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2014/01/07 | 1,717 | 6,967 | <issue_start>username_0: I heard one of my lecturers says that it is always better to start the paper title with a verb. According to the lecturer, the verb leave that impression about something has been accomplished. For example, use `Design`, `develop` etc. I tried to find any supportive resources about that but I could not. The other question, is it better to use `verb-ing` or not (e.g. Developing vs. Develop)? Most of references that speak about choosing title do not pay much attention to the syntax.<issue_comment>username_1: Writing a good title is perhaps the hardest part of authoring. Writing a good title is not so much a matter of style as a matter of good communication. Some key points I therefore try to follow for a title can be summarized as follows
* predict and describe the content; recapitulate the conclusion
* be succinct and comprise one or possibly two facts
* include one active verb in present tense to form subject-active verb-objective
* Avoid complicated wording and use no more than three modifiers for any noun
A pair of good sources on general science writing which includes formulation of titles:
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> <NAME>., 2012. Science research writing for non-native speakers of English. Imperial College Press, London
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>
>
and
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> <NAME>. & <NAME>., 2011. Scientific English. A guide for scientists and other professionals. Greenwood, Santa Barbara CA
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>
>
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I am neither a native English speaker nor a language expert but here are my two cents. I recall hearing (more than once) that it's best to start strong. In other words, what you feel your paper is really about should be the first thing you express; if it is *doing* something that wasn't possible to do previously then a word expressing an action is a good call. Ex: *"Refinement of XYZ process using awesome method A"*.
Otherwise if you are doing something in a different way then it might be good to point out what's new with your way of doing that particular thing; *"Multispectral analysis of bioluminesce in deep ocean habitats"* (random made-up example).
In the first example you are "advertising" that you are refining XYZ process and that's the cool thing with your paper, whereas in the second example you are pointing out that you are analysing things in multiple light spectra.
In either way the first word isn't a verb, but could be a noun form of a verb; i.e. `to refine` -> `refinement`. The problem with using the "-ing" form is that it might give the idea of continuousness, which is out of place as the work is already done in most cases.
Hope that makes some sense :)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I see two issues here. The one is the stylistic sense that some people have developed over their life and that is not necessarily always to be generalized. The other is the strictness of such "style advice".
For the first issue: Everybody develops some kind of preferences about stylistic things they like or dislike and things they believe to be (or have worked) better than others. This personal preference does not necessarily coincide with what is generally considered to be good style, which means it could be true in the special environment of this person but it could also be some anecdotal experience that has no broader foundation. Therefore I would be somewhat cautious to take such advice too strict when it comes from a single person and you cannot find it anywhere else.
For the second: Let's consider this rule exists (which I don't know and didn't check), you shouldn't take it as a strict "law". If you have a title that fulfils the rule and you feel good with it, then go for it. But don't try to twist your formulation just to meet this single criterion as the confusion that you create with it might outweigh the "beauty" that you win by starting the title with a verb.
**TL;DR**: Be careful with possibly subjective "style advice" and don't take style guides as strict "laws".
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: What has not been mentioned in the above answers is that the nature of a title tends also to vary significantly **between disciplines.**
For instance, in the biological and medical sciences, the titles of journal articles tend to be summaries of the key findings of the paper:
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> Overexpression of Gene A Leads to Suppression of the X-Y Pathway in Organism Z under Type A Conditions
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>
>
In effect, the title serves as a minimalist abstract of the paper.
In contrast to this, papers in the physical and mathematical sciences tend to have shorter titles that don't necessarily say much about the content of the article:
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> Technique X for Studying Y in Material Z
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>
>
or
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> A Proof of Theorem X for Conditions Y
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>
>
Titles in the humanities can be much more creative, and use wordplay, literary quotes, and allusions:
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> "Touches of Sweet Harmony": A Study of Organ Construction in Shakespeare's England
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>
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Now, your title need not fit into the specific norms of your field, but in that case, you better have a solid reason for doing so.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: Select your target journal.
Analyse the most recent 100 paper's titles in that journal. How many start with a verb? How many have colons? What are the median and mode number of words in a title?
Make your title follow the most common format.
That's the first-order effect: maximising the chance of getting published.
The second-order effect is maximising the chance of getting cited. So repeat the above analysis, for the 100 most cited papers from the last ten years, in your target journal. Adjust citations for length of time lapsed since they were published.
Now try to combine these findings into a happy blend that maximises both your chance of getting published, and of being cited.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: A lot of people are giving the exact opposite advice I would give. Most papers go un-cited! You absolutely don't want to be too conventional. If you want to analyze titles experimentally do the following
1. Get together with a bunch of postdocs, grad students and professors in your field.
2. Pick a popular journal in your field to analyze and a date range, at least 5 years older than the current date but not too old to be ridiculously obsolete.
3. Everyone choose 5 papers they remember being really important that received a lot of citations, 5 really important papers that received few citations and 5 middle of the road papers
4. Look at the titles. Is there something different about the highly cited papers' titles?
5. If the answer is yes consider going with that, if the answer is no, use your own style and creativity, and ignore most things (although you should follow some common sense).
This actually sounds like a fun party idea. Note the methods are probably really flawed since I just thought about this. Feel free to comment below on an improved experimental design.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/07 | 6,936 | 28,510 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm a master CS student. I had so many troubles in my life. I didn't have proper schooling and were in difficult situations which led to me being not so good compared to my peers now at the graduate school. For example I had problems with math and so and when I got into my new graduate school everyone was almost far better than me. Then I started working day and nights to improve my skills and after a year of *really* hard work now I achieved almost their skills. However in that time my peers were also developing their skills and doing fancy projects and so on. Sometimes when I get to look at their success and projects I feel *stressed* and *discouraged* that I really still have way too long to achieve that. Or that I'm really putting *so much* work into myself because of the problems I went through but at the end I find myself still far. Whereas my peers are enjoying their lifes and at the same time achieving something. I know life is not fair nor I'm jealous, but sometimes I just feel sorry about myself that I work really hard but without much difference :(. This is also is leading so some self-confidence issue, that whenever I see one of my peers I get stressed and sometimes afraid to discuss a topic with them because I don't want to look bad not knowing that easy stuff for them.
This is always leads to a voice in my head saying: oh if only a professor in MIT or Stanford sees how hard working you are, you might be there now. But of course I won't because I will always be far from the students there because of what I went through.
What to do to overcome this?<issue_comment>username_1: I will apologize in advance, because this answer won't give you what you are probably looking for; but it might give some perspective so I will reply anyways hoping that helps somewhat.
First off, know this: **you are not alone!** It's actually pretty common to look at your peers (at the office and elsewhere worldwide) and feel shitty about the "insignificance" of your accomplishments compared to those of others. To further strengthen the point, I can say that I am battling with this every single day for instance, despite what I hear from others about the quality or importance of my work when I look around and see what others achieve I feel depressed...
Secondly it's also good to try and remember that life isn't a competition. Well, some aspects of life are competitive, for sure, but you cannot go about living your day competing with others in every single aspect of your life. This is a *simple* but a **very** powerful insight, also very hard to digest it properly and take it to heart.
Think of all the aspects your life, from research to parking your car, from buying groceries to whatever sport you enjoy the most... I can guarantee you that there will be several (if not more) people within your immediate surrounding that will be "better" than you in each one and single aspect, if you isolate them one at a time. But I can also assure you that they won't be the same people if you consider different aspects. Overall, you are the person you are and constantly comparing yourself to others in single aspects (and focusing on your shortcomings) will only drive you towards unhappiness.
---
So does that mean you should just relax and go with the flow? Absolutely not! You have to play catch up, if you can identify your shortcomings in particular fields (like maths, or programming experience). It'll be frustration, it'll be long hours, it'll be effort... Try to focus on setting goals for yourself when you are in catch-up phase.
I strongly recommend checking out [S.M.A.R.T goals](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria) concept which helps in getting things done and bagging that sweet feeling of accomplishment, little by little.
Hope this answer helps to some extent and it all works out in the end!
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Sounds like you're engaged in a lot of [upward social comparison](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_comparison_theory#Upward_and_downward_social_comparisons), which is bound to make you feel somewhat inadequate if you're judging yourself by the different standards of achievement that may apply to them for all the reasons you mention. Upward social comparison might be a good way to form goals, but it's not a good way to judge your progress so far. Even if you'd had the same environmental advantages as some of the people you seem to be focusing on, you'd still both be working with different personalities and aptitudes, and probably different tasks too. Too many factors differentiate individuals' performance to take observations of your peers quite so seriously as reflections on yourself.
The ideal approach would be to judge your progress by *your* standards. You've known yourself long enough to have some sense of whether you're growing and performing at your usual rate. If you're improving steadily in these regards, I'd say that's plenty of cause for a decent amount of self-esteem. If you find yourself doing worse than usual, consider what's holding you back, and consider whether you've defined your goals realistically. I'm not saying you can't be responsible for underperforming—you should be able and willing to see fault in yourself—but you shouldn't blame yourself immediately without considering other factors that might be affecting you. This is all part of the broader matter of managing your expectations, and separating them from your hopes and aspirations.
I probably wouldn't recommend relying too heavily on downward social comparison, but it is also an option if you need to calibrate your frame of reference with others in general, and it sounds like you might. You sound very focused on what you have had to overcome, not the fact that you've overcome it, and focused on what others have done with advantages you didn't have, rather than what others have done with the same disadvantages you had. How many of your peers had problems like yours in the past? How many people do you know with similar backgrounds who haven't made it to grad school?
Be careful not to get caught up in depressive cycles of ruminative thought as well. You sound stressed for at least two reasons that should "cancel each other out" in some sense:
1. You had a hard life...
* But you still made it to grad school!
2. You have trouble keeping up with people who haven't suffered the same disadvantages...
* But you know you've had to deal with a lot of unusual problems outside of school!
That you are still in the same program as those people who had it easier should help you feel better about your life, because it's only held you back somewhat. That you have been held back by your life's circumstances somewhat should help you feel better about being behind somewhat. Nonetheless, if you focus on each source of stress separately instead of focusing on these connections, each will make you feel bad independently, and each will remind you of the other reason to feel bad. Focus on the reasons you are where you are, not just where you are, and focus on what you can do about it, not just how you feel about it (see also [problem-focused and emotion-focused coping](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coping_%28psychology%29#Types_of_coping_strategies))...and never forget how far you've come already.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Although, it is customary to give pep talk, the truth is that life is unfair. Your friends might get all the girls of your dreams without even trying (I assume you are a guy), your siblings might be more successful than what you will ever be and even your parents might be more educated than you. You can always blame this on your "hard" life and naively believe that if you actually put another 10% of effort you might minimize the gap between your achievements and theirs. The problem is, that sometimes people around you are more smart, more beautiful and even more hard working. You have to accept this as a fact of life. As <NAME> said "A Man's Got to Know his Limitations". What you can do is work within those limitations and stretch them to your absolute best. But even then, success is not linear and sometimes extraordinary smart, hard working people fall flat on their faces.
So, although you should look to people around you for inspiration, trying to replicate their success is a dead-end. There will be always be someone more adequate, smarter, richer or luckier. So, instead focus on what you WANT TO DO instead on what you want to get. Do the best you can but mainly enjoy the process as well. Otherwise your dreams are toxic and lead you nowhere.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: I totally disagree with "Accept it" part of answers. Well, accept it. BUT.
The people who are getting their success easy will eventually get bored and stop. Your habit to working hard WILL get you ahead of them sooner than you might expect *(at least, after graduating high school. Life is not like high school, it has no target to be teaching you while you're having fun in a campus)*. It's like having higher speed and acceleration while starting behind: EVENTUALLY you'll get ahead.
Persistence beats it all. It beats being smart, rich or naturally strong.
Go strive for those fancy projects too. In the beginning, you will be doing worse, that's normal. And then...
Second thing: trying to catch up with a someone's success is one of the best motivations I had in my life.
Go on.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: I think you shouldn´t compare yourself with others all the time. We need to be better than we were yesterday... If you are doing your part, don´t worry. There will be always people you consider better than you as always there will be people considering you better than them. CS is very vast... Don´t try to be the best in every field, it´s insane... Focus in something you like.. Good luck... And sometimes we need a break, relax, have fun to study better later... The important is the path, not the final line... Life is it, we are always trying to get in a new point.. And when we get there it takes only seconds and we start another run for the next. So we need to try to be happy during the path!
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: So, the question is how do I deal with the discouragement and overcome this.
1. Like another person said, you are NOT the only one. Actually, you'd be surprised to hear that some of the people you envy feel the same way. Even when by all measures, they seem to be so great and successful. Example: <NAME> is a Senior Engineer (not sure of his title) at Microsoft and published the great posts *[The Myth of the Rockstar Programmer](http://www.hanselman.com/blog/TheMythOfTheRockstarProgrammer.aspx)* and *[I'm a phony. Are you?](http://www.hanselman.com/blog/ImAPhonyAreYou.aspx)*.
2. It's all in your mindset. I will never be the next [<NAME>ates](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates) or [<NAME>berg](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Zuckerberg), but I can always be better than I am today.
3. Work on some side projects to help you learn more and improve every day. Yes, everyone is busy and this takes time. But, no one said becoming a great developer is easy.
4. You are a Master's student. You really haven't even started your career. My advice??? Be persistent and outwork your peers. I'll take an energetic, motivated person any day over someone with a little talent that is lazy.
Most people deal with the feelings of ineptness. Just realize it's just a feeling and not based on much reality. You see the success of others, but you have no idea how many failures they have had or how hard they worked to get there. You look at their successes, but you have no way of looking at their failures.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: Hopefully I can give you a different answer, from my perspective.
First of all, everyone's achievements are different. If they are not, they are in direct competition in their careers - so don't try to achieve what they do. You have unique stuff to offer. I have hired a lot of academically smart people, but they have no people skills or street smarts - at all. The CIO I work for said what makes a good CIO is one who naturally has great people skills and social smarts, everything else can be learned.
Be the turtle, not the rabbit, in the race. I suggest you try to make small achievements, and document them in a vita you should keep. Try to write an article on what you do.. perhaps applying people smarts, not tech smarts. Look for a perspective you have no one else around you has, and focus on applying CS to non-CS interests you have. For example, if you like music, do a CS project with music as the subject. Then put that in your Vita.
Volunteering is always good experience the academically smart people may not be doing. Interact with people, socialize, and help others. A good tech leader will have team building skills, personal management skills, task/project management. So perhaps you have a knack for these.. you should look into them. Being a volunteer leader and an average programmer may speak more than only being an expert programmer with no leadership experience.
Don't worry about the tech skills as much as the know-how skills. Every job you go to you will have to learn new skills. The question the employer will have is how can you make my company better if I hire you. They want someone who has enough technical skills to do the job, and then they look for non-tech skills that fit the company's mission and ideals.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: Many answers here are very helpful for me, as for a long time I've had the same feelings as you do now, and still do, to a lesser extent.
I also agree with millmoose's comment in that, while it's understandable that you are seeking for help with your situation, it'd be better if you ask people close to you, or a therapist, for aid.
However, because your position is very familiar to me, I'd like to give you my own answer as well, if only to deal with my own situation.
My problems manifested themselves around the time I enrolled as a student.
Whilst I love computer science, and especially it's theoretical implications, I felt insecure because I was weak at math and no programming background.
So, I started and for a long time I too compared my achievements with others'.
Without taking my own personal difficulties into account, I set high standards for myself, in order to prove to myself that I was better than they were.
I then failed my own high expectations, and that resulted into me thinking less of myself and more of the others.
This impacted my studies as well: I couldn't read at home, and at class I would not ask my teachers any questions (who actually expected my questions and were paid to answer them) or discuss the topic with my classmates, out of fear of how I'd come out.
To "amend" the situation, I set even higher standards the next time, and so a vicious circle of expectation/disappointment ensued.
This had a great psychological and professional impact for me, but also very valuable lessons to be learned; I hope my lessons will help you as well.
The greatest lesson I've learned is that your mistakes are your best friends, and your best tutors. All of us started knowing nothing at all, and we all learn and get better by making mistakes. Don't be afraid to ask questions; to show that you don't know.The answers, as well as the questions themselves, will help you grow.
But, no matter how much we learn none of us will ever get to know it all, or be perfect at anything. All the people that seem so perfect, they all have their flaws.Beneath the lines of accomplishments by great scientists lie dozens of failures (according to Wikipedia, "Einstein was passed over for promotion [at the Swiss Patent Office] until he 'fully mastered machine technology'".Go figure).
Me and you have flaws too. It's very natural, and it's very OK! :)
It's also hard to get used to this, and not be afraid of mistakes. I'm still trying myself.
What helps me is that there is actually no comparison to be made. We are not better or worse to each other; we are all equal, but different. And everyone of us is special in their own way.
I for instance, learned about myself that I may not be great at math, or any other field for that matter, but I'm good at discovering relations between stuff, and that matters too!
What username_1 also said helps even more: life is not all about competing, comparing and achieving stuff.Life is about the journey-the goal is just the pretext to get the journey going (see also [Ithaca](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_P._Cavafy#Ithaca)).
It is about enjoying what you do, and enjoying yourself, along with others just as non-perfect as me and you are.
To conclude: just go for it, no matter how it turns out. Get in touch with others and their work and don't be afraid of it; you will learn from their rights and wrongs, and they will certainly learn something special from you too ;)
P.S. This fall I tried to get to *graduate school for a master at CS*, but didn't get admitted; I wasn't even called for the interview ;)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: Well, sometimes we are just not that "smart".
I had a class in image processing (graduate level) taught by Dr [<NAME>](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._R._Rao) (invented [JPEG](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPEG)), and I barely hung on by my fingernails and was behind all the other students. The other class members were all international students who didn't party but studied in their off time.
They knew the subject better than me, but I got an A. It was an excellent class, I was persistent, very persistent. The point is get over the feelings and work as hard as you can, all your spare time on it (24/7 like) and see how you do.
But "Smart" is only 1/2 the game. Look at the people in [Mensa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensa_International); 1/2 are nuts, and look at PhDs in Physics; 1/2 are nuts and really out to lunch long time.
I take a hard working normal guy over a super smart wandering type anytime. On the job, I had, as a system engineer, to coordinate and get the primadona engineers all moving in one direction and work together, about 5 guys in 3 locations and they had more than 10 patents each, one had over 50, and they were all older than me. They knew their fields far better than I. We came out with Wi-Fi. Learn to take downs with the ups, gather experience, lots of arrows in the butt, etc. There is high demand for people that can stand the pressure and survive.
There was one guy in grad microwave class that made all 100s, the rest of us were in the Bs, and he busted the curve for us.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_10: New Ideas, you need new ideas, new ways of doing things to achieve what you're looking for, and if it's being better than them, I think that's not a bad thing, I mean how many are they 10, 20 people. obviously that challenged you and without this you wouldn't have thought of changing your status Quo. and even better how about something you're interested in that they don't know anything about (it doesn't have to be sports) it could be in the field of CS too, but was left out for some reason, they're a limited no. of people and even if they are 100, they're not the rest of the world, so probably they are not good at something in CS, if you're interested in that thing (only if you're interested in it, passionate about and want to learn) this can be a great advantage of yours. go for it, be good at every other subject in your masters but be excellent at your newly found interest, a hint: it might be something related to business (think gates and jobs left school for a reason), this could be a killer. in my opinion frustration is the fuel for extraordinary success only if you keep at it.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_11: WOW, There are many good responses and some good and some not so good advice.
I am a 49 y/o System admin/Engineer with no formal IT Training and "Some College".
As far as feeling outclassed by your peers, I certainly can identify with that. I am assuming that you are in your 30's.
I have been working in IT for 20 years and have seen some very unhappy and miserable people. Constantly clawing and trying to "One Up" their peers. I understand that this is a very competitive field, however understand that your job is not your life. You are an amazing individual, because you are not arrogant and do see your own flaws. Please stay humble. Do not see yourself as lessor than your peers, you are much greater.You have come a long way. So if you ever find some difficulty just remember one of the difficult times in your past and appreciate your present. Often time some say "It is rough but at least I am doing better than ... (Fill the blank). Well, your difficult times are in that blank.
Lastly, Put you peers in your shoes and I am sure NONE of them can stand.
Love your life, stop and and reflect, pray, meditate and most of all SMILE, laugh, and enjoy. Life really blurs by. Remember your past as a point of reference. Your peers cannot relate. ANY Employer would love to have someone with your experience, because you are an OVERCOMER, and handle difficulty under pressure, that make some of the best problem solvers
Experience is more than academics. Good luck, and take life by the horns.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_12: Almost everyone feels this way to some extent. Most people have developed this issue over many years. I ran into the issue head-on in the jump from middle to high school. In primary and middle school, I was *literally* first in my class. Then I went to a better district with more rigorous studies, and I started almost failing my classes while my peers received the equivalent of a 5.0. So I had to consciously figure out how to deal with the feeling of inferiority.
The best way to handle this issue is to keep a few things in mind:
1 – Everyone has a different skill set. Unfortunately, society trains us to focus on our failings. Everyone has standard levels they must reach, but we're not so encouraged to advanced quickly in what we *are* good at. It's a major flaw of society to force everyone to an inflated level in things they aren't good at.
2 – Instead, you should focus on becoming excellent in what you are good at. Then, whenever you feel inadequate in one field, just remember how good you are in another. If you focus both on improving your strengths and flaunting them, it makes you a productive and satisfied member of society, not to mention very appealing to recruiters and those in charge of promotion.
3 – Some people say life isn't a competition. Others say you need to work hard and play catch up. You have to find your own balance between the two. If you're too far on the competitive end, people think you're a jerk when you're above them in a subject or you feel depressed when you're below others. If you're too far on the peaceful end, you lose the desire to work hard and learn more, regardless of whether or not you need it.
4 – Find out what you like to do, find out what you're good at, and find out where the two cross.
EXAMPLES:
Focus on fixing the bad – The underdog movies "Turbo" and "Rudy" come to mind. Rudy, the shrimp of a kid who can't run fast, wants to play college football. He spends all his time training, and gets one play in the season. He feels like a hero until the movie ends and he realizes that play doesn't get him off the bench for next season. Turbo the snail wants to win the Indy500. It takes a freak chemical spill to turn him into a snail version of a superhero. These are some of the people we look at for inspiration.
Focus on your strengths – "Monsters Inc." and "Monsters University." When Mike tries to scare kids, he fails. He's simply not scary. But he knows everything about being a scarer. Sully's scary, but is horrible at memorization and logic. In the end, Mike doesn't become a scarer; he coaches Sully and plans everything. Mike does what he's good at and gets to be in the same environment he would be in if he were good at scaring. Mike and Sully each use their unique, innate skills to their advantage and come out on top.
Let's say you're good at composition, history, and time management, but you dislike history and time management. Become excellent at composition, keep history relatively neutral, and accept the fact that time management is a requirement for everyone.
By the way, how many people in your field are good at math? Probably a lot. How many are good at what you specialize in? If you do it right, not very many. You can't speak Mandarin, even though it's the most popular language on the planet. What do you do? Forget about it, unless you're planning on traveling to China. Why do you need it? Instead, learn a language that impresses people and is often used in your chosen field. For example, France has a lot of customers for robotic tech companies.
Here's a huge misnomer. "Hard Work" is not actually what people want. Employers don't want employees to stay two hours late every day just to get their tasks done, then come to work tired because of another three hours of unpaid labor at home. Teachers don't want students to be stressed out and think of the school experience as a bunch of bad memories. "Don't work hard; work smart." Use what you have at your disposal. They use the term "Hard Work" to indicate that you can't slack off and not do what's expected of you.
Also, if students come from higher-class high schools, it's basically like they went to college early on financial aid. They've already gone through all these classes. Yes, you're going to have to go through the classes they've already been through.
By the way, I'm in my first year of community college now. There were high school Juniors in my Calc II class with better grades than mine. There are also people into their third year of college failing their third bout of intermediate algebra. We have peers who can barely speak English, and we have foreigners who speak my language better than I do.
In the end, everything is subjective and relative. Don't beat yourself up. Try to focus on your strengths. It's not a necklace, and you are much stronger than your weakest link. If you're not good at a subject, figure out what's the highest level you need to have to be good at what you do.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_13: If you're looking at a lot of profiles (this is common when you're doing academic job searches or literature reviews) you might have a tendency to focus on the accomplishments that other professors have, and then lump them all together into some kind of imaginary "summation superhuman".
One institution hired that guy because he invented XYZ. The next hired the other because he has N papers in Science and Nature. The other one hired ABC because he got K dollars of funding. Suddenly, they're all molding together in your head and you feel like you have to invent something, get N papers in Science and Nature, and get K dollars of funding before you can even have a hope of succeeding.
When you look at a lot of CVs and profiles they highlight all of the good things. Don't "sum" them up into some kind of super researcher.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_14: While many will tell you to step up, or forget other people and focus on yourself I think it best to do something else entirely. I'm a non-traditional student. I too had fall-backs and work considerably harder to achieve my goals than some of my peers, but what has helped immensely wasn't hoping someone notices me, but making them notice me. So I say to you, find a mentor. Find someone in your field of whom you can confide and ask questions. When you start involving yourself deeply in your field both online AND in person with others who are equally interested in your work, and with those who are willing to listen and/or give advice when necessary you will realize just how good you have it.
We are always comparing ourselves to others, don't stop. It can drive you to be better, to be different. However, remember that you aren't the same as your peers. You don't want to have exactly the same jobs and lives as they do, so you can set your own goals. And in doing so, you will find that you can market yourself differently as well. Be different. Stand out.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/07 | 1,037 | 4,390 | <issue_start>username_0: I have a friend who is considering a part time (~10hr/week) consulting gig with a large, well-established software company, doing a mixture of research and coding. However, there appears to be little quantitative data on past consulting rates for **academics**, i.e., professors, postdocs, and PhD students whose primary career is not consulting.
**Q: How does an *academic* determine a fair rate for consulting?**
...Assuming that a consulting gig is *actually compatible with their academic contract!* I do of course realize that in many circumstances external employment is prohibited by a contract with the university. I also realize that consulting rates are largely a function of 1. perceived expertise and 2. negotiation skill. But a key component of successful negotiation is an objective view of the facts—in this case, some kind of upper and lower bound on reasonable wages.<issue_comment>username_1: Ask around.
This is going to vary wildly by field, by sub-field, by school, by academic rank, etc. The best way to find out is to ask colleagues what they make, more senior colleagues what they'd expect and if they think a particular rate is reasonable, etc.
While people are occasionally hesitant about asking salary questions, I've not run into anyone whose adverse to discussing the mechanics of consulting with a colleague getting started.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: As [username_1](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118/fomite) correctly stated, it is going to vary a lot by field and also individual circumstances.
In my experience, if the consulting work is roughly equivalent to what a non-academic in industry might be able to perform, then the rates will roughly be equivalent, too. This happens a lot in the engineering disciplines, and especially often in computer science (*i.e.*, many computer science professors can moonlight as software engineers). In such disciplines, I have found that companies in industry often classify their engineers into five levels. These go by different names at different companies, but they usually are along the lines of: associate, full engineer, senior, lead, and principal. Associate is the level a freshly graduated undergrad would start at. Full engineer usually implies three to five years experience and/or a master's degree. That is likely the level equivalent to a Ph.D. student. A fresh Ph.D. just having defended would usually start at such a company at the senior level, so it is roughly equivalent to post-doc and junior faculty. The lead level is usually achieved 7+ years after that, so it is roughly equivalent to tenured faculty. Likewise, principal is equivalent to full professors.
Once you have an equivalent job title in mind, you can use websites like [glassdoor](http://www.glassdoor.com/) to search for average salaries for that job title (*e.g.*, "Senior Software Engineer", "Principal Electrical Engineer", *etc.*). I find that typical hourly rates are in the range of 0.1% to 0.2% of the yearly salary of an equivalent professional, but once again this may vary by profession; my experience is in the world of software.
I have found that some companies will allow a slightly higher-end consulting rate if you can demonstrate that your abilities are above and beyond those of a non-academic alternative. This is especially true if the nature of the consulting work is research-oriented and/or directly related to your research, or if you can reasonably argue that you could complete the task faster than a non-Ph.D or a full-time employee.
You can usually charge a slightly higher rate for short-term work.
Many academics I know often do consulting in the form of acting as expert witnesses at trial. Rates for that type of work seem to be more standard across disciplines, and is more of a function of how unique and qualified you are for the job. Prep work for trial is usually charged at a standard consulting rate, but then days at trial can be charged as much as two to four times that rate.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: In the legal arena, private practice rates for pure research start at about $40 per hour while the rates for research and writing are about $60 per hour, on average. In academics, these rates are much lower such that you typically see only law students working hourly in an academic setting.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/01/08 | 290 | 1,185 | <issue_start>username_0: The question is pretty much the title. If you are an academic, is it possible to get anyone to pay you to do research in mathematical finance?
You can interpret the question broadly, to include mathematics or computational science that is used in finance, as long as this research has some real connection to finance as practiced today.<issue_comment>username_1: Ignoring the somewhat tendentious statements about mathematicians and funding mathematics, the [National Science Foundation](http://www.nsf.gov) in the US is one example of an agency funding research in mathematical finance. In fact, all I did was type "nsf mathematical finance" into google and I got three awards listed in the top 10. I'm sure there are many more.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: [Man Group plc](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_Group) does just that, particularly through the [Oxford-Man Institute of Quantitative Finance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford-Man_Institute_of_Quantitative_Finance). Further information can be accessed through the Institute's [website](http://www.oxford-man.ox.ac.uk), which also provides contact details.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/08 | 1,330 | 4,679 | <issue_start>username_0: The tag [grants](/questions/tagged/grants "show questions tagged 'grants'") currently has the description "Academic grants are non-repayable funds disbursed by government, trust, foundation or a society." The tag [awards](/questions/tagged/awards "show questions tagged 'awards'") currently has no description.
I am currently in the process of formally naming the forms of monetary support that my university's research council is providing to its employees. My question is:
>
> Is there any formal document that describes the difference between a grant and an award?
>
>
>
I'm also interested in how the terms *grant* and *award* differ from other terms such as *incentive*, *fellowship*, *scholarship*, *professorial chair*, and so on.
For example, I know that one who is applying for a grant submits a proposal to be able to get funding for an activity that has not yet been done. I also know that some awards require nominations (and some disallow self-nomination) and are given for work that has already been done. I know that grants usually require liquidation of the monetary support given; I am not sure if the same is true for awards. Grants sometimes have clauses where the recipient is to return the monetary support if he or she fails to submit the expected outputs; I am not sure if the same is true for awards.<issue_comment>username_1: I think you basically answered your own question: grants are something where you apply and get money based on what you say you will do. Awards are something you get for work you already did. Some awards do not include any money. I doubt you'll find an authoritative document, because there's no organization that sets rules for the entire academic community. I could image a certain amount of overlap/fuzz, so there could be things that one school/organization calls a grant that somewhere else might call an award.
A confusing additional fact is that the term "award" is also often used as a verb applied to the noun "grant", as in "Professor X was awarded a grant for . . .". I would not call this "an award" in the noun sense; it is a grant, and "awarding a grant" means "giving a grant" or "deciding who gets a grant". To me "an award" is the sort of thing described with "Prof<NAME> won the ABC Award for . . ."
Here is a page talking about [grants vs. "gifts"](http://finance.tufts.edu/spa/what-constitutes-a-grant-vs-a-gift) that restates some of the distinctions you already mentioned, but this is just one accounting context at one university.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: For the United States of America's NIH and NSF, a grant is a contractual agreement for work that will be done, with payments in anticipation of the work. An award is the actual funds. This [description of the NIH Notice of Award](http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2012/nihgps_ch5.htm) and [this one from NSF](http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/manuals/gpm05_131/gpm2.jsp) may illustrate the distinction.
Update: Here is an additional document from NIH entitled, "[Awards Conditions and Information for NIH Grants](http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/awardconditions.htm)" that underscores the distinction I've already made.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: I don't think there is a distinction, and if there is, it is very subtle. Looking at the US NIH list of [Types of Grant Programs](http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/funding_program.htm) a subset of the activity codes considered "research grants" include
>
> R01 NIH Research Project Grant Program (R01)
>
>
> R15 NIH Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA)
>
>
> R21 NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Award (R21)
>
>
>
So some grants are grants and some are awards and some are both.
In addition to "grants" the NIH has a line of [K-Awards](http://grants.nih.gov/training/careerdevelopmentawards.htm). The names of these do not ever use the term "grant, but the FOA generally says that the funding type is "Grant". For example for the [K01](http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-14-044.html#_Section_II._Award)
>
> Funding Instrument - Grant: A support mechanism providing money, property, or both to an eligible entity to carry out an approved project or activity.
>
>
>
Once you bring Fellowships into the game, things get even crazier. The NIH has the [<NAME> National Research Service Award (NRSA)](http://grants.nih.gov/training/nrsa.htm). The [F32](http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-11-113.html) is an award, fellowship, and grant while the [T32](http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-14-015.html) is an award and a grant, but not a fellowship.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/08 | 655 | 3,001 | <issue_start>username_0: I submitted a paper to a journal and I got extensive reviews, and the paper was rejected, but they encouraged resubmission if I successfully did a bit more science and made other drastic revisions. Note this is not the same as being conditionally accepted; I had to resubmit the paper. Well I did this and the paper was accepted the second go around with minor revisions.
The Journal has the policy that you may post a copy of the preprint, the draft prior to review, on your personal website with a link to the final article which is behind a paywall.
My question is, since they rejected the first draft of the paper, can I ethically call the second draft, the one with major revisions and extra science, the pre-peer review paper. It was the raw draft submitted prior to the second set of reviews after which they accepted the paper. Or because that paper did benefit from the first set of peer reviews, I should post the original first draft? My guess is that I am allowed to post the second draft; what do you think?<issue_comment>username_1: It seems clear to me that the answer is post what you call your second draft. The first "round" is a closed chapter because of the reject decision. You should consider your new round as the round of relevance for the final publication; it is a new paper, the old is "dead". The first round draft will be so different from the final that it cannot represent the final version. If you receive a major/minor revision, it means that the submission has intrinsic values that are clear to the reviewers and editor and in such cases the early drafts carry with them enough to mirror the final product. So from this perspective the reject decision is a clear line of separation.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Just to add to Peters excellent answer (+1), one of the purposes of publication is to establish priority on discoveries and inventions, and this is established by the "submitted" date that appears on the final published paper.
If the journal is suggesting that you could submit a revised version as a new paper, then the submission date will be the date of the revised version, so it is only fair to treat the second version of the manuscript as the first draft of that paper.
Some journals have decided to get rid of the "revise and resubmit" option following review so that papers are either accepted or rejected (with the possibility of resubmission). This is done so that the journal appears to have a rapid processing time from submission to final publication. I think this is deeply unfair to authors as it is misleading and also could prevent them from getting fair priority on their discoveries. Generally it is also not actually treated as a new paper as it is sent to the same set of reviewers. The journal shouldn't be allowed to have their cake and eat it as well, either it is a new paper, or it isn't - if they reject a paper, they should have no rights over it whatsoever.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/08 | 2,081 | 6,802 | <issue_start>username_0: In the desktop application for Mendeley, it's possible to import a PDF and have the bibliographic data automatically extracted (or perhaps looked up, I'm not sure). This feature is more or less reliable. However, Mendeley's code is closed source (they once promised to release the source, but then they were bought by Elsevier). **I'm looking for an open source tool that takes one or more PDFs as input and returns a bibtex entry for each**.
I've found the following, but couldn't get either of them to work:
* [cb2Bib](http://www.molspaces.com/d_cb2bib-overview.php)
* [pdfmeat](https://code.google.com/p/pdfmeat/)
At present, the fastest alternative I know is to copy/paste the title into Google Scholar, and click the link to bibtex. That's very nice, but I'm wondering if there is something more automated.<issue_comment>username_1: I use [Zotero](http://www.zotero.org/) which in itself is a system for handling references, it comes as both a plugin to Firefox and as standalone. I use the standalone version to extract reference information from pdf and then export to, in my case, BibTeX `.bib` format. There are possibilities to export to other formats as well.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: NB: My answer does not differentiate between open and closed sourced projects and I have not used any of the seemingly big list of solutions.
This [SO answer](https://stackoverflow.com/a/3523416/2787723) suggests that the 2010 London Dev8D meeting, whatever that is, ran a contest for meta data extraction and resulted in [pdfssa4met](https://code.google.com/p/pdfssa4met/). I cannot find any documentation on the meeting and anything else that came out of it. The JISC ConnectedWorks project produced a [review document](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bmVV89ZozeYsboSTTebKXv3u2vUDAmY3rG2tr5IIl0I/preview) that considered Zotero, Mendeley, Google Scholar, CB2BIB, Metadata Extraction Tool, pdfssa4met, pdfmeat, GNU libextractor, FITS, Apache Tika, XPDF, PDFTOHTML, pdf2xml, CiteSeerX, and Paperpile. This list seems to leave out some other solutions, although it is possible that they rely on the same underlying technology. This answers to this [TeX.SX question](https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/42361/is-there-a-citation-manager-which-plays-nicely-with-bibtex-and-has-automatic-met) suggests BibDesk and JabRef do metadata extraction. [Papers](http://www.papersapp.com/mac/) also seems to do metadata extraction. This [blog](http://musingsaboutlibrarianship.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/extracting-metadata-from-pdfs-comparing.html#.VCKGOuK5NFE) reviews the metadata extraction performance of WizFolio.
There is also [Mr. dLib](http://docear.org/papers/Mr.%20dLib%20-%20A%20Machine%20Readable%20Digital%20Library%20--%20preprint.pdf), [pdfextract](https://github.com/CrossRef/pdfextract) and [TeamBeam](http://www.dlib.org/dlib/july12/kern/07kern.html) which seem to have scholarly papers associated with them and therefore seem to be misssed by the JISC review (or developed afterwards). I also found [exiftool](http://rossmounce.co.uk/2013/01/06/pdf-metadata-using-exiftool/).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: This doesn't answer your entire question, but may be useful (for example, you might have got the papers from a list of DOIs in the first place).
Assuming these are PDFs with CrossRef DOIs, if you can extract the DOI from the PDF, you can get citation directly from CrossRef's API. For the DOI `10.5555/12345678`, the query:
```
http://api.crossref.org/works/10.5555/12345678/transform/application/x-bibtex
```
returns
```
@article{Carberry_2008,
doi = {10.5555/12345678},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.5555/12345678},
year = 2008,
month = {aug},
publisher = {{CrossRef}},
volume = {5},
number = {11},
pages = {1--3},
author = {<NAME>},
title = {Toward a Unified Theory of High-Energy Metaphysics: Silly String Theory},
journal = {Journal of Psychoceramics}
}
```
You could write a very small script to scan a list of DOIs and download the citations.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: [cb2Bib](http://www.molspaces.com/d_cb2bib-overview.php) is a tool to extract bibtex entries from PDF files.
The following will command extract bibtex entries from PDF file using cb2Bib command line
`c2bconsole --doc2bib paper2.pdf references.bib --sloppy`
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: You might want to look at pdf-extract:
<https://github.com/CrossRef/pdfextract>
It doesn't seem to be very actively maintained, but promises to do what you want.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_6: **Disclaimer**: This is a short version of an [answer posted at tex.sx](https://tex.stackexchange.com/a/344310/9075). This solution is not perfect, but might be a good start. I am one of the authors of JabRef and like open source development.
[JabRef](https://www.jabref.org/) is an [MIT-licensed](https://github.com/JabRef/jabref/blob/master/LICENSE.md) open-source BibTeX and BibLaTeX bibliographic manager actively developed on [GitHub](https://github.com/JabRef/jabref/). It offers the functionality to import bibliographic data from PDFs.
1. Create or open a .bib file.
2. Go to "Quality" -> "Find unlinked files".
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/JIoR9.png)
3. The "Find unlinked files" dialog opens.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/qoJMY.png)
4. Choose a directory using the "Browse" button.
5. Click on "Scan directory".
6. In "Select files", the files not yet contained in the database are shown.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/wZTnt.png)
7. To create entries for all files, click on "Apply".
8. For each file, an import dialog is shown
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ic07I.png)
The dialog shows the XMP metadata stored in the PDF in the area "XMP-metadata".
If this data fits your needs, select "Create entry based on XMP data".
Typically, the XMP-metadata is not good enough.
Choose "Create entry based on content".
9. Click on "OK" to start the import
10. A dialog asking for the link is opened
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Hcdx1.png)
You can choose "Leave file in its current directory" to keep the file where it is. Typically, this is that what one wants.
In case you choose "Move file to file directory", you can also choose to rename the file to the generated BibTeX key.
11. Press OK to link the file to the BibTeX entry
12. This happens for each file. After that, the "Find unlinked files" dialog is shown. Just click on "Close" to close it.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/08 | 8,517 | 35,427 | <issue_start>username_0: I work in a very [cross-disciplinary field](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/10798/interpretation-of-a-phd-degree-in-a-very-broad-interdisciplinary-field), which has caused me some headache\* over the past couple of years, partly due to the fact that my supervisor isn't very knowledgeable regarding the day to day (technical) details of my projects. He typically leaves any mathematical, or CS, aspect of the projects to me to figure out, and provides guidance when I have questions regarding the biology or biochemistry, as those are his fields of expertise.
From what I hear, he's similarly loose in supervision even with the other grad students who are less cross-disciplinary and more aligned with his expertise. While I see the point in the supervisor providing the freedom to the grad student to develop as he/she likes, in my experience it can be troubling at times, allow me to explain:
I often have extensive periods where I don't have concrete goals to work with, but only vague ideas. Similarly, since I don't get a lot of technical guidance there are often weeks-long periods where I don't "produce" anything but instead trying to dig information out on publications, CS blogs or StackOverflow, in order to solve a problem I encounter.
It's at times like these my daily concerns (stuff usually unrelated to work) take precedence over what I am actually trying to figure out. I find myself browsing for gadgets, or looking over my savings or reading the news etc. I have no illusions that this amounts to procrastination no matter how you look at it. Since I don't really need to report anything to my supervisor on a regular basis, these periods can be extensive which often leads to frustration. And having realised this, I would like to be more productive even when I am stuck at my project, hopefully minimise the time it takes until I come up with a solution to whatever it is that's hindering progress.
So my question boils down to: how can I make sure I work efficiently, i.e. I don't get distracted or succumb to procrastination, when I am stuck and only get very loose supervision?
---
\* See relevant questions:
* [Is it possible to measure/evaluate one's progress or development in quantitative terms?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/7611/is-it-possible-to-measure-evaluate-ones-progress-or-development-in-quantitative)
* [Ways of developing non-core skills during PhD studies?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/10652/ways-of-developing-non-core-skills-during-phd-studies)<issue_comment>username_1: I can't provide a definitive solution, but I can offer an example that works for me in periods when I'm feeling distracted but need to get things done. During such periods, I take advantage of what's known as the [Pomodoro technique](http://pomodorotechnique.com/). The basic idea of this technique is that you should work in blocks of 20- to 25-minutes that are devoted to a single task: reading a paper, or writing a piece of code, or whatever else the task is to be. At the end of one such block (called a "Pomodoro"), you take a short 5-minute break, then begin a new unit. After four units, you take a longer break.
Other ways to help do this are to "block out" other distractions: use full-screen modes that avoid distractions, warning messages, and so on. Turn off the beeps and signals on your mobile phone (except for appointment alerts!). Suppress the "new mail" sounds and other warnings on your computer.
The other challenge is of course figuring out what to do in the blocks. That of course is a little trickier, but requires planning on your part. You should be thinking about this on a fairly regular basis (the frequency can vary, but at least every few weeks). Figure out what you've done recently, and what you need to work on next. Then, get it done!
---
For the specific case of being stuck on a particular bit, it depends a lot on the nature of the problem. If the block is a structural problem (equipment not working, etc.), then you have to wait for it to be resolved and work on other parts of your project in the meanwhile. However, if the issue is that you need to figure something out, then that really depends on how you solve problems best. Some people do so by working on completely different topics for a while, letting the problem "work itself out" in the subconscious. Other people attack it head on. Sometimes it's helpful to think about the problem in a different way: what happens if you start at the "solution" you want to reach, and work your way backwards? What are the consequences of continuing your current method of solution? Does it get you somewhere you can work from? Are there related problems in other parts of your discipline, or in other disciplines? How did other people try to resolve them? Will that work in your circumstances?
