print anything for a fee, and it does not exercise any control over the content of the material, then it will not be liable. An issue in the early days of the internet was in what category sites like Stack Exchange fall: is this answer that you are now reading "printed" by SE, or is it "published" by SE? This has been largely resolved towards "printed" by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act:
No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.161502
| 2017-12-20T09:54:55 |
100874
|
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Stack Exchange
|
Conference paper rejected after positive review and TPC comments
I submitted a paper to an IEEE conference, and this paper was rejected despite of almost all of the reviewers’ comments being positive. In particular, all three of the reviewers recommend to weak accept the paper, and even the TPC chair recommend to weak accept it. However, the paper has been rejected.
Due to this weirdness, I asked for the chair’s motivations for this decision, and he answered
Your paper didn’t make the conference capacity line. Please resubmit to another venue.
What does this mean? What is the conference capacity line? Does that mean that there were not enough slots, or something else?
I have never encountered this kind of situation before.
Yes, the phrase seems pretty unambiguous to me. The conference has a certain capacity, and your paper did not make it. Having 3 weak accepts is not that great if it is a competitive conference, so it does not look strange to me at all that the final result was a reject.
Yes, I partially agree with you. Partially. However, weak accept (rev.1) + weak accept (rev.2) + weak accept (rev.3) + weak accept (TPC) = reject , it sounds very unfair, almost ridiculous.
I don't see why that would be unfair. All of the accepts were weak.
In my opinion, a week accept is much more near to an accept rather than to a reject (usually the scale is: accept, weak accept, borderline,weak reject, reject). Even more so if all are weak accept. I can understand if there are at least a borderline or a weak reject, but all recommendations tend to accept; I find that so contradictory
This is a competition. It might be clearer if the grades were named A, B, C, instead of "strong accept", "accept", etc. What matters isn't your grade but your ranking compared to other papers.
the person that said this (We reached the capacity line)... was (s)he unwilling to define what they meant more precisely? Is this a round about way of saying "We had room for 10 papers and you were spot #12"? You finished the marathon... did a good job... and simply didn't place?
In 2009, Tyson Gay broke 100m men's world record. But he was not awarded with a gold medal.
The text of the review is more important than the headline rating. Weak accept usually means that the reviewer was not excited about your paper. For a competitive conference, someone needs to be excited about your paper.
3 reviewers recommended "weak accept," as did the chair, but the paper was rejected.
This is a common situation. Other papers probably got better reviews or your paper was perceived negatively during the discussion phase or ...
I asked the chair why and he said "your paper didn't make the conference capacity line. Please resubmit to another venue."
Conferences have upper-bounds on the number of papers they can accept due to time constraints.
Seems pretty straightforward to me. In essence, papers were prioritized based up the enthusiasm level of the reviewers, a threshold was set, and your paper was on the wrong side of it. No weirdness.
sums it up rather well...
It sounds like none of the reviewers was willing to champion your paper during the discussion.
Background: The decision on each paper is based on a discussion between the program committee members. This discussion usually takes the review scores into account.
However, strong conferences often apply a process called identify the champion. The underlying assumption is that an acceptance-worthy paper will have at least one proponent who will champion the paper during the discussion.
It is not clear to me what "capacity line" means. However, please note that each conference can only accept a fixed number of papers.
You can do the math yourself, if a conference lasts for, say, 5 days, each day has 8 hours. It takes 30 minutes to present a long paper, and 20 minutes to present a short paper etc. You can compute the number N of papers that they can accept.
If your paper is good, but there are N better papers, then your paper will not be accepted. On the other hand, if your paper is not that good, but still in top N papers, then it will be likely accepted.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.161854
| 2018-03-31T19:43:50 |
107349
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|
Stack Exchange
|
TA for the class versus taking the class?
My Ph.D. advisor and I are trying to decide whether I should take his class this Fall or be the TA for it (I have not had this class before).
My question is, shouldn't one have already mastered the class material inside-out to become a TA? It appears that my advisor expects me to "learn as I go." Is this usual?
Second question, how is the workload between the two? I'm thinking to be the TA, I will have to be a step ahead of the game and rather than doing the assignments, I will be designing the assignments (which requires more understanding). Which would you prefer based on what circumstances?
Talk carefully with your advisor and/or previous TAs for your advisor about what's involved in this. You're unlikely to be designing assignments unless it's an entirely new class. You may have to prepare section material/reviews, but that should not be too bad if you have prior TAs' materials and/or the class follows a textbook with exercises (and perhaps pre-made slides).
Not sure how usual it is -- but it happened to me, and I wasn't given a choice. A more senior grad student met with me once a week and I sort of survived to tell the tale. In that case it was particularly tough because the material was kind of out in left field. Anyway,there are other factors to consider, such as, will you need to know this material thoroughly anyway for your own development; how busy will you be with other responsibilities; will you just be grading or will you be expected to hold office hours; will the professor provide you with an official Solution to use in your grading.
Wow thanks, @aparente001 those are indeed crucial factors to consider. Is it the norm to piggyback on another senior student's previous material? I could probably ask around... About the time investment, I know being TA is only 1 unit versus 4 units as a student... is that something to keep in mind? Thanks
@oikos99 - Sorry, I don't know what the norm is there either; she didn't give me material, she explained things, and gave me a helpful reality check ("yes, the way this professor teaches this is rather out in left field, it's not just you"). She was an angel.
Note, as a professor you will sometimes be asked to teach a class you haven't taken before: depending on the class, it may or may not be much more work than preparing for a class you have taken before.
Some classes are more about the skills than the material. For example, I was once a TA for astronomy 1, despite never having taken astronomy -- but I knew the math, physics, problem solving, etc., and so the actual "content" was trivial for me to pick up. I do not know what this class may be, but if you are a grad student in CS and this is an undergraduate CS class, it may be similar in that you already know how the "big ideas" and how to program, so it will be trivial to learn the course-specific content.
Being a TA can be more efficient. I assume the alternative is (a) TAing a different course, where you would learn nothing, and (b) taking this as a class, which would require doing the learning and the homework. Combining these into one activity could save nearly 50% of your effort.
Of course, you do have an ethical obligation to your students to be informed. Your graduate-level experience in this field combined with reading ahead will put you head and shoulders above freshman/sophomore students, even if you're not an expert in this particular course material. Conversely, if this is an honors course for senior CS students (for example), then it does seem unlikely that you would be able to offer them much guidance.
thanks for the response. although I can't be both TA and a student concurrently, I think you have a good point about picking up the material faster. :)
Glad to be helpful. Though, I'm not sure what "I can't be both TA and a student concurrently" is referring to -- I certainly never suggested that you should TA for a class that you are enrolled in!
I would add that, in my experience, you get a deeper knowledge of the material when you have to explain it to others.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.162225
| 2018-03-03T04:15:57 |
104845
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
I self plagiarized most of my work
I submitted my final assignment on SafeAssign with 67% plagiarized and I plagiarized the work from me because two parts from my prievious assignment were needed to fulfill the requirements for my final assignment. Should I let my professor know or what should I do now?
Talk to your professor.
Please give more details about this question.
Change your user name here if you have any serious concern about wrongdoing.
This will depend on the rules of your institution, and possibly even your professor. Some will consider it fine, because you've done the required work, but others specify that work can only be used to gain academic credit once.
Seems more or less the same question as https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/104839/plagiarism-or-not-plagiarism#comment275604_104839
Fun fact: I once read a legal paper whether self-plagiarism is right on wrong. The conclusion was: it's hard to say.
In my opinion you should let your instructor know of your concern.
Personally, I think you should be OK, especially if the problematic assignment really depends on the previous ones. If a student approached me with this kind of problem I would rather enjoy that he has seen the connections between the problems. If you were to submit other people's work as your own, that would be problematic. However, it's always academically wise to mark the places that are based on your prior work as well.
As a personal experience: when I was studying at the uni we were once tasked with a problem and I said aloud: "Great, I can submit my solution from other class". Instructor's answer was: "The assignments that can be submitted to pass different classes are the best. I once submitted same solution to three different instructors". YMMV, but I think you'd be on the safe side if you make your instructor aware of the circumstances.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.162431
| 2014-05-12T21:06:56 |
20833
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
How much of my ongoing unpublished research should I disclose to others?
As part of my PhD, I have already published a paper and am working to expand it further. Recently, a PhD student (who I didn't know) from another university contacted me regarding my paper. He showed interest in the paper and the direction that I'm working on, wanted me to explain it further and, if possible, share the framework that I developed and used for experiment so that he could use it for his own research.
Although I like to help him as it will be nice if we can come up with some collaboration, I'm afraid that it might turn into an competition instead if he decides to pursue the same direction as mine alone. Since I'm still working on it without any concrete result, it is possible for him to solve it first and publish papers. I'm not saying that he might steal my ideas/tools since he can put my name in an acknowledgement.
So, my question is to what extent I should share or disclose my current research which is in progress.
Nothing. Wait until you are done, and then he can read the published paper.
Also see: How much information should I divulge about on-going unpublished research at a conference?
Does your advisor know this student's advisor? Talking to your advisor about this might be a good way to start a collaboration between all of you, and take care of things like ownership.
Everything. Then work together and publish lots of joint papers.
I have the same problem, in business. I have an idea, I taught my ex employee the idea. We are mortal enemies now.
@JeffE: what if he just wants to know about my research without any intention to work with me. I believe that he has no obligation to do that.
Great question! I found myself in similar situations as a student and likewise as a mentor for other students when talking with people working on similar topics.
A favourite quote of mine is from George Bernard Shaw:
“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.”
I believe this is an ideal philosophy for research in a sense that ideally, everyone should gain from the free exchange of ideas.
However, as you gain experience, you realize that it can be just an ideal.
My first experience concerning the cost of openly sharing results was when I was a PhD student. Early on, I had the basics of what seemed like an important result for the community and had some initial results. My supervisor urged me to try and publish but the paper was borderline rejected from the conference with comments like "nice idea but still too early". I thus published it as a poster in the informal proceedings. In the meanwhile, my supervisor and I had been in conversation about how to progress further, get more results and mature the work. He presented the poster, spoke with various people and told me that he had had lots of interesting conversations: lengthy conversations with two senior researchers in particular.
I continued working on the problem. My supervisor and I had some difference of opinion on the direction the work should go in (theoretical vs. applied CS basically). We got bogged down in some theoretical questions where I felt the impact could be on simplifying the problem and working on the applied side. I missed the next deadline for the conference in our area but lo and behold, two papers were published that pretty much had developed the applied side of the idea. I read the two papers and realized that both had, in parallel, at the same venue, developed the ideas I had been working on ... with one or two interesting side observations. Both works were from groups of the two senior researchers my supervisor had talked to. One cited my informal/preliminary results as an inspiration, the other didn't cite it at all.
Four years later, the first paper now has 175 citations in Google Scholar, the second paper has 100, my paper has 41. I published a later paper on the topic that's doing a little better, but for sure, the early birds had taken the worm.
In part I'm happy that the idea was developed and they did add new ideas, and I've worked on various things since, but I honestly still regret not having formally marked the idea further before my supervisor exposed it. I also regret not being more urgent in getting the full work published.
This is not to suggest that you should stay tight-lipped at conferences or turn down all collaborations, but if you're worried about someone entering into competition with you, you might want to listen to that concern. I don't think it's at all unreasonable to not share every idea you have when you attend a conference. There are plenty of anecdotes of tight-lipped researchers: for example, nobody knew what Andrew Wiles was working on for several years while he was working towards a proof of Fermat's Last Theorem.
If you think the person is someone you can trust and someone who could help in a collaboration, listen to your gut. Test the water and see how knowledgeable they are or how they could contribute. Be careful if you have co-authors, not to talk about their ideas. If you want to collaborate, perhaps publish a technical report or a pre-print to mark your ideas first.
If in doubt, you don't have to tell them about your ideas straight away. Maybe stay quiet for the conference and email them later if you think you want to work together or to tell them about your ideas.
You certainly have no obligation to share your work before you've published it. So you can feel completely free to say "Sorry, this work is still in 'stealth' mode, I'll let you know when I can share more."
It's helpful to collaborate with someone you know and trust, if you know the collaborative direction will not conflict with your independent work. (For example, I sometimes collaborate with members of my same research group, and share with them ongoing findings on related work that I wouldn't share with outsiders.)
But otherwise, you can keep your findings to yourself until you are ready to publish, or until you feel confident that you have enough of a head start that you won't risk getting scooped.
Let me offer another perspective.
... to what extent I should share or disclose my current research which is in progress.
To the extent you would like our society to improve, or the body of human knowledge to grow.