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Congratulations, you have just been promoted to supervisor, you have to supervise a PhD student, set him some goals, check he doesn't procrastinate, push him to do his best, find venues to publish, topics to research, write papers to publish, etc.
This PhD student is *you*, and since you are not very experienced on research I can guess you both will have a somewhat hard time and probably the results will not be very astounding (having a good background helps to choose topics better). But if you both work hard I'm sure you both will learn a lot, and that's what students are for, aren't they?
On the good side of things, your new supervisor is 100% devoted to you, he watches you procrastinate, eat, sleep (kind of) and in every situation, even while in the shower. Very few people get that kind of attention.
Good luck.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: The Pomodoro Technique is great for when you find yourself in a cycle of procrastination. Combine with [self binding](http://selfcontrolapp.com). I've also had a lot of luck with creating minimum output requirements and tracking; [Beeminder might help](https://www.beeminder.com), at least until you've internalized the habits you want to build.
The important thing is to set yourself up for success.
I would suggest trying to attack the problem from many directions:
* Spend some time each week renewing your coverage of the literature. As you get further along a project, you'll find you have a better grasp of where to look, and what it is you want. You may find incredibly important work for you after months of search, just because it took that long to find the right words.
* Simultaneously, spend some time each week *collating* the information you have; create a wiki on your topic, and keep it up to date. Build a mind-map. These exercises will help you identify links and gaps in your conception of the problem.
* [Narrate your work](http://scripting.com/stories/2009/08/09/narrateYourWork.html): Keep a blog, a journal, that you dump every wisp of thought or spark of information into. Doing this will help you avoid loosing a spark of inspiration, while also freeing your mind to work on whatever task is actually at hand.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: This began as a comment, switched to an answer, and just kept getting longer, so I'm gonna have to split it into sections...
Reframing the problem
---------------------
I disagree that it's "procrastination no matter how you look at it," and I wonder how many ways you've actually tried looking at it. I say this somewhat confrontationally, but very sympathetically, as I've struggled with the sense that I'm just procrastinating throughout my free time in higher education, and ultimately rejected it. There's a lot more to life than work; this is easy to forget in grad school, and there's a lot of pressure to do so. Ask yourself whether you care about the things you spend your time on for other reasons you haven't fully acknowledged, or whether you're judging those pursuits as wasteful by someone else's value system, not your own. I see from your other questions that you have struggled (as I have) with the sense that other people judge success by the wrong criteria, and ignore opportunities for lateral growth if it doesn't follow their narrowly defined path to [\_insert\_short-term\_work\_goal\_here\_].
If you sincerely think those other concerns of yours aren't valuable, ask yourself if you could stand to work instead every time you notice yourself switching your focus over to one of those concerns. If you can't, you may find that there is some necessity to the (non-work) concern at hand, and may want to reevaluate it again at that point while you're in the moment. If you still feel there's no value to it, ask yourself whether you are just looking for something else (anything, really) to do instead of working. Ask yourself if you don't want to work on some level, and if so, why that might be so.
Given your situation (which was also my situation at times, in ways), you may be finding yourself more free from *[extrinsic motivation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation#Intrinsic_and_extrinsic_motivation)* (pressure, expectations, "or-else" negative consequences, and so on) than you have been for much of your academic career. The transition from inflexible, specific, structured deadlines (which probably begin in middle school and carry all the way through the first year or two of a Master's program) to a more diffuse sense of partly internalized pressure and guilt for not being a more diligent workaholic is a subtle transition that occurs most dramatically in grad school (or so I'd say, based on our shared experience with hands-off supervisors). As you slowly realize you're falling behind in some sense because you're taking time off from work to handle your own life, you realize you can't count on those old, structured sources of extrinsic motivation that almost feels like a fight-or-flight response to an encroaching predator (e.g., the "cram-or-fail" decision on the night before a final exam). Those of us who make it this far have probably mostly chosen to run into the jaws of the beast and do battle with it in our flight from abject failure, but some of us have only done this when we feel ourselves running out of time to make a choice of which it's going to be.
*[Avoidance-avoidance conflicts](http://psych.athabascau.ca/html/Glossary/demo_glossary.cgi?term_id=%2233%22)* like those resolve themselves (or force you to resolve them) because when the deadline comes, you **have to** choose. Without the climactic anxiety of the confrontation that motivates a resolution (however hard-won it may be even in these cases), conflicts can linger much longer in the post-deadlines careerscape. The emotional experience is different: the anxiety is more insidious than in-your-face, and can be tolerated much longer. You can start to feel the internalized sources of anxiety more as you worry less about others' judgment; you can become your own worst critic, and feel more guilty, depressed, or apathetic than truly anxious in the old familiar sense. This is still extrinsic motivation, but it's *[introjected](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-determination_theory#Extrinsic_motivation)* in that it's *internalized*: **you** are now the source of your own negative self-evaluations. (This need not be exclusively true to apply.)
Reframing the solution
----------------------
This kind of problem takes a different approach to resolve. You can probably find a million self-help blogs about how to be your own supervisor and boss yourself around so you can go back to the old model of operating under artificial, externalized pressure. E.g., "I **must** spend one hour working everyday before breakfast," or, "Whenever I read the newspaper, I **must** count the time I spend and put the same amount of time into [staring blankly at] my project." You can find a lot of similar answers to "[How to avoid procrastination during the research phase of my PhD?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/5786/10518)" the second most popular question here at the moment. One of the problems with approaches like (some of) these is that they'll give you a whole new way to go to war against yourself; you'll have to take your infractions very seriously if you're going to take the system seriously at all, and you're probably not going to want to. You'll have to tell/force yourself not to do what you want to do, even when you have good reasons or special opportunities (unless you complicate your system and give yourself vacation time, [indulgences](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indulgence), or [mulligans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulligan_%28games%29), which might not be a bad idea). Another problem is that when you've put in your time or satisfied whatever other requirement you've assigned yourself, you'll feel just like you always did (if you were like me in this regard too) after finishing your self-assigned "homework": ready to go blow off the steam however you can, which probably leads you back to those "procrastinatory" habits you're fighting. If it does, that's a sign that those habits might be the ones that replenish your energy, fulfill you emotionally, and help you feel more like a whole person, more like yourself, and less like a dusty, malfunctioning computer that's been cooped up in a cramped cubicle for too long.
I think the better approach than stealing happy hours while you're off-the-clock (or stealing them from yourself while you're on) is to work more introspectively on your motives and values. I would think this—I'm a personality psychologist—but it's done me a lot of good. I still don't necessarily focus when I should (I'd probably have more publications by now if I did), but I don't feel like I'm wasting my time when I'm not focusing on work. I focus on what I'm doing instead, I enjoy and value it (or through patient introspection and experience, I gradually come to the conclusion that I don't, and I quit), and I don't beat myself up for it during or afterward. I trust that when I want to do something, there's probably a good reason, and I strive to understand it. If I can't find a good reason, I often find that I don't want to do it anymore; problem solved (usually). This has led to some extended "vacations" from work, during which I focus on other things I care about (e.g., a video game, or Stack Exchange!), but when I get to the bottom of what I'm after in these pursuits, and I get it, I'm enthusiastic to return to my work, and I bring new ideas to it. I integrate these diverse experiences, and I enrich my work in the process.
What I'm describing is a shift away from judgmental devaluation of extracurricular "distractions" to a recognition of and reconciliation with my broader set of values, which include my career, achievement, and financial success, but don't end there. I'm my own boss now (read: unemployed :P maybe you shouldn't listen to me!), so I get to enjoy that freedom (and pay the price for it)...and I do enjoy it. I enjoy my work too! Not feeling constantly indebted to it is very important for that feeling, that *[autonomous](http://www.selfdeterminationtheory.org/SDT/documents/2008_KoestnerOtisPowesPelletierGagnon_JOP.pdf)*, *intrinsic motivation* (see the same links as before) to arise. Finding joy, fascination, excitement, and the energizing yet relaxing release-through-work of *[the flow state](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_%28psychology%29)* is all about letting yourself love what you do when the time is right, and knowing it's right because you've defined what you need to do on your own terms: terms of what you want to do (intrinsically), or at least what you really care about (*identified motivation*, which is often good enough; same links as before). Once you really understand what you're after, your *[sense of purpose](http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/prescriptions-life/201311/helping-you-find-your-life-purpose)*, you can start organizing your projects around it and deriving natural, enduring motivation for your work. You won't want to quit and do something else so often, you'll start waking up eager to work, and if anything, you'll suffer for finding it harder to pull yourself away from your work to eat, sleep, [make sweet love down by the fiyah](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ0WpdTin4c), or whatever else there is to do with life that starts to seem strangely less important.
Acknowledgements, credentials, disclaimers...
---------------------------------------------
I know this sounds like a new-age meditation mantra or performance-enhancing nutritional supplement commercial, but I assure you, these are at least the implications of honest-to-goodness psychological theories of motivation (which are [my area of expertise](http://escholarship.org/uc/item/3t34c68w)), passed a few times through a thick filter of personal experience. I'm not a typical success story myself (if a success story at all so far), but I have succeeded in rediscovering my love for my work and motivation for focusing on it in a big way by introspecting on these matters of my motivation and values, and indulging my urges to do other things than work at certain points throughout my graduate career. I think I'm a much better psychologist for having "walked the walk," even if I haven't talked enough talk yet to convince others with my publication record, and I know that when I publish the manuscript version of that dissertation I linked above, it's going to be a hell of a lot better for all the time I've spent delving into statistics (and [Cross Validated](https://stats.stackexchange.com/)!) over the past few months when I "should've been" writing instead for fear of not publishing rapidly enough. Because I allowed myself to redefine my work in terms of what I value rather than in terms of what was going to get me the most immediate recognition and paycheck (again, extrinsic motives), and because I'm lucky enough to afford the opportunity costs, I put in two months of probably the hardest and most consistent work I've ever put into refining my research, put to rest all my old insecurities about my rate of progress, and apparently can't stop raving about everything I'm learning and how much better I feel about it all now. I don't yet know how long I'm going to be able to keep this up before I start "procrastinating" again (one might argue I'm doing that now), but the plan is to stay this way as long as I can: self-directed, secure, deeply enthusiastic, and well-aligned with my values and overall sense of purpose. The productivity has already started flowing out of this life transition, but it would take a lot more talking to prove it, so I'll leave it at that for now.
I should also note that there's some risk in this approach. It's a long road, you may not have the time and freedom to follow it as far as you need to for the results you might want, and it may not ultimately lead where you think you want it to right now. This is the stuff career transitions and midlife crises (not that I would really know about those first-hand just yet) are made of: confrontation with what you **really** want and care about, and its juxtaposition with what you're actually doing. Better to get it out of the way while you're young, I say, but maybe not when you're less than a year away from finishing your PhD, if there's some risk you won't as a result. If you can't afford to take your time, this isn't for you. It's a long-term approach that ought to pay off in the end, but there are certainly no guarantees, and it might take a very long time indeed. If you've had the patience to read this far, you just might be ready for it.
I mainly offer this because you remind me of myself, and both of us remind me of what I study, and I'm currently my own guinea pig undergoing very informal road-testing of these theories, for which I could provide plenty more references, but which take some contextualized interpretation to apply here. It's definitely too soon to claim conclusive support for the theory from my own life, but I feel like I'm closing in on that result very rapidly now. In whatever you choose to do, I wish you the best results, and hope you'll come back to tell us what you choose and how it goes. If this self-indulgent autobiography of mine doesn't get downvoted through the pavement, I'll consider doing the same. Cheers!
**P.S.** In response to your comment on @username_1's answer, I want to emphasize that part of the benefit of my approach for me has been taking my former advisor's voice out of my brain and rediscovering my own voice. Those two months of hard work (seriously almost all-day everyday studying!) were in pursuit of my own solutions to my own research problems. Because I started listening to myself better and allowing myself to direct my own research according to my priorities, I've learned probably a year's worth of statistics that helps me handle the conceptual bits of my own project in ways my graduate advisor was never going to even while I was still there. If you can give it the time, and accept that you're your own best supervisor, and avoid being or becoming your own worst critic, you can solve those problems as well as anyone can. Ask your supervisor and everyone else you can for input and guidance, but know that you're ultimately the one who has to steer the ship, and don't take your hands off the wheel for a second! But do pull over once in a while to stretch your legs and smell the roses; it's just another way of putting gas in your tank.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: I think the more general form of the question is: (a) what do I need from my supervisor and (b) if my supervisor cannot/will not provide this, then what can I do?
Here's a few things I think supervisors are most important for early on in graduate studies:
Discipline and Motivation
=========================
So you need to put in long hours to succeed in graduate studies and oftentimes you need to work "blind": you need to work on things you don't know will succeed or not, or where you have no fixed goal in mind. Discipline can thus be a major issue for any relatively normal human being. Supervisors are supposed to track your progress on a regular basis and ensure you are putting in the required levels of effort, to encourage with a carrot and to use the stick if necessary.
If your supervisor is not tracking your progress and setting goals for you, then you need to take your own discipline into your own hands. The simplest method is to set your own goals with deadlines, focusing on achieving one thing at a time. Make TODO lists that follow a rough plan you have in mind. If a task is too broad, it will never get done: each task should be small enough and phrased in such a way that you know how it can be achieved (even if the task is just "problem solve X for one hour").
Assign yourself regular hours to work. If procrastination is a problem, *just start*. Starting is the hardest part so unplug yourself from whatever you were doing, minimise the potential for distraction as much as possible, take a deep breath and start. It's that simple.
Experience
==========
It is not enough to work hard, but you need to work smart. Inexperienced students often tend to invest more effort into unimportant minor details that they feel they can control, rather than important details where the outcome or process is uncertain. The job of the supervisor should be to provide context on the relative importance of various tasks, to stop students from getting bogged down in minor details and to keep the bigger picture in mind.
Experience comes into play in other areas. For example, if you're starting out in publishing, or trying to publish to a venue you haven't before, experience is crucial so as to know what form the paper should take, what sort of narrative is accepted, what sort of "boxes" have to be ticked.
There is no replacement for experience. However, you can find experience elsewhere than your supervisor. Are there more senior students or PostDocs you can collaborate with? Maybe there's a group outside of your institute you can collaborate with remotely? Working with other people (i.e., not having a monogamous relationship with your supervisor) is an excellent way to quickly level up your own experience and gain new perspectives!
Technical Expertise
===================
Your supervisor is also supposed to apply his/her technical expertise to your supervision, particularly in the early days. But if they do not provide you sufficient time and effort in this regard, or if their own technical expertise does not cover your interests, or as you progress into more detail on your PhD, you will need to find sources of expertise elsewhere.
Again, talk with other people. Try to seek out people with the skills that you require and try to develop a *mutually beneficial* working relationship with them (i.e., don't expect them to help you out of the goodness of their hearts). Perhaps you could even find a co-supervisor or a "mentor" who can be credited on a thesis?
The Web is also your friend. When I was a graduate student, I learned far more from playing around and trying things and from reading (on the Web) than from anything my supervisors (or lecturers) taught me. One of the most important lessons from graduate studies is "independent study" ... learning how to learn. When you do a PhD you are supposed to be the world's leading expert on your chosen topic. The only way this can happen is if you develop your own technical expertise in your area beyond that of your supervisor and your other colleagues.
Funding
=======
Presumably if you already have a supervisor then you have a fixed source of funding. However, you may need additional funding if you go over length or funding for conference travel, etc. This can be very difficult for graduate students to get involved in.
However, there are often calls that are aimed at students and require minimal input from a supervisor. These include student travel grants for conferences, governmental scholarships, prizes for submitted work, etc. Furthermore, other senior researchers will often have funds they can provide for part-time contributions; talk to people if you are stuck.
Summary
=======
I think some of the most important lessons that have to be learned during graduate studies are:
* How to discipline and motivate yourself and organise your own work
* Understand the nature of research itself, the broader research community and how your work will be viewed by them
* How to find, initiate and follow through on fruitful collaborations with other researchers and research groups
* How to find your own sources of funding
The main goal of graduate studies is to gradually reduce your dependence on your supervisor until, by the end of your PhD, you don't need them any more. A good supervisor should understand and support you in this, particularly early on, but if this isn't working out, then you need to learn how to rely on yourself more (or find another (co-)supervisor).
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_6: you need feedback or you will die, you are perfectly entitled to request to meet with your supervisor for an hour a week. If they are unwilling to give even that then there is usually a clause in most grad studies contracts that will allow you to nominate a "second supervisor" (replacement) if you are unhappy. Chemistry (of the personal type) plays a large role in the success of teams so it is important to work with someone you like.
Following on .. if you have spare cycles and are happy with your progress see if there are others in the dept you can collaborate with - perhaps you will be credited on their publications too.
Publications are the currency of academia, like it or not, and time needs to be spent specifically targeting publishable work. So try and figure out how what you are doing today will lead to publications. Your supervisor didn't get there by accident they know very well how to play the game by now.
Which brings me to my final point, it sounds like perhaps there is a communication gap twixt you and your supervisor, ask yourself if you have been prickly or defensive with them at any point - if you have then throw your ego out the window, listen carefully to their suggestions and get it done. You will need their good word above all else in order to succeed.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_7: Here is what I did to get through my research.
1. First you need to set a complete project time line, even if you feel it is not accurate, from the first day you start to the last day you finish. You list all the major parts of your research, when you plan to begin working on each section, and when you plan to complete them.
2. Find people (other faculty) that can help you on the predominant topics of your research. Seems like you may have two: Tech, and Biology. I had three on my research: Math, Distributed Computing, and Literature/General CS. I told each professor what area of my research I wanted focus from them on. They did not touch any parts of my research I did not ask them to focus on... it worked out rather well I am happy to say.
3. Meet with each of them. When you meet with them to discuss your research, ask them either (1) what needs improvement, or (2) how to solve your current issue.
4. Don't leave their office until you set a time up to meet with them again about what you just discussed, to present your results or status. No more than two weeks ahead! And follow up with them in one week via e-mail to tell them your status... this also keeps them on the ball in helping you if they have some things to look at (like reading your research).
5. Put the data from #3 and #4 into a diary, and include how it meets your time line from #1. Modify your time line as necessary. Send out a regular update report to your committee and other contributing professors with all this information, plus a copy of your current research as Draft (version your drafts). Meet with your committee 2 to 3 times per semester (Beginning, middle, ending).
6. Meet with your Supervisor after every report you send out and ask him how you are doing. May only take 10-15 minutes during his office hours. Schedule follow-ups if your supervisor finds red flags. He has all the data now to make a determination on how you are doing.
Doing this kept me on the ball every day. I kept setting obligations with professors, and met them. I sent out reports regularly for their review to keep me accountable.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: The word you are searching for is *self-discipline!*
When I get distracted it is mostly because I lose the motivation for some topic. The next time when you get distracted from your work, take a break and/or try to work on another part of it.
Because your supervisor doesn't set goals for you means not that you can't set them for yourself. Important is, that you don't exaggerate it and thereby set yourself too much under pressure. Always setup goals that you can achieve in the given time!
In short:
* Take regular breaks to get your head free. This is often underestimated!
* If you get distracted, work on another part of your topic
* Set goals for yourself that you can achieve in the given timespan
+ Daily goal: write at least x page(s)
+ Weekly goal: finish section y
+ Monthly goal: finish chapter z
* If you made progress or finished an important part reward yourself to keep up your motivation
*PS:*
* Don't spend too much time on stackexchange
* If you are on facebook, limit yourself to one visit per day!
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: I signed up just so I could answer this question ;-)
I recently found myself in a similar position at a new job. Not research, but still goal oriented with lots of investigation needing to be done.
It sounds like you're running into a problem that I still have to deal with: mistaking goals for "that other thing I need to do." For me, it was easy to forget that investigating how a particular thing worked, including research on StackExchange etc. WAS progress. That WAS a thing that needed to be done, and as such **it should be on your to-do list**. It's easy to (as an over simplification) have a to-do list that reads "finish research project." And then be overwhelmed by all the "other" things that have to be done in order to accomplish that goal. For me, my to-do list at one point consisted of "automate all 37 regression tests," and then I got frustrated with how much time I was wasting just figuring out how the automation process worked.
The reality was, I needed a line item for "figure out how to RUN automatic regression tests," followed by a line item for "figure out what components are needed to fully define a regression test," etc. Each of those things ended up needing to be broken down further, as well.
It's easy to think that you're not making progress, but that's probably just because it's not on your to-do list, when it should be.
EDIT: Then, if your to-do list is sufficiently granular, it will tell you "you're goofing off, not getting stuff done" ...and then you have to listen to it ;-)
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_10: You've touched on a number of related problems, some of which are common to all grad students (anyone can procrastinate, even if they have a supervisor that requires more regular feedback), and some problems that are specific to your situation (a supervisor that is not very knowledgeable about your project).
There's no reason that your supervisor has to be the only person who helps you with your project. There are many other professors and academics around who might be more familiar with your specific goals, so make use of them. This can include professors who you've taken courses with (choosing course projects that relate to your research is a great way to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak). But there's no reason you can't just approach a professor out of the blue, and ask them if they could meet with you for an hour to help you with a specific problem. Most professors would be very glad, and the worst that can happen is they say "no" and you're back to where you started. You can also contact academics around the world, for example if you've read a paper by her or him and need help figuring out the details. Most academics love to talk about their research and get their ideas out there, so they'll probably be happy to help.
In regards to your more general problem of procrastination, that's something that I'm still struggling with. One tip that I have is to treat it like a job: Put in a solid 8 hours every day, from 9 to 5 ish, just like you would have to at a job. Then go home and relax in the evenings. When I started grad school, I was wasting a lot of time during the day, and then I'd get home and feel like I should do some work because I did nothing all day, so I'd work in the evening. That meant I didn't relax in the evening, and so I'd procrastinate more the next day. Procrastination is not really relaxing, because you always feel like you should be doing something else, so you can't switch off. If you can separate your work and the rest of your life into nice blocks, and make sure you do some really relaxing leisure activities in your off time (reading, sports, music, etc.), you'll feel a lot better (at least I did).
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/08 | 1,788 | 7,564 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm always confused when I see a lot of PhD students looking to publish papers, even if the papers are not so good. They publish them in not so important conferences or workshops. Is that a good thing? Is it good to have a lot of papers published even in not so popular conferences? Like what is better: to have 10 papers in not so famous conferences or workshops or 1 or 2 in a very famous and good ones?
I have never published a paper before and new to this.<issue_comment>username_1: For the purposes of getting a PhD, the quality of the paper is more important than the venue. Quality is always better than quantity, as it will only be your best papers that end up being cited and having an influence on your field of research, so you are better off in the long run focussing on quality work and avoid wasting your time on work that will not give a true account of your ability and that will not be taken up by others in your field.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: There are two objectives in participating for academic conference. First one would be networking. This is getting to know the other academic and industry personals that are working, studying and researching in similar field. This will open many opportunities for PhD students. Other advantage would be constructive criticisms. Experts who take part in such conference will give constructive comments for your presentation. The questions they raise may show you a new way of looking at your research question. Likewise there are many advantages a PhD student may get by taking part in conferences. A good conference is a one which is relevant to your research area, which is popular among the experts in the respective field and one which many expert and interested parties will take part. Thus in my opinion education institutes, supervisors and of course PhD student should prioritize the quality of conference before counting the number of conferences that you attend.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: People do things for a variety of reasons. Even writing a paper for smaller workshops has some benefits for everyone (from a PHD student to a professor)
* Good reason for the affiliation to cover expenses for the suggested trip. Usually CS workshops are co-located with important conferences and even a workshop paper may cover your expenses (not every time if you continuously abuse the system) to actually watch the entire conference.
* Workshops have limited attendance but may still be organized by reputable professors / scientists close to your area of interest. So, they are very good for networking. In a major conference, it is easier to get "lost" inside the many participants.
* Practise makes better. If you write 5 papers (even when some of them were for a workshop) writing your 6th paper is going to be easier, instead of trying to write your "seminal" paper.
* Reviewers have the "strange" habit of sometimes rejecting your paper. In this case, sending your paper to a smaller workshop (after rejection in 1-2 major conferences) where it gets accepted, lessens the sense of rejection and still "patents" your results on which you can expand later.
* Workshops sometimes have a "best paper award" which may even lead to journal publication, when the same paper might not had a chance in a bigger conference. In workshops the competition is smaller (usually 10-15 accepted papers), so you have something like 5-8% chance for something like that.
* Sometimes when you work on a specific project you might discover something that although is not good enough for a major conference or later expansion, is still a compact solid idea that may help others. So, a good workshop paper may disseminate this idea to a larger audience.
* Unfortunately, although quality should beat quantity, this is not the usual case. In some research projects, grants applications it is better to state that "A is the author of more than 50 scientific papers with an h-index of ... " than "B is the author of 2 papers". Same when you look at the Google Scholar / DBLP record of an author. It is better to see 50 papers (which among them are 10 really seminal papers) instead of just 10 perfect papers that usually leave a gap in the author's bibliography (blank years).
In this sense, even workshop papers serve their purpose if you treat them as professionally as the rest of your papers (they are well written and still scientifically solid and correct).
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: My guess is that this might vary a bit between different fields, so I'd say ask some professors in your own department for their take.
I'll just answer from the perspective of Philosophy. It looks a lot better (in terms of impressing academic hiring committees) to have papers accepted into big meetings of the national organization because everybody understands how hard it is to get one of those accepted. It isn't clear how competitive the northwest iowa caucus of young philosophers meeting was to get into, consequently the committee won't really know how important an achievement that was.
Also I'd say published papers > conference presentations. It isn't an either/or. give the paper at a conference first, then send it off to a journal. But try to think strategically for the semester about what to send off where and when in order to make those deadlines.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Definitely, you want refereed papers in the top 5 conferences or journals in your field. That is, if you can. I mention conferences because in some fields conferences are refereed and are equally respected as top journals, but in most fields *you want top-quality papers in top-quality journals*. Period.
Academics (i.e. people who will look at you CV when you look for a job) know full well the huge gap between average papers and top-journal-quality (I would guess a subjective factor 2 to 5 at least). There are several reasons, besides the obvious ones, to aim high:
* Tell your advisor your are aiming very high. See how (s)he reacts. (S)He will treat you accordingly (including telling you right off that he thinks you do not have what it takes if such is the case).
* That will oblige you to chose interesting and relevant research questions. Papers about unimportant stuff never get published in top journals.
* That will oblige you to make sure you advisor can coach you (is that where (s)he publishes?). If needed, you will switch advisor (or department, university) before wasting too much time.
* On top of purely scientific results there are many things to learn from aiming high while you are still a student. That includes countless hours of rewriting, much better structure, language, dealing with referees who know their stuff, etc.
* It does not make sense to go to school in a very competitive field and not try to do your absolute best.
* Now is the time to learn from the best while you still call yourself a *student* and ask for help.
* Top papers live longer, they still help you CV 10 years down the line (and accumulate citations meanwhile).
* Average is boring, average is everywhere, average is... average.
* Academia is a *winner-takes-all* game. Job openings are highly competitive. Candidate #1 gets the job, candidate #2 gets nothing more than candidate #10...
Of course you can go to a few conferences. Write a damn-good paper first, then try to present it to the best conference you can.
Btw, I published 4 papers out my PhD work in top-5 journals. The other two in good journals. I got a job.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/08 | 1,193 | 4,420 | <issue_start>username_0: I happened to visit [the website](http://www.ijpam.eu/en/index.php/ijdea) of the *IJDEA* (International Journal of Differential Equations and Applications) and was wondering – how good is this journal? There was a [question here on Academia. SE](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11217/how-good-is-the-international-journal-of-pure-and-applied-mathematics-http-w) regarding *IJPAM* (International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics, by the same publisher: Academic Publications Ltd.) and it seems this journal is not up to the mark.
However, *IJDEA*'s Editorial Board has some prominent members from reputed institutions that I just couldn't overlook. For instance:
* <NAME> and <NAME> from UT Austin, USA
* <NAME> from the National University of Singapore, Singapore
* <NAME> from Northwestern University, USA
* <NAME> from the University of Cambridge, UK
* <NAME> from CalTech, USA
* (Late) <NAME> from MIT, USA
* <NAME> from Brown University, USA
My question is: Given the presence of such top-class scientists on its editorial board, why are *IJPAM*/*IJDEA* and Academic Publications Ltd. considered predatory by [Beall's list](http://scholarlyoa.com/2012/12/06/bealls-list-of-predatory-publishers-2013/)?
P.S.: I'm assuming that the Editorial Board and quality of articles should be good enough to check the quality of the journal. Please correct me in case I'm wrong.<issue_comment>username_1: You've already identified part of the problem:
* Deceased individuals like <NAME> and <NAME> should **not** be listed as "editors" of a normal journal.
* The editor-in-chief of the journal should be clearly identified.
* They're claiming to have an Impact Factor when they're not indexed by the services that publish Impact Factors
You can see Beall's [full list of criteria](http://scholarlyoa.com/2012/11/30/criteria-for-determining-predatory-open-access-publishers-2nd-edition/) on his blog [*Scholarly Open Access*](http://scholarlyoa.com).
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: The editorial board is one way that many journals (both predatory and not) try two establish themselves. I cannot find an in depth analysis by Beall of editorial boards but, in a comment to this [blog post](http://scholarlyoa.com/2013/06/18/jscholar-a-new-oa-publisher-from-frisco-texas/) on editorial board makeup Beall says
>
> Sometimes publishers add names to editorial boards without asking for permission. As part of my analysis, I sometimes email and ask ed board members if they really agreed to serve.
>
>
>
He also has a [blog post](http://scholarlyoa.com/2013/02/28/whats-up-with-dr-george-perry/#more-1364) which looks at the editorial responsibilities (100+ journals) of a Dean in the Univ. of Texas system.
In summary some people get put on editorial boards without their knowledge and others will agree to be on large numbers of editorial boards so you cannot use the editorial board membership as a good judge of makeup.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: This answer focuses on the question asked in the headline not the text, which is more specific to predatory publishers.
The best judge of the quality of the journal are the papers published in it. A good journal publishes good papers. The next best judge is to see whether you're communicating with a journal employee or a member of the editorial board. If you receive invitations which are clearly written by an editorial board member, if you meet them at conferences and they talk enthusiastically about their journal, if your submission receives decisions that indicate the handling editor knows something about your field, you're dealing with a good journal.
Composition of the editorial board isn't a good indication because some unethical publishers will add people to editorial boards without their permission, or refuse to let them resign. Even for genuine journals, board member can join, and then do nothing (as in, literally nothing - not even when assigned a paper to handle). The result is an ugly symbiosis where both the academic and the publisher derive benefits from the academic being on the editorial board, but the academic doesn't actually influence the journal in any way. This setup is unfortunately quite common, and there's no easy way to tell from the outside how involved the editorial board is with the journal.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/01/08 | 1,407 | 5,141 | <issue_start>username_0: If I am conducting independent research (ie no university affiliation), do I need to worry about institutional review board (IRB) approval, if I am working in a field where it is normally required?<issue_comment>username_1: This really depends on if you are planning on publishing the research. From my understanding many in house studies in industry are not subjected to an IRB process.
Publishing is a different story. [Amdur and Biddle (1997)](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9062330) found that 47% of biomedical journals had policies about IRB approval. While I don't have any data to support it, my guess is this number is higher now.
The FDA [guidelines for IRB](http://www.fda.gov/regulatoryinformation/guidances/ucm126420.htm) say:
>
> IRBs may agree to review research from affiliated or unaffiliated investigators, however, FDA does not require IRBs to assume this responsibility.
>
>
>
Many university and hospital IRBs will not approve studies from unaffiliated individuals since approval often limits the liability of the PI. There may be some university and hospital IRBs that approve studies from unaffiliated individuals and there are definitely private companies that specialize in this type of thing.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: This issue actually got some press recently with the case of uBiome, a citizen science startup that raised over $350,000 in crowdfunding.
This startup received a lot of negative attention for not getting IRB approval *before* raising the money. You can read some of this criticism [here](http://scientopia.org/blogs/ethicsandscience/2013/02/19/a-passing-thought-about-a-certain-flavor-of-citizen-science-project/), [here](http://freethoughtblogs.com/physioprof/2013/02/21/ubiome-has-made-a-public-statement-about-irb-compliance-of-their-human-subjects-research/), and [here](http://scientopia.org/blogs/drugmonkey/2013/02/20/a-little-reminder-of-why-we-have-irbs-did-i-mention-it-is-still-black-history-month/).
A [statement](http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2013/07/22/crowdfunding-and-irbs-the-case-of-ubiome/) from the founders of uBiome says they were advised that they don't *legally* require IRB approval if they aren't receiving federal funding, don't plan to publish, and don't plan to apply for FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) approval:
>
> Before we started our crowdfunding campaign, we consulted with our advisors at QB3, the startup incubator at UCSF, and the lawyers they provided us. We were informed (correctly) that IRBs are only required for federally funded projects, clinical trials, and those who seek publication in peer-reviewed journals. That’s right — projects that don’t want federal money, FDA approval, or to publish in traditional journals require no ethical review at all as far as we know. (No, that doesn’t sound like a great system to us either.)
>
>
>
In the end, they went through a private IRB firm ([Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UBiome) says it was [this one](http://www.eandireview.com/)) and got their protocols approved. The founders [say](http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2013/07/22/crowdfunding-and-irbs-the-case-of-ubiome/):
>
> This is the same institution that works with academic IRBs that need to coordinate multi-site studies, as well as private firms such as 23andme and pharmaceutical companies doing clinical trials.
>
>
>
This incident raises the question of what you plan to do with your independent research (assuming the kind of research you are doing is generally subject to IRB oversight):
* If you plan to publish your research in a traditional peer-reviewed journal, you will usually need an IRB review
* If you plan to develop pharmaceuticals that will require FDA approval, you will need IRB review
* If you plan to get federal funding for your work, you will need IRB review. If you plan to get other funding for your work, it'll be hard to get without IRB review.
* If you plan to create a startup around your research, you may not *require* IRB review, but not having it can engender quite a bit of criticism (as per uBiome's story)
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: As an independent researcher myself, who has taken a less traditional route of publication (in an open access journal versus a peer-reviewed journal), I am of the understanding that IRB approval is not required unless your study is being featured in a peer reviewed journal. With that said, I think that the participant protections that I put in place to protect my subjects are much more stringent than any IRB requirements. Mine was a case study with two participants and both agreed in writing that they felt adequately protected. They also agreed when reading the study prior to its publication that while they themselves could tell what each part represented, the nonuse of their names, the fictitious place they were said to have grown up, a couple of minor alterations to their stories, which did not change the results or themes, but furthered their anonymity made it so that they were certain that no one could identify them.
Upvotes: -1 |
2014/01/08 | 1,585 | 5,906 | <issue_start>username_0: Since I graduated from law school almost ten years ago, I have been working as a fellow for a law professor at a US law school. In that time, I have drafted over 25 articles and book chapters, but only been listed as a co-author on 8. I don't begrudge this split: The Prof has the established name and, in every instance, she has sat me down, outlined what she wants to cover, and then made comments and requested revisions on every draft I produce, but I have always done 90% or more of the actual writing. I greatly appreciate the confidence she has shown in my writing abilities and am just not sure how to convey this on my CV/job applications. My position is ending and I'm applying for new jobs that, in many cases, are looking for expertise in areas on which I've researched and written extensively, just not under my name. Is there any accepted way/format to mention publications one has drafted/contributed to without receiving formal authorship credit?<issue_comment>username_1: This really depends on if you are planning on publishing the research. From my understanding many in house studies in industry are not subjected to an IRB process.
Publishing is a different story. [Amdur and Biddle (1997)](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9062330) found that 47% of biomedical journals had policies about IRB approval. While I don't have any data to support it, my guess is this number is higher now.
The FDA [guidelines for IRB](http://www.fda.gov/regulatoryinformation/guidances/ucm126420.htm) say:
>
> IRBs may agree to review research from affiliated or unaffiliated investigators, however, FDA does not require IRBs to assume this responsibility.
>
>
>
Many university and hospital IRBs will not approve studies from unaffiliated individuals since approval often limits the liability of the PI. There may be some university and hospital IRBs that approve studies from unaffiliated individuals and there are definitely private companies that specialize in this type of thing.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: This issue actually got some press recently with the case of uBiome, a citizen science startup that raised over $350,000 in crowdfunding.
This startup received a lot of negative attention for not getting IRB approval *before* raising the money. You can read some of this criticism [here](http://scientopia.org/blogs/ethicsandscience/2013/02/19/a-passing-thought-about-a-certain-flavor-of-citizen-science-project/), [here](http://freethoughtblogs.com/physioprof/2013/02/21/ubiome-has-made-a-public-statement-about-irb-compliance-of-their-human-subjects-research/), and [here](http://scientopia.org/blogs/drugmonkey/2013/02/20/a-little-reminder-of-why-we-have-irbs-did-i-mention-it-is-still-black-history-month/).
A [statement](http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2013/07/22/crowdfunding-and-irbs-the-case-of-ubiome/) from the founders of uBiome says they were advised that they don't *legally* require IRB approval if they aren't receiving federal funding, don't plan to publish, and don't plan to apply for FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) approval:
>
> Before we started our crowdfunding campaign, we consulted with our advisors at QB3, the startup incubator at UCSF, and the lawyers they provided us. We were informed (correctly) that IRBs are only required for federally funded projects, clinical trials, and those who seek publication in peer-reviewed journals. That’s right — projects that don’t want federal money, FDA approval, or to publish in traditional journals require no ethical review at all as far as we know. (No, that doesn’t sound like a great system to us either.)
>
>
>
In the end, they went through a private IRB firm ([Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UBiome) says it was [this one](http://www.eandireview.com/)) and got their protocols approved. The founders [say](http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2013/07/22/crowdfunding-and-irbs-the-case-of-ubiome/):
>
> This is the same institution that works with academic IRBs that need to coordinate multi-site studies, as well as private firms such as 23andme and pharmaceutical companies doing clinical trials.
>
>
>
This incident raises the question of what you plan to do with your independent research (assuming the kind of research you are doing is generally subject to IRB oversight):
* If you plan to publish your research in a traditional peer-reviewed journal, you will usually need an IRB review
* If you plan to develop pharmaceuticals that will require FDA approval, you will need IRB review
* If you plan to get federal funding for your work, you will need IRB review. If you plan to get other funding for your work, it'll be hard to get without IRB review.
* If you plan to create a startup around your research, you may not *require* IRB review, but not having it can engender quite a bit of criticism (as per uBiome's story)
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: As an independent researcher myself, who has taken a less traditional route of publication (in an open access journal versus a peer-reviewed journal), I am of the understanding that IRB approval is not required unless your study is being featured in a peer reviewed journal. With that said, I think that the participant protections that I put in place to protect my subjects are much more stringent than any IRB requirements. Mine was a case study with two participants and both agreed in writing that they felt adequately protected. They also agreed when reading the study prior to its publication that while they themselves could tell what each part represented, the nonuse of their names, the fictitious place they were said to have grown up, a couple of minor alterations to their stories, which did not change the results or themes, but furthered their anonymity made it so that they were certain that no one could identify them.
Upvotes: -1 |
2014/01/08 | 1,099 | 4,720 | <issue_start>username_0: My advisor and his PHD Students are writing regularly to journals published by a publisher, which is on Beall’s list of Predatory Journals. I emailed Beall and he told me that the journals were advertising as non-profit but usually publish if you pay them.
I am in US. So recently the PHD Student and advisor published to this predatory journal’s conference taking place half way down the world and obviously it got accepted. So my advisor approved the student’s trip to that country (almost 1500 $, so it had to be approved by chair), but the chair rejected it saying it’s not worth the expense.
Now I want to directly email my chair and point out to him about my advisor’s publishing record. I am angry that instead of publishing to genuine journals, my advisor (who I believe is incompetent but has good political clout in the university) is publishing to these scam journals and wasting university money to achieve her tenure requirements.
Since I am still working in lab, I need advice on how to approach my chair so that I can keep myself safe from possible wrath of my advisor and at same time negate the contributions of these journals for his tenure.
Edit 1: The conference listed Google Scholar as one of its sponsors, so I emailed Google and they told me they never sponsored this journal and will order removal of their name from the sponsors list. So yeah, these are all first rate scam journals and I have all these emails, if I ever need to communicate with the chair. I have done my investigation; I just need to get my results across.<issue_comment>username_1: Your relationship with your advisor is extremely important for you getting a PhD. I would only contact the chair if you are absolutely certain that you would be able to find a new advisor if things went bad between you and your current advisor. When her tenure comes up for review, someone on the panel will know that these are scam journals. The fact that the chair has already denied one of her expenses means there is likely a red flag in her file (metaphorically). Now if she forces you to publish in one of these journals, you should absolutely complain, but don't complain about what she is doing with other students unless you think it is worth losing your advisor completely and creating enemies in the department. You can talk to the student who actually was going to go to the conference suggest he complains, but ultimately I think that is his responsibility. So again, refer to the first point; make sure you have an escape plan so to speak, and make sure that you are OK with potentially not earning your PhD because you stood up for yourself.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: It sounds like the chair may already be aware of the situation, if they are not approving travel to said conference.
Typically those in the field, especially those who've been around a few years, and especially those in positions of authority in universities, will know which journals/conferences are high quality and which are not. These are generally backed up by various metrics (e.g. impact factor), which try to quantitatively assess the quality/impact/popularity/etc.
Academics are often measured on such metrics, rather than simply number of papers published. A single article in Nature, for example, would give significantly greater benefit to one's publication score than a dozen in the International Conference for Scamming and Profit. I would hope your university uses such metrics in some way or another, and from what I've seen, more and more universities are doing this, with a variety of standard/external and customised/internal performance metrics.
**If you really feel you must make a point of it, I'd suggest simply having a discussion about the List of Predatory Publishers, rather than a specific discussion about your advisor.**
You may find the chair is well aware of the list, but has their hands tied by university policy. Or they may be enlightened by the list and be able to have the tenure policy changed to exclude or reduce the benefits of such publications.
Just remember it's not your job (and *is someone else's job*) to assess the advisor's academic performance, and you want to be careful how you come across if you try (a) tell them how to do their job, (b) make academic assessments of tenured staff as a student, (c) heavily criticise your advisor, which will likely be ignored if there's any suggestion of an existing grievance between the two of you.
For all you know, your advisor and the chair may be close friends, or at least closer colleagues to each other than *"some unqualified upstart of a masters student!"* (hypothetically their words, not mine :P)
Upvotes: 4 |
2014/01/09 | 1,368 | 5,865 | <issue_start>username_0: I am currently deciding where to do my next Postdoc. I have had many Interviews, and have two solid offers on the table.
The first offer is in a highly ranked private University (not Ivy League nor MIT), with a professor who seems real nice.
The second offer is from a somewhat lower ranked institution (State University) but I clicked way better with the professor.
Both opportunities seem really appealing for me but I'm wondering whether later hiring committees will look at which institution I worked rather to with whom I worked, both professors are rather young and are just starting shop, so is not a matter of a renowned professor either.
I'm probably just looking to see what you would do if this were your situation.<issue_comment>username_1: There is no definitive answer.
>
> I'm probably just looking to see what would you do if this were your situation.
>
>
>
My own personal experience (coming from the other side of the question): I recently accepted a tenure track position at a university. I'm very happy with the position.
During my visa application process for the new position, the consulate gave me a letter that the university had sent them as proof of employment. The letter contained details of the hiring process. There I learned that they had offered the position to someone from Oxford before me; someone older with half the publications and one-sixth the citations I had. The letter stated that he was first choice because he had a strong research profile and he was coming from a reputable university. I was coming from a strong department in a "provincial university" in a small country. The other person turned down the position. I accepted.
I was a bit stung by the letter because I read it as an implicit rejection of my background (over which I had little control).
Someone also told me later that in the board meetings, during the hiring process, there was a professor who raised concerns about where I was coming from ... a "provincial university". Apparently the more bureaucratic members of the board were my most fervent supporters: I had a lot of highly-cited publications, I was sure to bring a lot more, who cares where I came from? I wasn't told the full details, but I inferred that some of the more senior professors seemed to be more attracted to the Oxford thing than raw research metrics.
(Of course the hiring process was much more complicated than that; but this was the gist of the letter and the bits and pieces I heard afterwards.)
---
I'm not sure if that anecdote is useful to you but again there is no universal answer. It depends entirely on your situation.
I would say that yes, in many situations, the university you do your PostDoc in makes a difference for your future career. I don't know the US system well, but I guess it would be even stronger the case there.
**But you and your personal publication record are far more important**.
My general advise would simply be to pick the university where you feel you would be most productive (in a "healthy" way).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I'd say it really depends on the person you want to work with and also the difference between the reputation of both universities.
However, I personally think that going to a person who you "click" with and perhaps can establish a deeper academic relationship with would be more important than just a name of a university or the risk of being in a non-productive environment.
Don't forget that you are building your future collaborators and that can help you alot when you are applying for tenure, etc.
I know of a couple of people who recently did a post doc in highly reputable universities in North america and Europe but are extremely unhappy with their progresses and publication records.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Overall, you should go where you will be happiest. Don't be afraid to go to a school with a lower reputation if you think it is better for you.
That said, there is more to being happy than "clicking" with the professor. I would just say that you should be cautious about overvaluing "clicking" relative to other things. There are a couple details I would consider.
Does (or will, if he's new) the professor have a notable research profile? If he is new as you say, do you think he will build a sizable research profile quickly? When you apply for later jobs, you'll need letters of recommendation. A strong letter of rec from a prof whose research everyone knows, even if he is at a low-profile school, will serve you better than a rec from a prof whose research is not read or valued, even if that prof is at a prestigious school.
What is the department as a whole like? And, if it's a postdoc where you'll be working on a particular project, what is that project like? Are the other people working on it good people in both a personal and professional sense? Where did they come from? If you see that the project/department attracts high-caliber people, it is a good sign. Also there is always the small chance that the professor is nice and clickable-with but has problems with practical/logistical matters that make working with him difficult.
Of course there are many other factors, but these are ones related to the professor-vs-school issue that I think are particularly relevant. No one is going to hire you because you clicked with a professor; the reasing clicking with a professor is important that it suggests you will be productive in that environment. So, I'd say you should scope out other info that may give you an idea of how productive you would be in that environment.
Also, my impression is that hiring committees are likely to give more weight to the *person* you worked with, and gradually less to the project, department, and school. This is especially true because of letters of rec.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/09 | 1,134 | 4,104 | <issue_start>username_0: When I write something like
```
x is a stochastic function of y:
x ~ N(2y, 3) (1),
```
how do I refer back to that... non-equation? Do I still put "see Eq. (1)" although (1) is not an equation?<issue_comment>username_1: Mathematically you are true... it's not an equation. Technically I would say, that everything, that is display-style math and has a number attached for identification is called an equation in such contexts.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If you absolutely don't want to use Eq. (1) for mathematical reasons (~ is not equal), I would suggest
>
> See Formula (1)
>
>
>
although this is not conventional.
Someone suggested "See (1)". I personally would not use it because it has some ambiguity to me. Does it mean "See Sec. (1)" or something else?
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It seems that the right thing to do will depend on what's conventional in your field. In pure mathematics, it's standard to refer to all displayed equations, inequalities, etc. using just numbers in parentheses (for example, "using (2.1)", without specifying there whether (2.1) is an equation). You could add a descriptive noun if you'd like to emphasize it (e.g., "using equation (2.1)"), but you don't need to. If you do add a noun, it could be considered strange to refer to anything but an actual equation as an equation. This style of referencing displays creates no ambiguity, since citations use square brackets and all other numerical references have an attached noun or symbol to indicate whether they refer to a theorem, section, etc.: [1] is a citation, (1) is an equation or other display, Lemma 1 is a lemma, Section 1 is a section, etc.
The system described in the previous paragraph presumably doesn't apply to the author of the question, since abbreviations like "Eq. (1)" or "Ineq. (1)" are not standard in pure mathematics, which suggests he is in another field. However, it's worth keeping in mind that conventions vary between fields, so there won't be an absolute answer to this question. To know for sure what would look reasonable, it's important to know the context (i.e., the audience for the paper and where it might be published).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: As mentioned in some other answers, and with some addendum.
Five examples of the same text in different styles (please, excuse my English):
1. We may now apply (15) to (13). From (12) we then see that (14) is satisfied.
2. We may now apply Eq. (15) to Eq. (13). From Eq. (12) we then see that Eq. (14) is satisfied.
3. We may now apply Eq. 15 to Eq. 13. From Eq. 12 we then see that Eq. 14 is satisfied.
4. We may now apply Equation (15) to Equation (13). From Equation (12) we then see that Equation (14) is satisfied.
5. We may now apply Equation 15 to Equation 13. From Equation 12 we then see that Equation 14 is satisfied.
(You can substitute "Eq." by "Ineq." etc., whatever you want.)
Such chains of links to equations are much common than for figures or tables. Now tell me in Examples 2 and 3 where the sentences stard and end. Yes, after a while, one sees that the sentence ends after "(13)", but it takes a lot of time to realize that. In Examples 4 and 5, the text gets unnecessarily long.
In my opinion, **equations should be refered solely by their number in parentheses**, references of course solely in brackets. For figures, enumerated lists, examples, sections, theorems etc., one should spell out the name (abbreviated or not, that's a personal taste) and add the number without any parentheses, even if it originally had some.
So a numbered list: *"(1) apple; (2) banana"* is still refered as: *"In Item 2 we see that banana is a banana."* If you refer items a lot, it's worth giving them a style that doesn't clash with the one for equations, like (a), (b), (c), ... or (i), (ii), (iii); then you can refer the items without the word "Item".
Final example:
>
> Some solutions of (3) were obtained by Doe in [11]; we list them in Table 5 and they are plotted in Figure 1.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/10 | 1,101 | 4,298 | <issue_start>username_0: If I have already completed a master's degree, but no longer belong or have contact to the institution in which I followed my master's degree; how to approach one professor to see if he or she wants to supervise me? Actually I see lots of different areas that I would like, but I feel afraid of not having the enough background (I can only contact the potential professors by email because well I am actually in the North America area, and I would like to aim for an European university)
I know that some times there are some published open positions, but in those cases mostly the competition is really fierce.
Any advice, mostly based on experience, will be very useful.
Thanks<issue_comment>username_1: 1. Apply to PhD programs in your area of interest.
2. Visit the schools that accept you into their programs.
3. During your visits, talk to professors about (a) whether they're taking students and (b) whether you share mutual interests.
You can also try emailing professors before you apply, to get a sense of whether their school/department/research group is a good fit. But be warned that many will ignore your email unless you've already been admitted to their program. (Expert tip: pay close attention to the warnings and admonitions posted on their personal home page!)
A much better way to make first contact is to attend conferences or workshops in your area of interest (and make a paper/poster presentation, if possible). These events let you meet many potential advisors all in one place. Plus, you get to hear about their work, and get a sense of their personality, hygiene, etc.
>
> I feel afraid of not having enough background.
>
>
>
You and me both, pal. It's called [impostor syndrome](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome), and *everyone*\* in academia has it.
Good luck!
\*…except for the real jerk-Os.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: While @username_1's answer is correct for the US (and Asia, afaik), it is not all that applicable for Europe. Around here, US-style PhD programmes are still more the exception than the rule. In many european universities, one applies **directly with the professor** before getting admitted into any sort of formal programme.
Essentially, what most professors do when they have openings for PhD students is the following:
1. Talk to their own (good) master students (sidenote: a master is a minimum requirement for PhD admission in most places here)
2. Failing that, contact friends and ask them for good master students interested in doing a PhD
3. Failing that, write a job announcement to [DBWorld](https://lists.cs.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/dbworld) or a similar mailing list
Step 3 usually brings in plenty of candidates. However, weeding out the bad from the good is time-consuming and error-prone, hence, most professors are not happy at all if they have to fall back to step 3.
**Blind applications** are usually ignored, simply because the chance that a given professor that you have applied to blindly currently has open funding *and* is looking specifically for somebody with your skill set is not very large.
>
> I know that some times there are some published open positions, but in those cases mostly the competition is really fierce. Any advice, mostly based on experience, will be very useful.
>
>
>
My advice: give applying for some posted positions a try. Competition is fierce in numbers, but not necessarily in quality. We have had cases where we received 50+ applications, and decided to not hire anybody. Your chance is certainly better than villy-nilly mailing (or even worse, *calling*) professors out of the blue.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: In Europe, usually you have to apply directly in a PhD program.
EPFL (in Lausanne) has a special PhD admission procedure that can be good in your case. They can take you for 1+3 years:
* In the 1st year, your goal is to find a PhD advisor and a lab. You have to do two 6-month research projects, take some courses, and you're expected to find a lab for the PhD that way;
* At the end of the 1st year, you pass a candidacy exam where your topic and advisor get accepted, and you have 3 years to complete your research program.
Note that you get paid during the 4 years of the program.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/10 | 1,163 | 5,293 | <issue_start>username_0: After reading [this answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/15572/2692), and the subsequent comments, I found myself wondering if it is a rule for publishers to get author approval after edits before publishing a paper? I would assume so because of copyright issues but I would like to know if there are legal or ethical guidelines in the publishing industry about this.
In my experience, editors will make edits but they have always asked me for my approval before actually publishing the edited piece.<issue_comment>username_1: In the answer you are referring to there is nothing to say that approval is not required. The issue is rather that an editor can request certain things can be removed from the paper so the author cannot demand everything written is finally printed. Editors have the right and obligation to weed out materials that are, for example, offensive just as we can flag posts that contain such phrasings on Stackexchange. Jokes, which was the point of the post you referred to, are not edited out by any means as a rule but can be misunderstood or considered offensive and might be more likely to be edited out than other material during the review and editorial process. In such a case, the author will certainly be part of the process and asked to revise or accept changes. the point here is that the editor has the final say through approval of the paper as well as a responsibility to make sure the publication is free from material that violates, for example, ethical of the publisher. As an example, in Sweden, where I reside, I as an editor am responsible by law for what is printed in "my" journal. This responsibility may lie with the publisher in other countries.
So, authors will definitely be part of the revision process and sign off on final proofs, it is just that some changes may not be subject to additional discussion and will have to be accepted. Does this happen often? Not at all. In my case, I have had to deal with this in heated "Letters to the Editor" where authors have been in a written, published, exchange over issues in a published paper.
Edit (to expand based on earthling's comment): Basically all changes except typos and changes to adhere to journal or publisher style are subject to an "OK" from the author (although it would not hurt to also get an OK on these). The publishing of a paper is a joint venture between an author and the journal, so with a functioning working relationship both parties should agree on changes. But, again, some changes are non-negotiable, which does not mean they can be imposed without the knowledge of the author who always has the option to go elsewhere to publish.
So changes can come in three forms, (1) those that can be changed without consent (e.g. typos), (2) those that must be made without discussion (subject to ethical considerations) and (3) those that can go either way after, say, clarification (most of the normal changes). In cases 2 and 3 the author need to approve the changes it is just that for case 2 the option might be accept or withdraw the paper.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: In my experience, even corrected typos, grammar mistakes and changes necessary for correct typesetting are usually approved (or rejected) by the authors. Thats what the print proof is for. In my opinion that is absolutely necessary, because even changing a few letters could change the meaning of a sentence, and as an author I have the full responsibility for the whole paper.
I've once made the weird experience that I found a paper listed in pubmed before we had received acceptance notification or print proofs. While nothing bad had happened to the paper's text, we decided never to go with that publisher again.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: When I took over being the Graphics Editor / Typesetter of one journal, I realized that there used to be no proofreading stage for the articles! I of course insisted that the articels are proofread.
*However, we give the authors only a limited amount of time to claim any corrections, but not less than 2 weeks.* This is because the journal is quite small and we need to "schedule" the articles into the issues to make the issues reasonably equal in size.
Even after the approval, small changes appear; the Chief Editor goes quickly through the text just before publishing to catch last small typos and mistakes: missing full stops after figures' captions, corrupted text-flow on the page (widows/orphans standing out badly etc.), wrong capilatization, and stuff like this. However, we never modify the text itself in this phase, not even by adding or removing an article (since this can change the meaning of the text).
In general, by law, nobody is allowed to publish anything signed by your name without your approval. The reality is that this rule is violated quite often and it's difficult to do something about it. As well, remember that by submitting an article, you agree with the policy of the journal that can state for instance: *"By submitting an article, you give your permission for it to be published, and you confirm that all authors have agreed to this. The Editor's Office is allowed to make modification to the text without the authors' agreement."*
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/10 | 525 | 2,347 | <issue_start>username_0: After reading [this question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15575/information-about-valuation-of-postgraduate-study), I started wondering about students applying for graduate school and the letters of recommendation accompanying their applications.
Let's say Student is studying at University A and one of his lecturers is primarily working at University B (lecturer was doing some adjunct or other kind of part-time work at University A). University B is a much higher ranked school. After graduation Student asks the lecturer for a letter of recommendation so Student can attend University B. How much extra weight is the letter of recommendation given in the application process if it is from a lecturer at the university?
I would guess that it would depend on how that lecturer's past recommendations have turned out but I'd like to hear from the experts.
Does it change anything if Student wants to become a PhD and would like to have the lecturer as Student's adviser?<issue_comment>username_1: Getting a good letter is more important than getting a letter from a professor at University B. So if the professor in question only knows you through your attendance of his course, he most likely won't be able to speak to your research potential. As that is the most important aspect of an application for graduate school, this would not work in your favour. (The points in [this answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/2599/8185) are excellent guidelines for who to ask for reference letters.)
If he is otherwise qualified to write a good letter for you, then the fact that he is from University B might work slightly in your favour, as admission committees tend to give greater weight to letters of recommendation from researchers that they know.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: You need tenure track or tenured profs to write your recommendation letters. References from TAs/Lecturers will give the impression that you did not have sufficiently good references from the faculty in your department to warrant a letter of recommendation.
Lecturers are generally post-docs that are hired on a contract basis, and therefore do carry much (if any) weight in the department. You're much better off getting 3 great letters from faculty at your current institution.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/10 | 4,385 | 18,487 | <issue_start>username_0: I am pretty sure that anyone who has spent some time reading academic papers have come across quite a few "lemons" among them, with bad grammar, strange word choices and incoherent sentences. Such papers are always a chore to read, even if the topic is interesting and the research is good, and I have found myself throwing away papers just because they are so awful to read.
The strange thing is that these papers have been peer reviewed and are published in reputable journals. But still they are often near unreadable because of bad language. Why is this the case? Why isn't bad language picked up and corrected when peer review is done? I understand that a lot of these academics don't have English as their first language, but publishing a paper that reads like it was translated from Chinese to English with Google Translate and a thesaurus is not a good way to publish your research.<issue_comment>username_1: Badly written papers can still serve the interests of
* the editors and the authors, if it concerns a hot topic (or considered as such), the article will potentially be cited by others even if they do not read it at all;
* the editors, if they have difficulties to find enough good papers to fill the next issue. They need to show their employers they are working;
* the referees, if they are cited in the references;
* the scientific editors, if they have conflicting interests (like being at the same time head of a university's department);
* the list does not stop here (please edit).
These are no scientific reasons, but they are dictated by the "numbers" and these numbers play a significant role for researchers applying to a position, a grant or a promotion.
It can also be that the authors made a *really good* discovery, want to publish to avoid being spotted, but prefer to keep their "advance". So they publish intentionally in a way that is difficult to read. This reason is rare in my opinion, but I've heard of a case. In this situation, maybe it is a deal between the editor and the author.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: I like <NAME>'s answer (+1), but I think the level of cynicism it contains is more appropriate as an answer for why **bad papers** are published (to which I would add that there is now a glut of mediocre venues looking for content ... everyone wants to be editor or co-organiser of something; and I would also add that, unfortunately, authoring and peer-review is still done by humans).
But as for **badly written** ... I feel a little balance is needed. In particular, I feel it's important **to caution against a common hyper-sensitivity to language problems** in publications.
The phrase "badly-written" is subjective. Sure, the readability of the paper is an important aspect of the quality of the paper, and there is some minimum level of language quality that is a prerequisite, but that level can be artificially high for some academics.
The majority of research is published in English by non-native speakers. Many papers are primarily authored by students in their 20's/30's who might be quite new to English and to writing scientific works. Even certain native English speakers will struggle to structure a paper in such a way that it reads well (sometimes because they are still of the belief that things have to be complicated and difficult before they can be published, so they write in a complicated and difficult way).
As an example of hypersensitivity, I am a native English speaker and for a journal paper I was primary author of, I once had a reviewer complain that the paper was poorly written. His/her main complaint was that we were confusing the semantics of "that" vs. "which" in the paper, saying that mixing the two up is not up to the formal standard of English required for journals. Eventually I did actually manage to stop laughing, but as I picked myself up from the floor, I realised I'd have to "correct" it for the revision. Three hours of Ctrl+F'ing "that/which" in a 40 page journal paper (and even worse, fixing the resulting bad boxes and widows again) wiped the smile off my face.
I also find that students new to reviewing, particularly non-native speakers, tend to expect a very high standard of writing. For example, I assigned a workshop review to a student once that wanted to reject the paper, primarily due to having "several typos". These would take 5 minutes to fix and didn't affect the paper *at all*. I asked the student if he had had any problem reading the paper? He said he hadn't. Did he learn something from the paper? Well yes, X, Y and Z. Why is he rejecting the paper? Necessary has two 's's.
Yes, the quality of writing often sucks in published works, but I don't believe that a paper should be *automatically* rejected just because it could be labelled as "badly written".
The goal is to communicate ideas with good science/maths, not to give an exposition of English grammar and phrasing. The original versions of many important publications were almost indecipherable in their writing. Even if an idea is written in such a way that you have to spend a few more hours to understand it, the idea itself might influence you and many other people in a positive way for many years.
Yes such influential papers are rare, but there are many shades of grey in between black and white.
And think of all the raw brain-power we will be missing out on if we perpetuate a culture that implicitly discourages non-English speakers from publishing!
---
In any case, for journals, I would tend to blame poor copy-editing and typesetting from the publishers. Most journals employ professional technical writers whose job is to avoid this situation. (I don't envy them their job, but still.)
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: A reviewer who receives a submission which he/she has sent back a few times on grounds of serious problems with the scientific content or superficial presentation might just be happy at least those have been corrected and not bother also correcting typos and odd choices of words.
One more thing: a lot of reviewers aren't native speakers themselves (me, for example) and don't pick up on all the errors or have a hard time formulating what's wrong with a given word or phrase.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: To add something not contained in any of the existing answers: in some fields, language errors are more prone to create important misunderstanding in the mind of the reader. For instance, in mathematics, even seemingly minor grammatical changes to the statement of a theorem will often drastically change its meaning. My (purely anecdotal) sense is that in such fields, badly written papers rarely get through peer review at reputable journals. But I'm sure someone will disagree, since these terms are subjective.
Of course, plenty of badly written mathematical papers get through peer-review in disreputable journals. The result can be complete gibberish. For example, see [this entertaining abstract](http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?paperID=2210&#abstract).
Finally, I respect username_2's answer, but I still get annoyed when I'm asked to spend hours reviewing a paper and I find that the authors didn't even take a minute to run spell-check. That's rude, to say the least.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_5: I can name seven reasons off hand (listed, roughly speaking, in the reverse order of the "validity of excuse" they offer)
1) The stuff is so complicated that there is no way to explain everything
without writing a three volume treatise.
2) The author is pretty much "dyslexic" or incapable of expressing himself
clearly for some other reason (it is amazing how many first rate mathematicians
are like that at least occasionally)
3) The language in which the paper is written is not the mother tongue of the author.
4) This is the first paper of an inexperienced author (a student, say).
5) Someone is in a hurry to set up his priority.
6) Neither the author, nor the referee care much about style, and the editors are
too busy with other stuff to take a close look.
7) The journal is happy to get at least something that doesn't look like an outright garbage.
and, surely, there are many more.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: A few years ago, I was asked to work with folk from a specific sub-discipline of our field. I'm not a scientist, but had been doing IT support in the general discipline for 6 years at that point.
They all spoke English well, and the majority were native English speakers -- yet their documentation had all of the same problems that you describe. So I wrote up notes about problems that I saw.
... and they rejected every comment I gave them.
The problem was that they had [developed their own jargon](https://dba.stackexchange.com/q/534/51), and what I had assumed they were talking about wasn't actually it.
The problems don't seem bad when you talk about it ... they had a 'prime key' which is somewhat related to a 'primary key', but not quite. And the 'dataset name' isn't the name of the table where the data's being stored (the 'data series name', but a serialized string for a given query. These are just subtle enough that you make assumptions when reading that they've obviously made a mistake, attempt to correct when reading it, and the whole thing just makes no sense by the time you're done.
...
I've heard people joke that jargon is a way for communities to keep out people who haven't yet given enough time to the community ... and I understand that sometimes different communities have [slightly incompatible definitions](http://virtualsolar.org/vocab) ... but you really need some sort of a warning for certain cases.
When I was in grad school, we had [a textbook that spent a full chapter defining what they meant by information](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1780526547). I thought it was horrible. I even told the author that when I met him at a conference (he told me some of my comments would've been more useful, but they had gone to press on the 2nd edtion just weeks before). But I've since come to understand [why he had to do it](http://igniteshow.com/events/ignite-agu-2012) -- as painful as that chapter was to read, it would've been even worse to try to read the whole book without a shared understanding of 'information'.
**update** : I said they didn't seem so bad on the surface, and until you actually run into these cases you probably won't appreciate just what a problem is can be. Although spelling wasn't originally called out by the question, here are a few situations where jargon can look like the problems mentioned so far:
* **Spelling** : Some communities will use foreign words or the British spelling of words rather than an Americanized spelling to convey slightly different meaning. eg, archaelogy's [provenience](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/provenience) to distinguish between [provenance](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/provenance) as used by archives and museums.
* **Grammar** : Some communities may consider the same term to be singular or plural; eg, 'data' is considered by the scientific community to be the plural of 'datum', while the computer science community considers it to be an abbreviation of 'dataset', a collective noun and therefore singular.
* **Odd word choices** : Some communities, especially in the legal field, will assign specific meaning to words or phrases. eg, <NAME>'s insistence that he did not have 'sexual relations' with <NAME>. In some cases, the specific meaning differs between communities (eg, an earth science, a 'data product' is composed of multiple 'datasets' (individual files; the relationship is reversed in solar physics). Issues also arise with metaphor in informal speach, such as the American 'kick the bucket' or the British 'Bob's your uncle'.
* **Incoherent sentences** : When combined, the above issues *seem* make statements seem incoherent because we *think* we understand the message based on our incorrect assumption that we understood each of the words within the statement. It can be almost painful to read / listen to / etc. If as an American, you've never seen early episodes of <NAME>'s [The Naked Chef](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naked_Chef), you'll realize that [American and British cooking terms are different enough to cause significant confusion](https://cooking.stackexchange.com/q/784/67)
Even with all of those issues, I don't want to say that the above problems never appear in published papers. I peer-reviewed a paper last year that had many of the issues, and told the editor that I suspected the co-authors (American and British) had never read the paper; they didn't accept the poor spelling and grammar as evidence, but they did accept when I pointed out the co-authors' papers that hadn't been cited.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: It's simply about saving money. Until the 1990s, publishers of academic books and journals employed copy editors to put text into readable form. This, not least, was because the typesetter had to input text by hand, character by character, into the machine. Typesetters, although as capable as anyone else of making unintended errors, had high professional standards, and would find it painful to deliberately embody obvious errors into their work. Since typesetters had to read the material, it was necessary at least to correct errors that would make their life hard. Moreover, the publisher, commissioning editor, copy editor, and typesetter had a shared culture of seeking high quality for the customer who ultimately provided their living: the intended reader.
With the advent of computerization, the expensive copy editor and typesetter could be cut out. The author is instructed to follow the style file, and the editorial job is now principally to check that this has been done---at least well enough for the output to appear at a glance to conform in style to the publisher's standards. Driving this compression, in the same period, were four other strong trends: the expansion of higher education; the increasing specialization of academic works; the establishment of English as the principal medium of publication for authors who are not native speakers of that language; and the measurement of academics' worth by the quantity of their published output. These trends all put pressure on publishers to produce a great multiplicity of titles. With money available to buy books constrained by general economic growth, and with libraries not having the highest priority in university spending, this profusion of titles could only be printed, at affordable prices for the end user, by sacrificing quality to cut costs.
Of course, this is an oversimplified description of what has happened diversely in hundreds of publishing houses over the past 25 years or so. It applies particularly to titles with a low print run (say 500 copies), where the costs of copy-editing and typesetting are hard to recover from sales, and not so much to more popular books and journals.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_8: The role of a reviewer is clear: Review the scientific quality of the paper, no the language one, as long as the language is "bearable". The problem is on the other side.
Too much is published. Journals are missing good Language Editors, but as well good Copy Editors and good Typesetters. If they have these people and they are good, they have to deal with too much work to do it well.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: **Because the authors' English is poor, the reviewers feel their job is to figure out the science and not the English, and the copyeditor does not understand the manuscript enough to make changes.**
Try writing a paper in a language you know but are not at native level with, and you'll quickly see how difficult it is.
Then try fixing the English in the manuscript you're reading. I'm sure you'll think it can be done, but it takes a lot of effort. As a reviewer, your time is precious, so you might feel that it's not worth it and you should concentrate on the science not the English. If there are a few errors, you could fix those because it's relatively easy, but if there are a lot that will involve rewriting, then you might think no.
Then try fixing the English in a manuscript you do not understand. You can find examples of these in published papers. Pick a technical field you don't know well and take a random paper. For example, here's [something](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1112.3502.pdf) I found on when I did this search:
>
> Since we saw that in the case of rigid susy, the algebra closes even on-shell on the dynamical boson (the scalar in that case), but it doesn’t on the fermion, we now require closure on the graviton, even on-shell (without the S), hoping it will work in the same way.
>
>
>
This sentence reads pretty convoluted, suggesting that something should change. But if you don't understand it, can you be sure it's actually convoluted? Maybe it makes perfect sense to an expert. Furthermore, how would you change it? The only option is to make some kind of "best guess" and then ask the author, but 1) this is very time-consuming since it involves communication with the authors; if there are pages of such issues then the authors will take a long time to respond to, and 2) remember the authors' English aren't very good either.
Then add in the fact that the readership of the average academic paper is [miserable](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/1206/how-many-people-read-an-individual-journal-article) and some people will conclude that it's not a problem worth fixing.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_10: In addition to what has been listed by others, in particular,
* no need to spend money on copy-editors
* no need to spend time on proof-reading
there are many scientists who couldn't care less about grammar and style, even in their own language.
I am thinking of the cliche engineer who hated language subjects in school and absolutely doesn't care about comma conventions or subtleties in word choice. They don't even care in their own language. If their own language is not English, they will care even less.
Apart from language, the same is true with bad formatting. Whether it's Microsoft Word or Latex or anything else, most scientists just want to get out the information and don't bother about stylistic issues that they don't even know exist.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/01/10 | 1,114 | 4,003 | <issue_start>username_0: This is probably not 100% on-topic here, but this site is closer to *appropriate* than others. Let me give it a try: I have collected about 50 publications relevant for a project of mine. For these publications, I have all the important information like author, title, journal, etc, but most importantly, I have the DOI for each paper.
I was asking myself, is it possible to retrieve the DOI of the references given in each publication through a web-service, an open database or any other service?
Background is that I would like to create a graph showing the connections between the selected publications. One semi-automatic approach which comes to my mind is to use [Web of Science](http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_of_Science), go through the stack of my publications and copy the DOI of the listed references.
Any better ideas?<issue_comment>username_1: Both Scopus and Web of Knowledge contain all the information that you need and have APIs that can be used to automate access:
* <http://info.sciencedirect.com/scopus/scopus-in-detail/tools/api>
* <http://wokinfo.com/products_tools/products/related/webservices/>
I have never used them personally, but I hope this kind of information can be accessed using them. Each site indexes articles with their own unique key, so you can use those instead of DOIs if you only need them as unique keys.
Neither of them is free; you can probably access them through your university's subscription though. Be sure to check the usage limits.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: It's backwards from your proposed approach, but you could also use Google Scholar. It (apparently) has no API yet. Thus, someone created a python module to parse its output. <http://www.icir.org/christian/scholar.html>
Google Scholar only gives you the articles that *cite* the given article. So you can build the links that are *to* the article, rather than *from* it.
**Edit** [Google Scholar Citation Visualisation Tool](http://www.madhavajay.com/kalki/) seems to be based on this approach. However, the bookmarklet doesn't seem to work (for me in Chrome) when I browse Google Scholar as shown in the video on that page.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Slightly adapting [my answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/96403/65952) to [this earlier, very similar question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3078/web-service-to-fetch-article-citations):
It seems that crossref.org is beginning to roll out providing a list of citations (the works that a given work cites):
<https://www.crossref.org/blog/distributing-references-via-crossref/>
[See the aptly named section "OMG! OMG! OMG! Does this mean I can get references from api.crossref.org?"]
Using the example doi from the above link (doi:10.7554/eLife.10288), you could obtain the list of citations in that work at: <https://api.crossref.org/v1/works/10.7554/eLife.10288.xml>
Alternatively, with [content negotiation](https://citation.crosscite.org/docs.html), you could just use:
```
curl -L -H "Accept: application/vnd.crossref.unixsd+xml" \
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.10288 > data.xml
```
The citations are listed in the element. The list of 'doi's can be extracted with the following XPath query:
```
//citation_list/citation/doi/text()
```
Warning: The citation data is, according to the link above, only available in the XML, not the JSON, representation. Also, the service is not available for all works, yet.
Toy python implementation
-------------------------
```
import requests
from lxml import html
def list_references(doi):
"""List an article's references, as raw DOIs.
The input also has to be just the DOI (without doi: etc.)
"""
headers = {'Accept' : 'application/vnd.crossref.unixsd+xml' }
r = requests.get("https://data.crossref.org/" + doi,
headers=headers)
tree = html.fromstring(r.content)
return tree.xpath('//citation_list/citation/doi/text()')
```
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/10 | 965 | 4,291 | <issue_start>username_0: During my Ph.D. research I encountered a mathematical problem. I found solutions in some cases, but in other cases I couldn't find a solution. My advisors also could not help with this. I asked at Math.SE and MathOverflow, even offered a boundy, but got no hint.
Although I can proceed in my research without a solution to these cases (there are many other problems to solve anyway), they are very interesting and can contribute a lot to understanding the general problem.
The problem itself is very simple, such that even high-school children can understand it. So, I thought of the following idea: give the problem to talented high-school or under-graduate students that go to math olympiads, and offer a monetary bounty (in addition to co-authorship) to the first solver. Hopefully a fresh young mind can succeed where older minds have failed.
What do you think about this idea? Is this ethical? Useful? Done in the past?<issue_comment>username_1: For problem easy to formulate as this one, this may be a motivating problem for students who want to tackle with "real research", quite rewarding also for those who find a solution.
I don't know if this has been done in the past, but why not, as long as you give full credit of the proof to the students who find it and in case this is published, give them authorship. I would suggest, in case you have a winner, to [endorse](http://arxiv.org/help/endorsement) him or her on the [arXiv](http://arxiv.org), so the credit will be fully his or hers.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: It sounds like a great idea to publicize the problem among young people who may have a lot of time on their hands, not a lot of other research ideas, and a desire to demonstrate their abilities through something other than timed contests.
One awkward possibility would be getting stuck in a situation in which someone can't convince you that their solution is correct, but you can't convince them it is incomplete or wrong. Of course this could happen with anyone, but it's particularly likely to occur with someone who is not an experienced researcher. If you offer a bounty, you should be clear about the conditions. (For example, that it all comes down to your judgment, and that you don't commit to spend unlimited amounts of time trying to understand a proposed solution.)
Coauthorship is certainly mandatory if you publish a paper that depends on this solution (unless of course the students publish their solution separately and you cite it). However, you may run into tricky situations in which it's not enough just to offer coauthorship for the first solution. For example, if several people solve the problem independently and around the same time, then they should all be treated evenhandedly. Or what if someone proposes a solution you don't believe, someone else proposes a clearer solution and you offer the second person coauthorship, and then the first person convinces you their solution was correct after all? Of course these problems are not hard to solve (in the last case, you can't retract the authorship of the second person, but you should make the first an author too if you still can). But the important thing to keep in mind is that you may need to make sensible decisions that go a little beyond the "first solver is a coauthor" rule.
A final observation is that if you succeed in attracting students to this problem, you will likely get lots of questions and comments from them along the way. If that appeals to you, then it's an advantage of this approach. On the other hand, if your goal is to get a solution with a minimum amount of time and attention on your part, then asking beginners might not be fruitful.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: You may want to explain on MathOverflow how you ran into the problem. If solving this is key in solving an important problem in some area you may get more attention and someone whose research interests are a good fit may want to put in some time and effort.
As for co-authorship my feeling is that the person who solves that particular problem should be the sole author (although you could be acknowledged for suggesting the problem). Then you can cite him/her in your work (as a paper of private communication).
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/10 | 832 | 3,461 | <issue_start>username_0: For my bachelor thesis I needed a certain source. As it wasn't accessible neither on the net, nor in my library, I decided to ask the author directly. She was kind enough to send me a draft of the text in question, explicitly allowing me to use it for private academic purpose.
Now I'm in the middle of my thesis. How do I cite a draft that doesn't even have a date? If I had the published version, I'd simply cross-reference, but I don't, and adding the page number of a word document that my supervisor doesn't have seems utterly useless. Do I simply leave out the page number (it's a very short paper), or do I add the paper as an attachment?
I know this is something I'd normally ask my supervisor. Unfortunately, communication with her is not something I'm interested in, for personal reasons. I'm therefore looking for a reasonable advice that has nothing to do with her preferences.<issue_comment>username_1: I know only two ways:
1. you write "*Author*, private communication" in your references;
2. you publish the unpublished material and add its author as an author of your paper.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: If it has been published, ask the author for a pdf of the published version (from your question I got the feeling that the paper has been published). This would also be easier to share with your supervisor later on. It makes no sense to cite or quote a draft version if the paper has been published. At least ask if the draft has identical content as the published version. If so, you could maybe get away with using the draft but citing the published version in your reference list (not ideal though).
Otherwise, cite it as a working paper/draft, by including author, title, and the date when you recieved the paper, see e.g. [Chicago manual of style online](http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/Documentation/faq0046.html) or [MLA style guide](https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It's not clear from your question what the status of this "source" is --- i.e., whether it has been published, will be published, or may never be published.
If it has been published, but you just didn't have access to the published version, I would cite the published version. If you have a quote where you need to cite the page number, I would go ahead and cite the page number from the draft. Although others might disagree with this practice, I've found it's not uncommon to find page-number citations that are off by a page or two due to citing different versions of a paper, different editions of a book, etc.
If it has not been published but is "in the pipeline" (i.e., has been submitted to a journal), you can cite it as "forthcoming", or as "to appear" if it has been accepted.
If it is unknown whether it will ever be published (i.e., it is just a work in progress that may or may not be submitted for publication at some later date), you can cite it as "in prep", "unpublished ms.", or "personal communication". Personally I tend to view "in prep" as meaning "the author intends to publish this at some point but it's far enough in the future that we don't know where or when", "unpublished ms." as meaning "there is little chance this will ever be published", and "personal communication" as "this was not even written as an article-type document but just information conveyed to me via email, conversation, etc.".
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/10 | 3,454 | 14,563 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm considering a PhD or Master's in engineering in the US, and I haven't really decided which makes the most sense for me. There are many questions and answers here that mention leaving a PhD program with a Master's and how it's not a "failure" or "dropping out", but it occurs to me: what effect does this have on a person's adviser/professors?
What about references, future relationships, etc? Is it taken negatively or as an insult, or cutting ties, to bow out with the lower degree?
What prompted this question is that a few programs that most interest me state explicitly that there is very little funding available for Masters students (so you are mostly expected to pay your own way), but full funding and additional opportunities are available for those admitted to a PhD program. The way they are worded, they seem extremely interested in good PhD candidates, and not at all interested in Masters students.
I'm not considering seeking a PhD solely to get a Masters/funding, because that's just outright dishonest and I wouldn't stomach such deceit. But, what might the ethics be of not being certain whether you want a PhD or a Masters, but applying for a PhD program?
If one's adviser and/or program and/or professors are explicitly harmed by having someone complete their Masters requirements, then I'd be much more hesitant to even consider a PhD application unless I was certain that's what I wanted. If being unsure is considered normal and the "harm" caused by bowing out of the program with a Masters not so great, then that would certainly ease things the other direction.
To be clear, these departments also specifically suggest you pick Masters OR PhD, and generally discourage you from applying to both. Thus my quandary!<issue_comment>username_1: My background comes from Biology so I don't know the details of engineering graduate programs. However, a graduate student is a significant financial investment for the graduate program and advisor. For the student it is the time and emotional investment. Graduate programs that offer funding i.e. stipend and tuition waivers to PhD students do so because it will take the student 4-7 years of full-time+ work to complete their courses and dissertation work. They are typically expected to devote all of their time towards their degree and are discouraged from outside employment. Thus the stipend to cover living expenses.
A MS program is typically 2-3 years and varies in requirements from program to program, ranging from just coursework to coursework plus thesis.
The learning curve is steep for someone who has no previous research experience and the time and money that is spent getting the student up to a productive level is significant. In our program, PhD students typically advance to candidacy around the time that a MS student would be finishing the program. Before this time the PhD student and the MS student are working under comparable conditions. This is also the time that if a PhD student were to not be meeting minimum expectations then they would be denied candidacy and exit with a MS degree.
There is less pressure for a PhD student to begin a project that will result in their dissertation early on because they have more time. MS students must find an advisor immediately upon entering the program and thus begin generating something meaningful if they are to complete and defend a thesis. The body of work is much smaller than a PhD student and is typically just a demonstration of their advanced breadth of knowledge in the field.
Many advisors in my program view MS students as an extra pair of hands and receive less attention when it comes to mentoring. Their projects will often be small offshoots of a bigger project that a PhD student or post-doc is working on. You must understand that they are treated differently from the beginning not because of discrimination but because research projects take a long time to develop and often meaningful results do not come until a few years of work, which is too long for a MS student.
For you particular situation, I would say if you are unsure about which program is right for you I would say take some extra time to figure that out. Whether that means get a job in the area you are interested or something else. Just be sure if you sign up for a PhD that you really want to do it. It is a difficult and really trying path, not for the half-hearted. Even for those who are extremely passionate about their work will question their place there and consider quitting during the bad times. Going into a graduate program with a clear focus and interest (PhD or MS) will make things go much smoother. Do not expect to show up and someone tell you what to do, or you may spend 6 months to a year just floating along trying to find your way.
Now selfishly speaking you are right, you could enter the program as a PhD student and feel it out, but in my opinion I would discourage you from doing that. You will likely waste your time and take longer to get your MS than you would if you went in from the beginning knowing you wanted an MS. You also risk soiling relationships that you could otherwise depend on to help you later in your career. Who knows if the advisor you picked will be angry that you left the lab with a MS when they were expecting a full 5-7 years of work out of you. The people I know who quit their PhD program often quit because the tough times made them realize they liked the idea of having a PhD but didn't really understand what it was going to take to get one. Make sure you know exactly what to expect.
Lastly, whatever you decide, pick an advisor very carefully. Advisors like bosses all have a range a personalities. Some are jerks that will call you during dinner time or saturday afternoon asking to meet with you. Some you will consider filing a missing persons report because you haven't been able to get ahold of them in 2 months. Make sure whoever you end up working with goes well with you.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I think it's ethical to apply to a PhD program if you have a good-faith belief that you want to get a PhD. You don't have to be 100% sure, so it's okay to have some lingering doubt, but I wouldn't apply to a PhD if you're just 50/50 on the fence between MA and PhD.
You should also research the precise nature of the programs you're applying to. I don't know how it works for engineering, but for MA/PhD in general, some programs have the MA as a clear "milestone" on the way to the PhD: you do coursework and write an MA thesis, and after you finish you move on to do the PhD. In this kind of program, the PhD is basically the MA plus more, so it can be easier to transition from MA-only to PhD if you later want to (since you won't have "missed anything" by doing the MA), and also easier to gracefully exit with an MA even if you begin by aiming for a PhD (because you won't have wasted any time on "PhD only" activities). In other programs, MA and PhD programs are different from the start, which makes the up-front decision more important.
In the same vein, learning more about the specific programs may give you more information about what the differences between MA and PhD options are within each program, which may help you make your decision.
I would ask faculty and/or students in these programs about these issues. In particular you might want to get a sense of the "culture" around switching between MA and PhD, which is likely to be specific to each department.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I have been in a situation similar to the one you are in now and am currently seeking a phd in engineering, so I hope I can provide some insight.
To answer your question "what effect does this have on a person's adviser/professors?", my answer is, of course, **the greatness of the effect varies by situation, but in general is significant**. Different programs are different: in some programs you find an advisor immediately, in others you rotate labs for a period, and in others you do not select an advisor until sometime after your first semester. If you immediately have an advisor and begin working on research the first semester, as opposed to selecting an advisor/lab and beginning contributing to the research effort in the second year, then the effect on the advisor is greater. Depending on the project, it make take a lot of time for you to actually become useful in a lab, and this time relies **heavily on resources** (**money spent paying you and training you on equipment, and the time of your advisor and of senior lab members getting you acquainted with the lab and the research**).
I don't think you should expect positive references from your advisor if you leave the program immediately after having earning your master's degree. However, you and your advisor may be exceptional. It is just like an other personal relationship. The relationships you have with others in your field and program may not suffer; usually, that is because they have invested less time, money, and effort into you.
In engineering and most of the hard sciences (in the US), masters students have a stipend that at least covers the cost of tuition and phd students usually have the cost of tuition covered and additional stipend money. A program that doesn't at least cover the cost of tuition for masters students is highly suspicious to me, and in my opinion, not a place that has enough resources to best educate you. I'm now curious of what programs you're looking at... in the US?
The work involved in gaining a phd and a masters degree may be different. Some masters students are graduated after they pass a comprehensive test based on their coursework and are not required to write a thesis and work in research, therefore they do not publish, or help any faculty obtain grants. I can see this as a reason why masters students are offered less money.
Scholarships are available. Depending on your field of engineering: what is the value of obtaining a doctorate?
I agree with you: seeking a PhD solely to get a Masters/funding is dishonest. It's only January, **simply applying for a phd is always okay** if you're not sure which degree you want. You have months to learn more about the program and its expectations, and your own goals. When it comes time to decide whether to accept a position in a phd program, you should know that, from my point of view, not being 100% sure you'll finish the phd is normal for people, even people that accept. If you are a traditional phd candidate, coming immediately from four or five years in undergrad, you may be in your early 20's. It may be difficult to make decisions and to be certain of the next 5-7 years of your life.
With that said, working on a **phd program without being nearly 100% committed may be very difficult for you**. Your lack of commitment may be obvious to others that you work with. In the sciences, publishing and keeping a finger on the pulse of your field, is a time commitment many people do not expect or comprehend.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: I think the idea of waiting and getting a job is problematic for many fields, especially "hard" ones like math or physics. I just wouldn't want my mind to be all fuzzy and have forgotten what I learned throughout college. This is certainly done successfully quite often, but if you plan on at least getting a Master's, I don't see the use in waiting and atrophying/backtracking. On the ethical question, I think you have to ask that to yourself and find what your moral code is (I am a nihilist). Maybe philosophy.stackexchange could help you with this! What is unclear to me is whether someone like you who feels somewhat unsure is even less likely at all to graduate with a PhD than someone who goes in thinking R1 Tenure or death. Your waffling MIGHT even be a sign of mental health (a GOOD thing) is what I'm getting at. I'd say screw it and act rationally, take what I could.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: >
> What effect does this have on a person's adviser/professors?