Having other people interested in our ideas means that our ideas are confirmed by others to be promising. Among these people, there could be those who are more capable, more intellectually gifted, more persistent, more enthusiastic than we are.
I would expect that the more people are involved in attacking a particular problem or working on a solution, the higher the chance or the faster it would take to solve that problem.
So if we think of the big picture, I believe we should share as much as possible our ideas. True, other people would probably get greater recognition than we do, but that is all right. Others' gain might be our loss, but in the end, the society benefits. And that is exactly why academic community exists---to serve our society.
True, other people would probably get greater recognition than we do, but that is all right. Others' gain might be our loss, but in the end, the society benefits. I think my advisor (and our project's funding agency) would have a problem with this philosophy on sharing.
As others have noted, the free sharing of ideas is the epitome of what the academic community is all about. However, as was also noted, we soon learn that this is only an ideal; reality often isn't quite like that, for many reasons.
Without getting into the many reasons--mostly involving fear of getting scooped-- for not sharing much (if at all) about your ongoing research, there are several ways to manage this situation.
First, if you truly don't want to share your ideas and/or pursue possible collaboration, figure out how to (preferably nicely!) turn someone down. Try something along these lines:
"Sorry, that's still classified information. Would you like me to let you know when I can tell you more?"
However, in those cases in which you do want to exchange ideas, perhaps with the goal of assessing the potential for future collaboration, you obviously need a slightly different approach. One approach is to share one interesting 'nugget' of what you have found/are working on, and then turn the conversation to their work.
"How do you think that might fit in with what you are doing? Do you see any other ways in which x might apply to y?"
Ask for their input on a small piece of the current puzzle;
"What could you tell me about z, in the light of what I've told you about x?"
Your milage may vary, of course, but this approach can get you many fruitful ideas (Be sure to attribute them to the proper source!), interesting responses, and even valuable collaborations. You can often get a gut feeling for whether or not you are or should be comfortable with responding frankly or whether you want to be more circumspect. In general, the value of sharing with others outweighs the potential risk, though again, YMMV!
Did he offer you something interesting about his research? Just wait until you have finished and published. Then you can send him a copy.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.163139
| 2017-12-07T21:42:41 |
100151
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Do I need a conference paper to vouch for a tool I built in my undergrad when applying for a PhD?
So basically, as an undergrad it's quite expensive to attend conferences. My paper got accepted to a more specialized IEEE conference. I had previously built simulation tools from scratch for computational EM (a more graduate-oriented topic), however I hadn't quite discovered anything new. I am also quite confused if having a conference paper to vouch for these tools will provide any additional benefit when applying for PhD as opposed to just showing that they indeed do work. If yes, then is it worth spending the money to present my work?
What does your research advisor say? (You did ask your research advisor, right?)
@MadJack not quite, I was sort of like afraid that the advisor might interpret it in the wrong sense and view me as someone who tries to lowball. I'm merely confused as to whether or not a paper would add anything to a tool. The advisor was impressed by the tool considering that I had about a week to do it.
If you're asking about a recommendation of a specific conference, that's off-topic; asking if you need a conference paper to apply to grad school is on-topic, and perhaps you should edit the question to reflect that.
@aeismail edited it
Having published a paper does have a positive impact on PhD applications. (But you don't "need" one in the strict sense - it is quite possible to get into grad school without having published.) But the reason is not because it "vouches for" your tool working. In most cases, the reviewers never get to try to execute your code, so it can hardly speak to that.
It does, however, indicate your ability to produce something novel, of interest, and to describe it in a manner that receives the approval of other scientists in the area - in other words, your ability to do research. Which is exactly what the PhD admissions committee will be looking for.
Whether you think that is worth the conference costs is a matter of personal judgement - but you should first look for other avenues of funding, such as your advisor or a travel grant from your university or the conference or a third party promoting undergraduate research etc.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.163594
| 2014-09-30T17:50:41 |
29230
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Very odd interview/hiring timeline for physical science field
Due to the circumstances surrounding my graduation and other factors, I didn't apply in the Fall of 2013 for any jobs. I did happen to see an opening that was still posted in February and applied on a whim. In a short period of time I was asked to do a phone interview followed by campus interview followed by request for more info from my references. At this point it was summer and quite a bit of time went by before I was asked for some start up costs (nothing substantial for my field) at which point the dean said it shouldn't be a problem.
Fast forward 2 months and all I've heard is "you'll hear from us soon" and that the process is moving slowly. Every time I think they must have filled the position they tell me just enough to make me think I am still in the running. At this point we are way off of the normal hiring schedule so I do not know what to think.
Does anyone have any thoughts--is it likely that they have offered the position to someone else and are in negotiations? Why bother getting all of my startup details? Has anyone else had any experiences with a super long, off-schedule hiring timetable?
Which country? What kind of position?
What do you mean that you were "asked for some start up costs"? Do you mean that you applied for a job with them, and they've asked for some money from you?
@EnergyNumbers: I believe that they mean how much money the candidate would need to start up the research group. ("Startup funds" might have been a more accurate term.)
No, he means that they asked how big his startup package should be (seed money for summer salary, students, and equipment).
If you are unsure as to the current status of the job, it is always fine to contact the search committee chair and ask.
All I can say is that different universities can take different amounts of time to process things. The process can take even longer when the process drags out over the summer, as many of the key people who need to approve such a hire (and usually there are several) are often out on vacation, which can drag the process out even further.
I know, for instance, that there was nearly a five-month gap between the time I had my interview and was told I'd be getting an offer and actually receiving it. So delays are possible.
However, it may also be possible that you were not the top-ranked candidate after the search, and they are currently waiting to hear back from that candidate before deciding whether or not to make you an offer.
Also possible they're holding out to see if they can find someone better (perhaps waiting for the normal hiring cycle for next year, though that would be extreme).
This is definitely an unusual schedule and I'm not entirely sure what to think.
My first advice is that if you haven't heard "yes" or "no," then they haven't closed the search. You may be right that they made an offer to someone else, but once an offer is accepted, everyone else is notified "no."
My best guess is that there may be other factors at work in the university. For example, sometimes our Dean will tell us that we can have a search, but he would prefer if the hire arrived a year later. In my department (chemistry), we typically have early searches, but with the University's financial year beginning in July, the Dean will let us post advertisements before there's official approval from the Provost's office. So we include language about the opening "pending budgetary approval."
We have been caught sometimes where the Dean approves, but the Provost wants to postpone for financial reasons. (I don't envy having to balance multi-million budgets.)
As another example, sometimes searches may span more than one year (e.g., an open-rank search for both junior and senior faculty). It may take that long to negotiate with a senior hire. Since the posting was in February, that might be the case here.. the department wants to make a senior hire, needs to post (and interview) publicly, but is stuck negotiating.
I agree with the comment above that it's always fine to contact the chair of the search committee and ask for an update. Particularly with the long delay, this is a good idea.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.164104
| 2015-10-21T06:24:03 |
56618
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Stack Exchange
|
The phd advisor copied my thesis to another's
I have a fairly unique situation going on that I'm not quite sure how to handle. A colleague of mine completed her PhD two years ago on the topic of arts and the local community. Since she was computer illiterate, she hand-wrote her entire thesis. Her advisor delayed in reviewing her work, asking for money from the student before beginning to review but she refused to pay (according to her). After a while, the advisor told my colleague that he would take care of having the thesis typed up himself, and did so. She paid the typing and printing cost. (Also, for context, it's fairly common not to know how to operate a computer in my region.)
At that point, this advisor asked for my PhD thesis, which I had recently completed. I handed him a soft copy.
Recently, my colleague and I were reviewing our theses, we noticed blatant plagiarism between the two versions. My colleague then remembered that her advisor has mentioned that he "edited" her thesis to "make it more informative". She immediately informed the university about the plagiarism and has put in a request to rescind the degree, as the no longer feels she deserves it. Unfortunately, the press found out about this story, and it's now in the public eye.
My question is, what can I do to protect my reputation at this point? I've since done some research and believe I have found other examples of this advisor both demanding money from students before graduating them and plagiarizing work on PhD papers. I've presented this to the Vice Chancellor, and he seems to believe the evidence, as we're not the first ones to complain about this type of behavior from this advisor. Still, with all that said, is there anything I can do to clear my name and expose the advisor?
I'm just staring at the screen saying "What? What?! WHAT?" I can't decide which is more ridiculous: A PhD student who can't type, a PhD student who is willing to let anyone else change the content of her thesis, a PhD student handing over a handwritten thesis to anyone without making photocopies first, an advisor who's willing to type (let alone "finish") his students' theses, an advisor that asks for money to review his students' theses. This is a circus. Get out.
I live in Taiwan. Yes, I do understand what South Asian mind is (there are plenty of South Asians in Taiwan around me). Let me be honest with you. I do think Tara should take the responsibility. The reason I am saying this is beacuse: She should realize that part of her PhD thesis was not her writing when she got it back from her advisor. And she should have said that when she had the oral defense. So, she has least 80% fault because it is her thesis, not anybody else's.
She already submitted a written statement about it. explaining that those were not her writings and she is responsible for not noticing before and therefore she requested to withdraw her degree as she feels she does not deserve it.
Too late now. She should have said it before the oral defense. That is the point.
I agree. I will ask what she said in the oral viva.
Given that English is not your first language, I've completely rewritten this question to both make it more concise and to highlight the more salient points. This is a very large rewrite; please either edit or call out in the comments any inaccuracies introduced by my rewrite. Just trying to help, I do apologize in advance for any mistakes I introduced.
@eykanal Thank you so much for the editing. I think it totally sums up what I wanted to say. I wrote too many lines making it complicated.
I've cleaned up a lot of the comments and integrated them into the question itself. Please let me know via a comment here if I deleted something you'd like restored (make sure to include @eykanal in the comment).
@qsp my reading is that she refused to pay her advisor to review the thesis; it says she paid the typing and printing costs.
@LindaJeanne my comment is for the original question.
@qsp ah, of course. I should have checked the history before commenting. =^)
Your colleague handed her hand-written thesis to her PhD advisor. She couldn't graduate without bribing him. He should have had it typed out as-is, but instead he took the liberty to edit it, and added plagiarism from your thesis, then published it.
He is behaving wrongly on many levels:
He should not ask a bribe.
He should not edit her thesis text.
He should not have sent in her edited thesis as her authorship.
He should not plagiarise your thesis.
The people involved:
The advisor is engaging in severe misconduct and should be fired and criminally prosecuted.
Your colleague has been uncareful to not have complete documentation. She must retract her PhD thesis, because she did not approve the final text and should not bear responsibility for its contents. She is a victim of the advisor but she is at a large risk of being accused of plagiarism and bribery herself, which makes her situation tricky.
Your PhD thesis still stands. For you, it should be easy to provide evidence of plagiarism and evidence that you were the original author, for your PhD thesis was already published a year earlier. The damage to your reputation is much less than to the other people involved, as you are exclusively a victim.
What to do:
Make sure you keep written copies of everything you do.
She has apparently already spoken to the Vice Chancellor, who believes her. That is good. Go there together, along with anyone else who has been wrongly treated by the advisor, and ask what formal steps you can take to make him face consequences.
If the vice chancellor is unwilling to proceed, you might threaten with publicity, but I would not do so before.
She needs to retract her PhD thesis because the text is not her responsibility and she did not approve the final version.
P.S. The advice above may be naive. I am from a society where corruption is not considered normal (when it does happen, it is considered a scandal) and where a situation such as you describe would be unheard of in a university. I hope the advice is still useful and perhaps the follow-up to these incidents can help improve academic culture overall.
P.P.S. If you know anyone else who hand-writes their thesis, strongly recommend them to contact a computer-literate friend to scan each page soon after it is written and keep this backed up in a safe place.
I think your reputation is not ruined at all. You completed your PhD thesis before your colleague sent her thesis draft to the advisor for review. As long as you can show this time-line to the Vice Chancellor, the investigation committee (if there is any) and the public, you are clean.
In my opinion, your colleague will have hard time to prove her innocence. She needs to prove that her advisor edited her thesis to add materials from your thesis without her consent.
It can be reasonably concluded from your question that the advisor is in this plagiarism scheme based on the fact that you gave him the soft copy of your thesis. I cannot say he did it on his own because lack of evidence. How do we know your colleagues did not pressure him? (Why did he type her thesis in the first place? Whose idea was it?) But, he is the advisor who does have responsibility to ensure his student's thesis meets the academic standards. In that regard, he failed to be an advisor.