>
>
>
This really depends on where the funding is coming from. For example in the UK you might get a 3 year grant for a PhD student since PhD programs are fixed at 3 years. If the student switches to a Masters the I cannot appoint another student, the grant "fails" and the PI (and possibly the department) may be unable to apply to that funding agency again. This can also happen in the US, but student fellowships and student duration is a little more flexible. Externally funded PhD students who do not finish are a real problem for PIs. For students who are internally funded the impact is generally less, but departments can still hold it against the PI since the money was "wasted".
Apart from funding, there is also the issue of the research. Some projects have a big ramp up times/difficult data collection. For some projects the work you do during the first year might make it impossible for another student to continue on the project.
>
> What about references, future relationships, etc? Is it taken negatively or as an insult, or cutting ties, to bow out with the lower degree?
>
>
>
Yes and no. I wouldn't say it is an insult (although it matters where you go at the end), but leaving on good terms and getting a good reference can be hard since you didn't complete what you set out to do.
>
> The way they are worded, they seem extremely interested in good PhD candidates, and not at all interested in Masters students.
>
>
>
Yes, many departments only want to fund PhD students. Of course it becomes difficult to convince applicants who want a Masters to not apply to the PhD program and get funding. Some departments offer different degrees for their Masters students (e.g., an MSc) and their PhD students who "drop out" (e.g., MPhil). The idea being this will dissuade students from applying for a funded PhD when all they want is a Masters.
>
> I'm not considering seeking a PhD solely to get a Masters/funding, because that's just outright dishonest and I wouldn't stomach such deceit. But, what might the ethics be of not being certain whether you want a PhD or a Masters, but applying for a PhD program?
>
>
>
It is highly unethical to lie/mislead people during the admissions process. One of your goals during the admissions process is to convince the department that you really want to do a PhD. While some students are unethical and lie, many students really believe they "need" to get a PhD and still drop out.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/10 | 254 | 1,026 | <issue_start>username_0: I am organizing a workshop and have invited a featured speaker to give a synthetic talk. What is the appropriate term for this role?<issue_comment>username_1: I came up with this answer while asking the question:
Both terms indicate a sort of synthesis, but [plenary](http://www.wordnik.com/words/plenary) seems to refer to being fully attended whereas [keynote](http://www.wordnik.com/words/keynote) appears to indicate setting a common theme.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: They are both used (often interchangeably in my field). A plenary is a talk which does not have anything scheduled against it. A keynote is an invited talk in a conference or session.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Keynote; A theme by an authority person with credentials on topic and knoledge of participants and their reason for being here. Speaker offers challenges.
Plenary; Speaker/ Facilitator with authority remarks to stimulate input and discussion by all to come to conclusion for action.
Upvotes: -1 |
2014/01/11 | 924 | 4,028 | <issue_start>username_0: My PhD research interest is very aligned with my advisor. However, my concern is that if I want to stay in the academia, will my advisor become my competitor in the future?<issue_comment>username_1: You might end up as competitors someday. I've never felt like I was in competition with any of my former students or my own advisor, but some people are hyper-competitive, and others are unlucky enough to end up in awkward situations, so your mileage may vary.
Even though it could happen, you shouldn't waste time in graduate school worrying about hypothetical future competition. There are more important things to think about, and you shouldn't let these worries interfere with learning as much as you can from your advisor.
Ultimately, becoming a successful researcher means developing your own research agenda. Over time, you should drift away from your advisor as you explore your own interests. (If you don't, it's a bad sign.) In particular, as you become an established researcher your advisor will no longer play a central role in shaping your scholarly interests, and competition with your advisor will not be much more likely or worrisome than competition with other senior people in your field.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: There are really only two places academics "compete": funding and jobs. Since you are only a PhD student now, it is unlikely you will be applying for the same jobs as your advisor in the future since your advisor has such a big head start. By the time you close the gap, you will likely have made a name for yourself. As for funding, this is somewhat field dependent. For example in the US in an NIH funded field you might get a 3 year post doctoral NRSA and a 4 year k99/R00 after your PhD before you would likely be in direct competition with your advisor, and then you would have the "new investigator" benefit. Following this road you would be 12 years out before you are really in direct competition on "equal" footing. In other fields you might be competing for funding from the same pool of money earlier.
The benefit of close ties is that you can collaborate with your advisor after you finish the PhD.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It is a very nasty situation for the whole science system, when PhD student is already a potential competitor for the supervisor. This often leads to PhD studies lasting forever.
However scientific systems in most countries have more than enough measures to exclude such a competition. Most important, you frequently cannot progress from PhD student to professor inside the same institution, using the benefit that "you are already here, and everyone knows how good you are".
As a result, there is no reason for the supervisor to press down exactly you. Another competitor will come from the side anyway, and the supervisor will be with better chances after having good shared publications on your PhD project.
Competition does may happen if the professor assigns say some quite junior post doc to supervise a PhD student. Such post doc may then want to take over promising project for instance, be the first between authors, etc. However if this goes too far, it is usually possible to ask the actual professor to remove such a "supervisor" out of head.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: I think most of the other answers here have missed an important point: following your PhD, you should not be staying in the same narrow subfield as your advisor. If you are directly competing for grants with your advisor, then you've done something very wrong.
The point of doctoral and postdoctoral training is to teach you to be an independent researcher. If you are doing only what your doctoral advisor did, then why do you have your own lab? You should be sufficiently distinct in your research profile that it's clear why "you are your own boss." (And if you can't come up with enough ideas to justify your own group, then you probably aren't ready to be an independent faculty member yet!)
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/01/11 | 748 | 3,060 | <issue_start>username_0: I majored in information systems and I deeply regret it.. I had an internship where I ended up doing some programming assignments, and I really enjoyed them. But it was also my senior year so I didn't want to switch to CS and spend another 2-3 years..
So I have been trying to take the gre to get into a software engineering program (UC Irvine and San Jose State University). But it's hard studying for it now that I'm out of school. I'm constantly trying to apply for jobs and trying to study for it. I did pretty bad the first time (148 on both quant and verbal and a 4 on the writing).
I've always been bad at these standardized tests. So not sure if I can get better scores the next time (still in the same process of trying to apply for jobs and study).
I've gotten A's in the programming classes that I've taken. It's just hard to get a junior level software engineering job because companies favor CS majors. As for internships, companies only want currently enrolled students.
Any advice? Also consider financial situations etc when giving your input.
I've done a bit of googling and found that UC Irvine offers 2nd bachelors degree in CS or CSE. Anyone know of other schools?
As for masters programs that don't require the gre, I've only found National University here in San Diego. Not sure what those type of schools are like and if they're worth it..
Sorry for writing so much, just having a hard time deciding right now.<issue_comment>username_1: I'd go for the masters degree. I went from a bachelors in music, to a masters in CS. The rewards of having a masters degree I feel is greater than a bachelors. And you have the ability to do that with the bachelors completed, so take advantage of it. You may have to take a few core CS courses which will extend your schooling a semester. Check the program you are interested in for deficiencies you will need to make up.
One suggestion. If it is possible for you to get a job at a university with a program you like, they may pay for your classwork to obtain a masters degree. Then you can take your time to complete the degree while working full time.
It will take you longer to complete the degree, maybe 4 years. But you'll be working, gain experience, maybe get your tuition covered, classes could potentially be in a nearby building, and have flexibilty to take a semester off if needed as a result.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: As a non-CS major (engineer, not electric or mechanical) it doesn't seem so impossible to get into the CS job market, but that is only given that you pursue your own personal/extracurricular coding projects and demonstrate your experience; after all, they carry out technical interviews anyways.
I also agree with a Masters degree (with or without work support) over spending so much time on just a bachelors. Furthermore, I don't know any details, but if you have a good GPA or have other raising factors, it could make up for a subpar GRE, but you should really have a good quant score considering its level.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/11 | 1,133 | 4,101 | <issue_start>username_0: I am citing a Dutch work from the late 19th century. Not surprisingly, the spelling differs from the contemporary spelling. In APA, how would I use [*sic*] in such cases of old spelling? In the guidelines it is [advised](https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/577/01/) to "insert the term sic in italics directly after the mistake". It seems dull to me, though, to insert [*sic*] after each word that is spelt differently.<issue_comment>username_1: [sic] is reserved for mistakes as you state. Old spelling is not a mistake. You could, for example use italics for the words that differ from modern to signal to the reader that something is odd. To make such signalling clear you should tell the reader early on that this is how you have chosen to deal with the problem. Alternatively you do not signal at all and simply "warn" the reader that old spelling of words will be included.
If footnotes are allowed you could footnote the spelling the first time it occurs and provide some information on the word. This is more of a service and will not fit all formats for publishing so I mention it as an idea.
So you can come up with less obtrusive ways to deal with the old spelling. Using [sic] is as far as I can see wrong in the context of what you are doing.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: [*sic*] is only used in the case of an actual error in the quote. For example:
>
> He said that they was [*sic*] calling him.
>
>
>
However, in your case, it seems there is no error, just a change in spelling.
I would never use it in the following example, where the quote uses a different form of English (British) from the one wrapped around it (American).
>
> While my favorite color is red, she wrote to me 'my favourite colour is green.'
>
>
>
Likewise, if I were quoting Old English, I would not consider it an error within a quote if the quote was written in correct Old English.
In short, you should not use [*sic*] unless there is an actual error in the quote.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Yet another possible way to handle your problem is by way of introduction. In other words, instead of merely saying:
>
> *As Vanmulken wrote: "Though the fallen curry favor, the publick disregard it much."*
>
>
>
you could say:
>
> *As the Dutch philosopher Vanmulken wrote in 1871: "Though the fallen curry favor, the publick disregard it much."*
>
>
>
With a casual mention of the author's nationality and the time period of the quoted material, most readers will be able to figure out the reason for the "olde" spelling, without drawing special attention to it.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: As others have said, such usage of [*sic*] would not technically be correct, and I agree it would be distracting anyway to insert if after each and every applicable word. You could add, in square brackets at the end of the quote, something like [original spelling], similar to this type of usage:
>
> Do not put quotations in italics unless the material would otherwise
> call for italics, such as for emphasis and the use of non-English
> words (see the Manual of Style). Indicate whether italics were used in
> the original text or whether they were added later. For example:
>
>
> Now cracks a noble heart. Good night sweet prince: And *flights of
> angels* sing thee to thy rest! [emphasis added]
>
>
>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Quotations>
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Wikipedia states:
To denote archaisms and dialect[edit]
A sic may show that an uncommon or archaic expression is reported faithfully,[12] such as when quoting the U.S. Constitution: "The House of Representatives shall chuse [sic] their Speaker ..." Several writing guidebooks discourage its use with regard to dialect, such as in cases of American and British English spelling differences.[8][11][13] The appearance of a bracketed sic after the word analyse on a book cover led <NAME> to comment, "... all the quoter (or overzealous editor) demonstrated was ignorance of British usage"
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/01/11 | 638 | 2,827 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm confused by what the term "research experience" actually means in a PhD application. The following examples come into my mind:
* working as research assistant with university professor
* publishing research papers in conferences
* work in R&D division of company (industry research)
Do all examples of the list above count as research experience? Or which ones do? If so, what are they?
Which ones are more important and provide competitive advantage for getting accepted to good university?<issue_comment>username_1: It means during your undergraduate or after your undergraduate or in masters (if you are going for a PhD program), what did you do that counts as research.
In PhD application, the committee is looking for whether you already have warmed up for research or not because PhD is about taking a problem and doing research which only you could have done.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I would say all of those count as "research experience". Which ones will be most valued depends on the nature of the program you're applying to, and the exact nature of the work you did. In general, though, the more independent your work was, the better, and the more generic it was, the worse. So if you were a research assistant but all you did was photocopy documents, that will not earn you many points. If you were a research assistant who, e.g., conducted experiments, did fieldwork, participated in lab meetings, whatever, those will be worth more. If you actually contributed to the writing of papers or presentation at conferences, even better.
As a rule of thumb, the more that what you did was something other people could not have done (i.e., it required your special expertise, not just "more hands'), the "better" it is.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Most of the applicants for PhD positions (after bachelor, different for master) don't have much research experience or have even written a paper as first author, more common would be poster at a conference. So if you have to show something here over average, list it in your application.
As professors get sometimes over 100 applications for PhD positions, more importantly **list in bullet points what you experience handling distinct scientific methods is (technical terminus and usage time, e.g. electron microscopy on biological objects for one year or matlab scripting on neural networks for 6 months)**. As soon as you have worked for several weeks with a distinct technique, list it as research experience (name - object - duration)
This profile of your expertise is in the end to my experience more important to a professor/distinct position than a higher number of posters/papers of a distinct candidate, because it depends more on your team/advisor/co-workers if you publish before PhD a lot
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/12 | 2,523 | 11,071 | <issue_start>username_0: I have a serious problem with HW usually submitted by students. A considerable fraction of the students are not neat with their HWs. By neat I mean respecting the guide lines I provided them to follow, such as:
* A4-size paper, do not use detached papers from a notebook
* Use only pencil, so you don't scratch
* Be organized, not sloppy
* Write clearly, so it is readable.
Things like that.
Unfortunately most of the students insist on not following these rules, or they will do it for some time, then they will start being sloppy again.
Am I the only one facing this issue? If not, how can one solve it?<issue_comment>username_1: It could simply be students doing the minimum in order to get by. The solution is to raise the minimum. To do that, start denying points for non-compliance.
As Suresh wrote in his comment, electronic submission might be appropriate. In my classes I require that whatever students submit be word-processed written in a specific font. If the students do not follow the instructions then I treat them as if they never submitted at all. As you can imagine, seeing this one time in class gets everyone to pay attention.
Basically, eliminate hand-writing if you can. Some students simply have very poor penmanship so it's best to structure things so they can use a computer. Ideally, save the paper and submit electronically.
If you cannot eliminate hand writing them make it clear that if you cannot read (or understand) what they wrote then their score will reflect that. I have issues with some students writing in English (not their first language) and I make it very clear that I'm not here to judge their English but if I cannot understand their intention without guessing, I will simply mark it as gibberish.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: As others have said, reasonable deductions should solve your problem. Be aware though that being a big stickler will make people less likely to take your classes. I did not hear about A4 paper before this post. I understand the uniformity, but from the other side of the desk its just one more thing to worry about. I am not saying your policies are right or wrong (whatever that may mean), but that aggressive application will drive away students who are not trapped into taking your classes, by simple rational choice.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: If you can use a system of assessment criteria/rubrics for setting the grade of your class, you can include neatness (with a description of what is entailed) in your criteria. In academia as well as workplace, being able to follow instructions is valued highly. you can therefore build in these aspects in the assessment by pointing at the fact that clarity and other aspects is t strive for. If students realize the sloppiness affects their grade, I am sure most will take more care.
I am currently working on revising the grading criteria for bachelor's theses in my department. I have created a "Instruction for authors" that details the form and format of the thesis and text. In my case, I am considering making following these "instructions" a prerequisite to get the thesis graded. Our system allows students to revise their work and resubmit so another aspect is to build in that failing to follow the instructions will also lower the grade by one step (on an A-F scale).
Since grading systems and ways to handle examination varies widely, you will need to see if any of these ideas can be transferred but the main point is to make sure students understand that breaking the neatness rules set up have negative effects. And, that there is a logical reason for why neatness is a valid grading criteria regardless of the topic of the course.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: In my opinion you should lower your standards a bit, but make harsh deductions if they are not followed
* No pen is a bit strict, you could exchange it for no scratch marks. If they do a rough draft and then write a final copy in pen, that should be fine. Most mathematicians do not write in pencil.
* A4 paper is a bit strict if you are teaching a class in the USA (since it isn't the standard size), in many countries it would be reasonable though.
* legible writing - all solutions that cannot be read will receive a zero, please type your solutions if you have poor penmanship
* I'd like to add removing points for a lack of staple. loose second pages get lost easily.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: As @username_1 stated above, requiring word-processing (possibly also electronic submission) will eliminate the majority of the problems.This requirement gives you standard paper size, no scratches, and legible printing.
Enforcing this is relatively stright-forward, if a little harsh. Automatically deduct a set portion of the available credit for any assignment that is not typed. Make this very clear on the first day of class and *follow up with the promised consequences!*
Unfortunately, being required to type homework will not automatically improve students' ability to write in an organized manner, nor will it improve grammar and sentence structure. Strongly encourage students to utilize the writing lab/tutoring center for assistance with organization and clarity. This will probably work better when homework consists of several larger assignments rather than multiple smaller assignments. Knowing that a significant chunk of their score rests on a single assignment may motivate students to seek help. Also point out (assuming it is true at your univeristy!) that students who seek feedback on writing almost always score higher than those who do not.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: **Make their choices easy by giving details and examples**
For all the required materials, show the students where they can buy, what specification they should look for (2B pencil, 0.5mm mechanical pencil, etc.), and how much.
For organization and legible writing, provide a few examples on what you consider as organized and legible. Annotate with your comments if necessary. You can then attach a **learner's contract** at the end, let the students sign to attest that they can produce work with comparable legibility and clear assignment of section titles, etc. This should be done once, at the beginning of the course.
This contract and printed example are necessary. The examples allow the students to judge their work more objectively, the contract instills a sense of seriousness and responsibility.
**Distribute an assignment coversheet with checklist on it**
Now that the groundwork is laid, give each of them a homework cover page whenever you give an assignment. The page should at least list:
* A place for student to write down their name
* Course code/title
* Assignment title
* Due date/time
* A checklist of your requirements for student to check
The checklist can contain your **objective** or **measurable** criteria. After each criteria, attached a box that, if checked, would indicate the criterion is fulfilled.
The students will have to check all these by themselves, and then staple the front page to the assignment before handing it in. In terms of how to deal with unchecked items, it's all up to you, as long as the consequences are clearly printed on this cover sheet. It can range from "If any of these item is unchecked, your work will not be higher than a B-" to attaching corresponding points to be taken away for each violation, then you can let them pick which to forfeit.
---
>
> Have you had someone checked the box without being organized?
>
>
>
Yes and no. I specify that all the assignments need to be typed so I never had the problem of self-claimed organization that actually looks messy. My checklist consists of mostly clearly yes-or-no's: "1-inch margin," "mentioned sample size in the Methods," "did not report p-value as zero," etc.
But your question did prompt me to think about a method we use when hiring interviewers. When we hire interviewers, we sometimes give them a sheet with numbers (0-9), some common phrases (such as "Not application," "N/A,") and words likely causing confusion (-y vs. -g, double t, etc.) printed on them. Then, we ask the candidate to copy the numbers and words by hand. Those forms are life savers whenever we're confused by their hand writing on the data collection sheet. We have used them in a pinch when entering data, and we have used them to advise data collectors who show deteriorating handwriting quality.
So, I guess you may modify your standard a bit. Instead of showing them some pre-existing copies of assignment, give them a couple pages of sentences and formulas and ask them to neatly copy them. Afterwards, if you're happy with the quality, they may proceed to sign the contract. Keep both writing sample and the signed contract together.
Would this prevent students from blindly checking the box? Not entirely. But at least now you have a good sample and a bad sample from the same student on the file, and it'd be easier to point out what went wrong.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: I suggest you to write three-four examples yourself, scan and upload to your webpage, to show how is it supposed to be done.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: Many answers suggest to lower grades for unneatness. I do not like this solution becaause at least once, you will still have to grade unneat homework. Another solution is to fix the deadline earlier than you really need, and simply refuse to take any homework that does not match your guide lines. This can only work for guidelines that can be judge in a glimpse. Also, as mentioned in other answers, such harsh behavior needs you to be crystal clear about what you want, and to explain why you want it that way.
This methods warrants you the students will care about your guidelines, and avoids you dealing with the kind of stuff you do not want to deal with.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: In some countries, it is not acceptable to lower grades for things like neatness; however, you could go for a cause and effect scenario: "if you do not follow the guidelines, your paper will be returned to you to be resubmitted according to the guidelines." If this causes their paper to be late, assuming late submissions get a grade-deduction penalty, then hopefully the students will learn to follow the instructions to avoid having to redo their work and to avoid receiving a lateness penalty. Also, you won't have to mark the sloppy version!
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_10: There are many reasons for students not to follow guidelines. One of them is that often each professor has his own guidelines, and one HW perfect for one will be unacceptable for another (and vice-versa). Prof. X wants Times 11 on A4, Prof. Y will read nothing but Helvetica 12 on Legal, etc (increase the figures for older profs). Your guidelines should be sensible and minimal, otherwise they will just be an exercise in obedience (which students detects easily and despise).
Departmental or faculty guidelines may help here.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/12 | 561 | 2,088 | <issue_start>username_0: I was asked the following question by someone who was interested in pursuing a career in devops, but wanted to learn things in a more formal environment such as a masters degree. Is there / Can anyone recommend any graduate program in the US that would help prepare said person for a career in DevOps? He already has a Bachelor in Computer Science in India.<issue_comment>username_1: Schools in the US operate on a department basis. Almost all big research institutions will offer research work in the subject field. If your friend doesn't know anything about where the subject he is trying to study is thought, I think he is wasting his time on a graduate degree. Graduate study is research intensive work that requires more commitment on the student's side then it does on the professor's or school's side.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: hmmm like you stated DevOps is relatively new. I have not seen DevOps being taught as a specific discipline; usually the DevOp skill set comes from the software engineering side of the fence in the US. Is he in the US or in India? See if any of these tickle his fancy:
<http://unomaha.smartcatalogiq.com/en/2013-2014/Graduate-Catalog/Graduate-Degree-Programs-Certificates-Minors/Management-Information-Systems/Management-Information-Systems-MS>
<http://unomaha.smartcatalogiq.com/en/2013-2014/Graduate-Catalog/Graduate-Degree-Programs-Certificates-Minors/Computer-Science/Computer-Science-Concentrations>
There's two versions of this degree, a professional one and a research one; the link below is of the research variety. This institution also has campuses in London, Brussels, Dubai, Paris and Sydney along with a few other locations:
<http://www.bu.edu/eng/admissions/grad/>
The University of Illinois has a partnership with State Farm Insurance
<http://www.ece.illinois.edu/students/grad/overview/ms.html>
<http://www.cdm.depaul.edu/academics/Pages/MastersDegrees.aspx>
The University of Wisconsin has a partnership with Microsoft:
<http://www.cs.wisc.edu/academic-programs/graduate-program>
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/01/12 | 1,002 | 4,183 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm a CS master student in a German university. Here we have to do a master project in one semester and the master thesis in another semester, so in total 12 months. In the project you start in defining and exploring the problem space and so on and building a preliminary software framework that will help you more in the thesis. In the thesis you build on that to expand your work and finally summarize everything.
My problem started with the problem definition. My supervisor didn't have an idea of what to work on, so he just came up with a fancy idea and told me to work on without knowing if it's logical or it can be applied or not. So I started working on that problem and trying to reformulate the problem into a logical project and thesis. I spent 8 months on that and finally I built the software framework and so on. However after finishing the work, I found that continuing with the problem in the same formulation as-is won't be logical and would make everything as rubbish work. So I found a better formulation to the problem that makes it much much better and would lead to publish a paper in a conference or a workshop. However my new formulation cancels out 75% of my previous work. This way I won't have much of stuff to write in my master thesis.
I sent my proposal to my advisor for the thesis and I'm still looking for his opinion, but I'm very depressed with what happened to me. Having a better advisor with a far clearer idea wouldn't have led me to this point.
Is what I'm going through normal?<issue_comment>username_1: **As a researcher, you should expect to fail.**
In general, you will frequently finding yourself coming up with ideas that don't pan out, results that suggest that what you did previously was wrong, or that a particular problem can't be solved yet (you need to do time-consuming step X before you can tackle interesting problem Y). Encountering these situations doesn't mean that what you've done is wrong, it means that you're doing research. (If everything you do is always successful, I'd argue you're doing development, as opposed to research.)
Success as a research comes from learning to cope with and overcome adversity. So I'd suggest that you use this as a learning experience. Rather than be depressed about it, try to work around your problems. It will be a valuable tool that will stay with you for the rest of your career.
Now, with respect to handle the master's thesis itself, this is something that you need to discuss with a number of people: your *Betreuer* (the person in charge of the thesis), as well as the head of the institute plus the person in charge of supervising students in your department. This is particularly important because your *Betreuer* is not normally allowed to grade your thesis, unless the *Betreuer* is a professor. Therefore, the people doing the grading may not be aware of the issues you had in the process. However, I would advise you to frame your questions in a positive way: that is, ask
>
> What can I do to make sure I end up with a successful thesis?
>
>
>
rather than
>
> How do I get myself out of this problem?
>
>
>
The former is much more likely to result in a satisfactory resolution than the latter.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Is it possible at all to write up your masters in two main chapters? As a previous answer indicates, first method fails and you find a second way of going about it that is better (called science). So, is there any benefit to writing up the first part to show how it fails specifically, then move on to a second part showing how it succeeds/is a better way/more logical/whatever? This would also be the part you send to conferences/workshops, plus maybe a truncated version of the first part -I'm sure it would go down well to frame a presentation in terms of: Here's what I did, I failed miserably, so I did this, and it worked, huzzah!
[Edit; to answer your last question: My own supervisors tell me that there is about a 50% rate at which Master's experiments "work out". But still. I wouldn't count 'finding out that something doesn't work' as not working out, it is progress.]
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/01/12 | 689 | 3,005 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm a CS master student. During my early days looking for a thesis I noticed two categories of projects:
1. Projects a about completely new idea.
2. Projects about improving an existing technical concept.
By the first one I mean completely new stuff (something I'm doing now as my thesis). Such projects require intensive thinking to formulate them and put them into academic contexts and logics. While a lot of the time will be used to try and test new things as well as justyfing and putting the results into proper academic context and logic, very few time could be spent learning *advanced stuff* regarding your field.
In the other kinds of projects one would need to improve the running time of an algorithm or its performance. Such projects would require the student to go into very deep stuff regarding his field and become really advanced.
Now that I'm doing the first kinds of projects, I started to feel unconfident about myself and my skills when I see how the skills of other students who worked on the second type became. The reason behind that is I feel that my effort doesn't show up to people when they will probably read my thesis. Because they won't see advanced mathematics and algorithms as in the second type. How should I deal with this personal problem?<issue_comment>username_1: In general, the answer is: Provide the landscape of your field, and show how the new-ground you are covering is missed by other people who passed the question by.
If your thesis is a branch of of another topic, then show where the branching occurs, and how people on the dominant branch missed it; If your topic is truly novel, then show the problem its solving and why you found it interesting enough to spend a year or more of your life on it.
I have a feeling that intuitively you know the answers to these questions; get them out and people will understand why your thesis has worth.
90% of the advice from your [last question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15457/how-should-i-deal-with-discouragement-looking-at-others-success) still applies; It's incredibly difficult to do an apples to apples comparison between degrees, even under the same supervisor.
The crux of this question in my mind, which prevents it from being a duplicate, is how to present new-ground while avoiding comparisons to other work which has a stronger theoretical background.
A important part of the answer is almost certainly going to be 'Sit down and **talk** with your supervisor about this concern'. That's what they are there for. They will have a clear view of how this will fit into the landscape of the field, and will be able to help you avoid the feelings of theoretical inadequacy.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: The best idea (personally) is to focus on what you feel the most confident with. If you are not 100% passionate about the new idea (point #1) then you'll be much better off working on improvement of an existing idea (point #2).
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/01/12 | 1,176 | 4,903 | <issue_start>username_0: My thesis (Canadian Research Based, Computer Science), collects three separate research projects (with a tenuous connecting thread).
While collating these projects into a single document, I have looked into other theses coming out of my university and others in my field, and have realized that it's looking like my thesis is going to be very large. Probably twice the average length of others in my field.
Which makes me wonder: Did I do **too much** work for a thesis? Should I have pushed my supervisor, cancelled the final proposed project (#3) and graduated on the strength of the first two?
I'll be graduating 6 months after my target deadline, with multiple publications, and so burnt out that my initial plan to pursue a PhD has collapsed. Can't change the past, so I'm asking here mostly out of curiosity, and for other future students.<issue_comment>username_1: It is not clear how to judge the "size" of a thesis (page length or word count is probably not very good), but one can clearly do too much research for a Masters or Doctorate. That said a factor of two difference is not really that big since there is always going to be a healthy overlap between the "largest" Master thesis and the "smallest" PhD thesis. If your Masters thesis is larger than the average PhD thesis and larger than the vast majority of Masters theses, then it is possibly too large.
As a student you need to be asking yourself why you are getting the qualification. Most students put in much more work than that which is required to simply graduate. You should make sure you push your supervisor to help you achieve your goals.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: It is hard for me to understand some of your thinking. If your MSc thesis has already resulted in "multiple" publications, that means that you are actually closer to getting a PHD than most of your co-students, who have to start from scratch. A few weeks of rest, should be sufficient for you to actually recover from your "burnout", although it is quite unusual for students to actually refer to burnout from a MSC thesis. As multiple others (before me) have stated, the stress in a REAL job could be several orders of magnitude larger than the stress related with a bachelor or MSc degree (PHD is another case altogether). Also, the fact that a MSc thesis has provided multiple publications is also a good indicator that a) your supervisor knows what he is doing (which is a huge PLUS) b) you probably have what it takes to actually be successful in a future PHD.
Still, if you found the work for your thesis boring, stressful or simply too much for you, perhaps a PHD is not for you (and vice-versa). So, think it over (after some weeks of rest) on what you actually want. I am sure you will make the right choice (whatever that is) for you.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: **As with many questions in academia, the answer is "It depends."**
*Too much* is a subjective term, but I think it probable that you did not put *too much* work into your thesis, in that the extra work should not cause the work to be of lesser quality, nor should you be judged negatively on the basis of having a larger than average thesis. Although there are limits as to how much extra work is beneficial and how much may be perceived as an attempt at padding; in general, having done more research will be a plus no matter what your plans for the future.
**However**--and this is the 'it depends' part--you have probably put too much work into the thesis if the following apply to you.
* You have lost the continuity and focus of your work. (How tenuous is the connection between your several projects? Is it a long stretch to connect them in the same work, or are they just different views/portions of the same problem?)
* You had to neglect other important aspects of your life to complete the third project.
* You have done research that would better have waited for the PhD program. (This point is debatable; the amount of work that is needed for a successful PhD thesis is a [hotly debated topic](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/8747/7921), and it is not clear whether it is generally an advantage to have done doctoral level research now.)
* You are facing a long-term burnout as a result of over-work during your Master thesis. Don't jump to this conclusion too quickly--take some time off, and give yourself permission to do absolutely nothing except be lazy and have fun. Even a week of this total vacation can do wonders to relieve the stress that we over-achievers put on ourselves!
Ultimately only you can decide whether or not you have put in *too much* work on your Master's thesis. But before you decide that this is the case (and also before you give up on attaining a PhD), take a break, recuperate, and give yourself a chance to see the world through less-stressed eyes!
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/12 | 966 | 4,225 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm working on a extensive paper for my study. It's about some computational stuff, has 5 chapters and will be - all in all - roughly 60 pages long. Reading some papers and theses I noticed, that often people start each chapter with some kind of an overview, describing what's going to happen next. Though on the one hand, I find this helpful sometimes, on the other hand it pulls me out off the flow of the actual work. In some papers, it seems even that certain things, which are going to come up are announced repeatedly and I feel a bit over-informed of the papers structure.
Therefore I'd like to know:
**Should each chapter start with such an overview and - if yes -, when and to what extent?**<issue_comment>username_1: There is no single right answer for this. A short chapter may not need a paragraph outlining the structure and content, while some chapters may have a quite complicated structure. Use the structure of the chapter to help you decide. The more sections and subsections, and the more you try to do in a chapter, the more useful an introduction should be.
If you include such a description, it should provide the user with the key information they should be looking for as they read. What level of description that should be is up to you to decide; there is no universal standard.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: My approach is that it is almost always useful to have some form of overview, even for extremely short papers. However, this overview can range from one or more paragraphs to a single sentence.
For example, in a short paper each paragraph usually presents one or more results. I would try then to start each paragraph with a short overview sentence regarding what the sub-question is, then present the results, and sometimes conclude with a summary sentence.
Also, note that an overview does not necessarily have to interrupt the flow of a paper. In many cases, if the paper is constructed such that it follows a single narrative, it is possible for the overview to establish a conceptual connection between sections. In its simplest form this would be "Given that we found X and Y, we now asked whether Z".
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: The last time I wrote a long paper with a multistep argument, I endowed each ***section*** (there were 15 or 16 of those and the total article length was 87 pages in the 12pt font) with the "objective statement" (*In this section we show that there exists a partition of the set $E$ into "cells" with the following properties ...*, etc.). Moreover, I italicized these objectives. The reasons I did it were
a) some of the sections were devoted to things that are known to experts but hardly to the "general audience", so which sections to read and which to skip would heavily depend on the reader's general background
b) If you read the italic font alone, you can see the general flow of the proof without computations or technical details. You may then concentrate on "most suspicious" or "least known" places first.
I had mixed feelings about doing so too, but it looks like the readers have liked it so far. In general, the main question you should ask yourself is whether what you do will facilitate the reading. Everything else (paper economy, stylistic beauty, etc.) is secondary. If you expect 20-50 people to read what you wrote and if you can spare each of them mere 20 minutes (the minimal time needed to verify the ubiquitous phrase "direct computations yield"), you advance the general human progress by 7-14 hours already.
Note that what I did was different from the "Chapter" approach because I put only one complete logical step into each section. Also it was not about the Lemma/Sublemma/... division, which more often than not reflects the technical convenience rather than the logical structure. Some sections contained several lemmata needed to carry out the corresponding logical step and some lemmas were done in two steps.
The last thing I want to say is that, when reading, most people, including myself, prefer a repetition to an omission, and being over-informed to being under-informed, so few people, if any, will criticize you for being too clear or too slow.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/01/12 | 421 | 1,733 | <issue_start>username_0: In EndNote, I know there's an option to automatically download PDF files for the references you have in your library. Is there any way to do the same thing in some kind of non-commercial software, like for example Mendeley or BibDesk?<issue_comment>username_1: As suggested by @embert in the comments to my original question, this is possible with the help of [Citavi](http://www.citavi.com). After you've imported your references, go to "References" -> "Check availability and find full text" (the process is explained [here](http://www.citavi.com/sub/manual4/en/index.html)).
From initial testing, this feature only seems to work when you have the DOI number for the articles. However, when you do, Citavi finds and downloads the PDFs.
Upvotes: 1 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: The answer here uses proprietary/paid software. I propose a FOSS solution that works reliably for this task.
The cross-platform software `JabRef` has integrated fulltext fetchers to download the fulltext for any entry in the library. Import your bib file into Jabref and select a number of entries. Then, from the `Quality` pull-down menu, select `Lookup Fulltext documents`. However, you still have to manually confirm the download in a pop-up. But this is still just a bunch of clicking 'OK's at the same spatial location (for each pop-up that appears sequentially) with the mouse. Jabref does the heavy-lifting in the back to correctly download the PDF and link it appropriately by matching it to each relevant citation entry.
The latest master build of Jabref is recommended, since there were some recent fixes to the IEEE Fetcher. <https://builds.jabref.org/master/> (if IEEE matters to the OP)
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/13 | 1,104 | 4,859 | <issue_start>username_0: When I read general recommendations on how to choose a PhD programme/advisor, it seems that many academics agree that one of the most important factors is the reputation of the advisor.
Next year, I may have the opportunity to undertake a PhD under the supervision of a "superstar" faculty who is considered an authority in his field. However, the professor in question recently moved to a university where the official language of instruction is one that I don't speak (though I would be allowed to write my thesis in english), and thus I would most likely not be able to gain teaching experience during this time.
Now, most job offers for postdoctoral or tenure-track professor positions that I see advertised online require a teaching statement and that one of the letters of recommendation address the teaching ability of the candidate.
In light of this, my question is the following: Is teaching experience for entry level academic jobs so important that it is always better to have a fair amount of it while completing a PhD no matter how well-reputed your potential supervisor could be?<issue_comment>username_1: Go where you can do the best research, and don't worry about teaching experience. I had no teaching experience whatsoever when I was hired as an assistant professor.
This could depend on your field: in my field (theoretical high-energy physics), postdoc applications almost never ask for a teaching statement, and postdocs don't teach. Junior faculty jobs do require a teaching statement, but my impression is that it's one of the less important elements of the application.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Do it! If you are worrying about the teaching experience you can always spend a summer at at an outreach program teaching motivated high school students, underserved community members, ect. That kind of teaching experience can lead to a very strong teaching statement even with no college teaching experience. But anyways, you should focus on your research, while faculty positions generally do require some proof that you aren't an awful teacher, postdocs for the most part do not. Often a postdoc is a person's first time teaching.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: I'd advise caution: completing a PhD with no teaching experience is risky, as you're putting all your eggs in the "research" basket.
As other answers mentioned, there certainly are jobs that don't necessarily require teaching experience. These are likely to be jobs in places where research is paramount; probably the top-tier research universities. There is massive competition for these jobs; the number of such jobs in such a year is at best a few percent of the number of new PhDs. Only the most successful researchers will have a chance at getting them, and if you don't turn out to be one of them (or discover you just don't enjoy research that much), you'll be out of luck in this arena.
At most of the remaining institutions, teaching is more important and experience will be valued, and you'll be in competition with candidates who have substantial experience. So if you don't have any, you may be out of luck here too.
(I don't share MHH's confidence that alternative teaching activities such as high school outreach will be viewed as similarly valuable by a search committee. Community college teaching might, but it also involves a higher level of responsibility and time commitment.)
That would leave only the bottom of the barrel of academic jobs: those who don't care too much about research accomplishments *or* teaching experience, and just need a warm body with a PhD. These won't be nice jobs: they'll have high teaching loads, low pay, and limited instructional support; and even so there's intense competition for them.
The remaining option would be to leave academia for industry.
So in summary, if you aren't able to gain meaningful teaching experience, you'll be committing yourself to aiming for the most difficult jobs to get, without much of a fallback plan (within academia) if that doesn't work out.
(Disclaimer: My experience is limited to the US, and mostly in mathematics. Things may be different elsewhere.)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Mathematics in many language is the same, it's not that hard to learn if the language is reasonably close to what you know (French, Italian, Spanish, German are close to English). In any case, learning how to speak Foreigner is always a good thing.
So applies for research universities applications. If you are interested in teaching for liberal arts colleges, they really want a US teaching experience. Other countries typically have much better prepared students entering university, so your experience would be less interesting for them, because you would know how to teach more advanced students than the ones they have.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/01/13 | 1,856 | 7,881 | <issue_start>username_0: I am a college sophomore and I am debating transferring out of my current school, Hunter college. My GPA is 3.56 and I am a CS and psychology major, concentration of behavioral neuroscience.
Now, I have always been interested in research but the resources in my school seems very tight and my overall experience has been very unsatisfying. My ultimate goal is to try out for MD/PhD program with a background in BCI (Brain computer interface) but my school offers no program in any close proximation.
So, should I transfer out or hold on until the end of my 4 years? And also is my GPA reasonable to transfer into better schools like [NYU](http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/new-york-university-2785) or [WakeForest University](http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/wake-forest-university-2978)?
*Should I focus on graduating from my current school or plan to transfer to a more prestigious school?*<issue_comment>username_1: Don't transfer. Try to learn to make use of the available resources. Focus on **hard work** and **your own research**. Sometimes studying a difficult book is more rewarding than having access to high-tech instruments and possibly not really understanding how they work.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: It's all about what you accomplish - whether you stay where you are or transfer. Yes, if you can transfer to a school with a stronger reputation and hit the ground running, that *may* put you in a better position. That said, it's not going to be easy to transfer in with only a fairly high GPA at a less-rigorous school, and you'll lose some time in making the transition/adjusting.
A transfer can be a warning sign - is this someone with a pattern of not finishing what they start, or was this an isolated, carefully-considered, strategic choice? If the latter, no problem.
When I consider applicants, what they do (e.g. specific field) is far less important than how they advance and accomplish, what aptitude they have demonstrated for gaining new skills and working with a team. I'm sure there are things that could be accomplished at your current school, even if the topic is not your first choice. The letters from mentors carry a lot of weight. It takes time to establish strong relationships after a transfer - keep that in mind if you already have an advocate on the faculty at your current school (and consider getting their advice on this).
There is no *right* or *wrong* decision; regardless of whether you stay or go, the real challenge is making the most of the available resources and developing strong mentors among the faculty.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: I am not an expert in neuroscience or BCI. However, I found [BP-Endure program](http://www.bpendure.org/) where your current school Hunter College is a major partner.
On their web page,
>
> During the academic year students will work with a research mentor at Hunter or NYU and during the summer in one of the partnering institutions. The BP-ENDURE program selects students from both Hunter College and NYU to participate. **Hunter** students will receive funding in the form of tuition remission and a stipend during the academic year and will also receive summer funding.
>
>
>
I am not sure why you said *the resources in my school seems very tight* and *my school offers no program in any close proximation*. Are you having difficulty getting into that program?
Transferring to another school may cost you a lot than what you'll gain. You may lose the credits you already have and retake courses you have taken plus your financial loss. However, if you have other difficulties with your current school(which you have not mentioned), then transferring may be an option for you.
My advice for **you** specifically, stay there and study hard, grab any opportunity to enter into the BP-Endure program.
**In general**, however, if your research area requires resources you don't have in your current school, it's worth considering transferring. You need to weigh on the cost vs. gain. You can either stay in the current school acquiring fundamental knowledge and apply to a graduate school where you would have better resources after you graduate, or transfer to another undergraduate school with **much better** resources.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I transferred schools during undergraduate under a similar situation, but with a different academic focus. The school I ended up transferring into was far more competitive, so I got what I wanted.
Unfortunately, I also ended up staying in the program for an additional year because the school I transferred into required that I take *their* version of the same courses.
When I finally graduated, I was proud that I was pushed harder and learned more, but found that many of the same opportunities existed despite having gone to a better university.
I have since completed a masters without any intentions of continuing towards a PhD, but I found that I do enjoy research, so now I am in the second year of my PhD studies. Actually, I regret having entered into the PhD program but that is beside the point.
The lessons that I've learned from about 8 years of college at this point are that undergraduate research appointments are... well... not all they're cracked up to be.
The better research opportunities are available for masters students, and the best for PhD students, and even that is a completely relative situation depending on a huge number of factors. I've seen two of my fellow PhD students transfer universities after their professor took a job elsewhere. I've seen PhD students in very competitive departments get stuck with a lame professor; and I've likewise seen PhD students in lame departments find an awesome professor.
And, to make research opportunities more difficult to gauge: its commonly known amongst graduate students that the pecking order for research appointments benefits the PhDs the most, and the undergraduates the least. Often the undergraduates are used for all the crap nobody else wants to do, and while learning the basics might be good for an undergraduate, the work is usually tedious, boring and repetitive.
Masters students are usually given more application based work, which is really good for honing skills, and the PhDs are given the more theoretical work, which even then can be a professors sloppy seconds.
The best advice I can give you is to stay exactly where you and look for research opportunities with a professor that you really enjoy and want for mentorship. If you have a particular project in mind, then do an independent study with them. Having a solid GPA and having demonstrated an individual drive *can* speak volumes more than attaching yourself to a bunch of names (though I don't underestimate the name attachment in academia).
EDIT: As a second thought, I can't tell you how much it sucked switching universities and becoming distant with those friendships I made. Yeah, I made new friends that were also really awesome, but starting over can be lonely.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Well your GPA seems very good and i feel you can get admission in any other college. If you think you are not satisfied with the performance of your institute then there is no point of staying there because at the back of your mind you will always be thinking that you could have been to some better place. I believe that you should have been more cautious before choosing your institute because switching it is a bit difficult task. If you would have assured before admission that an institute is accredited as per standards, <http://www.iao.org/iao/institutional-accreditation/>, then you would have an enhanced sense of credibility. My advice is to look for another institute which you feel is as per global standards.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/01/13 | 1,201 | 5,390 | <issue_start>username_0: I am an independent researcher working outside of academia with no past track record so far. Is it still possible to apply for research grants anyway, and how should I go about doing so?
I do have a very good research plan, but the catch is, I need some funding before I can carry them out. How can I convince grant agencies to give me a chance?<issue_comment>username_1: There's an enormous range of different types of grants. Some are from large government agencies that are correspondingly bureaucratic; others are from private foundations that may take an idiosyncratic approach to deciding who to fund. So the answer may depend on what sort of funding you are looking for. To a first approximation, it will be difficult to get government funding as a truly independent researcher (without some affiliation with a university, non-profit agency, think tank, industrial lab, etc.). That would be the first place I'd start, by trying to get an affiliation that would allow you to apply for grants through an established institution. If you can't convince anyone to let you do this, then your grant application is probably hopeless anyway, and if you can, then it will be a big help.
A second issue is how literally you mean you have "no track record". If you have a minor track record (e.g., a degree and some publications in related areas), then it might be possible. If you literally have no track record at all (no relevant degree, no history of related work, no relevant prior accomplishments, nothing), then it will probably be impossible to get a grant. Even if you have a great idea, there would be no evidence that you are actually capable of carrying it out. Maybe it's not strictly impossible - theoretically you could present an idea so obviously great that merely coming up with the idea would itself be strong evidence of competence - but it's highly unlikely to be worth the effort of applying if you have no track record at all.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Ok, this is going to sting a bit, but, practically, this is not going to happen, no matter how brilliant your research idea and plan is. In practice, the **scientific credentials** of the proposal author / proposed principal investigator are very important to project / grant acceptance. Having no affiliation with a well-reputed research institution is already a strike against you, but not having a track record is a knockout criterion for each funding agency I am aware of. To give you one concrete example, the Austrian Science Foundation (FWF) will, according to their published rules, not even scientifically review a proposal with an *insufficiently experienced principal investigator*. From what I have heard, other agencies have similar formal rules. In short: you **will** need a co-proposer with sufficient standing in your field, otherwise you are essentially wasting your time preparing the proposal.
Maybe this seems unfair to you, but try to see it from the point of view of the funding agency. While **you** may have strong confidence in you and your project, you are a huge risk factor to the agency. You have no demonstrated experience in leading a project, maybe not even in participating in one, you are not embedded into on of the traditional research environments, you do not necessarily have the resources to even conduct the research project, and, from a legal point of view, if you just take the provided grants and run away, there is no organisation that the funding agency can sue to get their money back.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Again, depending on what you mean by "No Past Track Record", this is going to be hard if not impossible.
Many granting agencies, in their grant reviews, have a section on the environment/institution/etc. Essentially, this is asking "Are you in a place that can get this research done". And it often extends to more than just practical questions - do you have institutional support? Is there a sufficient mentorship scheme for new investigators, etc.
For most of these, many grant reviewers will look at an entirely independent scientist and say "No." Or score you rather poorly, which in today's funding environment is essentially the same as saying No.
Depending on how much you need, there are however a number of Kickstarter-esq crowd funding platforms for science. These might be a place to make your case directly, if the amount of money you need is modest.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Likely not.
I had grants as a "gentleman scientist", but in close co-operation with laboratories where I previously worked as a post doc. Same professors who already had multiple publications with me wrote the grant applications, not myself. There was no salary but we got access to supercomputing facilities. It was United Kingdom.
Such an adventure is fine to try for several months to fill some gap in the carrier, but without salary is not sustainable for years.
But your situation looks worse. Without trusting and collaborative professor behind, I do not think it would work. It seems even not transferable, or maybe country dependent, because when I attempted later in Swiss laboratory with no previous connection with me, they refused to start the talk. Hence worked for Free Software Foundation at that time, not much but OK, servers, task, co-ordinated development were provided.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/01/13 | 1,383 | 6,059 | <issue_start>username_0: [This is related to this question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/9523/is-it-acceptable-as-referee-to-contact-an-author-on-a-paper-you-review), but it is more a special case of it.
I reviewed a manuscript, which was submitted to a reputable traditional journal. The journal has a single-blind review system. I liked the manuscript a lot, as it was closely related to my research interests. However, the authors did not do a great job in reporting the manuscript, and I provided a long review with several suggestions for improving the report.
I suggested major revisions, but the editor rejected the paper. That is ok for me; it is the editor's responsibility to take such decisions. What is important is that the process is now closed.
By re-reading my review together with the other two referee's reviews, I came up with a couple other suggestions that I truly believe would benefit to the manuscript. **Would it be a bad practice to contact the authors now that the paper is no longer under review?** I do not mind unveiling my identity, and I would do that only because I want to advance the research in the paper. That is, I just want to help them.<issue_comment>username_1: It sounds like a good thing to do, **since the reviewing process for this journal is over**. I would certainly appreciate it if I where the author of that article (passed the frustration that generally follows article rejection).
It's almost certain that it will be submitted somewhere else, so your (free) inputs will benefit the authors and the community.
This is valid, of course, only if you are **not reviewer again** in the next submission, you should definitely decline if it happens.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Once a paper has been either accepted or rejected and is, so to speak, through the system, there is nothing that should prevent contact between author and reviewer. One problem is that it is sometimes difficult as a reviewer to know if a paper has been rejected since such decisions are not declared openly and are known only to the journal and the author(s). It is the non-appearance of the finished product that signals rejection. This is true even if you provided a suggestion for rejection since you do not know what the second (or more) reviewer suggested and how the editors decided.
This means you should probably go through the editor therefore you contact the author to make sure you do not complicate the processing of a paper that might still be under consideration within the journal. Contacting the editor and explaining your intent will clear all such potential "hazards".
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Maybe you should ask yourself the question: "do I want to exchange or collaborate with these guys ?" When I read things such as (I'm quoting you)
>
> * it was closely related to my research interests
> * I came out with a couple other suggestions
> * I care for the research in the topic to advance
> * I would like to let the authors contact me back
>
>
>
I get the feeling that you might well answer "yes", it really sounds like a good prospect for them and for you. In that case, you really should create a contact.
Revealing yourself as the referee X of their freshly rejected paper is however a bit hazardous, because you don't know how they have felt the reviewing process. They might believe that you, referee X, also sent privately words to the editor suggesting rejection. You won't be able to know that until the authors know you and trust you, this is why it seems more reasonable to remain, at least for a while, under cover. If after some time exchanging with them you feel confident enough that there is no resentment, you *may* reveal yourself, but I would suggest not to do it.
The question is therefore not solved at all: how to contact them? An idea: Read through their website, homepages, previous publications and look for keywords that you would use for a google search. Enter them in google and try to obtain some of these web pages or articles among the first google results. Then write an email starting by a short introduction of yourself and explaining (very) briefly how you found their names and stating that you are interesting in exchanging with them. Use some keywords as hooks, show enthusiasm and suggest some ideas, but do it in such a way, they don't figure out that you very much more about them. That will be an acrobatic e-mail!
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: One important consideration is whether the paper is publicly available (for example, being circulated on the web as a preprint). If it is, then it's perfectly reasonable to get in touch with the authors and offer suggestions. You don't need to address the question of how you heard about the paper if you don't want to. If you do want to reveal yourself as a reviewer, I think it's fine, but I've run across people who disagree about this.
It's much trickier if the existence of the paper is itself confidential. If for some reason I submitted a paper without circulating it publicly, and then after rejection a referee contacted me privately with detailed suggestions for improvement, I would feel uncomfortable. It would look a little too much like an attempt to become involved in the research or writing, and I would wonder whether the referee might take offense if I just said "thanks for the suggestions" and didn't engage in further discussion or collaboration.
If you have confidential knowledge about a paper, then you must not even appear to be using it for your own benefit. For example, you can't ask to start a collaboration or try to find out more about this research.
If there's no public preprint, then it's safest to make contact through the editor, and at the very least you should ask the editor about what you intend to do (the editor may well object, and in any case you need to avoid seeming secretive about it). Even if the editor approves, you should be careful, since innocent actions may be misinterpreted.
Upvotes: 4 |
2014/01/13 | 1,875 | 7,482 | <issue_start>username_0: I am starting a post-doc in Cognitive Neuroscience and I am interested in publishing my work in high impact journals (e.g., Nature, Science, Behavioral and Brain Science). I have already published review articles in not-so-high impact journals, and I would like to know your thoughts and tips for publishing in high-impact journals. I will be responsible for submitting these papers to these journals and I will be seeing them through to the end. Ay helpful advice and tips would be greatly appreciated!<issue_comment>username_1: If you are publishing in emerging fields where much research has not been done, you have good chance to get published, even though its not groundbreaking. First movers are always at an advantage. Just like patents.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: High impact journals, or in other word, top ranked journals (based on IF) are those publishing the state-of-the-art research works with high percentage of novelty and originality. In my **own opinion** following tips are very important in getting into the high impact journals:
* Select a real challenging problem whose solution/amendment significantly impacts on the domain.
* Formulate the problem (using mathematical modeling, visualization, or empirical experiment depending on the domain) and let peers/reviewers see the significance of the problem.
* Propose a solution with high degree of novelty in a way that has not been undertaken before for the same problem.
* Throughout the research try to follow the conventions of research in your domain in the highest possible level, especially when it comes to evaluation and validation of your work.
* In data collection phase, try to follow the most appropriate approaches and use accurate tools to measure/quantify. Maybe looking at similar papers can help you in this.
* Avoid silly mistakes. Usually reviewers do not expect to see silly mistakes in the work. If you make small obvious mistakes, how can reviewers ensure the rest of your work is error-free.
* Show high level of confidence in understanding and expertise over the domain. If you need to review related works in your paper, try to select those closely related to your work; not any work.
* Present your work nicely. Avoid English errors (no grammar and no spelling). Use professional drawing tools to draw high quality figures, draw nice tables, use proper sizing for objects in the paper, not too big, not to small.
* There is an approach by some young authors that leave some works to be done in revisions stage, which is not correct to me. Don't send incomplete work to any high quality journal. There will hardly be any chance to correct mistakes. The review is more to evaluate the significance of the work, the novelty, relevance to the journal, and research practice presented in the paper. Reviewers are not English proof reader and their job is not to correct you.
There may be lot more tips that I will compile as I noticed. Hope it works.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Well, if "super cool" ... There was a history when one laboratory has published a highly impressive discovery in a very reputable journal. Then they found a mistake in they experimental setup, and applied with another paper to the same journal, just to say the previous result is wrong. This was also accepted and now they have two publications in highly reputable journal ... for nothing.
But I believe this "trick" was not intentional and I am far from recommending it.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: There is really nothing special that causes your paper to be accepted in a high-impact journal. If we start by looking at Science and Nature, they publish material more like a newspaper would than a scientific journal ( I am not saying it is without worth, they just have different criteria for their selection). The material needs to be extraordinary by, for example, being "sensational" in some way, by affecting many, or by causing a change in paradigm. It is really hard to design your research to obtain such results. They may be a result of good design but also luck. So if we disregard from results that fall into the science/nature categories and focus on more normal science output the following (adapted from Lichtfouse, 2013) will be the basis for high-impact publications:
* Select your journal carefully
* Be careful to follow the instructions for authors
* Focus the article on one finding
* Prepare one figure that shows or illustrates the main main finding
* Explain your new finding in the abstract, the discussion AND the conclusions
* Delete any irrelevant results or those that are not explained
* Distinguish clearly between the results from your study and those of others
* Include a good dose of education and dissemination
* Read your article at least five times before submitting it
* make sure your manuscript is written in good English
While this may look like generic advise, it is followed by so few that it will set your manuscript apart from the majority. Some of the points also involve serious work so it is perhaps a deceptively simple list.
<NAME>., 2013. Scientific writing for impact journals. Nova, New York.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Others have asked and tried to answer this question before. Here is an ad-hoc list of resources relevant to your question, both print and online.
* <NAME>. (Ed.). (2000). *Guide to publishing in psychology journals*. Cambridge University. (field: psychology)
* <NAME>. (2003) Writing the empirical journal article. [url.](http://www.psych.utoronto.ca/users/reingold/courses/resources/handouts_apa/Bem-WritingArticle.pdf) (field: psychology)
* <NAME>. (2007). Twelve tips for authors. *APS Observer, 20*. [url.](http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/2007/june-july-07/twelve-tips-for-authors.html) (field: psychology)
* <NAME>. (2006). Publication, publication. *PS: Political Science & Politics, 39*, 119-125. doi:10.1017/S1049096506060252 (field: political science)
* <NAME>. (2003). Guest editorial: How to avoid the reviewer's axe: One editor's view. *Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, 12*, 229-232. doi:10.1109/JMEMS.2003.814319 (field: mechanics)
* [Manuscript review histories of the Journal of Consumer Research.](http://www.ejcr.org/teaching-sets/teachingsets.html) One can track the whole review history of a couple of papers including the submissions, reviews, resubmissions, etc. (field: consumers)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: 1) Produce good science
2) Go to groups which already published in Science, Nature, etc.
Both conditions are necessary (especially the second).
Slots in journals with IF>10 are practically "inherited" (you can publish there sth if your PI already published there etc.) - thus you need be very selective in case of where you want to do PhD, postdoc.
In simple words, if you are independent scientist without publication record in Science, Nature, Cell, ... Editors will reject your manuscript in one day without reading it (you will get this nice courtesy letter, that your work is nice, but does not have wide impact ble ble). Sad, but true.
This is hard rule, I know only one exception in which one scientist broke it, but it is single case in the 20-year history of science in my country and it was celebrated almost as national holiday, but he was already established scientist, EMBO member etc).
Upvotes: -1 |
2014/01/13 | 636 | 2,534 | <issue_start>username_0: How many interviews does a typical good liberal arts school do at the Joint Mathematical Meetings every year?
Background: I'm on the math job market for the first time this year. For the most part I applied to postdocs, but I also applied to a handful of very good liberal arts places this year, any of which I would prefer to a postdoc. I assume that with my rather short publication list and teaching history I'm a long shot, but I do have a couple interviews lined up. Really I'm just trying to gauge whether I have a nonzero chance at an offer (assuming not, but it will be good practice for a few years down the road).<issue_comment>username_1: The Employment Center runs for three and a half days with time increments down to 15/20 minutes. So you could physically expect three interviews an hour for about 30 hours for a physical (and totally absurd) upper bound of roughly 100. But from what I have seen going through this Employment Center three times is 30-40 is more realistic and I have seen schools do as few as 15-20. Often they also do phone/Skype interviews with interesting candidates who did not attend the Joint Meetings. This gives you a rough estimate of how long the list you find yourself on is.
You mentioned that you have a short publication list and teaching history. If they are willing to talk to you they have already decided that you are interesting enough to spend their time with you. So be ready to tell them quickly why you are worth more of their time and why you are interested in their school (have an answer for this one). Also do not forget the thank you e-mails afterwards.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I am on the market this year and attended the JMMs in Baltimore. After not tailoring my application whatsoever to liberal art schools (which I don't advise) since my primary goal is a research post-doc position, I had 5 different interviews (TT AP) and 1 post doc interview (which, I understand there were not many post-doc interviews anyway . . . and none at the employment center).
Anyway, most places, (from what I know), have about 40 interviewees they talk to. The goal is to whittle this down to 2-3 candidates that they can invite to on-site interviews (and possibly more if they have more than 1 opening, i.e. they may invite 6 people for on-site interviews).
At the JMMs, these are speed-date interviews. They want to know if they like you as a person and can foresee you spending your entire life at University X.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/14 | 2,363 | 10,167 | <issue_start>username_0: I am consistently facing this issue: NO one (*except some reviewers when I submit a manuscript*) provides me with a detailed/core criticism of my PhD work.
My supervisor usually gives me general advice; sometimes he tries his best to understand and propose some trial-and-error approaches for the problem (most often I have tried these approaches before he proposes them). I simply **cannot find someone who will smack me on the face** and tell me the truth about my research.
After chatting with another PhD student, I found he has the same issue. However, he told me it is because PhD students have very specialised knowledge on a particular topic that makes it very hard – even for supervisors – to comment on it in a detailed manner. Well I still can't believe that's true in general.
So:
>
> What should you do when you can't find smack-on-the.face feedback?
>
>
><issue_comment>username_1: My first reaction is: why do you need a smack in the face? Research education aims to educate PhD students to become independent researchers able to perform research, publish it, write applications for new research supervise new PhD students etc. Once you pass the PhD defence the only smack in the face you get is when your papers are rejected, your funding application is rejected etc. Towards the end of a PhD it is normal that your knowledge in your topic stretches farther than that of your advisor. From this perspective, a smack in the face is not the most obvious test of your progress.
I can understand if you feel you do not receive feedback on your work. In an ideal situation you should be able to discuss your science and use such feedback to improve. Your advisor should be able to read your manuscripts and provide feedback and suggestions on how to improve it before publication (or if your write a monograph, before you defend). Now all advisor-students relationships are different since we deal with personalities. To some extent one need to adapt and find ones own way in that relationship, I know this from my own experience.
So although your situation is perhaps not ideal, it does not sound as it is truly problematic. It sounds like you get more feedback than you can expect after your PhD. If you need specific feedback on any part of the research process, you should look around to see if any other persons can provide such. For PhD students getting papers past peer review is the hardest hurdle to cross and as such the sign of the worth of your research. Most advisors try to help students reach this level so the worst smack in the face they consider is the dreaded rejection. If you get your material past peer review, you are really doing (perhaps more than) fine.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: In the real world (after graduation), the only time you are likely to get feedback like that is from a friend or (if you're *really* lucky) a mentor. I suggest asking yourself: "of all the people I know, who would be the most likely to understand this after I explain it to him/her?"
Then, invite that person over (or out) to share beer and pizza, or whatever people sit and talk over where you are. (*coffee and cake?*) Sit and talk. Ask what (s)he's doing, be genuinely interested and express your appreciation. Then tell what you're doing. If they say "that sounds interesting," ask if they'd be willing to read and tell you *what they really think* about it. If not, ask yourself the question in the previous paragraph again, and repeat.
Don't be afraid to say "the reason I asked you over is because I thought you'd be able to understand what I'm doing, and I just wanted to talk about it with you." It's true, and almost anyone would be pleased to hear that.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> However, he told me it is because PhD students have very specialised knowledge in a particular topic that makes it very hard -even for supervisors- to comment on it in a detailed manner. Well I still can't believe that's true in general.
>
>
>
Well if the implication is that your work as a PhD so specialised that nobody can give you useful feedback, I don't believe it either. If you cannot communicate your work in a manner that someone knowledgeable in the general area can understand and provide feedback, then your research should be doomed to fail since you won't be able to publish.
What is more likely is that your supervisor is insufficiently "incentivised" to put the effort required into understanding your work to give you useful feedback. There are many shades of grey here too. Different supervisors approach supervision at different levels of abstraction. Some are hands-off details. Some are hands-on details. Some need little incentive. Some need lots.
(Similarly, if you cannot interest someone enough in your research for long to engage them for feedback, I think your research is, in the longer term, also in deep water since you'll need these communication skills when applying for funding grants, to gain citations for your papers, etc.)
In any case, if you're looking for feedback other than your supervisor or colleagues ...
---
I'm not sure about in your area, but in Computer Science, there are ample ways of getting feedback on your work at conferences and other such venues.
Typically these conferences hold events specifically for mentoring students called a "*Doctoral Symposium*", "*Doctoral Consortium*", "*Mentoring Lunches*", etc. The format is different for each conference, but typically students submit a paper outlining their topic; the paper is peer-reviewed under special criteria. If accepted, the student is paired with one or two "mentors" (senior researchers who know something about the topic) at the event. The student presents their work to the broader symposium and afterwards gets some alone time with their mentor(s) who are typically instructed to be friendly to the student, but also to give some tough love if needed. As a bonus, many conferences publish the papers from these events in their proceedings, giving you a publication.
Another excellent opportunity for feedback is to attend a relevant summer school. At least in some of the schools I've lectured at, in between talks, the mentors have provided ample time to talk with students about their topics and plans, where at the end of the week, each student goes away with the perspectives of three or four mentors as well as a multitude of their peers. (More interactive schools tend to be in remote locations; everyone hangs around afterwards. Less interactive schools tend to be in universities; everyone goes home afterwards.)
Also, think about getting your PhD topic accepted for a poster session somewhere. PhD posters can be a good way to get casual feedback from a wide range of folks.
---
If you don't want to go so far away, organise a talk in your school and invite people. Put a lot of effort into making the talk engaging. Try to invite as broad a range of folks as possible and try to get feedback from your supervisor on the talk itself beforehand. Present and take questions.
---
The simple catch with all these methods of feedback is to think: how can I make people want to give me feedback, how can I make people comfortable to give me negative feedback, etc. @username_2 suggestion of beer and pizza is a good one. Generally you should never expect feedback; you should earn feedback.
Like in a poster session, if your poster looks unappealing and you look disinterested standing in front of it, and instead of engaging with the person, if you simply read through the text-heavy poster while they wait, then giving you feedback certainly won't be their first priority.
Similar principles apply for your advisor (and elsewhere).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: One thing I've found extremely helpful during my PhD and postdoc was searching out and working on collaborative research projects. The ease of doing so may be dependant on your particular field however.
With a project partner, even if they are only focused on a smaller subset of the work, you have an already informed person you can bounce further ideas off of, who can serve as an immediate sanity check, and can help you develop your future steps. These are your co-authors or secondary authors on your publications.
Do you have committee members yet? It sounds like you are a decent portion of the way through the PhD process, and if you are a year or two from the end you might want to start sounding people out. They don't just have to be faculty judging your work - they can be a valuable resources in determining where you are going, what you still need to accomplish, and what is lacking in order to make a complete PhD thesis.
Take a look at the other faculty at your university as well. You may have already had a class with them - if you have, you should be able to pretty easily schedule a talk to them. You'll need to have a pretty well defined problem to bring to them though for this type of chat.
You can ask your advisor for introductions/help with contact in general as well - they will have likely met a good number of people in their career and may have some ideas of where you could start a discussion. Even if the other professors may not help you out directly, they may have students that are interested in chatting or collaborating on something.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: >
> What should you do when you can't find smack-on-the.face feedback?
>
>
>
**Ask for it.** Chances are that you will indeed get it.
You may say something like,
*Now that I had completed so and so work, I request you to provide me your kind feedback on the work in particular and me as a candidate of science in general.*
***P.S.*** *I wish to work on my weakness, if you think any, I am ready to face the harshest of your opinions with a positive attitude.*
May be a bit of exaggeration, but IMO, this may be a possible option.
**Side note**.
I actually asked my supervisor to have *no mercy* on me before joining the PhD. I used to get both positive and negative feedback but I cannot say for sure that it is because of my initial request.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/14 | 1,700 | 7,275 | <issue_start>username_0: I worked for a publicly funded body. Whilst there I designed and developed a number of epidemiological surveillance applications.
I have left the organisation but since then I have noticed that some of my ex-coworkers have started to publish papers based on the data collected by the systems that I designed without crediting myself in the publication (in at least two cases directly referring to my system in the paper).
Since the publications wouldn't be possible without the systems I developed would I have any remit to ask for credit and/or authorship? How is this viewed any different from a co-worker using someone's lab results without credit for their own publication?<issue_comment>username_1: As per the comments on your question, I think this is really context specific and the role of an author can vary quite subtly from area to area. I'll try give a general answer to the general question first, and then look at the specfics of your case afterwards.
>
> How to handle not being credited for research software development in papers?
>
>
>
The first question is whether or not you *should* be credited for the software you developed in the paper. The answer is predicated on what precisely the contribution of the paper is and what the contribution of the software is.
If, for example, (part of) the core contribution of the paper is describing optimisations and techniques that you invented and applied in the software, then I think it is more than fair that you should be credited as a co-author.
If, for example, the core contribution relates to a methodology for doing X where your software was specifically designed for that methodology, then you should probably be credited as a co-author or, at the very least, mentioned in the acknowledgements.
If the core contribution of the paper is not directly related to the software itself but the software is used to some ends, then you should probably not be credited on the paper (otherwise <NAME> would have millions of publications). But if the software system was described in another paper and played a significant/specialised role in the current paper, you could expect a citation.
>
> Since the publications wouldn't be possible without the systems I developed would I have any remit to ask for credit and/or authorship?
>
>
>
I think your reasoning is a little flawed here. Making a research paper *possible* does not entitle you to co-authorship (as a simple counter-example, if paper A builds upon the results of paper B such that paper A would not be possible without paper B, the authors of paper B should not expect co-authorship on paper A). Providing part of the core contribution of the paper—the reason why it was accepted in the first place—entitles you to co-authorship.
I noticed something crucial in your comments that you didn't clarify in your question:
>
> "Since xxxx **our system** has collated data on x cases and found that.."
>
>
>
**The authors should absolutely not be claiming credit for a system they did not design or build.** This is clearly wrong. (And it also indirectly suggests that part of the contribution is indeed the system and the authors are trying to claim credit for it.)
Since you know the authors, you should talk with them, show them the relevant quotes in the papers and tell them that you are not happy with them claiming the system as their own. Tell them that if they wish to continue claiming the system in future then you should be a co-author on the paper.
If you wish to escalate, you can contact the editor(s) of the journal(s) involved and tell them your story. The editor(s) might agree to let you publish a letter referring to the specific paper and outlining your case. This should be considered the "nuclear" option.
---
**EDIT:** Not in answer to the question, but this quote in the transcript of Hamming's address "[You and Your Research](http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/YouAndYourResearch.html)" (well worth a read for anyone in research) reminded me of this question:
>
> I also did a second thing. When I loaned what little programming power we had to help in the early days of computing, I said, "We are not getting the recognition for our programmers that they deserve. When you publish a paper you will thank that programmer or you aren't getting any more help from me. That programmer is going to be thanked by name; she's worked hard." I waited a couple of years. I then went through a year of BSTJ articles and counted what fraction thanked some programmer. I took it into the boss and said, "That's the central role computing is playing in Bell Labs; if the BSTJ is important, that's how important computing is." He had to give in.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: It's probably too late to deal with this after the fact, but much of the discussions that have occurred over the last few years regarding [proper scholarly credit for data](http://www.force11.org/datacitation) also apply to software. In 2012, I presented a poster at the American Astronomical Society on [Recommendations for Data & Software Citation in Solar Physics](http://sdac.virtualsolar.org/docs/SPD2012/2012_SPD_citation.pdf) that is broadly applicable to any research data or software.
The one tricky part is that many journals will consider something simply posted on a website is often considered grey literature rather than 'Published'. For this reason, it's useful to get a DOI assigned to it, as you effectively make the citation look like any other cited work. If you're not attached to an institution that can mint DOIs, a possible work-around would be to post something to [FigShare](http://figshare.com/) and they'll assign one.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: The style guidelines used for citations in the paper usually include [guidelines for the citation of software](http://software.ac.uk/so-exactly-what-software-did-you-use). In most cases, the question is not so much who was responsible for writing the software as how can other researchers acquire the software (theoretically to reproduce the results). As others have mentioned, though, if they are discussing algorithms that you introduced into the software as if they were their own work, there may be a significant problem.
Finally, there is the question of the conditions (contractual and otherwise) under which the software was developed and whether that software is somehow unique, or just automates tasks that are otherwise tedious. The vast majority of the software I have written belongs to the people that paid for it to be written and the majority of the credit I have received has been in my salary and my resume, and the occasional thank you from a co-worker that wasn't followed up with a "...now can you change this?".
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: The key here is that it is a publicly funded effort. Any intellectual property belongs to the public.
Just as if you developed that system for a corporation let say at work. The product is owned by the company. They paid you to develop it.
In your example you do not own the system it was developed with public dollars. Even if you were volunteering the works you created belong to the organization.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/01/14 | 950 | 4,258 | <issue_start>username_0: I am a student applying in different places for postdoctoral positions and asking various faculties for position. It happened that, due to limited resources, I am not getting much response. However more than one faculty (from different institutes all in Europe) gave positive responses. The caveat is, I have to jointly write a research proposal with them for grant application/some fellowships. Whatever be the outcome of the proposal(s), I am starting my collaboration with them soon.
My dilemma starts here. The fellowships each one suggested are very competitive. Those faculties themselves informed me that getting those fellowships became more difficult in the present financial situation. Now is it ethical to do apply for multiple funding agencies in this way? Fortunately, each of them suggested applying for different fellowships. I am slightly afraid of the morality of the whole issue (like: what if all of the projects get funding). Please help.<issue_comment>username_1: There is nothing wrong or strange to apply for several fellowships and funding as you describe. The opposite would mean you have to gamble on one and hope it comes through. What can be a bit problematic is perhaps if each proposal causes a lot of work for somebody in a department if you later is a no show despite funding. In such a case it would be good to let people know you are sending in other applications as well so they are not completely in the dark about your situation. I am sure everyone will be sympathetic. If they are not you may not want to go there anyway.
The risk of getting money from several of your applications seems like a luxury problem. Yes, you have to decide which one to go for but that should be a pleasant problem. I would tackle the problem **IF** it becomes reality and not worry about it at this stage. Your first step is to get applications in, not worry about what to do when and if any funding comes through.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: It depends a lot what kinds of grants or fellowships you are applying to. In any case, you have to check the guidelines of the fellowships very throughly. It is not uncommon that you have to indicate if you have submitted a similar proposal elsewhere (stating precisely where). It may even stated that "cross submission" is not allowed.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: It is perfectly ethical and reasonable to write multiple applications because chances are low. In most of cases, you will get only one application accepted anyway and it will be no problems. In unlikely case when you get more than one positive response, it should make no problem to pick that suits for you best.
Of course, theoretically if you are good enough for a position A, you should also be good for the positions B, C and D, if the requirements are similar. However this also depends on many random factors. Maybe you know some method they plan to use in research but for some reason did not state clearly in the announcement. Maybe the professor has (grounded or not) personal opinion that your institution or journal where you have published is very bad or very good. People pre-screening the applications may apply different priorities. Depends a lot on who else has applied for the position. Many things can happen.
Waiting for the solution that often takes weeks at least and significantly reduces the number of applications that are possible to write, creating risks that you will never succeed with any.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: You are applying for a *job*. A prestigious, noble and publicly-beneficial job, but that does not change its fundamental character. And as a post-doc you will do research work, and get a salary for it - just like a Professor, on one hand, and a security guard or cleaning crew member, on the other hand.
Do you think any of them should only apply for one position at a time?
Another aspect of this fact: Nobody will be doing you a favor. They make offers, and you can accept or reject them; just like they get applications and may accept or reject them. Your tone seems slightly self-deprecating - and there's no need for that. You're a (soon to be) recognized Doctor of Philosophy. Stand tall!
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/14 | 2,380 | 10,241 | <issue_start>username_0: Reviewers are expert in their fields who can understand your work but are also potential competitors if they worked in the same field as you do. How frequent is a bad review from the reviewers due to the potential competition with your work so they can stall your publication?
For example, if you were a reviewer, would you be excited to learn that I have published research that are superior to yours or prove that your research direction was wrong? Another extreme example, if you were an HIV researcher/reviewer, how excited/horrible would you feel if I publish a cure for HIV and will be nominated for Nobel prize tomorrow and you will be sitting down there listening to my talk? What incentive do reviewers have to give out good/fair review?<issue_comment>username_1: It happens. Meanwhile, of course, it is difficult to document or argue about it... which is not surprising given that the people perpetrating this are not stupid, so will not leave themselves open to the simplest trail-of-damning-evidence.
The question of "how often?" is essentially impossible to answer, exactly because no one wants to, or would wisely, document such things...
But, yes, there is such a possibility, for sure, and it can have an impact. But, apparently, we are all to pretend that it is not happening, and to rationalize that there are other good reasons, etc. In terms of behavior-of-humans, this is similar to our collective rationalization that the seeming-issues seemingly-debated in politics touch reality directly. That is, there's scant purpose in rebelling too strongly, because then one disconnects from the actual process of "politics". On the other hand, it would induce insanity to believe too much that those things reflect sense or reality.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Unfortunately, bad and/or fabricated reviews are common if you are in a competitive industry. It is harder and harder to find a **genuine** and **unbiased** reviewer who has no hidden interests or agendas. You can watch some industry forums, where writing service owners and freelance writers allegedly post misinformation or untrue statements about each other in order to discredit their competition.
Another thing, you need to be careful whom you entrust your research work. Even if they don't use it today, they may use it tomorrow (or they may change some details and claim authorship). Hopefully, I didn't scare you too much though ;).
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: To echo Paul's statement above, it happens. To what extent just depends on unknown and incalculable variables. Odds are, if you are in the game for long enough, you'll hear about it, see it happen, and experience it.
The problem is that the field of study becomes increasingly narrow, and so the pool of people that can provide peer reviews likewise become increasingly narrow.
At some point, you'll even start to recognize the style of writing from blind feedback and can identify the author.
And, what will really tick you off is coming up with an original idea, telling a colleague about it, and then 6 months later see that idea become the title of an article written by someone in your field at another university.
That actually happened to me, and the title was verbatim. I'm still peeved about it.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: >
> How often is a bad review from the reviewers due to the potential competition with your work so they can stall your publication?
>
>
>
Clearly there is no hard data on that, but I would wager much less than people think that it happens. I can only echo Matthew G.s sentiment above - In my experience papers in my field (software engineering) are rejected because of (roughly in order):
1. Bad method
2. Bad writing
3. Bad reviewer
4. Bad idea
5. Actively malicious reviewer
Of course, when people get a reject, it is much easier to conclude that bullet 3 or 5 happened than 1, 2 or even 4. However, that does not necessarily make it so.
In my experience, the way to achieve modest success in science is to **do your best work**, and accept that occasionally bad things will happen to you. Achieving success in science is a bit like playing poker. There are hands that you play well but another player gets undeservedly lucky, but over the course of an evening (or career), the bad players usually lose and the good players usually win.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: This question cannot be answered, nobody knows how often this happens. If someone knew the answer it wouldn't be relevant anyway, because it would be ephemeral.
What we are talking about here is a form of corruption or perversion and pretending it's not happening or pretending it's impossible is the worst thing that can be done because that will only make it worse. Those who are corrupts get an advantage from a system that is not well designed for the present times, their behaviour is rewarded and so the system converges to a corrupt state.
Therefore it's important to fight corruption (and changing the system, but I don't want to go too offtopic). So, how can we minimise the risk for this so that it happens less often?
* Preprints: arxiv.org (and similar services) can keep your preprints online, and they have become standard in some areas as physics (AFAIK). If reviewers try to publish papers that they have rejected the evidence is there, in the preprints server.
* Open reviews: some journals have open and public reviews. The reviewer may still give a bad review based on personal interests but in this way that would be more obvious. Transparency is not a solution to corruption, but it helps.
* Editors: if you have a problem with a reviewer you can raise your concerns to the editor. I have seen people doing this several times and they never had positive news on the result, but this is something that you can do in any case.
* Choose wisely your venues: if the editor is not trustworthy (and the reviewers are anonymous) you may prefer to choose a different venue. In a free market (of papers and venues) with perfect information these venues should theoretically disappear after some time, but practice and theory are not the same (in practice).
There are probably more things that you can do, I hope more people will suggest some in the comments (actually I'm making this post a community wiki post, so feel free to edit). But in short, doing nothing about it (as other answers and comments seem to suggest) would be a very bad idea.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Ed<NAME>
PD: The reasons why the system is not well designed are long to explain, it has grown larger (there has never been so many people in academia in history), the fields have grown more specific, the world is more globalized, there is a stronger competition, etc.
PD2: I also agree that probably bad reviews are so because of other reasons, but one of them may be a bad reviewer or a reviewer having a bad day (as people seem to suggest), and what I suggest minimises the impact of this as well (e.g. open reviews).
Additionally we should consider how often papers that are "not that good" get a positive review for other hidden interests (friendship, they are on the same project, they promote the same approach/idea, etc.) this causes an unfair advantage and other papers may get rejected more easily.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: In my experience:
**If the editor is fair, it doesn't matter terribly much.**
The decision to reject a paper is not taken by the reviewers. **The decision is taken by the editor.** The role of the reviewers is to give a *recommendation*, upon which the editor takes a decision. If a reviewer recommends rejection (or acceptance, for that matter), the editor is free to ignore this recommendation (this has happened to yours truly). If the editor suspects that a reviewer recommends rejection because of potential competition, or for any other improper reason, then the editor should not weigh this recommendation heavily. This is one of the reasons why there should always several reviewers — at least in my field (atmospheric remote sensing), I've only come across cases with two or three reviewers.
Secondly: *The editor knows who the reviewer is*. If a scientist makes a habit of recommending rejections for improper reasons, he or she will get a reputation among editors. Editors are usually well-known colleagues in the field, so you really don't want to be known as the envious guy (or gal) who will reject major works of research because it was *not invented here*. In the best case, they won't be asked as reviewers any more. In the worst case, it may harm a scientific career.
Perhaps the scenario described above is somewhat naive, but in those cases where I've either been a reviewer, or been corresponding author, it would apply. The same for open review papers (such as the geophysical journal, published by EGU, [Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics](http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/volumes_and_issues.html)). It might be different in other fields, this I don't know. I hope that even in other fields, the editor does more than copy-paste and blindly follow whatever reviewers recommend.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: It is fully possible situation. The editor tries to pick the most relevant reviewers, but these are also the most probable competitors, as they work on the same topic. If two near parallel research projects are close to publishing they results (and who will be first), yes, this is a problem. However if the works are different enough not to invalidate significance of each other, most of the reviewers will not be biased.
It even happened for me to observe the competing laboratory simply delaying the review for a long time (as this also delays the publication) and ultimately refusing to provide it, openly stating that "we are competitors".
As a result, many journals allow authors to provide a list of competitors that may not be capable of unbiased reviewing for that article. If some other laboratory is very much a competitor, or if have already been problems with such a reviewer in the past, the author should ask the editor to pick somebody else.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/15 | 587 | 2,386 | <issue_start>username_0: I was recently admitted into a PhD program, and am currently a MSc Student. Both me and my advisor expected me to graduate this spring, which would mark the 4th semester. Because of that, I applied to PhD programs, and got into a good one. But now I think I might need a bit longer to complete the Thesis portion of it; I could switch to MA which is course based and head on to PhD 1) I am not sure if they will still accept me if I do not have an MSc (the strength of my application was the skills I learned during my thesis) and 2) I want to finish my thesis, because well, I want to publish the results and am interested in it.
What are my options? Many programs do not allow deference, and getting into a PhD program is so hard to begin with.
Thank you for your time.<issue_comment>username_1: I don't know the details of your situation, but the conventional advice would probably be:
1. Pound out a thesis that's good enough for your advisor to let you graduate. It doesn't need to be outstanding or publishable, or include every idea you've considered. It just has to get you the masters.
2. Start your PhD program on time.
3. If the project still interests you, continue working on it in your spare time. Stay in contact with your masters advisor. When it's far enough along to publish, do so (perhaps with your masters advisor as a co-author).
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: To add to what Nate said, explain your entire situation to your thesis advisor. You might be surprised how sympathetic they are and willing to give advice on how to get through the minimum. Unfortunately, a lot of PhD studies is about getting through the minimum.
I have just myself reached the point where I can stop taking classes and focus on my research, but that took almost two years beyond my masters... so basically 4 years of graduate 400/500 level coursework.
First and second years went like this: get excited about classes starting, first week introductions and orientation, gradually become consumed by all the coursework, become a zombie from lack of sleep, taper off and start to question my sanity, then blitz to the end to finish final projects. In my 3rd and 4th years, I was on my iPad halfway listening to the lecture because the coursework was like a programming language: same principals with a different syntax.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/15 | 1,259 | 5,154 | <issue_start>username_0: I am using an [old paper](http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v323/n6088/abs/323533a0.html), published in 1986.
It is in the form of a "Letter to Nature" (which is a scientific journal).
It doesn't appear to be typeset in TeX, at least not TeX as we know it today.
Furthermore, it is a scanned copy, so it is just a image, embedded as a PDF.
The lack of multiline equations, and highlight-able text is getting to me.
I'm considering re-typesetting it myself by hand in LaTeX (it is quite short)
for my own benefit and understanding.
The paper is still being cited today, and is used in university courses to teach the subject. It seems a waste to have gone to the effort to retype it neater, and then just leave it in my draws.
If I re-typeset it, what can/should I do with the new version?
Can I host it online myself (giving full credit to the authors)?
Should I send a copy to authors, for them to do with as they will?
Are there issues with the fact that it has been published in Nature? Perhaps they have some copyright on it?<issue_comment>username_1: The copyright is almost certainly owned by Nature. I don't know what sort of rights the authors retained in Nature's copyright agreement from 1986, or how to find out other than by asking Nature or the authors. My guess is that Nature will not want you to distribute the paper, and the authors may not even have a copy of the agreement or remember what was in it, but who knows. Nowadays Nature allows authors to post their own version of the paper on their own web site or institutional repository six months after publication. This clause couldn't have been in the 1986 agreement (there was no web back then), but maybe Nature would agree to it retroactively. If so, then the authors could legally distribute your retyped version. It's hard to say whether Nature will agree or whether the authors will want to bother with this, but it could be worth asking.
Of course you could retype and distribute it without permission. Even aside from the illegality, it seems a little rude to distribute a retyped version without checking with the authors. For example, if you introduce typos, readers may not know who to blame, you or the authors. On the other hand, the authors probably can't legally authorize you to distribute it, so it's an awkward situation.
It's too bad our laws and customs make it difficult to arrange things like this. When someone does retype a famous paper (such as [Shannon's 1948 paper introducing information theory](http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/ms/what/shannonday/paper.html)), it can be a really useful service for the community. I hope you are able to find a way to do this with Nature and the authors' permission.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: The copyright will be owned by Nature, so it would be illegitimate (and, as @AnonymousMathematician says, somewhat rude) for you to distribute it yourself.
However sending a re-typeset version to the original authors isn't *distribution*, but simply correspondence. If they want to re-distribute this, they're in a better place to do so than you are. This may not have occurred to them, and your action in suggesting they do so, will be at the very least encouragingly flattering!
I doubt Nature would be opposed in principle. Their [author licence policy](http://www.nature.com/authors/policies/license.html) says that ‘[Nature Publishing Group] actively supports the self-archiving process, and continues to work with authors, readers, subscribers and site-license holders to develop its policy.’ That's a fairly vague remark, of course, but many universities and funders now *mandate* 'self-archiving' papers, and journals have no option but to go along with this; therefore the authors may have already have a way of distributing this in a way which is low-hassle to them, and unobjectionable to the journal(s).
Detail: Authors aren't, typically, allowed to distribute the publisher's PDF version of a paper, but *are* increasingly allowed to 'self-archive' and distribute the 'post-refereeing authors' version' (that is, the same text as in the published version, but typeset by the author).
So, get in touch with the authors. It sounds like you'll be doing the community a favour.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: While both answers above are correct in that you'd be violating copyright by typesetting the paper and distributing it, it sounds like your intent here is to create a document for your understanding, and that duplicating the paper is the way you're proposing to do that.
Another way is to think of how you'd prepare lecture notes based on this paper. It's very common to see lecture notes that go into detail on a single paper. Now you can't reproduce figures/tables from the original work without permission, but you can definitely explain the paper using your own understanding it, and referring readers to the original source for any specific figures/tables/results. Since this particular paper is quite mathematical in nature, you should be able to explain it **in your own words** reasonably well without actually copying it.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/15 | 2,586 | 10,571 | <issue_start>username_0: I am a senior undergraduate (electrical) engineering student, exceedingly interested in **physics**. 4 years ago when entering university, for some reasons (better: *illusions*) I chose engineering as my major, while I was interested (and also really knowledgeable) in physics . Soon after the first semester I realized that I've decided wrong, and I must have chosen physics.
Since our university is a technical institute and does not have a strong physics department I decided to *study* physics on my own, without changing my major.But I took and passed the basic *graduate* physics courses (advanced quantum mechanics, advanced statistical mechanics, electrodynamics I & II), have done a few research projects and had a paper published (maybe 1 more in the future). I have *explored* lots of research areas in physics and I think I have a good potential for doing research.