Again, based on your question, I do not have enough evidence to say that the advisor is corrupted. To say that he is corrupted, you'll need more concrete evidence. Just a few people say he took bribes is not enough. So far, your colleague said she did not pay him the bribe. Others say the advisor demanded money, would they come forward and testify against him? You'll need to take the case to the authority and let them figure it out as this is a serious accusation and it’s crime in many countries (It would be a crime if the advisor works in a public university in my location and takes bribes.)
P.S. I believe that there are many people in the world who are computer illiterate. I myself don't use smart phone. But, I don't think this question has much to do with computer illiterate. Your colleague really should photocopy her thesis draft before she handed it to her advisor.
Regarding photocopies: Honestly I'd never have thought to photocopy my thesis draft before handing it to the advisor because I don't trust him. Can't imagine what I'd do in her situation.
OTOH, if anybody else typed up my thesis, I'd be responsible to fix any mistake, and I'd have to actually check because typos are likely.
@Blaisorblade I suggested photocopying because the OP's colleague hand-wrote the draft. In these days, almost everybody uses computer to write the thesis. Everybody would have the draft on her computer, no need to photocopy. The suggestion was for this case and others in similar situation.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.164903
| 2014-06-12T13:02:48 |
23287
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Stack Exchange
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Do I need to change my CV when a former school changes affiliations?
Some years ago, I studied in a small training center that had a "cooperative arrangement" with a larger university. I earned a graduate certificate bearing the name of the university along with graduate credits and a transcript from the university, but attended courses in the training center. I put these details on my CV:
2005 Graduate Certificate in X <location>, University of X
Recently, the training center and university ended their cooperative arrangement and the training center has a new partnership with another university. Do I need to adjust my CV to reflect the change?
Why would you change? The current change in the training center's affiliation does not change the education you got in the past.
Actually, if you got the exact same training as in the university (same examinations, same courses,...), maybe it would not be unethical to suppress the name of the training center on your CV. The exact location of your classroom does not matter! Granted (again) you got the exact same education as at the university... You have a transcript from the university, which means THEY certify that the quality of your education was at the same level than the one they offer on their main campus.
I think the best approach is to keep the original CV entry, as this represents the actual qualification that you received. However, you might choose to add a note explaining the history, if you think this is likely to be helpful to prospective readers.
I agree that in the case described by @brechmos, where a university has changed its name, providing this information is likely to be useful. It's less clear to me that this is true in the OP's case: it seems (essentially) that the qualification he has used to be accredited by University X, and is now accredited by University Y. It's not clear to me why this would be useful information to someone reading the CV. I guess it might be relevant if the training centre has a high enough profile that people now naturally associate it with University Y, and would think that something listed with University X must be a different centre. Otherwise, I suspect noting the change is more likely to confuse people than help them...
This is correct: your CV should reflect the actual degrees received, from the institutions that awarded them. The clarification would be needed if the institute change is not recent, and would thus have fallen out of memory.
To add to this: I'd even think it possibly detrimental to your application if the institution on the copies of the degree certificates you hand in seem to differ from those on the CV.
Funny, this just happened to me!
On my CV/resume I now have the title of the section as":
Masters of Science, University of XXXXX (now called XXXX University)
My degree is from "University of XXXX" and so I feel that should go first. BUT, it would be a good idea to acknowledge the name change, as people will get confused, and so I added it as a parenthetical comment.
This applies to a name change, but would be misleading in the case of a change of affiliation (as in the OP's case)
True. I would still leave the original affiliation as that was the case while the OP was there. A note below on the CV might be helpful to say the affiliation ended - that way it is clear (and if someone is Google'ing around they aren't going to get confused).
I would be so temped to use "née" even though it does not quite fit...
To use the example provided by brechmos.
Master of Science, XXXX University (formerly University of XXXXX)
Have used this alternative in my cv.
2005 Graduate Certificate in X <location>, at that time affiliated with University of Y
This answer does not look right. My understanding is that the training center was affiliated with University of X at that time. Also, the OP is asking if he needs to adjust his CV, you did not address his question.
@scaaahu The question uses X for both the subject studied and the affiliated university; I've used X for the subject and Y for the university. No material difference.
Can you add some explanation as to what reasoning is behind the answer.
@StrongBad What part needs explaining?
Umm, the whole thing. It is not that big of an answer. You leave out the research center name and do not list the new university name. Why is that? As it stands, the answer feels like a comment.
@StrongBad I'd assumed that "location" (copy-pasted from the question) included the name of the centre. It seems unlikely that the asker's current CV includes only the name of the city, and not the institution, doesn't it? And how is the new university's name relevant? If your PhD advisor had moved to a different university after you graduated, would you put "PhD at X university, advisor Prof Y (now at Z university)"?
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.165364
| 2013-07-11T06:24:38 |
11083
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Stack Exchange
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What is the typical payment arrangement for course design?
Occasionally, my university gives me outside work to design courses for other teachers or graduate students. This includes course books and other complete materials so that teachers using them have little to prepare.
How do schools typically arrange the payments for course designs?
Are course designs typically only made in a one-time payment, with intellectual property transferred to the university?
Is it at all typical for course designers to ask to retain intellectual property rights and to receive continued fees for each semester that a course is used?
As you changed the question to be more specific, I'll add a separate answer:
How do schools typically arrange the payments for course designs?
At the universities I have been associated with, a course is designed by the professor that teaches it, or as a collaboration between multiple faculty that are teaching separate sections. Many times you will find that intro courses that are taught by multiple faculty are still independently created -- a Calculus I course can be drastically different when taught by two different professors even if they are teaching it during the same semester. I would not recommend this, but it is frequently done this way. Savvy students will try to take the section with the professor who has the best reviews. Depending on the school, this is one forcing function for better teaching, although not a particularly good one.
To answer the question (Peter Shor's comment notwithstanding), course design is generally part of the duties associated with being a professor, and no extra payment or duty relief is garnered. I have never seen a case where payment is given for course design at the collegiate level. That is not to say that it isn't done, but I haven't seen it. I have, however, seen many cases where one professor will give all class notes, homework assignments, and tests to another professor in order to build his or her course from those materials, but this is done out of good will and not for payment.
Are course designs typically only made in a one-time payment, with intellectual property transferred to the university?
I have never heard of a royalty agreement for course design, and I would be very surprised if you could get such a deal. Universities do work out deals with textbook publishers for reduced rates on course materials if the book will be required for a class, but that is different from asking a particular professor/instructor to design a course.
Is it at all typical for course designers to ask to retain intellectual property rights and to receive continued fees for each semester that a course is used?
No. The bottom line is that courses are (read: should be) mutable entities that change with the times, and with the person teaching them. This is not to say that there shouldn't be a standard for a course, but I find it hard to believe that a college or university department would hand an instructor a set of materials and dictate that the course must be taught exactly in accordance with the set of lesson plans, with the same materials. I am all for providing helpful materials for instructors (as well as standards), but dictating them removes the creativity from the act of teaching, and limits the ability to prepare new material for the class.
To get off my soapbox: if you can design a course that your department will buy lock, stock, and barrel, and then you can convince them to pay you each time the course is used, go for it. You'll have to convince them that the course will indeed be viable next year and the year after, etc., but they may be willing to buy your argument. My suggestion is to work out the best deal you can for a one time payment, and move on.
Did you agree to design the courses before talking about payment? I don't know if you have any recourse at this point as there was never a contract in place. I would guess that had you inquired ahead of time, your superiors would probably have asked someone else to do it for free, as that is probably what they were expecting.
If there is a system in place for paying you for the course design, I would assume it would be a one-time payment with no residual payments, and you should work that out before beginning design. If you can work something out where you do get royalties down the road, that also needs to be in a contract, and I would be very surprised if you were able to pull it off (but good luck!).
+1 for "...asked someone else to do it for free, as that is probably what they were expecting".
Excellent answer. They will likely want it for free (but you might be able to get a one time payment for it). I can't imagine you could get royalties each time it is used. At least I've never heard of a school agreeing to something like that.
You should be paid for course design; it's a lot of work. Tenured professors at universities, whose job descriptions include a lot of other duties besides teaching, often get teaching relief when they are doing course design.
I have edited my question so less emphasis is placed on my personal situation, as I simply want to know how universities typically arrange payment for course designs.
I think they typically don't arrange payment for course designs. (Most of my colleagues have designed courses, but I don't know anyone who was paid for their course design. It's just part of he normal faculty workload.)
@JeffE: yes, it's not typical to get payment if you're designing the courses you'll be teaching or have taught in the past (it's part of the job). But this sounds like the OP is designing courses that he will not be teaching. That's not usual.
I think the main dividing line in cases as you describe would be between if you had your own company producing courses and "licensing" them to the university and being contracted as a consultant for doing what you are doing. In the latter case you are being paid to produce something for the university and in doing so waive rights to the product. I do not want to get into the copyright regulations because you will need to find out what the university and your contract says (and that may not be very clear). If you licensed a course, things would be different since then your license would state under what conditions the product can be used and you could ask for a fee every time the course is given.
The main unclear part of all of this is where the intellectual rights (immaterial property) lie. I think you could produce a course under your current contract but retain copyright on materials in the course. Again you probably need the help of a lawyer to find out what is possible. Again you need t look at how the contract or university regulations stipulate such rights. If they do not then national or international laws apply.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.165881
| 2012-10-04T08:54:55 |
3572
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Stack Exchange
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How to protect against the theft of a paper?
A professor requested that I exchange my paper with another student, to get their suggestions. Every student in the course must exchange their papers in this way, before the teacher will look at it. I have never encountered another professor with such a policy and am concerned of the possibility that a student might claim my paper to be their own. What steps can I take to guard against such a possibility?
What kind of paper? Is this some kind of undergraduate/graduate assignment or a research paper?
It is a graduate assignment. It does not contain research, or anything I will publish in journals, but it is nonetheless an important part of my degree program.
Email the work to someone (or yourself) well before you hand it over.
Also, try to relax. It is not likely someone will try to pass your work off as theirs because they would be aware that you were going to hand the same piece of writing in and that would lead to trouble for both of you.
I think the reason he is getting you to do it is to get you used to how things work in a research environment. So it is not such a bad thing, maybe.
This seems like a reasonable request by the instructor. Without understanding why you are feeling vulnerable, it is not possible to provide an answer. It is worth talking to someone (possibly the instructor or maybe your advisor or a therapist) about why you are feeling vulnerable.
As for protecting yourself, emailing the document to/from your university email account is probably sufficient as documentation. The next level up would be to email the student the document with the instructor cc'd. This way you are proving you shared your paper (and gaining documentation). Anything more and you will likely be revealing your insecurities, which might lead to more insecurities.
Sign and date a copy of your work, seal it in an envelope (using tamper-evident seals) and have it received by your teacher (that is, give it to your teacher then have your teacher sign a note that he/she received the envelope). This will serve as evidence in case another student claims your work is his/hers.
Unless you have suspicion that the student you are switching with intends to cheat, I would simply follow the “standard” procedure. If there is reason to suspect treachery, then contact the teacher about it, ask for switching partner, or use a simpler device to time-stamp your work (sending an email with the attached file would work). Part of the reason why the professor asks that might be to judge how students cooperate to work in pairs… in which case an overcautious reaction (unless justified) might not score well!
@F'x, thanks. I agree that e-mailing the teacher an electronic copy of your work would be a much easier thing to do.
After the first half of your first sentence, I half expected you to tell the OP to mail it to the académie française.
You could ask the other student to be part of the study. If he/she does some substantial thinking about methods, content, writing etc., you can offer him/her to be co-author.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.166191
| 2012-12-24T12:41:10 |
5924
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Stack Exchange
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Is publishing a graduation requirement in many master's programs?
I know a student in a linguistics master's program (in East Asia). He told me that in his country, most master's programs require students to publish a certain number of papers in academic journals in order to graduate. I want to study a linguistics-related degree in the US. Is such a requirement common there as well?
In the US, does "thesis-option" generally imply that one "must publish a thesis to graduate" or does it just mean "must write a thesis"?
Are such publishing requirements common enough in graduate programs in the US that it should be a question I ask schools when I apply?
Not sure what you're trying to assess here, as answers can really only be either a "yes" or a "no", and will only reflect the experience/knowledge of the answerer. I'm tempted to close this question as "not a real question", but I want to see if the community agrees with my take.
I think it's a reasonable question. Unlike many questions here, this one has a correct, factual answer, which can be defended with data. An ideal answer should have the form "Out of the top twenty linguistics programs in the US, only five have such a requirement: (list with links)."
Some clarification should also be provided on what is meant by"publishing the thesis." if the original document is meant, the answer is almost always "no."