While concentrating on physics, I was inattentive to EE courses. Today, while searching for graduate programs, I saw that some schools require a minimum GPA, usually 3. I just calculated my GPA and found out that it is 2.95!
* Do all universities have a GPA threshold?
* Since I'm changing my major and also have a good GPA in graduate physics courses, is there any way I can compensate for my (very) low electrical engineering GPA? (like by taking subject GRE, etc.)
* If I first (somehow) get a masters degree in physics and then apply for a PhD, can I throw away this electrical engineering GPA in my PhD application ?
Any other suggestion is warmly appreciated.<issue_comment>username_1: I can't say "all" for sure, but I think you'll find that many if not most schools do have a minimum GPA requirement.
Whether you can compensate for a low GPA depends on how the school handles it. In some cases it may be difficult, as admissions committees may literally scan apps for GPA and put all that do not meet the standard in a "reject" pile without even reading the rest of the application. In other cases the minimum may be "soft" and they will read the app. My advice would be to: A) get advice from a professor at your school you have a rapport with; and B) contact faculty at the schools you're applying to (or considering applying to). I would not just bluntly ask the GPA question on its own, but email them in general saying you're interested in the program, and mention the GPA issue along with whatever else you ask them about the program.
You almost certainly cannot "throw away" your undergrad GPA in a PhD application. Even if you have an MA, most schools will want to see *all* your college transcripts.
You should also take advantage of the time you still have during the year to bring your GPA up as much as possible. Even consider doing this by taking easy classes that you might not otherwise take. Personally, if I were in your situation, I would even consider delaying graduation by a year or part of a year, if it's financially feasible and your school will allow it, just to have more time to take classes and bring up your overall GPA.
You have already made a significant blunder in letting your GPA get that low, as a GPA below 3.0 will be a red flag to many graduate programs. However, from what you say, you would be a strong candidate in other regards. If you can get people to look at your app long enough to read your statement of purpose and see your grad coursework, then you probably have a decent shot. To do that, you should leverage your strengths. If you have taken many grad classes, done research, and published a paper, you presumably have good contacts in the physics department. Lean on those people to write you glowing letters of rec.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: There is a lot of politics in academia, and being nice or knowing the right people can get you pretty far.
In your case, I would look at the universities that you want to study graduate level physics at, travel out there, and speak with the professors. They are used to meeting with students that are looking at several different graduate programs, so its all part of their job. You can ask them if they'd like to get coffee, and it doesn't hurt to look at the campus map and know which coffee shop is around the corner from their office.
**Read and know their work before hand.** They almost always have a CV listed on their personal web page, with the most recent publishings at the top. Start with that.
Expect to spend no more than 30 minutes talking to them, but if the conversation is good, it can go an hour or more. At that point, you can talk about your background, your interests, why you transferred from EE to physics and so forth.
While you're in town, talk to some other professors in that department; it can just be a casual swing by the office. Talk with the graduate student advisors in their office. See if you can get a tour of the labs, and while you're in there, talk to more people.
I guarantee you that when your application is being reviewed, they will recognize your name and give you a much higher consideration.
Grades are not everything. I made it into the #1 ranked program for my masters with a 3.0 GPA and a decent GRE score, then leveraged the 3.8 GPA to jump to a PhD program. Two years were knocked off my PhD requirements for having an M.S. And, I did the schmoozing all over again when I applied for the PhD.
EDIT: One last thing, as was mentioned elsewhere, take some extra classes to get that GPA up. Even if they're summer courses, just get it up enough to push you above a 3.0. The last 60 hours are the most important. It demonstrates your level of commitment.
Also, many schools have a Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS). Its not a masters, but its graduate level studies. If you get really good GPA in a CAS, then you'll make up for the low undergraduate GPA.
EDIT #2: One more thing... heh... part of applying for any graduate program isn't simply a matter of if you meet the qualifications. The best programs always have people storming at the door. What the admissions committee is also going to look at is whether or not they are a good fit for you. So they will try to figure out not only if you have what they need, but if they have what you need. That includes deciding whether or not you would be in over your head after a year of study and then drop out, having wasted a slot that could have gone to someone else. And, there is one thing that benefits you, and that's having studied EE. That means you're essentially a non-traditional physics student. You can say that you're interested in studying the intersection of EE and Physics, and that professor Y's research would be the perfect compliment to augment your studies.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I just graduated from school X in BS. Physics & Astronomy. I graduated with a CGPA of 3.0 (did not do so well due to family health issues). But then I applied for only one school for my Masters in Applied Physics in school Y and got accepted. I also got the Graduate Assistantship (GA) position with that which gives me full scholarship and a stipend. I did not even have to take the Physics GRE to get accepted, just the General GRE.
My advise get to know your professors really well. It's really amazing, what professors can do to get you accepted into a grad school. Get at least 3 excellent letters of recommendation relevant to Physics or Astronomy. Be the top student in the class you would like ask the professor for a letter. Be noticed by your professors as a determine & excellent student in class during your undergraduate.
Be a TA or SI in Physics/Astronomy during your undergraduate, and this will show you can teach, looks very good on your resume and you can be accepted into GA positions in grad school.
Publish papers & books in Physics/Astronomy journals. I did that, and I'm proud of my accomplishment and I stand out from the rest.
Be good at computer programming. Matlab, IRAF, IDL, Python, Zemax are some good programming skills looked by most Physics/Astronomy grad schools. Knowing a computer language for grad school is essential for research and publications.
Do research with professors from your Physics/Astronomy Dept. You will get to know your professor better and show that you can do research in lab. Lab skills are very important especially when you are going to grad school, as it shows you are knowledgeable and also experienced. Grad school will find it easier to select you this way.
While taking classes irrelevant to Physics & Astronomy to boost your CGPA, sound like a good idea, it actually may not be the case all the time. Grad schools are only mostly concern with how well you did in your physics, astronomy & math classes. They are not bothered if you get A's in all your art or language paper if you're applying to Physics/Astronomy grad school. What matters to them the most are your Physics, Astronomy & Maths.
While getting into grad school is one thing, but getting any financial aid or scholarship is another thing. Many student find grad school to be very expensive and in addition, they are still paying their loan back for their undergraduate. So funding your grad school is another thing to worry about, even if you got accepted. Most grad school requires a better grade to get any sort of scholarship or financial aid. For example, in my school only about 30-40 % of student got accepted into the grad school, will receive the GA position which gives student a full tuition waiver, a stipend and other benefits. I was the lucky few :)
My general advise in CGPA to apply for grad school around the US (other criteria will be considered for admission) for Physics/Astronomy grad schools. Disclaimer:This is just a rough gauge on where you are standing and where do you see yourself in the future.
1) 3.70-4.00 (Top schools in the nation)
2) 3.50- 3.69 (Good schools)
3) 3.00.3.49 (Most state schools)
4) 2.80- 2.99 (Community colleges, small schools & mediocre schools)
4) below 2.80 (Don't be a science major)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Requirements are not set in stone, but meant to filter out weak candidates and create a sense of selectivity. I remember a recent case where we accepted a PhD student who seemed strong, though for various reasons had a low GPA, which was below the threshold set by our Graduate College. This just meant we needed to write a letter to the Graduate College petitioning for an exception in this case. Incidentally, that student didn't accept, presumably having got into a better school.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/15 | 2,883 | 12,180 | <issue_start>username_0: One of my professors has been in the IT development fields for over 40 years. He thinks he is up-to-date with all the latest research and technology. But I believe he's not.
The problem is - he hates when a student (like me) dares to point out his mistakes or flaws in reasoning. Or when a student suggests a better (modern) solution to a problem.
How to deal with such a situation - should I keep challenging him or keep quiet until the end of semester? I don't want to lose grades (he's been known to give lower grades to students who asked him too many questions he wasn't able to properly answer).<issue_comment>username_1: **Short answer:** Probably not.
As you pointed out, you may lose out on grades by challenging this professor. A larger problem, in my opinion, is when you (the student) approach the class with an attitude of discovering the professor's many mistakes. With this attitude, you also lose out on the opportunity to learn from his expertise. While this particular professor may not be as *modern* as you would like, it does not mean you cannot learn from him!
**Keep quiet** until the end of the semester, except when you have a valid question. And don't approach intending to prove him wrong; approach intending to find out how you can learn from what he knows. **Ask questions because you want to learn, not because you want to prove the professor wrong.** If you believe you know a better solution, it might be appropriate to ask "Would this solution also work? If not, why not?" **Ask, don't tell.** Your professor is human too, and most of us have a hard time always responding graciously to a smarty-pants student who thinks they know more than we do!
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_2: Have you ever seen a skit on The Chapelle Show called, "When keeping it real goes wrong"?
Trust me when I tell you that every class in every semester has a student that thinks he or she knows it all.
It can be hard to stand in front of a class and have all the answers. Sometimes when I've stood up there and say something, I've felt rushed to give an answer so I don't look stupid, and it just came out all wrong so I looked (or felt) even more stupid. Then I just walk around for two days realizing how stupid I am.
Even the best professors can be wrong, but the better ones will at least correct themselves in the next class or send out an email explaining something further.
The best way to handle the professor isn't necessarily to try and show them up in class, but to either go to office hours and ask for clarification. If you still think they are wrong, explain where you found the answer and show them.
If its worth the time to engage them at all, then that can be best way to do it. If they don't respond well in that situation, then its not worth your time and you should just keep quiet and focus on your grade.
Believe me, as an undergraduate I've battled many worthless TAs only to have the head of their department say that they have to back up the TA because that's just how its done.
When I got to graduate school, it was a different ballgame and I really put a professor through the ringer with the department when she tried to give me a bad grade because she was incompetent. But when I did that, I slowly went up the chain, documented every conversation and interaction, highlighted the syllabus, noted changes she made mid-semester to the syllabus, and then made a formal complaint. In turn, the professor was reprimanded by both the head of faculty and head of graduate studies, and my grade was fixed. But that was a serious slog to get through.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: Consider the situation as something like you're going to paint an abstract image - you're free to sketch whatever you can imagine but there has to be a meaning or purpose for what you're doing. The point is this: your professor is probably unaware of what you consider as "flaw" in dealing with his students, as such, serving as his "shadow" could make him realize such thing. But if he is aware, then the problem is not to think about the ways to harmoniously deal with him; rather, you should adjust with the kind of classroom atmosphere that he wants.
It's indeed "abstract" because no one else really knows the best way to have the kind of learning environment or teacher that you want other than you...
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: It's his job to instill to his students he knows everything so they will listen and follow him. All you would be doing is damaging what he is trying to build with his students.
It won't go well for you, nor offer you anything positive in the course and most likely harm your grades. If you know more then most, then instead of using it to attack your teacher, do something that will equally give you what I believe you do want from the teacher -- "His respect, & knowing you are very knowledgeable" -- by offering assistance to other students who do need help.
This way you get to show your intelligence in the field, your teacher will love the help in class with most teachers already being spread thin, and he will most likely shine on your grades better. Even if "YOU" do make a mistake, because of the effort at assisting others, he may overlook it when grading.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: Let me put it like this, he is the teacher and you are the student. Ask yourself if the things he is wrong about, are really worth mentioning. If not, then it is probably best you keep quiet, and don't compromise your grades. There are always going to be people like him. If you keep trying to challenge him, you may very well become a 'right' fighter yourself, like him.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: It depends on whether this teacher is dangerously wrong or not.
If his teaching the wrong things to everyone then he needs to be challenged. Challenging him in class won't help. Talk to him in his comfort zone and find out what you can. If he is genuinely a bad teacher, you need to find your campus support network and work out how to escalate the problem.
But in this case it sounds like he is a good teacher, trying to get through a lesson as others have said, but not necessarily completely up-to-date or good at putting down smart-arses.
In this case, learn what you can, he might have old ideas that are really great! When you can teach his class, critique it.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: Never *challenge* a lecturer. Ask. If it's something that isn't directly related to PRECISELY the point they're currently teaching, ask during office hours rather than in front of the whole class.
Praise in public, criticize in private -- and criticize by asking "would this have been another answer, and if so why is the one you showed us better", rather than by acccusing.
Quoting Dean Inge: "There are two kinds of fool. One says 'This is old, and therefore good.' The other says 'This is new, and therefore better.'" Before demonstrating yourself to be the latter type, ***politely*** make sure you understand what was actually being taught and why. You may have completely missed the point he was making.
(Note that this is just as true when working with a boss, or even when you're the boss. Start with a discussion rather than assuming one or the other side is inherently true and that there must be a winner or loser. In the end, the boss *does* have the final say, because they have to consider more than just the technical merits of that one point, but you're a lot more likely to have a pleasant and productive experience if you try to work with people rather than against them.)
One more thought: "who thinks he's always right" is more of a comment about your attitude than about that of the instructor. Of COURSE he thinks what he's teaching is correct, or he wouldn't be teaching it. That doesn't mean he can't be wrong, but it does mean you need to respectfully justify your objection if you want it (and yourself) to be taken seriously. And unless the error is a simple typo/"thinko", that's likely to take more time than should be sliced out of most lectures. Talk to him afterward. He can always announce a correction at the next lecture if you convince him that one is needed. And if you can't convince him, ask yourself why not rather than assuming he's just being an ass.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: Here in the United States, critical thinking is one of the core values of our higher education system. This is a social and institutional value that is opposite to the values seen in many other cultures, where the professor is always right, even when s/he is wrong. A competent college professor in the US should always welcome skeptical comments from students. The word "skeptic" itself comes simply from the Greek verb "to think." If you're not being skeptical, you're not thinking.
Of course, these values are not universal. For example, the educational system in India is infamous for teaching by rote memorization and discouraging critical thinking.
As a professor, I've often made mistakes in class and been very grateful to students who corrected them. I often joke to my students that if I inadvertently wrote 2+2=5 on the board, I worry that they would come up to me after class and ask, "Professor, you wrote 2+2=5 on the board. I always thought it was 4, but is 5 the answer you want us to give on the test?"
You should not refrain from asking questions in class because of any fear that it will confuse other students or make the professor fall behind and not have time to finish the lecture. Mistakes are very confusing to other students until they're corrected, and the reason you have a textbook is so that you have a source of information for any topics that there wasn't enough time to cover in class.
Of course you should exercise normal tact, consideration, and humility. The goal is not to fight a battle with your teacher, it's to help yourself and everyone else in the class understand the subject correctly. There's the joke that at the age of 20, I knew everything, but now that I'm older I know a lot less. In computer science, there are basic principles that don't change much over time (a quick sort scales better than a bubble sort), but there's a lot of other random junk that amounts to styles and fads (choices of particular computer languages). Don't fall into the trap of thinking that there's something wrong with your professor just because he doesn't emphasize the flavor of the week.
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> he's been known to give lower grades to students who asked him too many questions he wasn't able to properly answer
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It's hard for me to imagine how you would know this. It's not as though you have access to records of what these other students' grades were on every assignment and a side-by-side comparison with what the grades would have been if they hadn't asked questions. It seems just as likely that these students had overblown opinions of their own abilities and therefore felt their grades were unfair.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_9: This depends a lot on the country and university specifics. However during my studies once happened for me to observe students replacing professor they deemed it is not competent enough for the particular course.
The student group should apply to university management asking to replace the teacher as not good enough. Of course, such application must list multiple factual errors in presented material, uncovered topics that you consider important for the subject, examples of undelivered information that you think would be highly relevant to the given lecture and the like. Significant number of students should apply so it would be difficult just to represent this as a personal conflict.
If the teaching person is not a head of laboratory / department but instead is under supervision of another competent professor, you may also talk to his supervisor. Some universities concentrate on research so deeply that teaching may be delegated to somebody more junior and less experienced.
If you cannot find enough arguments or supporters for this procedure, the professor is actually competent ...
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/15 | 1,157 | 5,286 | <issue_start>username_0: When I started searching for a graduate programs that fits my research interests in the United States, I noticed that some universities have separate "Computer Engineering" and "Electrical Engineering" departments, while other universities have a combined department "Electrical engineering and Computer science".
Why do some universities choose to divide or combine these disciplines?<issue_comment>username_1: For starters, the descriptions for these areas of study in the US are not the same as they are in Europe, or other parts of the world. Sometimes they are not even the same for schools throughout the US. It is up to that particular department to provide a name of the program. This provides some flexibility to alter that name with the times.
For example, many modern computer science programs began in mathematics departments and were not split until a few decades ago.
Now, computer engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science are separate fields of study. Electrical engineering may never actually make use of a computer system, and may focus on radar systems or radio waves.
Computer engineering may focus on the combined series of electronics that work together to comprise the computer system. For example, transistors, capacitors, circuit boards, or processors.
And computer science may never go into the electronics of a computer system, but focus entirely on the software implementation, algorithm design, protocols, signal reliability, etc etc.
Electrical engineering and computer science might be a hybrid of the two, such as programming embedded hardware, creating APIS, or digital signal processing in general.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: It's usually politics or prestige.
Back in the days when the computer science discipline was heating up (mid to late 1990s), there was a big discussion on where to put computer science. Traditionally, it was a science, but at that time the economic outlook for high-tech (which included electrical engineering and computer engineering) was really, really hot, and it was fashionable to have a department that encompassed "everything high tech". Thus, there was a big push to move computer science to the Faculty of Engineering. This was augmented at the time by the birth of "software engineering" programs and by a number of papers discussing programming and software development as more "engineering design" than "science".
Fast-forward twenty years or so, and you have what we have now, where programs that are related to "high-tech" are roughly grouped together.
As stated already, the disciplines are different. I won't repeat @TinActon's words since he's summarized them well. However, they operated under the same high-tech umbrella for a while.
Really, you don't choose the department - you choose a program, but it's more likely that there's synergistic (industrial) collaboration in a department that has EE, CE, and CS together, as the industries that hire in EE, CE, and CS tend to overlap a lot. However, that's not to say that there isn't cross-disciplinary opportunities for CS and the other science fields either. Biology and chemistry and physics all have a very high dependence on equipment and techniques developed in the EE/CE/CS side, and similarly EE/CE/CS benefit from the work being done in the sciences side.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: It may be immature curriculum development or mundane matters such as staffing and building architecture. In any case, computer engineering has to have some focus on digital electronics, while electrical engineering with analog electronics, and then computer science need not focus at the hardware level at all.
These will be very specific to the personality of the department, it's not really a detriment either way as long as their emphasis matches your interests.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: Lets run though some examples:
Note though that usage differs a lot.
**Electrical Engineering:** General power, motors, generators, transmission lines ...
**Electronic Engineering:** Transistors, ICs, signal processing ...
**Computer Engineering:** Adders, multipliers, CPU design ... (to an extent a special case of Electronic Engineering)
**Computer Science::** Algorithms, Machine Learning (*computer science is no more the study of computers than chemistry is the study of test tubes*)
**Software Engineering:** How to make computer programs.
**Computational Science:** Doing science (eg biology) making use of computers (eg for simulations).
**Mechatronic Engineering:** combined mechanical and electronic engineering. Robots.
But these definitely overlap, also some things are poorly defined (Eg is computer vision CS or software eng?).
I have a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, from my universities Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering department.
Within which I took units in Electrical, Electronic, Mechatronic, Software, and Computer engineering.
I also have a degree in computer and mathematical science, from the Computer Science and Software Engineering department. Where about half my units were on software engineering, and where people had the option to take mechatronic and computer engineering units.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/01/15 | 3,298 | 13,329 | <issue_start>username_0: I am a second year PhD student in probability from the UK. I enjoy what I do, but here is a problem:
as I dig deep into my study, I realize I have to read a lot of stuff I do not fully understand and they often arise in fields of study which are not probability, but related areas: e.g. PDE theory, functional analysis.
I have a basic understandings about some of these things, sometimes I might even feel I have enough to get by, but I am unsatisfied. This is perhaps due to the fact I never studied some of these topics as an undergraduate, but to be fair, no one told me an understanding of PDE theory is very useful to probability (I even think this only depends on what you do)
I do want to know more and previously I tried to attend multiple courses in a term to make up for some of this - this was not effective. Going to 1 or 2 courses a term is fine, but doing any more is a big drain of time if I want to fully understand the material lecture.
So have others experienced this? What is the best way of getting around this?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> so have others experienced this?
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Basically **every** smart person feels like that when starting their studies. The majority of the people for which this is not true are usually not the second coming of <NAME> or Dr. <NAME>, but simply affected by the [Dunning-Kruger Effect](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect). You are not supposed to know everything, and in fact you never will. You already have a head start on your colleagues, who have simply not yet discovered (or wilfully ignore) that they do not fully comprehend many of the seminal papers in your or related fields. You, at least, can work on this in order to produce better research.
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> what is the best way of getting around this?
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There is no *getting around* this. To paraphrase the title of your question, many things **are** to be learned. That's part of doing a PhD. The trick is to **learn what you will really need for your research**, and to not get lost in the things that are interesting but ultimately not relevant to you. This requires some experience. Hopefully, your advisor or a postdoc will put you on track of what to focus on for now.
As funny as the advice mentioned by @dgraziotin above sounds - in practice, what you really need to develop is a good mental filter to select the 15 or so papers from a 30k papers field that are really relevant to to you.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Man... I have this problem on an hourly base. Here I will throw a bunch of "strategies" I have been accumulating for you to consider.
**Sleep on it**
Seriously. If I have to actually learn everything I think I should learn, I'd need to be live beyond 480 years old. And since the more you learn, the more you don't know... this route is not viable.
A lot of the times, I suppressed the impulse and slept on it. In the process I usually think about this questions:
1. Do I need to learn this or do I want to learn this? Would the new knowledge make my work complete or make it better?
2. Can the piece stand alone fine without it? Can it still contribute to the research questions I need to answer?
3. Can I explain what I wouldn't learn as a potential extension/development in the Discussion section? Perhaps other people can work on it?
Usually after a couple rounds of iteration, I could ditch most of what I wanted to learn, and focus on learning the skills that would make my projects a complete project.
**Keep a wish list**
Be it a go or not, I always write that down whenever I thought I need to know something. I use EverNote to document all these strayed thoughts. And if I come across any relevant materials (review articles, short courses, software, etc,) I'll document them with the same tags.
**Draw a skill tree**
It also pays off to sit down and analysis what are your knowledge and skill sets. A skill tree is simply just a conceptual framework or mind map that links up your skills and domain knowledge. Some people may grow a big deep-rooted tree while some may favor a garden of little bit of everything. We need both types of people but generally I would consider in academia it is better to have a good big tree with some side bushes.
Now, you can focus on a few major branches, what are the domain knowledge? What are the skills associated with them? And what are the applications that are associated with each skill? I found it easier to start with my courses I have taken and the syllabi of those courses. You can also consider using some competencies published by professional organization as a blueprint.
For myself, my big tree is statistical analysis applied in biomedical studies. If someone asks me to work on a project about, say, psychometrics, which is part statistics part psychology... I may return to look at my trees and think if this new skill will make a logical branch, or it's too far off. And if it's too far off, is it worth to plant a new one for this? And what kind of root (aka basic courses or books) do I need to plant? Then decide if it's a go or not.
I found this exercise pretty useful because i) it's therapeutic, you may be amazed by your domain knowledge. And you're likely going to feel better about yourself. And ii) having a bird view network helps a lot on deciding the relevance of the desired skills.
**Think return of investment**
Before diving into the skill, think how much the skill can help you back. There are many sides to consider:
1. Will it lead to higher competitiveness or salary?
2. Will it complement/strengthen your skill tree? Would there be any synergy?
3. Can you re-purpose or re-use this skill? How versatile it is?
4. Will I be using this skill enough to rip the benefit of the time and resource I spent in the learn process? etc.
Return of investment exercise is best done when you have competing desired skills to learn. Put them side by side, design a rubric if you must, and evaluate which one is better to go for.
**Gathering good resources is 80% of the game**
Okay... after much thought, we decided to learn a skill. When learning a new skill the major problem is not knowing where to start. I usually perform this beginning rituals:
1. Read up on Wikipedia or other encyclopedia to acquire general lingo.
2. Read a couple relevant review articles.
3. Schedule a meeting with a someones proficient in that skill/knowledge and ask for a few recommendations on i) text book, ii) journals, iii) controversies, and iv) prominent schools of thought and researchers in the field.
4. Search for some syllabi that teach these knowledge and document their text books, software, course structure, etc. Those usually give you a good sense on what to cover.
5. Gather all materials, and start working on it.
**Immerse at least 20 hours into it with undivided attention**
This is a slight modification of Kaufman's [The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything... Fast!](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1591845556). The book itself is not super groundbreaking but Kaufman also pulled a stunt journalism and explained how he learned some new skills and brought them up to functional level in 20 hours. It's an entertaining read, but what I got away from it is the importance of preparation and immersion.
I usually spread my learning into many 90-minute chunk, and then make sure to enter these blocks first at the start of every week. I laid out what I need to learn, read, do exercises, watch videos, perform self-evaluation, talk to others (e.g. your committee members or other scholars)... It's actually pretty amazing looking at how I become a half-baked specialist in a matter of week.
In the learning process, I focus on learning the basics really well, and I write down a lot of questions (for me or my specialist friends to answer later.) I also try to figure out the flow the ideas and their connections. When working on a problem I don't insist of getting it right, but I do insist on getting why it's wrong.
**Compose a self-learning syllabus every 6 months**
Every semester I also compose a self-learning syllabus. Basically I design courses for myself. I started doing this last year because I was getting tired always having to catch up with tasks that require me to learn new skills. I wanted to turn the table: I am going to learn some skills that I chose, and I'll look for opportunities in the tasks that I can apply what I learn and enrich the contents. I feel that being even just very so slightly more proactive has injected a good sense of control into my life.
**Closing remarks**
I can't say I am a successful learner, but I am moving along bit by bit. Action, even just very little each time, is the most important ingredient. Hikers may know this feeling... all the hills look so darn tall, but once you stepped onto the trail, the scenery was great, the air was fresh, and suddenly you forgot to wonder how tall the hill was.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: If your question is:
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> How do I learn (quickly) all the material that I need in order to be
> proficient in my area
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then Penguin\_Knight's answer has some excellent suggestions.
If the question is also
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> How do I avoid feelings of despair and hopelessness when I think of
> how much I have to learn
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then the trick is to change the premise. You're not acquiring knowledge in a Ph.D as if you're drinking from a (very large) cup that needs to be finished before you can move on.
Rather, you've been plonked down without preparation in the middle of a raging river, when all you've ever dealt with before are little rivulets that drip into a cup.
Accordingly, the goal here is not to try and "drink the river", but merely to observe little eddies and streams in the torrent and learn something about them. As you become more and more proficient, you'll see more and more of the river and you'll be able to manipulate it better, but you are never "in control" of the entire torrent.
I might be stretching this analogy further than it can go, but hopefully my point is coming through: that you shouldn't fall into the fallacy of having to learn "everything" in order to be a competent researcher. Rather, as Penguin\_Knight says early on, you should think strategically about what you really need to learn and how you can pick up relevant skills based on what you're working on.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: You have 2 choices.
1) as a probability researcher, invent the infinite probabability drive and use this to increase the probability that you can instantly learn everything that will ever be known.
2) go back and read username_1's great answer.
<http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Infinite_Improbability_Drive>
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: One way to keep it in perspective is to realize that these feelings are only going to become more extreme as your career progresses, but they aren't actually a problem in themselves. Instead, once you get used to them, they can actually be a source of joy.
You're never going to catch up, because the amount you learn will grow at best linearly with time, while the amount of research you recognize to be relevant and important will grow rapidly (seemingly exponentially) as you learn more. You'll never be able to say "Well, now I've got a solid foundation in everything I need to know," because each topic you learn will naturally suggest two more. And the more you understand how deep and interconnected everything is, the more you will realize how limited your understanding actually is. Anyone who thinks they have the world all figured out is not a researcher.
As I see it, this is cause for celebration. The scope of your favorite subject is unbounded! In a few years, you will happily be using ideas you barely understand right now, or perhaps haven't even heard of yet. From a broad enough perspective, you have interests in common with researchers who superficially seem to be doing something utterly different. Why would you give up infinite possibilities in favor of a limited world?
I can sympathize with feeling overwhelmed. I remember sitting in a class thinking to myself "This is beautiful stuff, but I'm glad I won't need to use it myself, because that would be a lot to master in addition to my own research area," and then, a few years later, realizing to my horror that I did need to master it. It's not easy, but you shouldn't let that put you off. Research isn't easy for anyone. Famous mathematicians are also missing knowledge that would help them in their research, just like you are, so nobody can judge you or look down on you for your ignorance. Ultimately, we are all ignorant and struggling to become less so. Fortunately, what we learn is enough to justify the struggle.
As for concrete suggestions, the other answers have lots of useful information, especially [the one by Penguin\_Knight](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/15831/). One thing I'd emphasize is the importance of keeping at it over time, even if progress seems slow. It's easy to get depressed if you work intensely on something and have to give up when you can't sustain the time commitment. By contrast, slow but continual progress will really accumulate over time.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/01/15 | 1,426 | 6,460 | <issue_start>username_0: This has been a subject that has occupied my thoughts for the past years but haven't really managed to formulate it completely for myself. I have this feeling (and I can't say it's more than a feeling at this point) that native speakers of English have an easier time with getting their article published.
I should make it clear, right away, that I don't mean just because you are a native speaker you can get whatever published, but given a particular project, if the main author is a native speaker the article is more likely to get accepted, or at least draw more positive reviews. I motivate the potential existence of such a bias on the fact that it's likely that a native speaker does a better job in writing than someone who has English as a foreign language.
Since I do not have any data to back this theory up, I would like to ask if you have come across any numbers/facts regarding any such bias in the publication/acceptance rates in general, as well as high-IF journals specifically.
**EDIT:** I should perhaps rephrase and add a bit more details to the question here. I do not refer to small grammatical mistakes, misspellings or anything of that nature. What I am referring to here, is the wider vocabulary a native-speaker has in his/her disposal, the phrases and expressions that they use that might not be readily and easily available to non-native speaker. I could perhaps summarise it the differences as the metaphorical chocolate chips that a native speaker can and most likely will bake into the cookie that is the manuscript.
I am clear on the point that the clearness criteria is still the most important and that's why I did not talk about the rejections (it's natural that non-native speakers get their papers rejected based on language more often compared to native speakers). As a non-native speaker myself, it is beyond any doubt that I need to write my manuscripts with a clearly understandable language in order for them to get published, but again that's not really what I am asking here. I am more interested in whether or not articles written by native speakers come across as "better quality" based on the fact that they are more likely to utilise their edge with the language.
There are of course other factors at play, but it would be interesting to see if there are any stats involved.<issue_comment>username_1: Let me share with you my personal experience and feeling about this issue. I am not a native English speaker and I am aware that my word choices and the patterns of my sentences makes it clear to my audiences and especially my readers. However, I have received several positive compliments in the referee reports of my papers about my writings. Therefore I strongly believe that people who are in charge of deciding about accepting a paper mostly consider the logical and grammatical correctness of the writing of the paper ( and of course its scientific value). So I would be very surprised if I see such a phenomenon as you described.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: The answer is yes but the issue is not as clear as you state it. To publish a paper, it must meet certain criteria which include form, clarity and of course scientific contribution. If you are a native speaker it will be easier to meet these criteria and particularly those that deal with language issues. The disadvantage we, who are non-native speakers, meet is to be good enough with regards to these criteria. The point is not that grammatical errors as such may make acceptance less likely but if the language makes understanding the paper difficult or even make one misunderstand the paper, then it becomes a problem.
So the problem can be called bias but it can also be seen as not meeting the standards required. From the latter point it is not clearly a matter of native *vs.* non-native speakers but a matter of being able to express the science in an intelligible way. I am chief editor of an international journal, albeit not with the IF of Nature, and out of all papers we reject (50% of all submitted) a small part is based on the above problem. In most cases it is due to poor science and then with no particular emphasis on native or not speakers.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: If the effect is due to native speakers writing better in that language --- whether that's due to fewer grammatical errors, larger vocabulary, it's not really a native-speaker bias as such. You could say that native speakers have an "unfair advantage" in the sense that they have a leg up in using the language, but I think it's incorrect to call that a bias. Tall players may have an advantage in basketball, but that on its own doesn't mean that there is a "tallness bias" in player selection.
In addition, it's not clear how reviewers (or anyone else who hadn't met the author personally) could know that the author was a native speaker, as opposed to just a good writer in the language. I'd say that to argue it was a native speaker bias specifically, you'd have to show that native speakers as a whole were given preferential treatment over non-native speakers, independent of their writing ability.
A different question, though, would be whether there's a *writing quality* bias. I think it's possible that articles with a "better" writing style (whatever that may mean) get an edge over articles that are competently but not so eloquently written. It could be argued that this is a bias, if it means that interesting and important results are less likely to be published due to writing-quality issues at the top end of the scale. Everyone agrees that some minimum level of writing quality is needed for the article to be readable and useful, but if excellent writing "above and beyond" that minimum gives an article an undue boost over others with equally important findings, that could be a bias. Again, though, it would be a bias in the relative evaluation of characteristics of the *articles* themselves, not a bias related to the *author*'s status as a native or non-native speaker. In particular, this would mean that native speakers who aren't very good writers would also be adversely affected by the bias.
I don't know of any data on this issue, but I'd be skeptical that there is a bias towards native speakers per se. I could believe there is a bias towards better writing (even when extra-good writing "doesn't matter" in terms of the scientific value of the article).
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/01/15 | 594 | 2,696 | <issue_start>username_0: My undergraduate research adviser is expelled from the university for political reasons (in Middle East) after more than a decade of teaching and research. Now they have even forced the department to remove his name from the faculty list on the website of the department and they have taken away his academic email address.
I am applying to graduate schools in US and I want to include his recommendation letter in my application. What are the chances that the admission committee rejects my application due to
1. My adviser not being listed on the department webpage.
2. Not having an official email.
Some additional info: He has tens of publications which indicate his affiliation. He does have the letter head of the university, which can be used to print the letter on. The webpage of the department cannot be easily found by one search. One must find it through the university website which can take some effort.<issue_comment>username_1: This is a tricky situation, but as long as everyone is careful and honest, you should be fine.
Here's what I would recommend. Yes, you should ask your former advisor to submit a reference letter on your behalf, from his non-academic email address. You should mention in your statement that he has left your university, but you should not say anything about **why** he left. Any further details are up to your former advisor to reveal, if he wishes to do so.
Your former advisor absolutely should **not** submit his letter on university letterhead, because he is not affiliated with the university. He should include a very brief bio describing his *former* affiliation and listing his departure date. If possible, he should include some external evidence of his scholarship, like a pointer to his Scopus or Google Scholar profile. If he wants to describe the circumstances of his departure, he should keep the story *very brief*; his letter should focus on **you**, not about him, his former employer, or their political conflicts.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: An attempt to represent the former scientist as "not a scientist at all" in my opinion does not make any sense.
Normally, the university professor should have publications. These publications stay forever. Not only they confirm the competence, also the article headers always include information about the authors affiliation. If the journals have been at least moderately reputable, such publications can be easily found on the web.
Simply ask for a letter of recommendation. Of course, to make verification easier, he could also write a couple of sentences about himself, pointing to his most successful publications.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/01/15 | 554 | 2,471 | <issue_start>username_0: What do the admission committees learn about an applicant by knowing which other programs and schools one has applied to? Does applying to another program which is more prestigious make the applicant seem more serious?<issue_comment>username_1: Some things I (as someone sitting in academic admission committees) would learn from this question is
1. is the person flexible (willing to move)
2. Did (s)he just apply to some randomly selected institutions or is there a clear dedication to one field
3. Who are my main competitors (and this might be the true reason for this question).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: One thing that some programs look at is whether you are likely to come if they accept you. Say you have a 4.0 gpa, perfect GREs, great letters of recommendation, and publications in respected journals from your undergrad research, and you apply to a bunch of the top schools and some mediocre schools. If there isn't something in your personal statement explaining why you are applying to the mediocre school, and that school sees all the other great schools you applied to, that school may not accept you because they assume even if they did, you would surely go elsewhere. Why would a university do this? Well its a waste of money to fly you out, but more importantly when someone gets put on the wait-list awaiting your decline of the offer, that person may accept other offers from schools that did not wait-list them. I have been told first hand by members of admission committees that the "where else did you apply to" question is used at least partially for this purpose.
Additionally, at the university administration level, they like to keep track of which universities they compete with for students. I have seen Universities present statistics on how many students reject their offers, and which universities they end up in. So the question is also probably there for statistics tracking purposes unrelated to the admission process. This is a potential reason why even the top schools will ask this question.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I concur with username_1 that competitive intelligence is the major reason for this question, but there is one individual-level strategic concern: financial aid. It's sometimes possible to guess what kind and amount of aid a given applicant is likely to attract. That leaves us with the question of whether we can or should match it.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/15 | 309 | 1,414 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm a medical school graduate student. However, I wish to apply for a PhD program in molecular and cell biology, I'm interested in understanding the interactions within and between cells at molecular level. However, it seems that at many programs, courses on physics and mathematics are required. I didn't take any mathematical or physical courses. Is it possible to take these courses without having to go through the whole bachelor's curriculum? If this is possible, how could I do this?<issue_comment>username_1: Most of PhD projects in molecular and cell biology concentrate on experimental work and you will need to read a lot about other experimental works, results and conclusions, etc.
You may also need to read about structures and interactions but this will be similar to human anatomy and physiology you have already tried.
This is unlikely to be a problem for a medical graduate. I would say, go on.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: In the US it is not uncommon for universities to allow students to take individual courses without seeking a degree. This is especially true of some of the larger introductory type courses that are required for getting into grad school. It is probably worth contacting the schools you are interested in applying and telling them you have not taken all the prerequisite courses and if there is something that can be arranged.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/16 | 790 | 3,306 | <issue_start>username_0: What percentage of PhD theses (e.g., physics ones) are rejected nowadays? And why?<issue_comment>username_1: Very small, as every failed PhD defence is also a shame for the professor. As a result, the professor will not allow to proceed with defence of the really weak work. And he will listen for other professors that would usually tell in advance they think to vote against.
Hence, most likely, the following will happen:
* If a PhD student just does not work enough, the professor
will not allow to continue studies after some time.
* If a PhD
student is mad with some own theory or topic that academic community
unlikely to accept, the professor will not allow to defend such a
work.
* If it is really a bad luck with your topic, the professor will
change the topic.
* If the professor has made a strategic mistake and
your diligent work does not give results that could be published in a
good journal, the professor should normally try to publish anyway in less reputable sources, good enough for PhD defence.
The PhD supervisor is more interested in your success than a lecturer is interested in the progress of the student. Same professor that writes low grades with relatively little attention (as long as he is sure the student deserves) will spend more time when acting as a PhD supervisor, will try to help, will try to fix the topic. This is because PhD project is also *his* research project. And who would want ones research project to fail? Of course, the professor tries to find a good PhD student for his project, or, if this was not successful, at least to fire lazy or uncooperative student in the first year. But this is way before the actual PhD defence.
If to ask differently, how many PhD students do not get they degree at the end, this really depends a lot on the traditions inside the institution. However in all places I have seen this was below 20 % or about. The first post doctoral position is also seldom a problem.
The next serious threshold you will need to pass is the professor position or at least a permanent researcher position, if you want to stay in science.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I'm only personally aware of one student who failed his PhD defense (this is at an R1 US university). After his advisor refused to approve his thesis, he went over his head and got the department chair to schedule the defense anyway. Results were predictable.
On the other hand, "major revisions" are very common, especially, I hear, in the humanities (in engineering, it's far more common to receive token feedback -- if the committee reads the thesis at all! -- than demands for substantial changes).
Outright failing a student during a defense is an extreme embarassment, for the department, for the PhD committee, for the advisor, and of course for the student, so there is every incentive to ensure that a thesis that goes to defense will pass. Moreover, since most theses these days are compilations of previously-published work, it is very easy to tell well in advance if the student is expected to pass.
So if an advisor has doubts about the quality of a student's thesis, he will either ask the student to spend more time improving it, or "suggest" the student start looking for jobs in industry.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer] |
2014/01/16 | 1,736 | 7,857 | <issue_start>username_0: Many times I learn or look for some information, I find scientific article on [ieeexplore.ieee.org](http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/) or similar, where articles are paid. Most of the articles are written by some professors of universities or students about their work.
My question is, why do they sell their results?
If I was a professor and made some work, I would like to gain some acknowledgement for it and I think there is no better way then see others work based on mine. So why not to publicly share the article for free?
I understand that private companies sell their innovations because that's the main source of their income, but people at universities are usually paid and writing articles are part of their job.
**So what are the advantages of selling results instead of sharing for free (is there any other except money)?**
**Does selling your results have any negative influence?**
PS: I may not have enough backstage knowledge about how it works on universities and I don't want to offend anybody. I also don't mean work people do in their own free time, but work they do on behalf of universities. This just slows down the development and overall research in field in my eyes.<issue_comment>username_1: The publication business is largely just that, a business. Publishers make money from selling their product, they need money to keep staff to provide the services as well as make a profit among other things. No journals that I am aware of, or at least have been in contact with, salary authors for what they write. I am sure there may be the odd exception but in general, research articles render no income to the author. Books may be a different story of course.
In the last decades or so Open Access publishing has become more common and some research funding agencies demand results are published in such journals. Check, for example, the [Open Access](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_access) for an introduction to Open Access or the [Open Access Net site](http://open-access.net/de_en/homepage/) for additional information. Open Access does not mean everything is free but it moves the charges from the reader to the author so that authors pay to have their papers published. There are free services for publishing. As with everything else, some less scrupulous business models have sprung out of the Open Access idea such as so-called [predatory journals](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predatory_open_access_publishing)Unfortunately. So awareness is necessary.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Professors who publish their research results normally do not earn money from these paid articles. It is the publishing journal who earns. There are even journals who ask the author to pay for publishing the articles.
Contact the authors of the paid article directly and ask them for the copy of the article. Be polite, explain why do you need it for. In most cases, you will get that copy for free.
Also, try put the article name and authors into Google search. Another similar article by the same authors may exist and be free to download.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: As others pointed out, publishing has its costs (editing, maintaining website, creating and distributing print versions etc.) and that has to be paid for. Either by the readers, or by the authors. Each has its pros and cons and it depends on many things, which of the approaches the author takes (funding agency might require the article to be made freely accessible, the author may not have the resources to pay the publishing fee himself, there can be some customs in their field that everyone follows or something else).
I would, anyway, like to point out a different issue here – the number of readers is not affected much by the article being behind a paywall or not. Scientific articles use very technical language and assume certain level of knowledge in their readers, making them less accessible (or even completely unaccessible) to general public. The only readers then come from academic environments, and universities usually pay for subscriptions to the most important journals in each field. Other researchers can thus read scientific papers without any (visible) costs on their side. As long as there are universities willing to pay subscription fees, there will be journals where readers have to pay for articles.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I have had two papers published with IEEE when I was an undergrad. There is no provision for me, or any of my co-authors, to be paid by IEEE. In fact, I was required to pay steep conference registration and publication fees, and also a fee for an extra page on one of the papers, to have the papers published by IEEE. I recall that some conferences also actually require you to attend the conference in order to have the paper published, so, add mandatory hotel accommodations and an airline ticket to that as well (although I'm not complaining, since I got plenty of support from my universities, and conference trips are always a lot of fun).
The way the paper publishing world works is, after and if your work is accepted by a conference, you pay various registration fees and publication fees, [transfer your copyright to the publishing house like IEEE](http://cr.yp.to/writing/ieee.html) (there are some [tricks around this](http://cr.yp.to/bib/online.html), like giving up the copyright instead, by placing your paper into the [public domain](http://cr.yp.to/publicdomain.html)), or, as is the case with some other publishers, give them a non-exclusive irrevocable royalty-free licence, and then they publish your work on their web-site (with a right of collecting fees from web-site users, too), as well as possibly into a printed proceedings of the conference that's given to all attendees (sometimes for an extra fee, too).