I've never heard of a publication requirement for a masters degree in the USA or UK. There is not even a novelty requirement for a masters dissertation, that's what makes it different from a PhD. Obviously publishing is a good idea if you want to continue on to a PhD, it makes your CV look much stronger and shows your promise as a researcher. But frankly, in the UK at least there is no time to publish before you finish your dissertation (Masters degrees are very compressed one year degrees) and most publications follow the formal completion of the degree.
It probably depends on the school. I don't remember seeing this as a requirement for any of the US schools I looked at.
At my school in the US, our Master's thesis must be published by the university and presented at a graduate forum held twice a year. We are also encouraged to present at conferences or submit to technical journals, but that is optional.
In my experience it varies by discipline and institution. I know of some MS programs where a student might graduate without publishing, but this would be viewed as a very poor performance. I know of others where publishing or even presenting at a conference would set you apart as a very successful student. If you want to go on for a PhD, then I would encourage you to make publishing at the MS level a goal. It will help in moving on to a HD program.
Which kind of program requires publishing? In all the programs I have seen there is just no time for a publication. You can produce an article, but it will not go through peer review before you have to graduate.
In the US, many MS programs take two years (or more) to complete. In disciplines with small publishable units, publishing a paper (typically with the advisor and other coauthors) based on work done during the first year isn't too hard. In my experience it's more typical for the paper to appear after the student completes the degree- I'd still consider that to be a case of the MS student completing a paper during the MS. I also know of programs where most MS theses never result in a publication.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.166601
| 2023-08-10T13:34:45 |
200496
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|
Stack Exchange
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Is publishing a selection of conference articles into a single massive journal article "surveying the latest results" just gaming the system?
QUESTIONS:
Is publishing a selection of articles presented at a conference into a single massive journal article "surveying the latest results" in an area just a way to game the system (and has it become more common lately)?
CONTEXT:
I came across (what seems to be) one such case recently (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inffus.2023.101945), a journal article of 63 pages (accepted 38 days after reception!) with 78 authors, explicitly combining a quite diverse (education, bio informatics, quantum computing, etc.) set of results presented at a conference. The journal's scope (Hardware and Architecture, Information Systems, Signal Processing, Software according to https://www.resurchify.com/impact/details/26099) does not have much to do with the keywords of the article (Explainable Artificial Intelligence, Data science, Computational approaches, Machine learning, Deep learning, Neuroscience, Robotics, Biomedical applications, Computer-aided diagnosis systems), and the results within have a very wide range, the common denominator being "artificial intelligence" and the fact that they are recent.
It occurred to me that, in a context where the research productivity of researchers and research institutions is measured in terms of citation numbers and impact factors, such massive articles present some "advantages" to the authors compared to traditional, separated journal publications: among other things, any citation to a subpart of the massive journal yields a citation to all the authors of the massive article, and the number of citations to the single massive article is the sum of the numbers of citations to its sub-parts. Unsurprisingly, the journal itself has relatively high bibliometrics (Impact Factor: 23.14, h-index: 136, Rank: 296, SJR: 4.756, h-index: 136 according to https://www.resurchify.com/impact/details/26099).
Without objecting in any way to the fact that the authors are getting recognition for their work (they should!), I am wondering
if the way institutions measure researcher's and institution's "research production" is giving incentives to produce such massive articles; and
whether such practice truly benefits the research community in particular and the scientific research process in general.
Among other worries, I would highlight two drawbacks of a system where conference proceedings are replaced by such massive journal articles (especially if accepted after a reviewing process of less than two months):
it is not just a change of format if this removes the incentive for researchers to present longer, more mature and complete "journal" version of their work than what they presented at the conference; and
citations will lose their accuracy and need to be extended if each citation refers to the massive article.
DISCLAIMER:
This is not an attack on the authors of the article cited, nor on their editors or on the (Artificial Intelligence) community in which such article was produced, and not even against the publishers (Elsevier). I am just wondering if this is common, and if this has become more common over time (potentially because of new incentives).
Question of the sort "How common is it to ...?" are often not useful because you're asking for a specific frequency when nobody has statistics about this. So the best anyone can say is (i) well, it happens, as you found out, and (ii) but not very often because I, for example, have never come across such a paper.
Perhaps a better question is whether this is a useful style to publish results. It may be to the authors, as you already understand. It probably isn't very much for the progress of science. But then the journal seems a bit questionable to me anyway (considering the generic journal Aims & Scope, and the size of the editorial board; the number of volumes they publish; etc.). To me, this then appears as simply another way someone has discovered to game the "publish or perish" system we have.
You are right: I edited the title and introduction to refocus the question. I think (as you do) that it is just a strategy to game the system, but I am curious of other people's opinion (before potentially searching for other examples and trying to draw some statistics about the prevalence of such practice and its evolution over time in distinct communities).
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.166965
| 2023-01-31T11:10:58 |
193056
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Stack Exchange
|
Prevalence of (systemic) corruption in Academia
Summary
Similarly to how gerrit asked "Is there any research on the prevalence of academic theft?", I am wondering if there are any surveys or studies on the forms and prevalence of "systemic corruption" (definition below) in Academia. I refer in particular to corruption where people systematically ignore the rules, sometimes for "good reasons" (i.e. not for their direct benefit), but in such a way that it somehow justify others' abuses, ignoring the same rules for their own benefit.
As a member of Academia (in particular while being in Latin America), I would like to make my modest contribution to reduce the prevalence of such corruption, if only by showing the example and teaching about it to students. Are there any documentation around which can help in such an endeavor?
I list below Wikipedia's definition and some examples of such systemic corruption, along with more details about my motivation in asking such a question.
Definition of Systemic Corruption
The wikipedia page about Corruption defines various types of corruption, among which "Systemic corruption, defined as
corruption which is primarily due to the weaknesses of an organization or process. It can be contrasted with individual officials or agents who act corruptly within the system.
Examples of systemic corruption in academia
(disclaimer: some of those I witnessed, and some others I was suggested to perform by the hierarchy and/or secretaries):
Requesting money for one item and using it for another one. If requesting travel or salary money for person A so that it can be used to pay person B because the rules prevent or complicate paying to B, it can be done for reasons that both consider "good" (e.g. sending a student to a conference) but open the door to such rules to be abused (e.g. paying someone for a job they did not do).
Requesting a letter of invitation for a longer period of time than the actual visit, "to simplify things". When justifying a (paid) trip to various places/countries in the same trip, for distinct research projects, one could consider to ask a single invitation letter for the whole period rather than 3 distinct ones for the respective periods, to "simplify things" for the administration which has to decide whether to allow the trip or not, but it opens the door to people having the university to pay for their (extended) vacations.
Adding colleagues as co-authors to publications "because they need it" or asking colleagues to add one as a coauthor. [A colleague was recently suggested to do so by the director of their department to compensate their lack of publications after a period of intense administrative responsibilities, arguing that "everybody does it" (which I strongly disagree with).] One can be "generous" with co-authorship as a general principle, (among other reasons, because measuring each contribution is problematic, and expecting the n co-authors of a publication to contribute exactly the same would be complicated to enforce), but it seems to be one step on the path to adding (a) co-author(s) after the article has been completely redacted as part of a "collusion deal" to increase publication numbers.
Shortening classes in agreement with the students without informing the administration. It is hard to maintain attention for 1h30, so it is a common practice to take a break in the middle. I saw some instructors deciding for the class to start 30mns late (arguing that "the students are always late anyway) and teaching only for 1h, and others ending the class 30mns early. It might make sense in term of student attention, but it might also open the door to abuses.
Skipping classes (in agreement with the students) without informing the administration. Some universities explicitly require professors to name an official replacement for their teaching duties during periods for which they have been allowed to travel (and check that the teaching duties of such replacement do not intersect with those of the traveling professor). When setting-up such "replacement", it seems common to request a "virtual replacement" where the replacement is just in name, and the students are "freed" of classes during the corresponding period. Such practice might seem justified for short periods of time (e.g. 1 week), but could be abused by being used for much longer periods of time, in a way detrimental to the student's learning.
Self-Plagiarism: when using a similar technique in two (or more) distinct publications (for distinct problems), duplicate the technical proof with minor corrections rather than "refactoring" it into a technical lemma in the first publication, to be cited in the later ones. Failing to do so might be just blamed to bad redaction, but it can be abused in order to make a publication "more technical" and novel than it really is.
Those are just examples which come to mind or which I witnessed, I am sure that there are many others. I am curious as to how prevalent such examples are, and of resources to help (young and less young) academics to
convince their peers at an institution to ban/reduce/fight some of such practices, locally considered "normal" and wide-spread, with arguments that such practices are globally NOT considered that normal, and definitely not that wide-spread in academia at the world level; or at least
convince students and young researchers NOT to adopt the local customs, with some arguments about what is accepted and what is not accepted in other institutions (where they could land a job in the future).
Motivation for the question
I witnessed various instances (some benign, some more grave) of such "systemic corruption" in academia in Latin America, but this gives only anecdotal evidence. I discussed it with some international colleagues, which also only gives anecdotal information about their prevalence:
(some) colleagues from Latin America do not consider as corruption per se (for them, "corruption" rather corresponds to what the wikipedia page refers to as "Petty Corruption" and "Systemic Corruption"); while
(some) colleagues from Europe react by saying that such corruption exists in Europe too (with which I would agree although I think they do not understand the difference in prevalence) and
(some) colleagues from North America condemn such corruption (but admit that some of it exist also in some "bad" places in North America).
I understand at least some of the mechanisms behind such corruption: the people practicing it are mostly doing so in order to get around inadequate legislation and not for direct personal benefit, a type of legislation that they cannot change on their own. While understandable, this is highly detrimental to society in various ways:
in some cases the amount (mental, time, money, etc.) energy wasted in multitudes getting around a single "stupid" rule by out weights by far the amount of energy which would be required to design and switch to a better rule, if only people could coordinate;
in all cases, having most people disobeying a rule (without abusing it) opens the door for a few individuals to abuse disobeying such a rule (each decides to which point to disobey the rule), which is later used to justify even stricter rules, which more people will try to get around of in order to simply doing their job, in an endless vicious cycle.
I think this question would be improved by giving concrete examples of "such corruption" in academia for an international audience. For example, if I meet my program officer from the NIH in a dark alley and pass them an envelope with 5000 USD in it so that my grant is funded, I think we can all agree that is corruption. What are some examples of more "petty corruption"?
I was going to point out the same as @Ian, examples of such corruption that is specific to academia are needed.
RE: stupid rules. The purpose of a system is what it does. If the rules are not being changed it is because the people with the ability to change them don't want it.
About half of the post is an expression of personal opinion. I would recommend that you try to ask a precise well-posed question, and omit extraneous bits.
Bureaucracies have stupid rules all over the world. And normally they are required by forces outside the control of the faculty and staff. But bureaucracy and stupid rules do not cause corruption and may not even correlate to corruption.
The given examples of corruption do not really match what is usually regarded as corruption. For instance, in the second example: All countries I know have rules against "jaywalking" (crossing a street outside of a pedestrian crossing and/or when the traffic light is red). At the same time, depending on the country and a place in the country, jaywalking is more prevalent or less prevalent. The common understanding is that jaywalking is not an example of corruption. (However, if local police starts to charge people with jaywalking when they do not, it becomes an example.)
This question is not possible to answer, because it's not possible to understand what the question is asking. It's clear your asking about "systemic corruption", but it's not clear what that actually means. I guess you mean actions which an outsider might think is corrupt, but the insiders think is fine? For example, single blind reviewing could be seen as a type of corruption which benefits prominent researchers (with big names/schools). Or any type of recommendation (e.g. for reviewers, for conference organizers etc.) could also be seen as corruption because it's like nepotism.
@Ian I refactored the question in order to clarify it, and added a section with various examples of what I mean by systemic corruption in academia (rules that "everybody goes around" in such a way that it opens the door to real abuses).
I was not able to find up-to-date data on the academic corruption worldwide, the closest result would probably be Transparency.org's Global Corruption Barometer. As is typical for social studies, there are multiple caveats to the methodology; numbers may be hard to interpret: for example, Belgium has a low rate of bribery, yet the perception of corruption by institution (Table 2) is high overall and exceeding that of Bangladesh, which has a much higher bribery rate (from the 2013 report). That is to say, you are completely correct in noting that the same practice may be perceived as normal in one country and completely off-limits in another, and that would heavily affect the implications of any analysis.
To approach the systematic aspect of corruption in academia in particular, I would start with this highly cited paper (Rumyantseva, 2005), which attempts to build a taxonomy of academic corruption. It distinguishes between administrative corruption and education-specific corruption, and further divides the latter into cases falling under "academic corruption" and "corruptions in services". However, it does not discuss prevalence of these cases and generally sticks to more obvious, even blatant examples throughout the text.
This review (Denisova-Schmidt, 2018) and references therein offer a more detailed view on the prevalence of corruption cases. This includes high-profile public figures in the educational sector:
In 2016, the Ministers of Education of Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Russia, and Ukraine were all implicated in conflicts of interest. In addition, some or all the deputy Ministers of Education in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Moldova, Serbia, and Ukraine, as well as some members of the cabinets in Armenia and Kazakhstan, have also been accused of having conflicts of interest.
In Russia, rampant corruption and plagiarism have prompted a formation of a vigilante group within the academic community - Dissernet. This is not to single out Russia or ex-USSR countries, although the situation is certainly problematic there. It is not a coincidence two of the authors I have cited so far have Slavic names. Many developing countries are experiencing similar growth pains, too. For an example more relevant to you, a high-level overview of this transition in Latin America (Segrera, 2010) is concerned with reasons behind these pains.
For the advice on fighting corruption, I will refer to Denisova-Schmidt again:
In order to combat this corruption, the faculty should present their assignments and expectations more clearly to the students, stipulating their educational and cultural backgrounds.
She then stresses:
Faculty members should serve as role models, however. If they also cheat, they might not be able to demand the opposite behaviour from their students.
And
General research on corruption suggests not fighting corruption in general but rather focusing on specific malpractices [...]
Coming from a somewhat similar background, I may only add to this advice one thing: do not put much effort in combating corruption where you can not provide a positive example. Pick your fights. Keep serving as a role model. But lecturing anyone on morals is not going to be particularly effective unless you can show your example works, that one does not have to offer bribes to be able to put bread on the table. As long as people keep trying, as long as they hope for a better future, there is progress. Do not demand it to be "all or nothing", because you will keep getting nothing. Offer encouragement and forgiveness.
Certainly there is corruption but it takes at least two different forms. I can only speak for the US, however.
There is minor corruption that is probably pretty common with people cutting corners, even so minor as taking home a ream of paper for their home printer when it will be used "mostly" for work. Padding of expense accounts for travel might qualify. This might not be a managed issue as the individual occurrences are small enough that policing them is more expensive than letting it go. But, I'd expect that a few people are fired over such issues. I don't see universities (reputable universities) as corruption machines that make such things easy.
The other kind of corruption is when a university is actually founded and organized around a corrupt purpose, say the financial or political benefit of the founders. Trump University was shut down and fined over such things. A few (not all) "religious" colleges in the US have a similar reputation. Even some technical "for profit" schools have run afoul of the law. And some schools have badly abused the student loan system to their own benefit. But these sorts of things are relatively localized, and aren't representative of the higher education system in general.
One feature of higher education that some consider corrupt is the tight relationship between some university presidents and the board of trustees resulting in very high salary. But this is done in the open, generally speaking, so may not be "corrupt" in the classical sense. Undesirable, perhaps.
Well, you miss a few types of corruption, e.g. when a student pay a professor to pass their exam, or it pays a professor to get hired in a selection.
@MassimoOrtolano, I've never seen that happen in US. Sad if it does anywhere.
It certainly happened in my country
@Buffy: It certainly happened in Russia, Ukraine and Peru.
The recent US college admissions scandal makes a much better example of corruption than TU, which was a pure fraud.
@MoisheKohan, yes, a serious case, but not an example of prevalent corruption since the people went to jail over it. It is, however, an example of how the rich can subvert a system due to economic imbalance. That is pretty prevalent, actually, outside academia.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.168108
| 2018-03-30T23:50:11 |
107315
|
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Stack Exchange
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I put off taking some important classes until my senior year, should I still apply to grad school during my fall semester?
I'm a junior economics major who wants to get a masters and then possibly a PhD. I know that math background is a very important component of economics grad school admissions and so I'm also minoring in math. The problem is is that I haven't taken either real analysis or an upper-level linear algebra course yet (I did take an undergrad linear algebra course over the summer and got an A in it). While I have the GPA needed to get into most masters programs and I expect to do well on the GRE, I'm afraid that my transcript as of my junior year isn't very reflective of my math abilities. During my sophomore year I was in a really bad place dealing with both anxiety and depression (I know everyone uses this excuse, but I have the doctor diagnosis to prove it) and I got a C in my calc 2 class and a B in vector calculus even though I could have gotten an A.
Since my math background is so important for econ grad school, should I even bother applying before completing these upper-level courses that will better showcase my ability to do the math that economics grad school requires?
There are lots of programs where important classes are not taken by students until their senior year, largely because of the design of the major. Also, in most cases, if there is a "capstone" course, it's not taken until the final year, and grades would not be ready until after applications are due. However, this has not proven to be an obstacle for students applying to grad school, because the people making the decisions are cognizant of such organizations, and take this into account when making their decisions.
So don't worry too much about applying with your senior year courses missing—most of your peers will be in a similar situation!
That's true, I'm mostly upset because I was hoping that doing well junior and senior year would offset or at the very least mollify the impact of my subpar sophomore year.
The Director of Undergraduate Studies and/or your advisor in your major & minor would be helpful for this. The Econ DUS could advise you on what kinds of schools may be interested, and the Math DUS and/or your linear algebra instructor may be able to mention your struggles in a recommendation letter and endorse your demonstrated aptitude for math.
Doing well in a calculus-based econometrics class will also allay concerns.
Do practice for the GRE. It has a lot of formulaic questions about ratios, which go a lot quicker once you're used to them. Unfortunately, I don't remember it having calculus-based problems, so you could not directly use it to make up for your grades there.
I would not waste a letter of recommendation explaining why the OP's grade in linear algebra was subpar.
@aeismail Actually, OP did well in linear algebra, and the letter might tangentially say that there was a reason for subpar grades in previous classes.
Thanks for the answer. I did get an A in my intermediate microeconomics course, which relied pretty heavily on calculus so hopefully that will show that I'm not completely inept. I do plan on taking an econometrics course next semester, but again that's my whole problem haha
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.168400
| 2015-06-19T12:07:23 |
47465
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Stack Exchange
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Getting published in Nature or Science
I am a ninth-grade student in Bangladesh. I am alone in this research who is doing a research in neurophotonics. I have a dream to get published in Nature or Science. Can my age hamper my chances to get published there, even if the quality of the work is groundbreaking?
Your age is not a problem. However, what you should recognize is that publishing in Nature or Science is very difficult. If you have never published anything before, you will probably not publish there. It needs a lot of experience.
If not, can't I get published in Elsveir's journals?
You will still need a ton of experience about science in general and your particular field. For example, even before starting a study in neuroscience, you will need an approval from a local ethical committee and comply with the rules laid out in the Declaration of Helsinki. Have you done that? No journal will consider your work without those.
What is the Declaration of Helsinki?
One associate professor from University of Washington has revised my paper.
A set of ethical principles. Consult the associate professor.
But, isn't getting a revision from a professor is enough?
I do not understand you.
I am a self-funded researcher in my home. My research is not with medical science but with biophysics. I have read declaration of helsinki. But, I don't know why is it necessery and what will I do with it??
What makes you believe that "the quality of the work is groundbreaking"?
http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1201
Decaration of Helsinki will apply if there are human subjects. Other pre-conditions may exist if there are live animals involved. But probably not, if you just sit in your room and think.
Also for animals, e.g. "Medical research involving human subjects must conform to generally accepted scientific principles, be based on a thorough knowledge of the scientific literature, other relevant sources of information, and adequate laboratory and, as appropriate, animal experimentation. The welfare of animals used for research must be respected."
Mobin, I suggest you read the answers to this question very thoroughly: I believe I have solved a famous open problem. How do I convince people in the field that I am not a crank?
Well, age is not a criteria for accepting or rejecting a publication in any peer review journal, it's the quality of the scientific content that matter. Being 80 years of age doesn't guarantee that you are an excellent researcher. So work on the scientific content of your publication, and if it is ground breaking the for sure everyone will recognise it. So stay focused and work enthusiastically with scientific ethics.
Nature and Science both have an "interesting and newsworthy enough for a very wide audience" screening that takes place even before quality of science is assessed. I know that's nor pertinent for this question, but it sort of completes the record
Leaving alone, for the moment, the ninth-grade thing, you are an independent researcher. While there is nothing wrong about being an independent researcher, all US and European journals demand compliance with very high standards associated with human and animal research, and these standards involve submitting protocols to review boards before any work is done.
So, if the work uses any human subjects or animals, an independent researcher must hire such a review board. For animals, it is unlikely that an individual without some major resources can meet the requirements for proper animal husbandry that a review board will demand, so animal research most likely will not be publishable unless you are working with a facility.
If you are not working with humans or animals, nothing would preclude submission to those journals. I the work isn't exciting and newsworthy to a very broad audience, and if it really isn't world class, your chances of publication in those journals will be very low.
My advice would be to keep careful records of your work, and keep working to develop your credentials.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.168838
| 2016-06-02T21:29:09 |
69687
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Stack Exchange
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If boss is my PhD supervisor, is a wage negotiation inadequate?
I got the offer to do a PhD at an university while being employed at a company. In that scenario, my boss is also my supervisor.
Is it inadequate to start negotiations about my wage I get from the company?
I am asking since I come from Germany, where there is a standard wage for scientific staff. So, I cannot change what I get from uni, but that does not hold for my job within the company. Eventually my boss expects me to accept the standard wage for the company job too, but I generally have good arguments to get more money, e.g. work experience, talent and good motivation. However, I want to avoid that he cancels the offer due to inadequate behavior from my side.
Thanks in advance for ideas!
P.S.: Comments about if the constellation boss=supervisor is problematic are also welcome!
If it is any consolation, I have a friend in the opposite situation, which is even weirder: my friend working in a company is the PhD supervisor for her own boss!
OK, now that's funny! Getting paid by the person you supervise... Your friend probably also needs a supervisor so that he/she doesn't get mixed up.
Your post has the unusual feature that part of your first question actually answers your second question. Namely, you write:
However, I want to avoid that he cancels the offer due to inadequate behavior from my side.
and then ask
Comments about if the constellation boss=supervisor is problematic are also welcome!
Well, yes, it's indeed quite problematic, and that is precisely related to your worry about your boss/supervisor rescinding the offer. What's got you worried is that there is a huge, glaring conflict of interest here: one person is making decisions that two separate people should be making on behalf of two separate entities with very different interests. There might be some rare individuals who have the ability to separate their different interests and act objectively and without malice in a situation like this, but I fear that the mere fact this person has put himself in such a conflicted position already does not send out a very reassuring signal about his common sense and good judgment. Consider this: if I were in a similar situation and through some unlikely turn of events ended up as a dual boss/supervisor looking to employ and supervise the same person (something I'd be already very wary of doing and try my best to avoid), the first thing I would do is to bend over backwards to reassure my student/employee that I am taking every step imaginable to separate or manage my conflicted interests, for example by emphasizing repeatedly and vocally that the discussion of the student/employee's salary in the commercial employment will have no effect whatsoever on their graduate school funding or supervision, or by having the salary negotiation be done by a different person in my company, or taking various other measures to alleviate any concerns the prospective student/employee might have. From your question it sure doesn't sound like he has given you any such reassurances, which suggests he doesn't consider anything about the situation to be problematic -- not a good sign.
Now, I'm not saying such hybrid PhD/commercial employment arrangements never happen or cannot be made to work. Maybe his intentions are completely noble, and maybe in Germany there are cultural norms that make such behavior acceptable. But based on the details you've provided, and from my (U.S.-centric) point of view, this situation raises some serious red flags. Honestly, this whole arrangement doesn't sound like a good idea, which makes the question about salary negotiation a bit moot in my opinion. Before starting to talk about salary, I'd want to have a good long discussion with the prospective boss/supervisor about the viability of the arrangement, including discussing specific details about how you can make sure that he will not be incentivized to abuse his dual position of authority over you.
Thanks a lot for your answer! It clarified some points for me. I am generally confident that my future supervisor is a decent person. Though, it's not clear to me if he is fully aware of the problems you stated. I will start a seperate question on academia.stackexchange about opportunities for him to abuse his position.
Indeed Dan noted correctly that there may be cultural differences: Germany has a much more relaxed view on "conflict-of-interest" situations which sometimes works better and sometimes worse than Anglo-Saxon style "balance of forces". Generally, I found that less of a problem while in Germany, but it means that bosses can get people work for cheap. It means that you need a far stronger negotiation point to get a higher salary. If you have no believable alternative, you have no real way to negotiate a higher salary. If you have, be kind about it, and never bluff!
100% agree. I am working on it ;).
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.169230
| 2018-04-20T00:19:59 |
108377
|
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Stack Exchange
|
What are some tips for passing qualifying written exam (i.e., writing a lot in a week)?