Many universities in the US, Canada, England and other contries, pay IEEE some kind of subscription fees, so, anyone on the university network is automatically given unlimited free access to all such papers that are published by IEEE. Otherwise, if you're using a home connection, or your university lacks any such agreement with IEEE, then IEEE collects individual fees for every paper directly from end users (and gives none of it to the authors of said papers).
As mentioned by other answers, many authors also place a copy of their papers on their own web-site. This is often done illegally, since they often no longer own the copyright to such papers, so, depending on the circumstances, IEEE and such can potentially resort to legal methods to enforce its copyright against the illegal copies. For practical reasons and bad-publicity considerations, this is not actively done in reality. It is also the case that after having the copyright assigned to itself, IEEE and other publishers generally give some kind of non-exclusive licence back to the authors with some limited rights on what could be done with an exact copy of the paper. IANAL, but I think the language of such licence is generally restrictive enough that you're not actually supposed to provide the very same copy of the paper elsewhere to the general public in an unrestricted access.
---
In contrast, these academic conferences are different to the technical conferences around open-source software. With technical conferences, there is a lot of members of the general public who want to see the presentation of the author, and such members of the public pay modest registration fees, which, when taken together, together with some contributions by big-name sponsors, are enough not only to support the web-site with free access to all the resources, and potentially a publication of the paper proceedings, but are also often sufficient enough to even cover the airfare and other travel expenses of the authors.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/17 | 508 | 1,897 | <issue_start>username_0: My tex based on Espanta's answer
```
@techreport{AAMI,
title = {Recommended Practice for Testing and Reporting Performance Results of Ventricular Arrhythmia Detection Algorithms},
institution = {{Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation}},
year = {1987},
address = {Arlington, VA, USA}
}
```
which is shown correctly now after Espanta's answer in Bibliography.
However, the thing is shown in my text similarly as before :
where **AAM (1987)** is shown.
I do not know what I should have in the text body for this citation, since the citation does not have author but institution.
I think **AAMI (1987)** is good.
**What is the correct way of citing this organisation in IEEE style?**<issue_comment>username_1: I think what you are referring to is a technical report or white paper from certain company. Then it should not be misc type. I think if you change your item from misc to technical report, the IEEE style in latex will handle it.
The correct field in citation style should be
Authors(if any), title, publisher, address, year.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Referring to
>
> I do not know what I should have in the text body for this citation, since the citation does not have author but institution. I think AAMI (1987) is good.
>
>
>
and
>
> The other problem remains with having appropriate text when citing the document in the body.
>
>
>
(comment to @username_1)
When using LaTeX / Bibtex, you are not supposed to control how the citation appears in your text. **This is the task of the style that you are using**. Unless you have clear evidence that this is not the case, I would assume if a given journal requires you to use a given style, then **whatever text the style generates should be ok**.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/17 | 495 | 2,104 | <issue_start>username_0: I am trying to figure out if a paper is open access or not. My university subscribes to many non-open access journals. Some journals offer mixed models where some papers are open access and others are not.
Some journal websites tell me I have accessed them through an institutional subscription, but if the journal uses a mixed model of open access, that does not mean all papers are behind a paywall. Is there a reliable way to tell if a paper is behind a paywall?
In particular I am interested in knowing if this [Nature paper](http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v323/n6088/abs/323533a0.html) is behind a paywall.<issue_comment>username_1: To answer your particular question: When trying to read it from home, it tells me "To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right)." (costs: 30 $US).
You can easily check this by logging in from home, some public WiFi, or even with your mobile device (as long as it is not using WiFi in your university network to connect).
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: For a particular paper you can use the advice provided by username_1 above, by trying to click the link over public wifi without logging into your universities library (or you can even use a public library computer or your smartphone)
However, if you want to discover if a particular journal (not article) is open access, mixed access or completely behind a paywall, you can't use this method. for mixed access journals/publishers, the easiest way to tell whether ALL of their articles are behind a paywall or only some is to read the section entitled something like "Instructions for authors". If open access is an option this will always be mentioned somewhere in the instructions for people submitting papers to the journal (because they can pay to make their article open access). The reason why you can't just look up a paper at home and look for "To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right)." is because this may only be the case for some of that journals articles.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/17 | 574 | 2,210 | <issue_start>username_0: Say a paper submitted for publication in a journal by Prof. <NAME> references a paper by Dr <NAME>, but that paper was the subject of a critical peer-reviewed comment by Prof. <NAME>. Should I insist as a reviewer that Prof. Spode's paper should also be referenced and the criticism at least mentioned, even if I personally do not agree with Prof. Spode's point of view?
My intuition is that the reader of a paper should reasonably expect to be made aware of any element on which Prof. Woosters work is based that has been seriously called into question, so that he is able to form an opinion on the matter. Am I being unreasonable in this expectation?<issue_comment>username_1: This depends on why you reference the paper. If you reference it because of the details that were later commented on, there is definitely reason to also mention the disagreement. I would consider that a basic aspect of any referencing of relevant literature. If, on the other hand the comments by Spode have later been shown to be wrong (Jeeves, 2008) or irrelevant the "historic" discussion has little relevance.
So I think your sense is correct. But, the necessity to reference both depends on the reason for referencing. The two are not eternally linked for every aspect of the original paper, only the parts where opinions differ and from which the discussion has arisen.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I basically agree with [username_1's answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/15908/725). But I'm wondering:
* It's clear the follow-up papers need to be cited if they are important for the topic at hand. In that case, I'd not only reference them but sum them in a sentence or so.
* If they are not immediately relevant, I'd still mention them, like
>
> ... paper [Fink-Nottle] and the follow-up discussion [Spode, Fink-Nottle2]
>
>
>
or, even shorter
>
> ... paper [Fink-Nottle, Spode, Fink-Nottle2]
>
>
>
IMHO this is very low effort, and it is being nice to readers who want to look into the first Fink-Nottle paper (possibly because its topic is closer to what they are looking for than the major part of the present paper).
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/17 | 1,906 | 8,088 | <issue_start>username_0: I am interested in pursuing my own part-time postdoctoral research in computer science, with a view to getting one or two publications over the next two to three years. My motivations are personal interest, and also to keep my options open in case I decide to apply for an academic or research post in 2016.
I am not sure where I should start looking for a project. Should I read academic papers until I get ideas? Should I just try and brainstorm my own ideas? Should I go back to my current university supervisor, or my previous PhD supervisor?
*My Background*
I am nearly 41 and married with two children (aged 10 and 13). I gained my bachelor's in computing in 2006. In 2012 I submitted a thesis in artificial intelligence (case-based reasoning) and the PhD was awarded in 2013. My family are not keen on moving and we live in an area with very few high-tech or academic employment opportunities.
I can't see a way to extend my PhD research. I have never worked as a post-doc; before the PhD I was a database administrator and immediately afterwards I was a software developer.
Fortunately, late in 2013 I found a position on a UK government scheme known as Knowledge Transfer Partnerships. I am employed by a Scottish university to work within an English manufacturing company, to use AI techniques to solve a particular engineering problem. I am based at the manufacturing company and I see my university supervisor very rarely. I am not allowed to publish anything from this employment. The contract ends in August 2016.
The KTP project will probably use standard AI methods; I won't be inventing any new techniques. If the manufacturing company consented (and they will not!) it would be possible to publish, but it would only be as an interesting application of AI, not a new way of doing AI.
I have a substantial training budget (GBP £2000 a year) which—with the approval of my employer—I can spend going to conferences, buying books etc.
I have discussed the idea of doing research with my university supervisor, either performing experiments myself, or a literature review paper. She made some nice noises but she was not overly enthusiastic. I think she is worried that it will divert me from the KTP project (for which her university gets paid a lot of consultancy money) and possibly upset the construction company who I am based with.
My interests and skills lie in artificial intelligence (neural networks, case-based reasoning), computer-aided design and software engineering.
I still have my PhD supervisor on my LinkedIn page and I could approach her. However, I worry that she will think it is strange if I ask to collaborate with her, given that I am currently employed by a different university.
I can commute to my current workplace (it's about an hour away) and there are 2 good universities (and another two not-so-good ones) about 60-90 minutes' commute from our family home, so location is the biggest restriction for me, I can't force my wife and children to move.<issue_comment>username_1: Partial answer: **start reading!**
Read for both breadth and depth, and be sure to occasionally step outside the boundaries of what you are familiar with, even exploring fields that seem only tangentially related. In the process, you will almost certainly discover an area that is begging to be explored further. Indulge yourself, dive into the literature, buy books and attend conferences (for which you say you have a budget), and keep excellent notes while doing so.
You may discover that you can write a literature review fairly easily, and will probably also find that you have identified exactly what you wish to pursue for your research project. At worst, you will have spent many enjoyable hours increasing your knowledge; at best, you will be well on the way to completing your research.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Doing "unsponsored" research would be tricky, but at least it's more feasible in artificial intelligence than in other fields (such as experimental particle physics or cell biology).
In general, however, working with your PhD advisor on new projects after you have finished your doctoral research is considered a very bad thing. The reason is that this suggests that you are still dependent on your graduate advisor, and are effectively still "riding her coattails." Consequently, it suggest you're not ready to stand on your own, which makes you much less desirable to hiring committees. Furthermore, in places like Germany, if you have only published papers with your graduate advisor, one can argue that you're not actually yet qualified to be an independent principal investigator, which can reduce your ability to apply for and receive grants.
Note that this does **not** mean that you can't finish up papers that are part of your graduate thesis work after you graduate. It just means that you shouldn't start up anything new.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: The best way to start a project **that will get funded** is to read [funding announcements](http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/description.htm) (FOA, PA, RFA, RFP, etc.) in your areas of expertise and/or areas that really interest you. Funding announcements are availible directly from the funding agency, or through online database such as [Community of Science](http://pivot.cos.com/funding_main) and [Grants.gov](http://www.grants.gov). Reading funding announcements is an easy way to see the current state of knowledge as well as the gaps that exist (and available funding!).
I disagree with some of the other comments, collaborating with your PhD supervisor is very common (in my field). Furthermore, cross institutional collaboration is encouraged as pointed out by <NAME>. I see no downside to this.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: What do you want to achieve by doing research "on the side"? Is it purely for intellectual stimulation? Do you want to maintain/raise your profile in the field? Are you hoping to create something that leads directly to your next job (through a research grant or similar)? Thinking about these questions may help you work out where to go.
First, you need to consider whether your current (KTP) employer is likely to raise any conflict of interest issues, and ensure you steer clear of any potential difficulties. Then, think about your PhD work: are there any outstanding issues that you could investigate? Projects that never got written up? In your situation, anything where you have a head start on the research is valuable. I'd definitely get back in contact with your original supervisor - they may have ideas, or contacts, or simply advice. Whilst it's true that in an ideal world, you'd expand your pool of collaborators, anything is better than nothing.
Are there any research groups active in your field in the local universities? Make contact, find an excuse to visit - it can't hurt. Even better, are there any researchers from other fields attempting to apply AI to their own problems, or trying to solve problems that are suited to AI? (Almost certainly!) By bringing your knowledge to another field, you may be able to achieve much greater impact for a given amount of effort! And if you offer something that most people in that field don't have, you'll find people are much more keen to collaborate. If you make yourself sufficiently useful to a large and well-funded research group, you may find a job offer down the line. So, spend some time investigating what your local universities are good at, find something that interests you and you think you can contribute to, and make contact. They might not be interested, but it doesn't hurt to try (and you may find postdocs/junior faculty more receptive to developing a side-project than senior professors).
I guess the bottom line is: be pragmatic. Unless you're only interested in the intellectual stimulation, in your present situation, you need to focus on maximising the cost:benefit ratio. This might mean not working on the things that most interest you, for the time being.
Good luck!
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/18 | 1,132 | 5,064 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm beginning my graduate study in theoretical computer science soon, and I've been admitted to two graduate schools in Northeastern Asia.
One of those makes it a rule to grant compensation for travel to conferences to graduate students who finished their master's thesis. However, for beginning graduate students, they said they cannot be sure if they can fully afford their travel costs for conferences.
The graduate school requires the students little coursework and all I will do there will be do actual research. As you may know, conferences are important in computer science and reputable conferences are usually held far removed from us in Northeast Asia.
Can I do with journals and preprint servers, and possibly without reputable conferences, in the field of theoretical computer science, as a beginning graduate student?
(By the way, the cons of the other school are that the professor supervises too many students and that he hasn't been nice to me.)<issue_comment>username_1: In CS, conferences and journals serve different purposes: conferences are great for networking and exchange of ideas, and the important ones are having low acceptance rates so publishing there is worthy, but still, many (most?) are not listed in citation indexes and often people are just checking there for "real publications" (aka journal publications).
**Edit due to many comments:**
Just to clarify this: I did not say that it is GOOD to judge someone based on journal papers, I just said some people do! I personally had to learn this the hard way since I had many good conference publications which were not regarded as "publications" in some contexts.
**Edit end**
So if you do write journal publications, you made an important step towards a successful PhD (I know several advisoors who want to have x journal publications (x in {1..3} as pre-requisite), but you are missing the interaction and exchange of ideas. Especially in the first half of your thesis, this would be very valuable.
But maybe the people at grad school were just honest: Usually there are not enough travel funds to let everyone travel to every conference - one has to build a strategy on who visits which conference and how often. It's just a matter of resources since an international conference visit costs about 2.500€ and most funding schemes would not allow for more than one international conference per year.
I would recommend asking a grad student who is already there, how this is handled in practice.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: Conferences are *very* important in CS. Journals are also important, but they tend to accept more mature work, and therefore might be especially hard to publish into as a beginning graduate student (which, in your terms, seems to refer to someone who hasn't finished his/her master thesis yet). Nothing is impossible, of course, but you have to be careful not to end up with no publications after 4 years, just because you were aiming too high. In addition, some journals are very slow to respond, so you might spend half a year or even more waiting for a decision. In the mean time, you cannot send this work anywhere else.
You should ask students there how the official policy is, it might just be that they don't want to fund you a trip to a small workshop in Hawaii, but the question could be different if you were to get a paper at POPL. You should also consider that there are good conferences coming to Asia, and many conferences offer financial support to students (including reducing the registration fee, sometimes even helping with transport/accommodation). Finally, if you're writing your paper with someone else, such as your advisor, this person might be able to travel to the conference and present the paper (which would be a shame for you not to attend, but it still counts as a publication in your CV).
**EDIT** Some clarification: technically speaking, the only important thing is to produce good research, and to write good paper. What you plan to do after your PhD also matters, but if you'd like to stay in Academia, you will need at some point to get a job, and you will be judged on your papers (on other aspects too, but papers are very important). Now, to answer your question: **yes, you could get a job with only journal publications**, as long as they are good. **Is that the best strategy? Probably not**. Conferences are very important because they allow you to meet other people, to be exposed to state-of-the-art research, to confront your ideas with the community, to get published within a relatively short time period, to receive more frequent feedback, to construct your research project in a more incremental way (present your idea at some workshop, work on a good conference paper, present the extended version to a journal).
If I can give you one example, I've presented some of my work at a workshop with no proceedings (so it didn't count as a publication), and I met there someone who accepted to be one of my external PhD examiners.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer] |
2014/01/18 | 409 | 1,584 | <issue_start>username_0: I recently received an email from a department administrator that NSF rules have been changed ([link here](http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf14001/gpg_sigchanges.jsp)), such that *all investigators must fill out a conflict of interest (COI) form.* They then go on to list a cadre of examples which meet the definition of investigator and a statement that all investigators must fill out this form. Our university has the definition of investigator [here](http://orcr.arizona.edu/coi/uapol/investigator#investigator).
My question is, are graduate students typically considered investigators by the NSF? If so, we certainly do not receive the recognition that PIs and other *listed* investigators get.<issue_comment>username_1: Actually, the NSF, in its [Grant Proposal Guide](http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf14001/gpgprint.pdf), does not actually define the concept of an "investigator." Instead, it chooses to define the different categories as "senior personnel" and "other personnel." Typically, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students fall under "other personnel."
Personally, in such matters, I would opt on the side of caution and just have the graduate students fill out the conflict of interest form. It doesn't take very long, and having it in place makes life easier for everyone.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: PI stands for PRINCIPAL Investigator, i.e. the head investigator. Under this guideline grad students and postdocs ARE still investigators, albeit, not principal ones.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/18 | 1,120 | 4,664 | <issue_start>username_0: I am currently deciding my next step in life and am pretty confused about my options. I am an English language teacher with an MSEd in TESOL and have a growing interest in both computer science and linguistics. I have been considering getting my PhD in linguistics, possibly with a focus on computational linguistics, but I also am really interested in beginning to develop applications, especially ones related to language and education (i.e. Android apps, python-based language tools, etc.).
I have little math experience, but do have some client-side programming skills (HTML, JavaScript, PHP).
So lately, I have been considering getting an MSCS (online) in order to build the requisite skills and also enhance my job prospects (a language teacher doesn't make much).
I've been looking at online programs that offer courses in AI, MT, NLP, and human-machine interaction. But, I've also been considering skipping the MSCS and doing Coursera, CodeAcademy, and other free tutorials to learn the development skills, then making some GitHub or publishable projects. I have done CodeAcademy for Python and picked it up pretty quickly. The problem with these free education sources, however, is that I lose motivation quickly. However, If I had paid for them, my motivation would be sustained because I spent the money and want to get my money's worth.
So, my vague question is: Do I do a MSCS or focus on what’s freely available, build my skills, and hope I get good enough to not need a real credential?
>
> Moderator’s notice: Please do not take this as a [shopping question](https://academia.meta.stackexchange.com/q/3657/7734) and suggest specific courses.
>
>
><issue_comment>username_1: That's a very difficult question - and a bit opinion-based, too!
Maybe you should step back a bit and try to figure out, what your future job perspectives might be. If you want to be an employee in the CS-field, I would recommend a MSCS. On one hand because wou'll learn new things you would not pick when you can choose your courses freely, on the other hand because you get an official certificate from an established university. Depending on the country you are living in, this might be important.
On the other hand, if you want to stay in linguistics and just improve your skills, you can stick to online courses and tutorials since they allow you to learn what you are currently missing at your pace.
If you want to dig deeper in the field of language processing, I would strongly recomment building some strength in mathematics and theoretical CS as well.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: What username_1 said: This is going to depend on what your goal is.
* If you want to work as a programmer, generically, then a MOOC might be a good way to skill yourself up. As far as studying, fundamentals are going to pay off no matter where you work: Algorithms, Software Engineering, Math, etc. The problem with MOOCs is that it's not clear if they are going to get you through the door when job hunting; so be sure to focus on creating work that can demonstrate your skill, and help get you over that barrier.
* If you want to create research, write papers etc, then you could always [try to create your own research program](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/15094/1165). Having said that, if you don't have an established history of auto-didacticism then this is going to be difficult to maintain. A real masters program helps guide you down paths, and force you to [prune those search trees](http://xkcd.com/761/).
* If you want to work as a programmer, in the NLP/MT/AI fields, then you might have to do both: MOOCS **and** an MSc.
A side note; be warned that there are lots of MSc. programs out there, varying in style and quality. Some are essentially just more courses, while others are intended to produce new research. Be sure that the MSc. program you register for is going to **get you what you want**. Do your research.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Having completed my MS in Computer Science in an online program and taken a couple of MOOCs I believe they both have there place in learning and career skill growth. My online MS was great, but limited in teaching style and format. It helped me gain a greater foundation in Computer Science, but the greatest benefit was always the just in time learning I received while working full time as a Software Engineer.
I have always found MOOCs to be great for deciding if a Topic is for you and if you want to continue with it.
As an in-between, you should look into the Master's programs that many MOOC providers are now offering.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/18 | 648 | 2,923 | <issue_start>username_0: My paper is accepted in one of the Taylor and Francis journals and Today I figured out that I made a mistake in one row of one of my tables ( the minimum of one of variables in statistic analysis table is 0 in the paper but the actual value is 1). In fact, it does not affect the other parts of paper and the verification part.
Editor will provide the proofread of my paper in a week.
My question is, Will the editor give me a chance to edit the paper again? or he will change the grammatical problems his self?
And if I ask the editor to correct that row of paper, will he give the paper to reviewers again? I am worried that if I ask him to correct that mistake, he ask the reviewers to review my paper again. I need my paper to be published soon.<issue_comment>username_1: Since you have not proof read the paper yet, you simply ask the editor to make the changes to the table as part of the proof reading process. This is perfectly fine as long as the changes you make are trivial and does not change the basis for your conclusions. The worst case would be if the paper was accepted due to the data you reported and your changes will change the results so that the conclusions no longer can be made. The proof-reading stage comes after an accept and it is not allowed to make substantial changes. By substantial, I mean both by volume (changing a lot of text) or by quality (changing data upon which the decision was made).
Supply the changes to the editor as part of the proof reading process but make sure you explain that the changes in the table does not influence the results and conclusions of the paper.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Once the paper is published, there's no changing it. This seems to be the case whether it is physically printed in a magazine or first displayed online. Some journals will publish retractions, which are usually listed as a separate publication explaining what should be different in the original publication, though I'm sure that's not what you want.
I can say with certainty for PLoS One, if you need to issue revisions in that stage between acceptance and publication, they will fix minor issues if it doesn't fundamentally change the direction of your paper. Editing is hard work - it doesn't make sense to send it back for revisions if the paper hasn't changed too much. You'll want to send a copy of your revised paper to the editor, along with an letter/email detailing exactly what has changed in the paper and *especially* how it doesn't affect the other parts of your paper. Remember that the editor is also one of your reviewers, so if you can make the case that the mistake is indeed minor and take the time to correct it yourself, the decision to send it off for a seemingly pointless re-review becomes less attractive.
Source: A co-author made a small mistake that was corrected after acceptance.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/18 | 680 | 2,801 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm currently thinking in which country to spend my undergraduate period, UK or US. I'm going to apply for PhD program of Molecular Biology in US university after graduating from undergrad school. So, it seems better to stay in US during undergrad period to prepare for PhD program admission. But I prefer undergrad programs of UK, because of its specialized and accelerated curriculum. Is it a rational choice to go to UK just because of my preference of its curriculum?<issue_comment>username_1: Personally, I think it is to early to think about graduate school if you haven't even started undergraduate. I would go with where you want to live, and where you think you will have the most research opportunities, and where you think you will get the best grades. Most of all, I would go where you think you will be happiest in life, and not academics. It is infinitely harder to do good work, no matter what field, when you are not happy.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Academic success is only one component needed for acceptance into graduate programs; you also need to have advisors who can comment favorably on your capabilities **as a researcher**. That means you should focus not only on where you can do well academically, but on where you can also get the opportunities to do research.
However, one thing which you should be aware of is that in the US, admission to PhD programs generally occur directly after the bachelor's phase. This may or may not be the case in the UK. The consequence of this is that, depending on the requirements of the (US) school, even if you have a master's you may need to repeat some coursework or take additional classes upon enrollment in the PhD program.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Among some of the valid points raised by username_2 and username_1, I would also say it makes a big difference how good the university you are admitted into is. Probably Cambridge Univ. or Univ. of Chicago are fine for most Life Sciences choices, but Univ. of South Cambridgeshire or of Northwestern Illinois aren't.
You are shaping yourself as a person still; keep it simple and don't dwell on details. Go to a reputable university, built up yourself as an academic person and as you are there you will see and hear more stuff. You say "PhD in Molecular Biology" now but in 4 years time you might say "PhD in Neuroscience" (not to mention the possibility of you going off to industry with a good salary. :) )
Without wanting to put you off, as username_1 said, it is a bit early to think about your grad-school at this point. Go in a good university and be the best you can, the rest will come naturally (and even if you don't end up in an US PhD programme, you might still have great fun elsewhere!)
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer] |
2014/01/19 | 1,157 | 4,987 | <issue_start>username_0: I had a very difficult personal problem. My head was not in the right place, and outside of getting through my administrative duties, my brain just couldn't function the right way to run wet lab experiments and come up with good research ideas. As a result, I did not work as much as I should have, and when I did I was all over the place. I concealed my emotional pain pretty well, and put up a good face while in the office/lab, so no one suspected personal problems, but my work definitely suffered. My parent's illness looks to be getting better now and after some counseling I feel like my life is back on track.
However, I feel like it is possible that my advisor's opinion of me has greatly declined due to my lack of productivity in the past. Would telling your advisor about personal problems, after they are over, with the intent of the advisor understanding a lack of productivity be appropriate? Would doing so just sound like excuses and make things worse? I assume it would have probably been better if I had mentioned it back when I was going through the problems, but is it a good idea to mention it now, or just cut my losses, work hard and hope he forgets about those unproductive years.
So my question is. When is it appropriate to bring up personal problems with an advisor? In this case and in general?<issue_comment>username_1: As soon as possible. Problems are made to be transcended, not pushed over time. You already said your adviser is a cool guy, right? Go ahead and talk with him, say the truth.
It's a long said term, even cliche sometimes, but the first step to change is recognizing that you have a problem. You already recognized you have it, so now it's time to fix it. Don't be afraid of what he'll think about you, what really matters is that it's true. If he can't understand your situation, then he doesn't really know how to be a adviser.
Also, you're a student, you're there to learn. Better learn now where you can be mistaken with no serious consequences, then out there, where your problem can really damage you financially and/or much more emotionally, since people don't know how to handle with other people's problems, or know and just don't care.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Well look at it from the point of view of an academic, most of understand that students have problems in their lives outside the lab which can affect their performance in the lab.
The student has a choice.
1. Fix their problem themselves, if they can do this then fine all is sorted.
2. Seek help from someone / somewhere such as student health services and then fix their problem there nice and quick, maybe even their supervisor might not notice.
3. Ask their supervisor for help (or tell them about the problem). Their supervisor may be able to help them, they might not be able to help directly but will point you in the right direction or they might be no help.
4. Fail to fix problem and then your work will take a nose dive, you may appear to the supervisor as a lazy toad if you disappear from the workplace and do not tell them that you are ill or have a problem.
Now consider the following,
1. My student has not appeared in the department for two weeks, none of the rest of the group have any idea of where they are. What do I start thinking (hint "lazy toad").
2. Student has not appeared in the lab for three days, on day three I get a email explaining that they are very ill. They are laid up in hospital and will not be back for over a week. What do I start thinking (hint "Oh dear, my student is ill")
3. Student comes to me and tells me my child is sick or my dad has just died. Unless I am a totally evil toad, I will give the student some time off and try to help as much as I can.
My advice is to try to establish and maintain a honest and open relationship with your PhD supervisor. They are not the evil toad enemy ! There are somethings you might not feel happy talking about with your supervisor, somethings might not be suitable topics of discussion with your supervisor.
Rather than telling your supervisor that you have embrassing problems like relationship problems (like your partner has just run off with your best friend). You can tell them "I have a serious problem in my life, I will need two weeks to deal with it". While it is not going to be music to the supervisors ears it is better than just vanishing off the face of the earth for two weeks.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Try to communicate with your Phd supervisor and explain the situation. It might be that they might have useful advice and be also able ot help you adjust to the situation and become productive again- some supervisors are really great in also taking care of PhDs issues and nurturing them to fruition, so try to speak to them as soon as possible. This will also help establish a more direct relationship when you might need more emotional support if the issues continue.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/01/19 | 1,338 | 5,570 | <issue_start>username_0: Say you made a smart move in solving an important question that your advisor did not think of and all of a suddenly your advisor becomes jealous because you have made your advisor look bad. What are the best way to manage situation like this?<issue_comment>username_1: If your supervisor is already a professor, this is highly unlikely as the difference in the competence is way too big. If such thing really happened by pure chance, just ignore and concentrate on work instead. He is a professor. He is competent. He should manage.
Such friction may only happen when, for instance, the professor assigns near finishing PhD student, young post doc or the like, to help the starting PhD student.
Such "low level supervisor" may provide a lot of useful assistance, so you need to think twice before attempting to run away from it. But if you really do not want him, and are also sure you can get without him, go to the professor and ask to remove that supervision. This usually works no problem.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: I'd distinguish between three scenarios:
1. If you have accomplished something genuinely magnificent (e.g., you just proved the Riemann hypothesis), then it may be natural for your advisor to feel a little envious, particularly if it was something your advisor had hoped to do someday. Hopefully they'll soon switch to feeling proud of their amazing student, and in any case your career success is assured by your great accomplishment.
2. In less extreme circumstances, this could be a real problem. If your advisor feels threatened by your success, then you may need a new advisor, since you certainly don't want an advisor who goes around explaining how you aren't as great as you seem. Before you reach that point, it's worth discussing these issues. For example, you could say "I've felt some tension recently, and you seemed upset with me at the X Symposium. Am I doing something that's making you unhappy?" This may be an awkward conversation, but it's worth a try. It's possible that you are somehow making the problem worse (for example, by publicly saying things about your advisor that could be interpreted as disparaging, even if you didn't mean them that way), or that your advisor will feel a little sheepish that you noticed this behavior and will try to change. If talking about it doesn't work, then I don't know what to suggest. You either find a new advisor or put up with it as best you can.
3. It's also possible that it's all in your head. I become suspicious whenever I hear someone attribute other people's behavior to jealousy, since it's an awfully convenient excuse. Until you have really clear evidence, you should keep an open mind regarding other explanations.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> Say you made a smart move in solving an important question that your advisor did not think of and all of a suddenly your advisor becomes jealous because you have made your advisor look bad. What are the best way to manage situation like this?
>
>
>
Generally speaking, whenever somebody tells me that their advisor is jealous of their work, I get rather suspicious. Usually, students that make smart moves and solve important problems do **not in any way reflect badly on advisors!** Quite the contrary, hence there usually is absolutely no reason to be anything than happy for the student's success. That she (I am taking from other comments that your advisor is female?) did not think of the solution herself matters little - in practice, most concrete solutions to research problems come from students and not the advisors. Again, this would not reflect badly on the advisor in any way.
>
> I am speaking from my personal experiences. Initially my advisor was very friendly[more like a co worker than a boss], but the moment she realized what i had accomplished and how the industry was blown away by my work and offered me internships,she kind of started acting more I say formal[like a manager]. We filed for patents and wrote to CHI (holy grail of HCI Conferences) which was unprecedented for MS students from an small university in the Midwest. The moment I realized this, the more I hated and resented her and and I think she realized this and our relationship went downhill from there.
>
>
>
This is a statement of yours from one of the comments. First of all, congratulations on the CHI paper as well as on the patent applications. However, that being said, the entire paragraph reads like you maybe got carried away a bit by your own success (*how the industry was blown away by my work*, *holy grail of HCI*, *unprecedented*, etc.). Reflect for yourself - is there a chance that your advisor is not so much jealous, but simply annoyed by your high-handed behavior as of late? Are you rubbing your success into her face? Have you maybe even made sure that she understands that this was **your** success, and not in any way hers as advisor?
Also, the last statement (*the more I hated and resented her and and I think she realized this and our relationship went downhill from there.*) kind of worries me. These are pretty strong words. Surely, more than a little bit of distant behavior and perceived jealousy has happened for you to *resent and hate* your advisor?
**EDIT:**
As it turns out, I am not capable of reading, as the second quote is not from the OP but from @james234. Anyway, I'll leave the answer here, as it seems to reflect the gist of such advisor/advisee problems quite well (even if it does not necessarily help the OP).
Upvotes: 4 |
2014/01/19 | 647 | 2,606 | <issue_start>username_0: In US education system, the university academic positions start with Assistant Professor. But there are some occasions that positions for Endowed Assistant Professor are advertised. I could not find what exactly is *"endowed Associated Prof"*. Is there any difference with assistant professor? Is it a type of position different from tenure track or the title endowed comes from the particular funding source? There is a similar discussion about endowed chair in US system [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/12607/what-is-an-endowed-chair-exactly-how-does-it-compare-to-a-normal-position/12608#12608), but I think that is slightly different.
Please let me know, whas recruitment committee members are concerned about when hiring endowed assistant professor.<issue_comment>username_1: There really is very little difference between the [answer <NAME> posted](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/12608/53) and the answer for this question. An "endowed" assistant professorship is a position which provides funds for the group of the faculty member appointed to the professorship. It can be either salary, or perhaps additional funds that can be used to support members of the group.
Usually, applicants are not hired directly into such positions; instead, they are hired to the department first, and then appointed into such positions after a few years. They often have names like "career development assistant professorship" which indicate that this is a transient award, not a permanent one. If the hiring advertisement actually specifies the position as an "endowed" assistant professorship, I don't think it really changes the hiring process, except that they're looking for the best candidate who satisfies the conditions of the endowment.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: In mathematics, at least, some departments have multiple positions called "So-and-so Assistant Professor" (e.g. Szegö Assistant Professors at Stanford ), which are non-tenure track, 2–3 year visiting positions — basically, a postdoc who teaches (with teaching duties similar to, or somewhat lighter than, the senior faculty). I don't know whether this practice exists in other fields. For such positions, the hiring considerations are similar to other postdoc positions.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Actually, there ARE actual endowed tenure-track assistant professorships. Several of these are found at prominent liberal-arts colleges. And as with an endowed professorship at full professor rank, these too are funded by the endowment.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/01/19 | 916 | 3,926 | <issue_start>username_0: I am currently hunting for research internships and going to apply for several positions. To make the admission officers accessible to my stories and experiences in further detail, I have created a personal Google Site showing those details and added the link into my CV.
Now it comes to my research part. I have one paper that is just informed to be accepted by a conference. However, since the conference is not held yet, the paper isn't available online.
I wish to make the paper accessible to the admission committee. How should I do that without harming my and my co-authors' interest?
Can I upload it to arXiv? Can I upload it to my own Google Site? Should I inform my co-authors of this? Does it really matter to them?<issue_comment>username_1: As the comment from <NAME> said: read your copyright agreement and ask co-authors.
You can definitely list the paper in your publications if you mark it as "accepted for...". If the admission committee is interested in reading it (often it is just interested in the title, unless this is the summary of your previous work), they can ask for it.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I would not urge as much caution as the other answer/comment. Of course, checking with your co-authors and publishing agreement won't do any harm but ...
... I would **strongly urge you to put the pre-print of the paper online and add a link in the CV** since the folks handling your application may want to see the paper but may not be bothered to email you for it ... they will have a long list of CVs to get through, esp. in the initial phases where a *confirmed* publication could really make you stand out.
I emphasise this because I've seen lots of CVs for research internships and they often try to conncoct publications, mentioning "*paper communicated to XYZ*", or mentioning internal technical reports, etc. Having a link to a full-text will show them that it is not a vapour-paper and will let them get an idea of the quality of the work. Better still if you can add a link to the list of accepted papers for the conference with your paper in it.
As for contravening a publishing agreement ... any decent CS/EE publisher will, at the very least, allow you to put the pre-print -- the version you submit to them -- online on a personal homepage. If for some reason they don't, you shouldn't publish your work with them. Putting papers on homepages is a common practice that should be **strongly encouraged**.
If the publisher is IEEE themselves, then [it's for sure no problem](http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/rights_policies.html).
---
**Risk of putting your paper online on your personal page**: a 0.000001% chance of getting a cease and desist letter from your publisher asking you to take it offline, in which case you take the paper offline and never submit to that publisher ever again.
**Risk of not putting your paper online on your personal page**: a small but significantly greater than 0.000001% chance of the folks handling your application not taking the publication into account and you not getting a job offer as a result.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: From my own submissions at IEEE conferences and journals, I remember the following points:
* you are allowed to put a pre-print online if it is mandatory in your institution. I believe the sentence did also mention that it should happen on your institution pre-print server, so the extension of this notion to Arxiv needs to be worked out (though it is common practice, as far as I have seen);
* you are not allowed to publish online the final version of a paper. The final version is the one with the manuscript number, journal issue and so on;
* be careful when it comes to anonymous submissions (like some IEEE conferences). You have to wait until the official publication of the acceptance list.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/01/20 | 842 | 3,485 | <issue_start>username_0: I am a finishing Ph.D student in pure mathematics in the US.
In November, I received a 3 year postdoc offer in Europe on a PI's grant with a December reply deadline and accepted starting in 2015. Recently, I was offered an NSF MSPRF at an American school, starting in 2014. My plan is to use the NSF in 2014-2015 and 2016-2018 and go to Europe for 2015-2016--the NSF and my US host institution are OK with it.
However, when I accepted the European offer I did not specify that I would be staying for only a year (I had no other offers at that point).
A what point am I obligated to tell the European PI that I will stay for only a year? Now, before accepting the NSF? After starting the position in 2015?
More generally, in Europe is it considered normal or unethical/breach of contract to leave multi year (mathematics) postdoc positions after a year?
I know it's considered normal in the US but the postdoc hiring here is done at a departmental rather than individual level...<issue_comment>username_1: I think this depends a lot on the hiring practices from country to country and from university to university. For instance, if you're offered a multiyear position on what amounts to a renewable annual contract, then there's much less of a problem leaving after one year than if it's a single multiyear appointment.
However, essential communication with **everyone** involved is required **before you start the positions.** If people are not aware of what you want to do, and you spring it upon them as a surprise *after* you sign the hiring paperwork, you're setting yourself up for much bigger problems than if you talk to them and make sure everybody's OK with your plans in advance.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Going for one year would fulfill your obligations as I understand them, but I can't guarantee the PI will see things the same way. You should discuss it as soon as possible, to settle the issue and so the PI can at least make realistic plans. (I'd be a little offended if I discovered that someone visiting to work with me had dramatically changed their plans without telling me until much later, even if I thought the change was otherwise reasonable.)
There are several plausible outcomes:
1. The PI might insist that you have made a commitment to stay for more than a year. I don't think this is reasonable or likely, but it's better to find out now than later, so you can figure out what to do about it.
2. The PI might be fine with one year. Then you won't have to worry about this issue any further.
3. The PI might accept one year but seem unhappy about it. In that case, you could explain that you would really like to come for a year if possible, but you would be willing to withdraw if the PI would prefer to hire someone else for the full three years.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: I think you know what is the appropriate action and what is not! You are probably hoping that somebody gives you a justification to do what you have planed. But even a teenager knows that when you accept to work with somebody for three years and later you change your mind and make another plan which conflicts with your agreement, **you are obliged to let the PI know about your new plan as soon as possible.**
Besides, there are probably several other good candidates to fill the position that you want to leave after one year. In this way you take an opportunity from a fellow human being without even using it!
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/01/20 | 404 | 1,699 | <issue_start>username_0: How can you find the top journals in a scientific field? I am an HCI graduate student, but I sometimes write to industrial engineering articles if it involves ergonomics. Right now, I'm trying to understand what standing the journal "IIE Transactions" has compared to other journals in the field of industrial engineering.
I was told that the impact factor is not a good indicator to find top journals. What other indicators are useful for identifing top journals within specific fields, like industrial engineering?<issue_comment>username_1: Talk to your advisor about this. They will have a very good mental model of what the publication landscape in the area looks like.
Sometimes, lists [like this](http://webdocs.cs.ualberta.ca/~zaiane/htmldocs/ConfRanking.html) exist for your field, however they largely just reproduce intuitions your supervisor would already have.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: There are problems with the *Impact factor*, but to find *top journals* in a field (as in leading/high reputation) the IF (relative to others in the field) is usually a good proxy. The problem with IF is mainly that it is a fairly poor predictor of citations to individual papers. Alternative journal rankings can be found at [SCimago](http://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php) and [Eigenfactor](http://www.eigenfactor.org/). However, I do not have any knowledge about HCI and industrial engineering in particular.
Beside @MatthewG recommendation to talk to your advisor, I would also suggest that you look at what you are reading and what journals the papers you are citing are published in. This is usually a good way to find suitable journals.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/20 | 395 | 1,652 | <issue_start>username_0: Would I be accepted at a Phd Program @Harvard when my '''education''' didn't go beyond high-school? I have however done lot of self-study after graduating from high-school by studying:
* Electrodynamics.
* General Relativity.
* Quantum Mechanics ...
and all the maths that is related to those physics areas.
So do I have any chance?<issue_comment>username_1: It's definitely *possible*. What you need is: (1) someone the PhD program at Harvard acknowledges to vouch for your academic skills, and (2) show them you have those skills. (1) is normally accomplished by including letters of recommendation from your college professors. You need to be creative in choosing your recommenders. (2) is normally accomplished by including a writing sample in your application (this is normally required anyway).
And by the way, you're accepted *to* a program, not *at* a program. If your application contains grammatical mistakes like that, you're unlikely to be accepted. That's just the way it is.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: You PROBABLY don't have any chance at the moment. Have you published in the field? Do you have any projects that you could show to a professor (outside Harvard first?) that might shed light on your exceptional ability? Without ever going to any college you would have to be extraordinary enough to be an exception to Harvard's admission criteria. Of course, alternatively you could try taking some graduate level classes somewhere else, build a relationship with a professor, and either join their program for a preparatory master's or get them to comment to Harvard on your abilities.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/01/20 | 547 | 2,384 | <issue_start>username_0: I just started my 2nd semester of my part-time master, I was given a thesis topic last week and expected to submit an abstract this week. Because advisor told me -> I would have not choice. However, I just wonder:
Is it normal to submit an abstract to a conference when the research is NOT completed? Or people normally completed the research then write the abstract?
I read a topic asking about how to write an abstract without having the result
[How to write abstract for conference when you have no results yet?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/7428/how-to-write-abstract-for-conference-when-you-have-no-results-yet)
So I have basic understanding of what I should not write in my abstract.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> Is it normal to submit an abstract to a conference when the research
> is NOT completed?
>
>
>
Sure. There are plenty of fields where the purpose of a conference is to discuss research that is "still cooking." In fact, many *journal* publications can be viewed as interim reports on larger research programs that are still in progress.
You might use this opportunity to set a goal for (roughly) the piece of your thesis you want to have done by the date of the conference. It's ok if that piece is relatively small, and nobody at the conference will hold you strictly to what you say in the abstract.
In fact, some people submit abstracts on one thing and then talk about something entirely different... I won't advocate that behavior as an intentional strategy, but I will say that many people (myself included) prefer a great talk to exacting consistency with the abstract.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Yes. The idea of the conference is to talk about the current research, not about the published articles. Conferences can also be used to discuss works that may or may not evolve into articles. And while conference abstracts are not rated as high as articles, they do help PhD student to support the significance of the work - especially when, because of various reasons, the article at the end have not been published.
However if your work is close to completion, or even there is already an article in preparation, or otherwise the topic is very successful and highly promising, professor may suggest to avoid disclosing details that may help for potential competitors.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/20 | 593 | 2,370 | <issue_start>username_0: I was just offered a postdoc at 34 000 USD a year.
I am wondering whether this is an ok offer. Can someone give me feedback on this?<issue_comment>username_1: It sounds like it's on the low side for the sciences, but not unheard of. For comparison, [NIH NRSA postdoc stipends](http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-12-033.html) start at about $39k for people with no previous postdoctoral experience and go up from there. Postdoc salaries can vary a lot by field, location, institution, etc.; if you have no other offers to compare with but want to know what's typical, I'd recommend searching online to find information that fits your background.
As <NAME> pointed out, you also need to consider the cost of living. According to [CNN Money's cost of living calculator](http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/), $35k in Nashville is the equivalent of nearly $70k if you were living in Brooklyn. Of course these calculators are far from perfect, but they give you some indication of how prices and rents vary across the country. If you are going to live on $34k, Nashville is a good place to do it, and I would expect typical salaries there to be lower than in more expensive locations.
Ultimately, unless you believe there is discrimination or bias involved, I wouldn't worry too much about abstract notions of fairness, or even comparisons with other people in different circumstances. Instead, I would focus on three questions. What do you need to live happily in the short term? What are your long-term goals and prospects for achieving them? And what other options do you have, including not just similar postdoctoral offers but also career changes? Only you can weigh these considerations and decide whether a given offer is acceptable to you.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: For what it's worth, most Ph.D. chemists that I've seen graduate and move to post-docs get around $40k. The amount depends on how much was budgeted in the grant proposal that is paying the post-doc salary and typically there isn't much wiggle room. Considering the dwindling grant resources, current hiring climate, and level of competition in this field, most are happy just to get a job.