My school's comprehensive qualifying procedure has thee parts.
A paper that is a synthesis and analysis of the literature on my topic,
A written exam that lasts 5 days, and
An oral exam on my topic.
This question refers to the second portion.
After reading your paper, each committee member writes a question for you to answer (total of 4). You have from 9 am Monday to 5 pm Friday to write a 2,500- to 3,000-word response to each question (not including bib). This isn't necessarily something you can study for.
I am historically not the fastest writer. I also have a tendency to not always be clear in my writing (it is clear in my head, but not always on paper).
My question is: How can I prepare to successfully pass? I need to write a large amount of high-quality work in a short amount of time with no time to prep for questions ahead of time.
Thanks in advance.
Well, perhaps you could work intensively on your writing with your campus writing center, over the however many weeks or months you have before you take the exam. Practice makes perfect, and this is especially true with writing. Tip: it helps if you repeat a certain format a number of times before you try to branch out to write in a variety of formats. // Also get more practice with revising your work. // Step one, plan your writing. Step two, churn out reams of words and sentences and paragraphs, using your outline as your guide. Let some time go by -- half a day, or overnight, before ...
... proceeding to Step 3: proofread. Try reading it out loud. Display it in a different font or different size, or on a different screen. Or print a hard copy. These things will make it easier for you to see an error.
That is great advice. Thank you. I guess I should have clarified that I am taking the written portion in a week from now. So I hope by now, I will have written enough.
This sounds like a marathon, but one that you've been training for. Your mind is prepared, so maybe it would help to make sure your environment is prepared. With the books you need around you, with some yummy snacks, and with some calls or meals with friends scheduled, you'll be in your best position to write.
Step one, plan your writing. The most efficient way to work is to write an outline before you start. However, in this case, where you have five days, you might need to alternate activities -- researching, trying out ideas, outlining and writing up parts you feel pretty sure about. So you might find that after a couple of days of this, you've written a large part of your submission, without having gone strictly step by step (outline, then write from the outline). In this case, you may have to produce an outline from your written paragraphs. You might need to do this more than once. Definitely do work with an outline, though, even if it's a bit of a pain to analyze your existing paragraphs and then describe them with an outline.
Why? Because this will help you find places where you're being repetitive, or where you make a leap of faith and omit to explain how you got from Point A to Point B, or where some reordering would make things hang together better.
If you need to consider a major restructuring, it can help to print it all out and cut it up into pieces according to sub-topic, and then try laying out the pieces in a few different orders on the floor or a large table.
Ideally, though, after having written an outline, you would then churn out reams of words and sentences and paragraphs, using your outline as your guide.
Revision: Let some time go by -- half a day, or overnight, before proceeding to the revision stage. Ideas for finding errors and places that aren't clear: Read it out loud. Display it in a different font or different size, or on a different screen. Print a hard copy. Have the computer read it to you out loud. These things will make it easier for you to find problems.
If you're allowed to, ask a friend to read a draft and circle anything that seems unclear or possibly having a spelling, punctuation or grammar mistake.
(The best way of all to prepare for writing is to pre-write with an interested live human being, who asks you, "What is your essay going to be about?")
Get lots of exercise and sleep between now and then, of course. Make sure you have a reliable set-up with all the resources and tools and groceries and peace and quiet you will need, including headphones or ear plugs if noise bothers you. Alert friends and acquaintances that you will be on the dark side of the moon for five days.
Use version control. Save a new, numbered version every couple of hours. Make sure your computer does an autorecover save when it crashes.
Practice makes perfect, and this is especially true with writing -- and revising. So, you may wish to warm up your writing and revising skills between now and then.
Remember that they won't be grading only on the quality of the writing, and that lots of students find writing challenging, but somehow many of them graduated.
+1 for “Use version control” and systematic way of doing it
Adding to the above answers,
You need to be thorough with your work first , you need to be aware of every aspect of it from top to bottom to answer questions on it , this is very important , then comes the writing.
Most often , if it is clear in your head , you can phrase it into sentences , refine and rearrange them into answers .
BUT , if you don't know or aren't familiar with parts of your work very well then you cannot answer specific questions on it.
Make sure there aren't any blindspots.
In the days before the exam , look out for probable questions from each area and think of how you would answer each of them.
If you have a clear idea and know which way you are going to proceed towards the answer , take your time and write it down and devise your answer into paragraphs , once you start writing you will get the hang of it and just go with the flow.
After writing the answer , read the question a couple more times and review your answer too and make sure it is clear , understandable and to the point.
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.169705
| 2012-05-03T01:58:07 |
1375
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Number of potential PhD advisors at a school
Past advice suggests that potential PhD students should be wary of attending schools with only one professor in their subfield. If you have problems with your advisor and want to switch, having that option would be invaluable.
But what if your subfield is not represented that well in the vast majority of departments? Almost all schools I'm considering applying for only have one professor in my intended research area. I'm a MS student at the moment and I'm sure what general subfield I'd like to do my PhD research in.
Should I just accept that this is how things are and try to check whether a professor and I would be good matches before accepting? Or should this make the few schools with more than one professor in this subfield more attractive? To be clear, every school I will apply to will have top researchers in this subfield. The comparison is more between a school with one top researcher and one newer researcher and another school with one top researcher and no one else in the subfield. The majority of schools are in the latter group.
I'm tempted to think that hiring committees avoid hiring additional faculty in my subfield if they already have one professor doing research in the area. They have their token professor and that's enough for them. Never mind that the professor's personality, perspective, and research methods matter!
As the author of the original answer, I suppose some further clarification is appropriate. The issues are:
Are you willing to work on a topic outside of your intended subfield?
Does your program assign students directly to a research supervisor at the time of admission?
If the answer to both questions is "no," then you have a potential problem on your hands, and then you should be very cautious. However, if you are willing to move outside your intended subfield if there are no positions available, or if you're guaranteed entry to the desired research group at the time, it's not nearly as serious a situation.
That said, if you only want to stay in your subfield, and it's only represented by one faculty at most institutions, then you'll need to do due diligence and figure out who will be the best fit for you, both in terms of research but in terms of "fit." A significant concern would then be: "Whose advising and supervision style best meshes with my own preferences?"
Thanks. I especially wanted your perspective as you made me think of this issue. I understand in the US that students usually apply for the dept. and then pick an advisor later. I am in the US, but perhaps my experience has misled me. I essentially applied to my MS advisor, and I would not have gone here if he did not accept me.
It sounds like this subarea might be somewhat marginalized in the larger area the department represents, and this is consistent across universities. Why is that ? is the subarea not particularly popular, or interesting, or does it lack the ability to get funding ? In all these case, you do have to ask yourself whether the risk of getting into such an area is worth it.
But on the more direct question of whether you should favor the few schools that have more than one professor, the right question is: what are you planning to do after a Ph.D ? And in what way can this professor (or professors) help with that goal ? If you want to go into academia (say), are these professors the dominant players in the area ? and so on.
This subfield is neither fashionable or easy (too much math and programming for most), which probably explains the low popularity. I anticipate no significant difficulties with funding or job placement (I won't enter academia) because the demand for PhDs in the area exceeds the supply. You've misread me on one point. Every school I am considering has excellent research. But should prefer a school with one top researcher and one newer (not established) researcher to another school with only one top researcher (and no one else)?
In that case, one side channel is to look at the recent trajectory of grad students from those profs. are the students active ? have people recently got jobs ? is there a way of talking to any of them ?
Yes, having other professors in your subfield is a benefit. You and your advisor might have a falling out, or some freak tragedy could befall your advisor, or your advisor might leave for a job elsewhere and not get you an adequate (or any) offer to bring you.
But that doesn't make it an absolute necessity, since there are plenty of other really important things to consider. You should consider it a plus at the institutions that have two, but only you can evaluate how big a plus.
You should also think about ways to mitigate the problem at other places. For instance, there might be people in related areas, even if not your exact subfield, who are close enough to potentially supervise you, especially if they're switching in half-way through your PhD. Or there might be other faculty in the area near-by, at other schools in easy reach, who might at least be able to help out if something happens.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.170147
| 2012-05-23T17:26:49 |
1668
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Stack Exchange
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Is it rude to ask for accommodations due to a learning disability?
I have a learning disability where I can only learn through seeing (not seeing and hearing). As a result, I need to have headphones in class to block all sound. Should I just tell the professor this?
Actually, you probably want to ask more, such as whether the professor could adapt his material to cater for the fact that you will not hear what s/he is saying.
@DaveClarke: That's sort of a mixed bag, and would be difficult to accommodate. It's certainly worth a try, but you shouldn't expect a priori a positive result. It's a tough challenge to adapt a lot of material, especially for the needs of one student.
What is this disability called?
I'd say it is rude to not make lecturers aware of any special requirements you may have. I'd very much want to know of any special arrangements (be it that somebody can't attend to exams because she is part of the school orchestra and will be on tour or a disability) in a timely manner.
@user13107 Misophonia?
@vonbrand I think the disability office, if any, of the OP's university should give proper advice on the matter
It would not consider the request rude, as long as you have a reasonable justification for needing to wear headphones during class (which you do). How you might approach your professor and whether he'll accommodate your request may depend on where you're located and whether your jurisdiction provides protections for individuals with disabilities.
In the United States, for example, individuals with disabilities are protected though the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which require colleges and universities (amongst other organizations) to provide reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities—in your case, needing to wear headphones in class would be considered a reasonable accommodation (although this might depend on the subject of the course—in a woodworking course where headphones would pose a threat to safety, for example, it would likely not be a reasonable accommodation).
There are also proper channels a student needs to go through to request medical accommodations—initial requests should not go directly to the professor. Universities and colleges will have a centralized student disabilities office that handles requests for disability accommodations and it is this office that will require documentation of a disability and determine what accommodations a professor will be required to provide. They will then send a form to your professors indicating what accommodations they need to give you. Because of ADA and health privacy laws, the disability office will not tell your professor what your disability is and your professor is not allowed to ask you what your disability is.
Although this answer is very much local to the United States, similar protections may exist in other countries as well. Rather than approaching your professors directly, consider asking your university's student advising office, student life office or health clinic whether professors will provide accommodations for disability (you shouldn't need to tell them what your disability is). They will then be able to point you to resources that will work with you to find solutions.
In the Netherlands, the procedure is similar: in general, students should consult the central students office rather than professors directly. However, I'm less convinced that lecturers will be ready to write everything on the board/slides in order to compensate for the auditive channel being "switched off".
The accommodations may not require the instructor to write everything out in class, but may instead take the form of providing lecture notes to the student. Usually, accommodations can be granted unless they constitute an undue burden. Indeed, asking to have everything written out in class is a much different accommodation than asking to wear headphones during class.
@HarrisonW.Inefuku This is not necessarily easy. I copied my own preparation notes for one of my students, but my own preparation notes are written for me, it takes me about three times as long to write something understandable for someone else.
I think more common than the lecturer providing notes (which may go beyond reasonable accommodation), is paying someone (often another student) to take and share notes.
I would like to add that in my experience an increasing amount of professors now specifically say on the first day (or in the syllabus) to let them know if you need any special assistance within the first week of class. So I would recommend doing both - talk with your schools "Disability Services" department, AND talk with the professors after class to discuss your situation to the extent you are comfortable doing so. Most people are happy to do simple/small things, like allowing diabetics to have food/drink in class, and the only problems are when you ask for something more work intensive.
My understanding is that it's also wrong per the ADA to extend accommodations wily-nilly rather than through the office.
If you are in the United States, I would suggest you identify the office on your campus that services students with disabilities. That office can formally write you an accommodation for your disability, which you can share with your professors. By law, professors must follow the accommodations that have been created for you by the office on your campus that services students with disabilities. You do not have disclose your disability to your professors, but you do need to provide them with documentation.
(+1) Welcome to the site. I agree with what you say, but your saying "By law, professors must follow" makes it seem a bit more rigid than my experience. In my (admittedly little) experience, the office made it clear that accomodations were only to be taken within reason, e.g. I wasn't expected to make a new course or have any different standards for the students with learning disabilities. I've never had a student with physical disabilities in my courses.
I believe the request certainly isn't rude - I'd almost consider it your responsiblity to let teaching staff know the best way for you learn. How much effort the teaching staff put into servicing the request is dependent on the policies in place at your own institution.
Where I work, we'd co-ordinate with the educational support office, who would have met with you in the first instances, worked at the best process, and come to us with some recommendations (so they are looking after things like assessments and reports and the like).
To be honest, I have a student who has not reported any ADA-qualifying issue who requested (and got) permission from me to wear gun-range over-ear noise-blockers during exams (we're both very Southern, so all clichés aside, it's easy for both of us to tell that these cheap cans are not in any way specially augmented in a secretive way). I don't see that self-creating a silent zone is in any way inappropriate, it isn't disturbing others, and she made the issue far easier to deal with than she would have had she actually decided to pursue the matter as a potential ADA issue.
But yes, if you feel that an accommodation might help ameliorate your federally protected condition, then by all means, pursue it!
Its not rude to ask and that is supported by the previous answers .If you are at a real university that has real exams that have candidate numbers on them and are moderated by lecturers at different universities then when you pass a paper you are just as good or just as bad as anybody else .I had a tutor to help me when I was repeating a course that I specialised in repeating .Over 20 years later when my tutor became a senior lecturer I let news of my learning disability slip .I passed and thought that If I had told the UNI would have things been any different .I dont think so because why should they make allowances for me .
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2025-03-21T12:55:49.171104
| 2017-03-13T04:12:37 |
86402
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Stack Exchange
|
Presenting a Negative Result
This past summer, I came up with a research project that I wanted to pursue (I am in high school). At first, I thought that the experiment would take about a month. However, I experienced more problems than I could have ever imagined. Finally, over half a year later (and after hours upon hours of research), I ran my experiment. During the whole research process, I believed that my alternative hypothesis would be supported. However, it wasn't.
I will be presenting my research at science fairs very soon, but I fear that all of my hard work will be overlooked because of my negative result. Is this fear warranted? Is there anything that I can do to ensure that this does not happen?
A falsified hypothesis is not a null result.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Null_result
I have little experience with Science Fairs, but in my experience research that has not led to positive results can be fairly well received if the research has been done very carefully, but the bar you need to pass is high. That is, if most people believe that A -> B, and your experiments show no support for A -> B, then there is a danger that people will conclude that you did not do your research carefully or claim that it is "obvious" that A !-> B.
If the context is a science fair, maybe you could reframe your result in a positive way (as in: reword the result as showing that you proved a positive), i.e. "you would think A implies B, but my research shows they are unconnected".
Could you please post the instructions provided for participation in at least one of these science fairs? // In general, when preparing your poster, and when standing next to your poster, answering questions about your project, be upbeat and honest, and focus on what you learned (e.g. about experimental technique).
For what its worth, even though this is a question about a high school science fair, the general nature of the question makes it still relevant here. Good question, looking forward to more answers.
Short answer: No.
I have judged science fairs in the Southern US for many years. The "negative result" is not going to affect how highly you are ranked. I once supervised high school students who won the local science fair competition and went on to be semi-finalists in the Siemens competition. Their project was mostly comprised of "negative" data suggesting that a newly reported finding in the scientific literature might be wrong: link to their project. Their "negative" data was later used in a major scientific paper link (Notice how the title contains two instances of NOT; basically a paper entirely made up of "negative" data).
Science fair projects are mainly judged on:
Clarity of presentation
Adherence to the scientific method
Logical conclusions based on the data
Coming across as professional, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and personable during the interview
What you should do:
Emphasize why it was important to test your hypothesis in the first place.
Critically analyze why the results did not support your hypothesis. Of course, the hypothesis could have been wrong, but could you have tested it in other ways? Is a technical problem a possibility (it always is)? Could you tweak your hypothesis in a way that it would explain the experimental results?
Think about alternative hypotheses and how those could be tested. Be prepared to discuss these during your presentation.
Focus on preparing an awesome looking poster,
Do not be negative or unenthusiastic during your presentation. This cannot be emphasized enough. Keep in mind that 95% of the experiments that a scientist performs "fail". And most science fair judges know this!
Good luck!
As another science fair judge, this is a fantastic answer. I'll add: also please critically analyze your experiment to see whether you could have done anything differently yourself.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.171536
| 2016-03-28T15:33:52 |
65844
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Does prestige of PhD granting insitution matter for those wanting to work in industry? And can a high level post doc position elevate an application?
I know for those wishing to have a career in academia that branding is key for securing a tenure track position. Branding is also key for certain industries at the undergrad level. I was wondering if that bias softens a bit at the PhD level, specifically for life science roles. How many doors shut if one gets a degree from a Top 30 instead of a Top 10 institution?
I figured HR recruitment would not have a clue how great your PI is in whatever field. Moreover with software based resume screening being so prevalent, searching for MIT, CalTech etc... may be a shortest route to get resumes down to reasonable number.
As a follow on question, say one gets a postdoc at an elite institution does that have any effect on said bias?
Any comments are appreciated.
Possible duplicate of http://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/90/university-rank-stature-how-much-does-it-affect-ones-career-post-ph-d/154#154
@Alexandros I disagree with it being a duplicate since I am referring specifically to industry and dealing more with the tier level of the school. The question in your link is very generic.
What bias are you talking about - the 'bias' of people looking at the school you graduated from? I also can't wrap my head around the statement that a Postdoc might effect 'said bias'. Can we use less catchy, and more descriptive words?
@gnometorule Yes. At the undergrad level it is quite large, but finishing a PhD is tough no matter where you go. I want to know if the bias diminishes somewhat at the Phd level, for industry roles (not limited to a research lab). So if one attends a strong school, but not necessarily Ivy or Ivy-like, how much of a ding is that against you? Can that be eliminated with a post doc at an elite institution?
I think it is very dependent on industry and the position. Pharma, biotech most probably value academic experience more than others
Just because someone got into MIT's PhD program and managed not to drop out, doesn't necessarily mean they are a great candidate. Perhaps eliminating those employers who think otherwise is not such a great loss.
Ok, get it now. I don't think we are talking about a 'bias' here: you fear that the ranking of your Ph.D. granting institution will not play in your favor with industry; if you get a Postdoc at a higher ranked school, will this help in industry? And does ranking at the graduate level matter in industry?
As a Ph.D. (PostDoc), and in many industries, you rarely come in through HR. It's probably more common to rely on contacts, friends, academic collaborators, and recruiters. This already somewhat dampens the impact of where you studied. If you hope to get in through HR, expect trouble. What I say next assumes that you largely stay near your field of study (you're not a biologist seeking to do momentum trading).
Not quite dissimilar to JeffE's answer to a related question, at the PostDoc level you are expected to have some research to show; and as you probably won't show it to HR, the people you talk to quite possibly understand what you did, or maybe even are familiar with it. They also might know, or have heard of, your PI, which you mention as well you wonder if they do. A famous alma mater is certainly nice, but it will matter much less than how highly they think of what you did, and how it fits into your possible job there.
Applying as a Ph.D. (only) in industry will put much more emphasis on your graduating institution: in many fields, even if you publish, it might not yet be printed; and the breadth and number of your contributions tends to be naturally fairly small. I think hiring, in industry, based on name makes more sense then; but your field of specialization, and what you did, still matter quite a bit.
Finally, the further your potential job is from your field of expertise (and that is common too: I've seen people go from CERN to building user interfaces), the more names matter - as is probably no surprise to you. It also matters in just making people curious about you - in the stage of getting an interview; whereas what I wrote before is you discussing a job at a desk or lab.
I'd actually argue that where you studied can make a huge difference in industry prospects, not so much due to tier, but precisely because you're more likely to go through a contact. Different institutions can have very different contacts, and the industries/companies that are more closely linked to (people at) your institution will be much easier to get jobs at. One of the most important factors of doing a post-doc is that it exposes you to an additional set of contacts.
The following is based on my experience as both a hiring manager and as a participant in the hiring process in industry.
I'll say "not so much", with the slight caveat that it slightly depends on the type of position to which you're applying. When we were hiring at the bank, we gave a lot of weight to the undergraduate institution. For those applying with PhDs, weight was given if the advisor was well known in the field, but beyond that not so much. We placed a lot more importance on the ability of the candidate to actually explain what they did quickly and concisely. A few times we had candidates who were from outstanding programs and outstanding universities, but that really only got them the initial phone screen... if they couldn't broadly explain their topic in three minutes or less they went in the reject pile like anyone else.
The same was true for postdoctoral fellowships.
I will say that there were a few candidates who got a leg up simply because they had collaborated extensively, and they had some connection with someone on the team. Again, though, that just got them in the door... we never hired someone simply because they had a performed research at a respected university.
The answer is that a better PhD program is better for your "industry" prospects, all other thing being equal. But as you noted, this tendency "softens" for PhD students.
That is because people who interview PhDs are more technically oriented themselves. PhD resumes tend to "short circuit" HR and go directly to hiring managers. These managers will want to know what you've done in your program and how well. So pick the school that best matches your aptitude and interests. If it is a Next 20 program that you will do particularly well in, that will make up for the supposed quality of the school.
Bottom line: You'll probably want to be a better student at a "Next 20" school than a mediocre student at a Top 10 school. But if you figure to be about as good at one school or another, then the Top 10 school is better for the resume.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.172126
| 2014-11-09T22:13:02 |
31495
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|
Stack Exchange
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How should I express theorems without a proof in a research paper?
What do you do when you have a conjecture, and you run experiments that confirm your conjecture, but you are unable to provide a formal proof (perhaps because it's too complicated)? Do you name them as conjectures or observations or... what?
This is in the context of a CS theory paper.
It's still a conjecture, now with some supporting evidence.
A theorem without a proof is not a theorem.
@JessicaB: Any theorem that is literally without a proof is a monkey. Vacuously, that is.
In mathematics and TCS (which is really a branch of mathematics), if you don't have a proof, you don't have a theorem. (You write "experiments", which I will assume means "computer calculations". Please let me know if this is not the case.) Doing some computer calculations can be interesting and even sometimes publishable, but it does not constitute any kind of proof, formal or otherwise. (Added: Well, unless it does, of course. You can prove a theorem by reducing it to a finite calculation and doing that calculation by hand or by computer or some of both. You can't prove a theorem which pertains to infinitely many cases by doing finitely many of them and claiming "and so on".) Also, although the word "confirm" is often used in this way in empirical science, in mathematics to "confirm a conjecture" means to prove it.
I see two possible questions here:
How do I write up computational evidence for a result that I cannot prove in a paper?
Can I publish a paper in which I do not prove my conjecture but only have computational evidence towards it?
The first question is more straightforward. You state the conjecture -- i.e., the statement that you think is a theorem but can't yet prove. Some discussion of the provenance of the conjecture is probably a good idea but is not strictly necessary. However, if you got the conjecture from somewhere else you must indicate that. Then you document the calculations you made. Finally, you probably want to make some remarks about why the calculations make you confident in your conjecture (if that is the case). Here sometimes informal reasoning can be helpful: e.g. if your conjecture is that for two sequences of integers a_n and b_n that a_n and b_n are always congruent modulo 691, then if you check this for the first 100,000 terms then in some naive sense the probability that this happened by accident is (1/691)^{100,000}, which is vanishingly small.
The second question is much more complicated. It can be hard to publish papers in which you do not prove a theorem but "only" give computer evidence...but not as hard as it used to be. Mathematics is slowly becoming more enlightened about the merits of computer calculations. I would say though that you need to understand the field much better to be able to predict whether a paper primarily containing computations would be publishable than to publish a more "theoretical" paper: many, many referees and journals will say "no theorem, no proof, no paper", so you should expect to work much harder to sell your work.
Well, the problem is simply too complicated, and yes, by experiments I meant computational experiments.
I have been working on this problem for over 3 months now, and I am hoping to raise some discussion on the topic and perhaps even initiate some collaboration that hopefully leads to an enhanced theoretical understanding of the problem.
"Well, the problem is simply too complicated" I'm not scolding you for not being able to prove the conjecture! Every mathematician I know has conjectures they would like to prove but can't. That's almost the definition of a mathematician....
Good point! this is perhaps the first time I've encountered a conjecture that I haven't been able to solve after a few months. I guess, this is the beauty of Math!
@NeoN 3 months is not a long time to work on a reasonably complex mathematical problem.
The important thing is to be honest and clear. In any proof-oriented subject (including theoretical CS), you should carefully distinguish theorems you have proved from conjectures you believe but have not proved. It's reasonable to give evidence in favor of your conjectures (such as your experiments) or to discuss possible proof techniques that might work, as long as you are clear about what you have or haven't done.
What makes this awkward is that sometimes beginners are tempted to be a little unclear in dishonest ways. Suppose there's something you are pretty sure you could do if you had more time, and it's embarrassing to admit that you haven't yet been able to work out the details. It can be tempting to write something vague like "These techniques apply to case X as well" and rationalize it by saying it's not technically a lie, since you never actually said you applied them to complete the proof. Nevertheless, it's unethical since it misleads readers into thinking you've done more than you have.
Even if you don't feel this temptation yourself, it's important to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, so it's best to be extra careful about anything near the borderline of what you have or haven't proved.
Do you name them as conjectures or observations or what?
Conjecture sounds like the appropriate name here. Observation might make sense if this terminology is commonly used in your subfield, but it sounds potentially problematic to me. It sounds a little too much like something you could prove but are omitting the details for, rather than something you have been unable to prove (so if you use that terminology, you should be careful to make this clear).
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.172608
| 2021-01-06T17:00:25 |
160935
|
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|
Stack Exchange
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Has the pandemic changed opportunities for graduate funding for on-line PhDs?
In the past, I wanted to start a part-time PhD in History, but due to my geographic location and unwillingness to move, I realized there were no funding for a student like me. Usually if students want to study a PhD on-line, it required self-funding, which means $30k out of pocket minimum. Everyone advised me that, if I wanted to get funding for my PhD, I'd have to study it on-campus in a traditional format.
Given the pandemic has shaken up higher education somewhat, is this a situation I should revisit?
Is it now very common for students to receive a research fellowship to fund one's online PhD?
There's some strained legality these days around funding for remote students...I suspect it won't last beyond pandemic restrictions.
The situation has not really changed. https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/11133/13240
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.172717
| 2021-01-06T20:12:46 |
160947
|
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|
Stack Exchange
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Is it bad-practice to have a high citation to content ratio in academic writing?
I'm writing a high school history textbook. While writing my book, I'm finding its becoming very heavily laden with sources. If I used Turabian's footnote style, they tend to fill half the page. Perhaps 1 source per 2 lines of text. My reasons for this are:
The history involved three different groups of people, but typically
only one point-of-view has been presented in most general sources, so I'm having to check more sources from these other points of view (which has revealed to me that a lot of sources are missing important details).
There is heavy bias in much scholarship, because the scholars are writing about their own ancestors, or have much local pride, they ignore facts that contradict their developed image of their ancestor as a "hero".
Indigenous groups with no written language were part of the history, so the facts can be difficult to pull out, and requires cross-checking and confirming information across multiple sources while filtering out the biases mentioned above.
Sometimes a great source ignores the basic details, like the date of the event, so I have to include cite general sources for the date alongside the more thorough detailed source with better analysis of the event.
Is too many sources frowned upon? Most secondary textbooks I see are strangely quite absent of sources. Is there some way this is bad practice?
I don't think you should be changing your citations to fit them on the page - you should be using a different citation style.
I likely will change the citations to be placed on the page at the end of the chapters, so they don't take up much space. I'm not concerned with that issue, but whether or not having such a dense amount of sources is frowned upon.
Are you working without a publisher? Without an editor?
I've only finished 10 chapters, have 40 total, so I think it is too early for working with a publisher.
@Buffy asks a good question. It's not too early to work with a publisher if you can find one interested. Publishers know the audience you are writing for and what books for that audience should look like.
That seems like a normal amount of citations for a history textbook.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.172928
| 2018-05-07T15:45:57 |
109314
|
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|
Stack Exchange
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How do I determine which of two International Conference on Web Services (ICWS 2018) is genuine?
International Conference on Web Services (ICWS) is one of the top conferences for web service researchers. But this year (2018), I find there are two ICWS websites:
http://icws.org/2018 (this one is the old website for ICWS 2017, 2016..)
http://conferences.computer.org/icws/2018/ (this one is sponsored by IEEE)
How can I determine which conference is genuine? And as I'm a Chinese researcher, another thing I care about is that which one is recognized as the B-level conference by CCF (China Computer Federation)?
Both the organizing committee for the Seattle conference and the San Francisco conference have members at Chinese universities, so perhaps if you email them they could help you understand which one is recognized by the CCF. That is, if people here don't help you sort it out first!
OK. What about the first question? which one is genuine? or in other words, which one's papers will be inside the final proceedings (and indexed by EI, IEEE, Google Scholar, etc.)?
Looking a little closer, the IEEE conference in San Francisco is the one that has prior proceedings, and it has an "Important Notice":
Note that any other similarly named conferences are fresh starters beginning this year and operated by a different organization in Seattle, Washington that has nothing to do with IEEE.
The thing I can't immediately tell is whether the Seattle conference put on by "Services Society" is real or fake.
That conference says in relation to its proceedings:
The Proceedings of ICWS 2018 will be published in the Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) by Springer International Publishing AG. Currently the Abstracting and Indexing services covered by Springer’s data feeds for LNCS proceedings include ISI Conference Proceedings Citation Index (included in Web of Science), Engineering Index EI (Compendex and Inspec databases), DBLP, Google Scholar, IO-Port, MathSciNet, Scopus, and ZBlMath.
I did confirm that the Seattle conference is on the list of upcoming Springer Proceedings. Springer published several prior proceedings related to ECOWS 2004 and 2006, the conference the Services Society conference traces its history to:
the International Conference on Web Services (ICWS) was first conceived in June 2003 in Las Vegas, USA. Meanwhile, the First International Conference on Web Services - Europe 2003 (ICWS-Europe'03) was held in Germany in Oct, 2003. ICWS-Europe'03 is an extended event of the 2003 International Conference on Web Services (ICWS 2003) in Europe. In 2004, ICWS-Europe was changed to the European Conference on Web Services (ECOWS), which was held at Erfurt, Germany.
The IEEE conference says it goes back 12 years.
The Services Society has been a registered non-profit organization in the U.S. since at least 2011, according to this IRS lookup. The Principal Officer on that registration is Zhixiong Chen of Mercy College (the mailing address on the registration matches his office address).
He mentions on that same profile page:
President of the Services Society, a non-for-profit organization, promoting collaboration between Academia and Industrial practitioners on Services Computing and delivering relevant open course modules, sponsoring with IEEE conferences like IEEE Services 2010
So, my best guess is that Services Society is related to some entity that had been involved in running the initial European Conference on Web Services; that conference perhaps became affiliated with IEEE and the name ICWS; Services Society had some minor affiliation with the IEEE ICWS; and now it is running a separate conference of the same name. (In fact, according to an announcement in IEEE Xplore, the Services Society ran the 2009 School on Cloud Computing with the 2009 5th IEEE Congress on Services (SERVICES 2009).)
What I do not understand is why, if that's the case, IEEE would say there is absolutely no link between the two. The poorly sourced ICWS Wikipedia page claims that ICWS is run by both Services Society and IEEE.
It is possible that the Services Society conference in Seattle will have a legitimate conference, and it does have a satellite conference in Shenzhen, China. However, it is definitely NOT the IEEE ICWS.
If the Chinese Computer Federation conference list does not specify that it is the IEEE ICWS conference, then there is some possibility that the Services Society conference is acceptable to them. In that case, since both the organizing committee for the Services Society Seattle conference and the IEEE San Francisco conference have members at Chinese universities, perhaps if you email them they could help you understand which one is recognized by the CCF.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.173273
| 2016-12-29T18:07:10 |
82400
|
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Stack Exchange
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Are there accepted criteria to define an author's institutional affiliation?
I ask this question because there are institutions that pay authors an honorarium to add the institution as an additional affiliation when the authors publish, even when those authors do not have any kind of contract or appointment with the institution, nor do research or teach there. This is clearly a way to game the system and increase the number of publications accounted to that institution. This is evidently not ethical, but I do not know if there are any stated policies or regulations on this practice. The end result is that a university that does do not provide funding or resources for research will have the same number of publications as the university that does conduct and foster research.
I recall a similar question that was asked some time ago, but at a first search I couldn't find it. My feeling is that only the main institution can have rules against such fraudulent affiliations. Note however that many researchers have perfectly ethical (unpaid) multiple affiliations because they collaborate with several institutions (e.g., I have a double affiliation).
Related question: What should you do if a co-author has an unethical affiliation?
Even closer: http://academia.stackexchange.com/q/41684/19607
This is pretty old, but I will provide an answer to an increasingly relevant question. Affiliation is understood to be where the major part of the work was done. If this is not the author's current primary employment, then those details should be included in the contact details and/or acknowledgements. Any paid affiliation is unethical. Surprisingly, I did not find any reference to this "creative affiliation" in the COPE standards https://publicationethics.org/.
Many publishers include a statement about what to do if affiliation changes during the publication process - i.e. how to credit the institution where the work was begun and the institution where the publication was finalized. For example "Present/permanent address. If an author has moved since the work described in the article was done, or was visiting at the time, a 'Present address' (or 'Permanent address') may be indicated as a footnote to that author's name. The address at which the author actually did the work must be retained as the main, affiliation address." from Elsevier Guidelines for Authors (https://www.elsevier.com/journals/journal-of-archaeological-science/0305-4403/guide-for-authors, but they all include this). It seems that what the OP describes is so unethical that no one has addressed it explicitly (yet).
Don't be afraid to be an independent researcher. No affiliation may be fine if you are not truly concerned about who gets to "own" your research. I have seen papers where the person does not have an affiliation.
As far as experience goes, an author's institutional affiliation matches the location of their name on a payroll, regardless of their publishing.
In other words:
on the payroll of University of 123 = institutional affiliation is 'University of 123'
on the payroll of no research institution = 'independent scholar'
Any other arrangement may be characterized as 'creative affiliation'(along the lines of creative accounting).
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.173541
| 2017-09-09T07:30:37 |
95690
|
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Stack Exchange
|
How to see how many times a document has been cited?
I'm working on my thesis and I'd like to see if some documents that I'll use have been used before to see if the topic and focus I'm working on has been done before. At the moment it seems it hasn't, I looked for citations in Google scholar and it has only 1 citation, Academia.edu has around 2000, but I must have Academia Premium to see it. Is there any other way to look for citations? Is it worth to have Academia Premium?
Are you saying that Academia.edu claims that the paper has 2000 citations but wants you to pay to see them? Given how inclusive Google Scholar is this seems highly doubtful.
elsevier's free version of scopus, etc.
Even if subscriptions are required, your library may have access to many of the citation index type publications.
For biology and chemistry-related publications you can use Europe PMC as a search engine - it indexes citation counts and is free to use. Since it only shows open citations (those that publishers have made freely available), the citation counts will be smaller than those for the Web of Science, but you can access that info without subscribing. Alert: I work for Europe PMC.
For papers in mathematics and related fields, arXiv tracks how many times a paper has been cited by other arXiv papers. In some fields this might not be useful, but in mathematics/computer science/some fields of physics it’s going to be a very good approximation.
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.173776
| 2018-01-14T18:21:09 |
102158
|
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|
Stack Exchange
|
Who assigns paper to reviewers for a conference and what are the challenges?
Note: I'm aware that the reviewing process in a journal has been explained elsewhere on this site.
My question is about the process for peer-reviewed conferences.
Question 1: In a peer-reviewed conference who assigns submitted papers to reviewers? and what is that party called?
Question 2: Is the party above a group of people or one person?
Question 3: What are the problems in this process? In other words, (is it fair to ask) what if a person in this process acts dishonestly?
Related: https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/101385/20058
In very small conferences and workshops (with up to 50 submitted papers), reviewers are usually the members of the program committee. The papers are assigned manually by head organizer (Conference chair or chairs if there are more). Usually the chair knows the members of the program committee well and is able to take care of any conflicts of interest. Reviewers are also asked to declare their conflicts as soon as they get the papers to review (with implication that then the conflicted paper is reassigned).
In larger conferences, papers are assigned to tracks, headed by Area Chairs, who again do the similar job than conference chair at small conferences. In such conferences, Area Chairs may form the program committee, and the reviewers are other researchers in the field that get invited to review papers. Essentially, one level of hierarchy is added. In such conferences, paper matching is sometimes done automatically based on keywords supplied by the authors; in the same way, conflicts of interests are detected. One of such systems is Toronto paper matching system, used by many conferences:
https://openreview.net/forum?id=caynafZAnBafx
|
2025-03-21T12:55:49.173949
| 2018-02-02T11:56:07 |
103183
|
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"sort": "votes",
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}
|
Stack Exchange
|
How can multiple people grade assignments online so that different graders don't see each others' grades?
this question is related to how you do your double blind marking for assignments, we are looking at the coursework plugin for moodle but are interested in how other other institutions do this. a specialist piece of software? paper? excel spreadsheets?
To clarify this would be two markers not being able to see the grades the other marker has assigned to the student, unless the grade is within a percentage.
This would be passed to a third marker if grades cannot be agreed upon.
How many student results are you working with?
Hi, we are working with around 100 students. What about yourselves?
One lot of 180 the other 160, but I don’t have double marking - just starting to think how I would do it in excel...
This feature is currently not available in Moodle.
Please have a look at the link below.
https://help.blackboard.com/Learn/Instructor/Assignments/Grade_Assignments/Delegated_Grading
Trust this matches your requirement
|
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