On your question of fairness, did anyone else offer you another post-doc for more money? If not, I'd consider it fair.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/01/21 | 2,088 | 8,372 | <issue_start>username_0: I am aware of this post
[Some questions about math postdoc offers](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15041/some-questions-about-math-postdoc-offers) but please let me ask a similar question.
I am currently on the math postdoc job market. Some of my friends were informed that they are on the short list but I haven't heard anything from the job market after 2/3 of January. According to the above post, the most job offers are made in the second half of January. I am afraid that all good positions are already taken and I now feel I need to apply for more positions to avoid the worst case.
1. My webpage counter does not say that many people visited my webpage since Nov. Is this a bad sign? Do hiring committees really visit candidates' webpages?
2. Are most of the good positions such as "\*\*\*\*\*\* assistant professorship" already taken around this time?
3. Should I send inquiries about my application this week? Or should I wait for another? I hesitate to ask my advisor to do this, so I think I have to do this by myself.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> My webpage counter does not say that many people visited my webpage since Nov. Is this a bad sign? Do hiring committees really visit candidates' webpages?
>
>
>
I wouldn't worry about this, since hiring committees do not necessarily visit web pages, even if they plan to make a postdoc offer. If your application was reasonably detailed and your papers are available elsewhere (for example on the arXiv or as part of your application), then there's no reason why someone would need to visit your web page. Even if your papers aren't available elsewhere, the number of visits you might see is both small and unpredictable.
>
> Are most of the good positions such as "\*\* assistant professorship" already taken around this time?
>
>
>
Almost all of them will be offered to someone by the end of January, but those offers will not all be accepted (so there will be multiple rounds of offers, which may extend beyond the common deadline). I would bet that most, but not all, of the most prestigious positions have already been offered to someone, but I don't know actual statistics.
Note that early offers tend to cluster on the most popular candidates, so substantially fewer people get first-round offers than will eventually be hired.
>
> Should I send inquiries about my application this week? Or should I wait for another? I hesitate to ask my advisor to do this, so I think I have to do this by myself.
>
>
>
Inquiring this week is reasonable. It's worth asking not just your favorite schools, but also schools you are less excited about. (It may signal to them that they have a shot at you after all, and increase the chances that they will make an offer. At this point, you'll presumably be happy to have any reasonable offer, and once you have one you may be able to use it to provoke other places to make offers.) Asking this week leaves a little time for schools to act before the common deadline, although you shouldn't despair even if the deadline goes past.
>
> I now feel I need to apply for more positions to avoid the worst case
>
>
>
If you applied to relatively few schools, it might be a good idea to add some more even now, but don't panic. Unless you're in an unusual situation, your job search doesn't sound really problematic at this point. (I can understand that it is worrisome, but there's a big difference between not getting a first round offer from a top department and not getting a job at all. Of course I can't predict how your job search will end, but I've seen people get excellent offers after having had no signs of interest this late in January.)
Meanwhile, I highly recommend having a chat with your advisor about your job search. If your advisor is not worried, it may help you stay calm, and if you do reach the point where your advisor really starts to worry, I hope he/she will have suggestions for what the two of you can do to make sure you get a job.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: My two cents:
>
> My webpage counter does not say that many people visited my webpage since Nov. Is this a bad sign? Do hiring committees really visit candidates' webpages?
>
>
>
They do but rarely. The standard application file normally contains all information needed for screening and the grapevine provides the rest.
>
> Are most of the good positions such as "\*\* assistant professorship" already taken around this time?
>
>
>
You mean "named assistant professorships"?. Yes, they may well be. However, the normal (nameless workhorse) postdoc offers haven't been even considered yet in many places. The way it usually works is that the tenure track hiring is done first. Another thing is grants. Right where I am, we'll have or not have postdoc positions this year depending on whether we'll get or not get grant funding and nobody expects to hear from the NSF before the end of February (especially after the circus show by our 485 mouth goat herd in Washington D.C.; I still have a strong desire to send them all to deliver the equipment to the Antarctic research stations in small boats with no food; the only thing that would spare them if it were for me to decide is that I would hate to lose the gadgets). So, I wouldn't worry too much yet.
>
> Should I send inquiries about my application this week? Or should I wait for another? I hesitate to ask my advisor to do this, so I think I have to do this by myself.
>
>
>
It never hurts to get the information. Just be careful about how exactly you phrase your request and whom you contact. The last thing I would want as a member of the hiring committee (I was on 3 within the last 5 years) is to have to write "polite and thoughtful" responses to each and every of 70+ postdoc applicants before their consideration has even started.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I am also an applicant this year, and I have heard from some places.
>
> My webpage counter does not say that many people visited my webpage since Nov. Is this a bad sign? Do hiring committees really visit candidates' webpages?
>
>
>
I was able to guess that an offer was on its way (although one is never sure until you have the offer in your hands) by looking at the webpage counter for *some* schools. However, other offers/shortlists came as a complete surprise, as I had gotten no visits from these schools since I submitted my application. There were also schools who visited my webpage very frequently, but I heard that they offered their position to someone else. To sum up, the webpage counter is not very reliable.
>
> Are most of the good positions such as "\*\* assistant professorship" already taken around this time?
>
>
>
To nitpick, these are not necessarily the best positions. For example, Princeton's postdocs just go by the generic name of "Instructors" (except the top candidate, who is the Veblen Research Instructor). To answer your actual question, several departments have offered most of their positions. On the other hand, many departments have not had their postdoc committee meeting yet; for some, school hasn't even started yet. Also, just be aware that many candidates sit on several offers at the moment, trying to coax a better offer from their top choice etc. But I think that a lot of these positions will free up again on February 3, the common AMS deadline.
>
> Should I send inquiries about my application this week? Or should I wait for another? I hesitate to ask my advisor to do this, so I think I have to do this by myself.
>
>
>
I think you are supposed to talk to your advisor about this! They are there for you, and he/she would be the best judge of your situation. Some advisors can also contact their colleagues to inquire on your behalf, which may be better.
>
> I now feel I need to apply for more positions to avoid the worst case.
>
>
>
How many positions did you apply to? Many fantastic mathematicians apply to 50-60 places. In this case, it is worth applying to more places at this point.
Also, don't stress out! Breathe! As an applicant myself, I know how you feel. It will all work out in the end. You've done all you can, so sit back and relax, and be patient. No matter what happens, you are still a bright mathematician who will be very successful in your career.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/01/21 | 516 | 2,078 | <issue_start>username_0: I was offered an admission of offer (math) today and I found out that I have till Feb 15th to accept the offer. Most schools in my country (Canada) actually send out offers during Feb, and there is a low probability that I will get an offer then, is it okay to ask schools to extend the offer date?
**Note** I am Canadian. Schools in Canada don't generally give out scholarships until NSERC hands out theirs. My school gives entrance scholarships after you get NSERC, in which case, they announce it in March, wayyy past the deadline.<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, it's definitely okay to ask. They're certainly not going to rescind the offer because you ask for more time. Depending on the school, their applicant pool, how bad they want you, and (probably) how rigid their administrative structure is, they may grant or refuse your request.
You should, of course, word your request very politely and recognize that they have the right to say "no".
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: To pick up on [David's answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/16006/739) -- UK (and the Commonwealth legacy counties like ANZ) have zero administrative wiggle room. US admission committees may be more lenient (I was asked once by our grad admissions director if I knew of any good applicants that they could get a couple of weeks past the deadline), but you need to have a strong case to have any leverage in deadline extension negotiations -- i.e., to be sure you are on the top of their pool (e.g., offered a good competitive scholarship). If you are not, you will hardly get your date extended. In most programs, there are dozens of applicants with a continuum of qualifications and a handful of places to offer, so if you can't commit to taking the spot, it is way too easy for the admissions committee to extend the offer to the next person in line. If you think you have a low probability in your own country, where your credentials are easier to evaluate than in a foreign country, you should seriously consider accepting with gratitude.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/21 | 755 | 3,086 | <issue_start>username_0: I recently won an NSF mathematical Science Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at University 1. At this University, the math NSF postdocs have a have a much lower salary and benefits than regular "named postdocs" (XYZ Assistant Professor)and during their 2 years of half-time NSF support teach two thirds the amount (despite only half the salary coming from the university). I did not get a regular postdoc offer from Uni 1.
At the same time, I have a 3 year postdoc offer from a fancy institute at US University 2, with significantly higher salary than regular postdocs at Uni 1 (which is already much higher than NSF postdocs at Uni 1), more travel funding than the NSF MSPRF, and NO teaching unless I want to.
Research wise, Uni 1 is a better fit.
Would it be reasonable for me to leverage the Uni 2 offer to perhaps convince Uni 1 to raise my salary during my NSF postdoc there to the level of their regular postdocs and maybe give me the title of a regular postdoc at Uni 1 for one or two years when I am there?
Or perhaps reduction in the number of courses I have to teach?
If so, does one go about it?<issue_comment>username_1: I think that there is a difference between University 1 *wanting* you, and *having* you because you come with an NSF. That makes a huge difference in whether you can leverage for a higher salary or not.
The fact that University 1 did not offer you their regular postdoc title sounds like a hint to me that they will probably not be up for negotiation. Though, it doesn't hurt to try.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I question the "fit" with uni 1. The postdoc is a glorified teaching job, with a load that seriously compromises academic output i.e. further career prospects.
Uni 2 on the other hand seems to have everything going for it.
Without wishing to seem rude, I suspect the "fit" here consists of factors such as: partner lives in that town, want to stay there; research is same topic as PhD; really like the idea of working with academic X... Such considerations can all have *some* legitimacy, but they are factors young academics systematically overrate.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Yes, you can try to negotiate but be prepared for the possibility that your requests won't be met and you'll have to resort to accepting the offer from University 2.
The simplest way to start negotiations is just to write to the department chair at University 1 (possibly with a cc to the professor you are interested in working with) and to say that you are very much interested in going there (with a clear explanation why) but, "regrettably" would have to accept a better offer unless the terms are at least partially matched, then to state explicitly the terms of that better offer and stop there. Then the headache of deciding how much to upgrade the offer will be theirs and the only message you'll be sending will be that the *current* terms are not acceptable for you (which, from what you've said, seems to be the case anyway). The rest depends on how they respond (if they respond at all).
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/22 | 325 | 1,059 | <issue_start>username_0: I am creating an email signature and I am not sure what the protocol should be.
Should it say
>
> Dr. Locc
>
>
> Department of Social and Consumer Sciences.
>
>
>
or should my position within the dept. be referenced??
>
> Dr. Locc
>
>
> Social and Consumers Science Department Chairman
>
>
><issue_comment>username_1: There is no formal protocol for a "signature block." You can put as much or as little as you would ike. If you know the recipient well, for instance, the block is unnecessary. For more formal occasions, however, I would include as much of your affiliation as is appropriate:
>
> <NAME>
>
> My Job Title
>
> My Department
>
> My University
>
> Other contact information
>
>
>
If you are chair, I'd indicate that specifically. Instead of the second and third lines, those could be combined as:
>
> Chair, Department of X
>
>
>
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: My signatures are usually of the form:
Name
Title
Official Department Name
University X
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/22 | 1,796 | 7,224 | <issue_start>username_0: Recently I have received an offer for PhD studentship in Biology from a lab in Germany. I have completed my Bachelors degree and I have solid 2 years of research experience with 3 peer reviewed publications. Now to formally enroll as a PhD student they are asking me for Masters degree which I don't have.
My question is, is it possible to enroll without masters degree into PhD in Germany? I know that in US, UK Masters degree is not a pre-requisite for PhD. How about in Germany? Can't my research experience be accounted as qualification ?<issue_comment>username_1: Essentially, you cannot start a PhD program without a master's degree in Germany. Some programs feature a dual-degree option, whereby you're admitted to a master's program as well as a PhD program. US and UK programs do basically the same thing, which is why the master's degree is not a prerequisite—you earn it, or the equivalent, along the way to the PhD after the bachelor's.
However, in German universities, most PhD positions are actually government jobs in what is known as the [TV-L system](http://oeffentlicher-dienst.info/tv-l/west/). More precisely, it's what's called a "TV-L E13." Now, one of the requirements of the TV-L E13 is a master's degree in the appropriate subject. There really isn't a way to waive this requirement.
What perhaps can be done is to ask if the group is willing to sponsor you as a "Wissentschaftliche Hilfskraft"—essentially, a part-time worker in the group—while you complete the master's program. (If they're eager enough to hire you with a bachelor's, then they should be willing to support you while you get the necessary training.)
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: >
> My question is, is it possible to enroll without masters degree into PhD in Germany? I know that in US, UK Masters degree is not a pre-requisite for PhD. How about in Germany?
>
>
>
**In Germany, as well as many (most?) other places in central Europe, a Master's degree is a formal requirement for starting a PhD.**
The reason for this is mostly historical: in Europe, we did not really have Bachelor's and Master's degrees until 2000 or shortly thereafter. Until then, a "Diploma" (sort of equivalent to master's degree, a bit of a mixture of MSc and MBA) was the first degree you could get from an university. Around 2000, the so-called [Bologna process](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bologna_Process) went into action, with the goal of homogenizing the way how higher eduction works across Europe, and the chosen target model was the traditional Bachelor / Master / PhD model of US universities. Of course, adopting this model in the somewhat different realities of european universities meant that what was really implemented in many places was sort of a half-hearted mixture of old and new system. For instance, in my country of origin (Austria), almost every study basically just took the their old "Diplomstudium" (old curriculum, where the equivalent of MSc was the first degree) and more or less randomly awarded a BSc after 3 years. Of course, at this point, the student did not have a completed education in any way - the curriculum was fully designed that students do another 2 years after master studies afterwards (and the majority of students does so). As a result, public opinion, for instance in industry, of people with "only" a bachelor are not very good -- in many ways, those are considered people who stopped their studies prematurely. In a similar vain, universities also require a "completed" undergrad study (which, in Austria, means doing the entire 5-year original master studies) before being allowed to enroll into a PhD programme.
Now, that being said, I find it more than just a bit awkward that your department in Germany did not clarify this in advance. This issue is not an unknown quantity in Germany -- everybody who hires even occasionally from outside of Europe should know about this and handle this issue in advance. I am afraid it will be a difficult problem to solve.
>
> Can't my research experience be accounted as qualification ?
>
>
>
I highly doubt it. **This is not just a small administrative hurdle** -- in many places (I do not know about Germany, though), the requirement of a Master to get enrolled to a PhD programme is defined by national university law, so it is not a requirement that a university or professor can just waive for you.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: I believe it is possible. I have no masters but I have Honours (not really known or recognised outside the Commonwealth) and 3 years work experience as a research assistant. I had no trouble enrolling in my PhD in the Netherlands. The actual university guidelines say that candidates must have a Masters unless they have been given a special exemption by the director of the institute. If you've been given an offer then it's likely an exemption will be made, unless the rules are more strict in Germany than in NL.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I know of some cases when it is possible: e.g. when the university offers a so called
***fast-track PhD program***. In this case you are required to have at least a B.Sc. in a related field. Then within the first year of this fast-track program you basically start working on your M.Sc., but you don't write M.Sc thesis. Instead of that when the first year is over, you keep working on your topic for the next couple of years and make a dissertation out of it.
Check out e.g. this page: <http://www.gsn.uni-muenchen.de/studies/ft_program/index.html>
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: I see people claiming that Masters is an absolute requirement to start PhD in Germany. I am not an expert in the field but my supervisor in my university does not have a Masters, he has registered PhD studies immediately after the Bachelors. He is a German and was a student at the same uni. How he did it I don't know. What I know for sure is that such a case exists.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: Yes, the master's is typically a formal requirement for starting a PhD in Germany.
However, many universities reserve the right to deviate from the usual pathway in exceptional circumstances. There are students who have started a bachelor's without earning their Abitur first and students without a bachelor's who were admitted to master's programs because of their industry experience.
Since they have offered you admission in the program, they may consider you an exception. You shouldn't assume that they simply overlooked that you don't have a master's.
**The exact rules differ by federal state (Bundesland) and university. So to answer your question, you have to read the university's policies closely and then contact their admission's office as well as your prospective supervisor.**
EDIT:
Universities' published policies can be out of date. What really matters is what the people say and write. When I applied for my master's the written policy also said that the bachelor's had to be a four-year program but everyone at the admission office was very clear that they had no such rule, at least not for European bachelors. And indeed, there was no extra paperwork at all.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/01/22 | 1,142 | 4,095 | <issue_start>username_0: Sometimes a thread on StackExchange could help your research. A technical problem, an inspiring discussion or even an idea. How can I acknowledge this kind of contribution? (considering that many users on SE do not use real name and it is very difficult to reach them privately) Has anyone done that?<issue_comment>username_1: Most citation systems (e.g., MLA, Harvard, Chicago) have a means of referencing web pages. Therefore, if there are specific discussions and conversations that you can point to, then I would simply refer to those pages.
If not, however, I would probably just leave it to a statement in the Acknowledgments section, since there isn't an actual "public record" which can be cited.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: **EDITED according to the PiotrMigdal's comment**
If you like to point out the SE contribution to your work I would suggest to acknowledge the community by any acknowledgement you consider suitable. For example:
>
> The authors would like to express their appreciation to the Stack
> exchange, inc. community for many useful inputs and valuable comments.
>
>
>
or if you like you can be more specific
>
> We would like to thank to community of Stack exchange, inc.,
> especially, Cross Validated group (section?) for advices regarding the data processing and data
> visualization.
>
>
>
Or you can combine what ever you like.
If you think that only one user was the core of the contribution, you can mention only him or her.
>
> Special thanks goes to <NAME>, who significant contributed to
> the quality of this answer with his valuable and well-aimed comment.
>
>
>
In case the person would be (or would like to stay) anonymous and you would still like to acknowledge the contribution, you can write the acknowledgement to anonymous person (as well you can [citate a source with unknown author](http://www.documentit.co.uk/support/help.php?version=v3_02&topic=authors&query=Unknown%20Author%28s%29&template=support)). This happens typically when you refer to web-pages:
>
> We would like to acknowledge the discussion regarding the deep learning algorithm at Stack exchange, inc. in Cross Validated section
> (Available at:
> <https://stats.stackexchange.com/questions/83092/regression-in-deep-learning>,
> Accessed: 44rd August 2010).
>
>
>
However, I think that much better would be to try to contact the person/people. You can do it either by contact info or by comments. They can be willing to step out of the anonymity for you or, what is more, have some further discussion on the topic of your interest.
---
And if you would like to express your gratitude, you can always contribute to SE :)
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Mathoverflow, which is the SE site for research mathematics, has a cite button, hidden inside the widget that pops up when you click "share". The citations it produces have the following form:
>
> user1347 (<https://mathoverflow.net/users/1347/user1347>), Can one make Erdős's Ramsey lower bound explicit?, URL (version: 2009-11-02): <https://mathoverflow.net/q/3789>
>
>
>
```
@MISC {3789,
TITLE = {Can one make Erdős's Ramsey lower bound explicit?},
AUTHOR = {user1347 (https://mathoverflow.net/users/1347/user1347)},
HOWPUBLISHED = {MathOverflow},
NOTE = {URL:https://mathoverflow.net/q/3789 (version: 2009-11-02)},
EPRINT = {https://mathoverflow.net/q/3789},
URL = {https://mathoverflow.net/q/3789}
}
```
As you can see, the Bibtex is far from perfect (no escaping of non-latin characters and capitals, no `\url` command for links), but this could give you an idea.
More importantly, this still uses the username as "author", so it doesn't really answer your question. This is an issue that has also been discussed in several places on mathoverflow and math.stackexchange; see for instance the amusingly-named question [how to acknowledge Bugs Bunny?](https://mathoverflow.net/questions/98082/etiquette-question-how-to-acknowledge-bugs-bunny) and the meta.MSE thread linked there.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/01/22 | 1,283 | 5,435 | <issue_start>username_0: In [academia.edu's terms of service](http://www.academia.edu/terms), it says
>
> By making available any Member Content on or through the Site or Services, **you hereby grant to Academia.edu** a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free license, with **the right to sublicense, to use, view, copy, adapt, modify, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, stream, broadcast and otherwise exploit** such Member Content only on, through or by means of the Site or Services.
>
>
>
This seems crazy, and posting anything there would clearly violate even the most lenient publisher agreement (for instance, many math publishers allow me to post the final paper on the internet, but not to sell it). Furthermore, these terms seem potentially very harmful to the users. What is their rationale for employing such terms? And why would anyone in their right mind even consider posting a paper there?
**Note (as of July 2016):** this part of the terms of service have changed and seems slightly less horrific. Though other parts seem more insane, and also in contradiction with each other, like they own all your intellectual property rights.<issue_comment>username_1: It's not necessarily crazy for academia.edu to ask for these things (although, as I say below, I certainly don't think users should agree to these terms). I imagine their lawyers advised them to use an agreement that covers all possible use cases as their business model evolves. For example, if they decided to charge their users membership fees, and only users who paid the fees got access to the site and could view profiles and download papers, then that would be tantamount to selling the papers and other user data (so they couldn't do it unless they had permission to sell this content). Posting ads on their web pages could be considered a form of commercial exploitation of the data, so they want to make sure they can do it. They might someday want to change file formats, such as converting PDFs into future super-PDF formats, and having permission to modify content submitted by users guarantees that they could do this. Even if they intend to take things down upon receiving requests from users, having irrevocable permission to post them means users cannot sue them for failing to take them down quickly enough. Basically, this agreement says they can do anything they want, which is obviously very convenient for them.
For comparison, Harvard's [model open access policy](https://osc.hul.harvard.edu/modelpolicy) also retains very broad rights (although not the right to sell papers for a profit). I believe the motivation is that universities can be trusted, and it's better for them to retain more rights than fewer, in case they need them someday. See the notes to line 7 in the model policy for more discussion of this point. Of course, the difference is that academia.edu is a commercial website, and even if they are trustworthy now, they might become less so in the future or be bought by someone untrustworthy.
**On the other hand, even if it's not crazy for the site to ask for these rights, it's certainly crazy for users to agree!** I'm amazed that these terms of service are being used, and I assume just about nobody using the site has actually read them and understood that they are permanently granting the right to sell arbitrarily modified versions of their papers. I hope you send them a complaint, as well as publicize this on the internet, because they need to change these terms as soon as possible. In addition to being completely unreasonable, they clearly conflict with a large majority of copyright agreements for papers, as you point out.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: The "General Prohibitions" Section of academia.edu's Terms of Service, starts as follows:
>
> General Prohibitions
>
>
> You agree not to do any of the following:
>
>
> Post, upload, publish, submit or transmit any Content that: (i) infringes, misappropriates or violates a third party’s patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, moral rights or other intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy; ...
>
>
>
Combined with what the question points out from these Terms of Service, their business model could even "secretly hope" to directly compete with scientific journals.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It's "member content", not just papers.
Data analytics is a huge thing for web sites like Academia.edu. If they wanted to, for example, add advertisements on the sidebar, they might use your user data (post history, your messages, the contents of the post you're reading) to recommend ads that are relevant and pertinent to your interests. In that situation, they're using your member content.
If they come out with an advertising campaign talking to academics about why Academia.edu is awesome, maybe they'll have someone on camera with the web site in the background. That would be using the content in promotional videos. They don't want to have to ask the commenters for explicit permission to do that, so you waive that when you sign up.
Usually, it's not worth it for the lawyers to try to separate academic papers that are posted here from everything else, so they just say "member content".
If you don't like papers being there... then don't post your papers there.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/01/22 | 2,263 | 9,326 | <issue_start>username_0: I am an international student in Australia studying Bachelor of IT.
Australian education system as the norm here is to take 4 subjects per semester and these subjects are pretty much "dumbed down". So a lot of subjects don't really teach much, for instance for Algorithms and Data Structures subject we weren't taught complexity at all, so during technical interviews for my internships, I was not able to give any answers in regarding to complexity.
Now this will be my last semester, and I feel like I still need more coursework for Computer Science and spending more money for Australian universities just sounds ridiculous at this step. Since almost all US and UK universities need honours award from Australian degrees (and that's extra $26k), I will not be applying to any US universities . I applied to one UK university that never mentioned requirement of honours and got rejection. I have applied to UBC in Canada but it will also cost me about CA$15-20k/y. So I had a look at European universities and found out that German and Swiss universities charges about 500-600 Euros per year. I found out that most German reputable universities don't really offer fully English Masters degrees in Computer Science, however that's not the case. ETH Zurich prefers students with honours as well. I found that EPFL has a good education and I would like to study Distributed Systems, which they offer quite a lot subjects on that, however what concerns me is after graduation job security. As I mentioned, my purpose of studying Computer Science is not to become an academia but to have stronger Computer Science skills.
Anyway so far it sounded like very specific, but my question is not that specific. Would it really worth studying Computer Science in Switzerland, with the consideration of graduate job prospects as well as doing internships and the fact that I don't have EU citizenship? I know that Google would accept international grads, but are there many companies like that?<issue_comment>username_1: As a general comment: I feel there is a lot of *fluff* in this question which (as you seem to figure out yourself) makes the question seem more specific to you personally than what it actually is.
So after reading through rather unnecessary backstory (no offense :) ) I think this was your actual question?
>
> I found that EPFL has a good education and I would like to study Distributed Systems, which they offer quite a lot subjects on that, however what concerns me is after graduation job security. As I mentioned, my purpose of studying CompSci is not to become an academia but to have stronger Computer Science skills.
>
>
>
Yes, job security with a MSc in Computer Science, also, even especially, with a focus on distributed systems, is very good in Switzerland and the surrounding countries. Lausanne is considered a good to excellent university in Europe. However, if your current school is as bad as you describe it (no complexity theory??), you may find the masters in Lausanne quite challenging. Not impossible, but you will probably spend a lot (!) of time learning the fundamentals.
**EDIT: (this has been added after my original answer)**
>
> with the consideration of graduate job prospects and the fact that I don't have EU citizenship?
>
>
>
I do not know how not having an EU citizenship factors in. I am also a foreigner working in Zurich, but coming from an EU state. I have heard that things are not always easy for non-europeans around here, but I cannot offer any concrete info.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Honestly there are really cool universities in Europe where you can learn much about Computer Science and related subjects.
If you look at the rankings of universities in the world you will see that ETHZ and EPFL are ranked among top 50 unis for CS subjects. Last time I checked ETHZ was somewhere around 7 and EPFL somewhere close to 20. However keep in mind that the rankings are important for future employers but not that important in terms of teaching. Wherever you go in Switzerland and Germany you will face the same approach to science, with top class professors.
Let me clarify some stuff for you, first of all tuition fees in Swiss are not around 500-600 euros! They are a bit higher, however the real problem with living in Swiss are the living costs. I hear it is damn expensive over there. Especially if you think about Zurich.
When it comes to Germany, the semester fees are less than 300 euros. So you will be paying at mos 600 euros per year for studies. In some federations of Germany you even get a semester ticket, which you can use for traveling for free by bus and by train withing the borders of the federation where your University is located.
It is true that all the programmes offered by universities are not *completely* in English. However the selection of courses which is provided for international students is pretty nice. Additionally, at the moment there is a lack of IT people in Germany. My professor said "The only way not to find an IT job in Germany is ***to die*** early".
If you register for master studies in germany, the state requires you to have at least 8000 euro in bank for 12 months. So they have calculated that as a student you can live comfortably with that money. However, you are free to spend as much as you want. This is the minimum that I told you.
If you are interested for English studies, bear in mind that Sweden provides CS studies mostly in English (over 80% of the population is fluent in English over there).
I think the main thing that you have to consider when registering for your future studies is the difficulties that you will face due to "poor" background at the moment. Studies will be very demanding (I know it form myself, I've been in the same position), but with hardwork you can achieve everything. However, if you are not ready to invest extra time to your studies, do not bother going to ETHZ or EPFL, or top universities in Germany.
I hope I answered you question, if you have further dilemmas let me know.
Edit1: Since you are aware of your drawbacks coming from the Bachelors, analyze well the curriculum of the university where you are planning to apply, and before that make sure to watch some of the free courses (related to that curriculum) provided by top universities online: <http://www.mooc-list.com/>
The courses provided in Masters studies are usually a continuation of the courses from the Bachelors, so check what the students have studies during bachelors in the unis that u are planning to apply
Selam ;)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: EPFL is one of the better technical universities. This has two consequences: 1) it will be hard (as @username_1 notes, if your current school doesn't even teach complexity, you will be in for a challenging time at EPFL), and 2) you won't have a problem to get a job afterwards.
Note that differences between schools are not as pronounced in Europe as elsewhere. For instance, I am pretty sure that you will not be able to attend a German or Swiss university without exposure to algorithm complexity. Consequently, employers (both academic and industry) in Europe don't really care all that much about school quality. Grades, internships and the impression you leave at the interview are much more important.
Beware of costs of living in Zurich. Zurich compares with New York City. It's horrendous. (I used to live there.) Lausanne should be somewhat better, but Switzerland is generally an expensive place. If you seriously plan on going there, check local rents and/or supermarkets (coop.ch or migros.ch - you should be able to find this week's offers even without speaking German) and convert them from CHF to AUD to get an impression.
Note the language: Zurich is German-speaking, but Swiss German is very hard for a non-native speaker, even if you did take German classes. Lausanne is French-speaking, and the Swiss French is closer to "standard" French than Swiss German is to German. Francophones dislike speaking English, so you will get by more easily in Zurich than in Lausanne in English.
Switzerland is not in the EU (although it of course cooperates), so your EU membership is not all that important. With an ETH/EPFL diploma, you should have no problem getting a job anywhere in Switzerland or the EU.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: In have been recently taking Master of Advanced Studies in ETHZ, Zurich. From that I have seen, most of courses are optional. Each of them just gives some number of points and you simply need to collect enough. If it is initially not obvious which courses are good, it is not uncommon to take more than planned and drop some you find less useful. Of course, there are also mandatory courses you must take and pass they exams, but in general you most likely will not study that you see useless.
ETHZ seems quite oriented to self-dependent work and significant percent of the knowledge is acquired outside the lecture time (literature, assignments, etc).
Some courses are in German but there are also many English courses, as ETHZ hires professors from the whole world. Have never heard about somebody giving lectures in Swiss German in the university or even secondary school. Standard German is used for teaching.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/01/22 | 1,096 | 4,358 | <issue_start>username_0: For example, if I want to get the reference in APA, what web resources provide this style? I found a way through Refworks, but it requires several steps. Is there a faster way?<issue_comment>username_1: Write in [LaTeX](http://www.latex-project.org), and use [BibTeX](http://www.bibtex.org) which will automatically format your references in [various styles](http://www.reed.edu/cis/help/latex/bibtexstyles.html).
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: [Google Scholar](http://scholar.google.com) has a nice tool for this. If you search for the article, under each of the search results is a "cite" button which will automatically show you the reference in MLA, APA, and Chicago.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: With Zotero you can choose a format to export items among several, including APA. Then you can drag and drop a set of items and the references are formatted according to what you chose.
You can even define your own formats with some Javascript programming if you plan to do this very often.
PD: you should have added the reference before in Zotero before, which is a one-click operation (assuming the data is right), or you can import a set of references from BibTex and other formats.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: I recommend using **bibtex**: the procedure is very simple:
1) Create an empty file and name it "myreferences.bib" (or any other ".bib" name)
2) Go to the website of the paper you would like to reference to and download the bibtex code. If this option is not available you can search for the article in Google Scholar and click "Import into BibTeX"
3) Copy/Paste the cose into your ".bib" file
4) Enter your latex article, add the references at the correct points, and write, just before the *\end{document}*, command:
```
\bibliographystyle{plane}
\bibliography{myreferences}
```
For a list of bibliography styles see for example: <http://sites.stat.psu.edu/~surajit/present/bib.htm>
5) Compile your code using Latex. Compile your code using Bibtex. Compile your code using Latex.
You are done!
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: If you are writing in MS Word, just go to References and select APA.
Then Insert Citation, Add New Source and fill in everything you need.
This will handle your in-text referencing as well as your "Works Cited" section.
Once you have added a reference, using it again is as simple as Insert Citation and clicking the existing citation.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: To be honest, I've found that just taking the time to actually learn the style guide is MUCH faster in the long run than putting everything into a citation tool. Using a citation tool basically adds *at least* one extra step, and that equates to lost time. You have to be able to identify the correct information either way, and you have to know what the final citations should look like either way. But if you type them in yourself, you save yourself the extra steps of 1) opening another program/accessing another website, 2) reviewing what that tool spits out at you, 3) copying it over to your work, and 4) adjusting any formatting as needed after copy/pasting. Knowing hotkeys for italicizing/bolding/underlining as needed is also a time-saver.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_7: I have been working and academia for many years, and recently as a developer of Paperpile I came across this problem several times.
All modern citation/reference managers rely on CSL, the citation style language. For more information on this, see <http://citationstyles.org/>.
Among these 7,000+ styles, it is, however, difficult to find the citation format you want to have. For this purpose, I would suggest to use the CSL editor search by example (<http://editor.citationstyles.org/searchByExample/>).
You can type in the inline citation and how the formatted citation should look like, and it will find the citation style that matches most closely. Once, you know the name of the citation style you want to use, you can actually use Paperpile to get the formatted citation (including bold and italic formatting).
You select the reference you want to create the citation for and simply hit Control+C. You will find it in your clipboard and can copy it to Word, Google Docs, and others.
Upvotes: -1 |
2014/01/22 | 708 | 2,849 | <issue_start>username_0: I've been recently offered a couple of Postdoc positions, and I was wondering how you as professors would prefer to be informed if a candidate would rather work with another institution.
I know we are professionals, and these things are to be expected, and probably the professor has another candidates to choose from, but I just want to be as respectful and professional myself as possible, so how would you turn down an offer, or would like to be turned down.<issue_comment>username_1: Just send a short but polite note telling them something like: you appreciate the offer but have decided to accept a different one. Maybe tell them (especially if it's true!) that you respect their research, hope to see them at a conference or visit their institution in the future, or something nice along those lines. Don't overthink it, just be polite.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: **Keep it short and honest.**
For example,
>
> Dear So and So, thank you for your offer for a postdoc at Blah. It's
> an attractive offer, but I've decided to take a position at Foo-Bar
> instead. The work you're doing over at Blah is very interesting and I
> look forward to interacting with you in the future.
>
>
>
Of course if you have more than one rejection to send out PLEASE PLEASE don't do it generically. Tailor it to each place individually. It takes a little more time, but it's a fair exchange given that they took the time to give you an offer.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I agree with the previous answers: short, honest, polite. I'll add: prompt. As soon as you accept an offer, let the other institutions know immediately. That will let them move on with their search.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: First, I really like username_2's answer. Short, straight, polite, and mentioning you would like to work with them in the future.
When I did my post-doc, I had the same problem: I applied for more positions than I could accept 8^)
Turning down the offers I could not accept was along username_2's lines, but with one major point added: I did not send emails/write letters, I *called the professors and talked to them personally*.
And yes, I met all of them again during my post-doc. The world of research is very small.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: one additional thought: If the offer you reject is a good one (i.e. a lab you can see yourself work in), I really believe it is important to call the PI you turn down, confirm your interest in the research done in the lab, and make clear that it was a really tough decision for you to make. Being in similar situation coming out of my PhD, I ended up choosing lab A over lab B, and after a few months, I realized PI of lab A was a nightmare, so I contacted lab B again and had a productive postdoc there.
Upvotes: 4 |
2014/01/23 | 442 | 1,917 | <issue_start>username_0: I am a new worker in real functions with little experience and few published papers but not in top journals.
I together with my two colleagues found a new characterization of a well-known class of functions (first Baire class). I am pretty sure this is new. However, we cannot decide the extent of its significance because we are unable to find a good application. But suffice it to say there are some old results in the area that admit a very straightforward proof using our characterization. For instance, functions with countable discontinuities can be shown to be of first Baire class using our characterization with a very easy proof.
My question, is this enough for publication? I am afraid to submit it and got a snobbish review. By the way, I am from a third-world country.<issue_comment>username_1: If you don't submit a paper, you're never going to find out it's publishable—unless someone beats you to it. Basically, if you and your colleagues believe you have a publishable advance, then write it up and submit it.
On a related note: have you solicited feedback from colleagues in the field? Has it been presented at a conference somewhere? What have you heard and done to "talk the work up" with colleagues? Has anyone told you it is (or is not) publishable?
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: It sounds like your work merits **submission**. Whether it merits **publication** depends on the journal. It's always good to consult with experts ahead of time, but failing that the best approach is to find a journal that seems in tune with the results (maybe it's the one where the prior work was published, or one that contains most of the relevant material that you needed for your result). Then submit it and see what happens. In the worst case your paper will be rejected, but then you'll expect to get review feedback, which is really what you're looking for.
Upvotes: 3 |
2014/01/23 | 591 | 2,503 | <issue_start>username_0: I am a PhD candidate in computer engineering. I saw an announcement for a post-doctoral position on the internet.
I wrote to the professor having that open position asking him if I could come to visit him and his lab, and talk about the position.
He replied yes. We agreed on the date and I asked him if he wanted me to prepare a talk with slides to give during the visit.
He answered:
>
> You are welcome to give a talk or we may just have a meeting. It's fully up to you.
>
>
>
So, **what should I do?
Talk or just a visit?**
A meeting would be more relaxing and confortable, and provide no stress and no extra work.The talk would need time to work on it, and would be more stressful, but may explain better my previous research projects..
What do you suggest to me?<issue_comment>username_1: I would come prepared with a talk. Depending on how many people are in his lab, or if you are going when his lab is having a meeting, you may want to give a talk then.
Sometimes it's nice not to give a talk and to just have a meeting more generally. But, it may be better for your potential colleagues to know the kind of research you have done before and what you are interested in if there is any overlap.
At the end of the day, it's up to you.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Unless told you shouldn't, you should **always** opt to give a talk under such circumstances. It makes discussions with your potential future advisor and group members much more meaningful, because your interviewers now have a much better sense of what you do.
Moreover, a solid presentation of technically sound research shows that you have achieved one of the most important skills needed for a researcher: the ability to effectively communicate your work! As a postdoc, your advisor is going to expect you to have most of the research skills needed to complete your work with minimal supervision. Giving a good presentation will clearly demonstrate most of your credentials in a way that a face-to-face talk will not.
Finally, giving a talk to a (mostly) friendly audience is always good practice for your future career. (People get better at giving presentations by giving presentations!)
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: No matter how you decide: Bring some slides and be prepared for short presentations. It might be good to meet several people, sit around a laptop and discuss some ideas. This could be more fruitful then a presentation to a wider audience.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/23 | 855 | 3,504 | <issue_start>username_0: I am Computer science major at University of Wisconsin Madison.
I just want to ask you if i can get into graduate school with such a low GPA.
My current GPA is 2.9 and i have 20 more credit which makes me possible to go over 3.0
But I have finished my freshman year with 2.0 GPA and took 2 years of ESL program.(English as a second language).
I have done 2~3 internships in korea and plan to do 2 years of more working experience after i graduate from college this summer.
I am worried about my GPA because it is quite low and my CS GPA is only about 3.4
DO you guys think i have chance of getting into any top 30 or 40 graduate school out there in computer science field?
Thank you<issue_comment>username_1: Anything is possible. In your cover letter highlight your strengths, perhaps mention that you have managed to have a BLAH GPA while at the same time learning English as a Second Language. If you word this properly, you can show that this is a strength, i.e. you had to properly manage workload balance while at the same time earning your degree. Highlight your internship experience. Make it known that you have a firm understanding of what is being done in industry and the type of problems one would regularly come across.
All in all, you have just as much of a shot as anyone. The worse that can happen is that you won't get in anywhere. I highly suggest you apply to as many schools as you can as this increases your odds of being accepted, at least somewhere.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: In my experience, most graduate programs that have competitive admissions (as would probably be the case with "top 30-40" programs, whatever that means concretely) require a minimum GPA to be considered for admission (see for instance [UC Berkeley](http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Gradadm/msphdadm.htm)).
The first thing you can do is look up some of the programs that interest you to see if they have a minimum GPA requirement. If they do and your GPA is lower than what they're asking for, then the answer to your question is almost certainly no.
Now, suppose that you were to satisfy the minimal GPA requirement of some "top 30-40" programs. Provided you satisfy their other minimal requirements, it is possible that you could be accepted. However, a low GPA will be seen as a weakness in your application. The admission to "top 30-40" programs are most likely going to be very competitive, and you will be competing against candidates who will have a high undergraduate GPA together with a strong application overall. Consequently, you would need to compensate for this. This could be done, for example, by managing to get well-known faculty write amazing letters of recommendation for you, or by demonstrating an exceptional aptitude for research.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It depends on what you mean by graduate school. If you mean a masters program, then you can definitely get in, even at a top 30-40 school, assuming you have some sort of explanation for your grades and good letters of recommendation/evidence of work to ameliorate your application.
If you're referring to a PhD program, may I suggest that you instead apply to masters programs first. This allows you to get a new GPA to associate with your name, research experience and recommendations. Then, you can apply to PhD programs and not only have a much better shot of getting in, but you will also be more prepared and have a much better idea of what you want to do.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/23 | 1,358 | 5,542 | <issue_start>username_0: A professor, call **X**, who is with strong probability about to be my future MS Thesis supervisor/advisor, seems very interested to work with me. Mostly on lectures, **X** seems interested in my ideas and is very encouraging.
However, out of the class, **X** is totally unreachable, uninterested in my problems. e.g. very slow to respond questions, once I needed an important paperwork to be done and X totally slacked it, although a ceratin mouthful "sure I will do it" promise. I had really hardtime to fix related issue with much frustations, because of **X**'s attitude. And **X** did not give me any apologies for this situation.
I understand that profs are busy beings, managing tons of stuff at the same time, but I expect not to break a given promise or not to give promise at all to do something. I am really fed up and tired of this repeating behavior.
I have started to think that, it is not a good idea to work with **X**. I seriously doubt that professor would be reachable in my thesis study, not to mention to be helpful in my future academic pursuits, such as a strong letter for a Ph.D. application.
Am I expecting a lot ? Also, I want to kindly inform **X** that, I do not want to involve any future studies with **X**. What kind of wording should I use ?<issue_comment>username_1: Professors are busy and are always juggling multiple commitments.
This does not mean that you are unimportant to them but maybe some judicious memory jogging is required for them to remember what X has promised you.
Another excellent strategy which I have adopted is to show up to my committee members' open office hours with issues when I need them solved instead of bothering them over email. Usually I need 5-10 minutes of their time to explain my issue and solicit future directions. That works really well. I am not a big fan of long meetings.
In response to your specific question, if you want to not work with X just tell X that you do not feel that you can work with them in the future. It might be helpful to have someone else lined up before you do so though.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: In addition to username_1's answer: Sometimes, I could be X... And the reason is described in username_1s excellent answer. It does not mean X is uninterested, but there are important and pressing tasks which easily cover 60h/week in my position, and then there are still the not-so-urgent-but-still-important tasks left.
I usually tell the students to remind me again if I did not do what I promised until xyz, and if they don't do that, I assume it was unimportant (well, usually I try to do what I promised, but still, things are slipping through).
I would suggest talking to your potential supervisor and (politely) talk about your concerns. If they don't get your point, it is totally ok to look for an other one and they can not be surprised. If they get your point, you should try to find some arrangement which would help you in similar situation (e.g. you are allowed to be a pain in the ass of your supervisor). For good students whose work I value, I really want them to push me. On the other hand, I definitely don't want to micro-manage someone. So it's a matter of balance and communication about it helps a lot.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: It is not obvious how this professor will look into your PhD. You also say he can be good and devote enough attention when he thinks this is appropriate (during the lecture).
The most obvious way to decide is to look around. Does the professor have other PhD students? Not very good if you would be the only one over many years. Which percent of these PhD students been successful? Maybe you can talk with them?
Also, that are most serious works of the professor laboratory? Recent *Science* or ten years without publications? Of course, asking such things directly is very tricky but try to visit the laboratory website.
Understanding the professors overall attitude to exactly PhD work may help to decide. Heavy involvement into ongoing research projects and other relevant activities (so no time for general talking, etc) may actually represent the professor positively.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: >
> Also, I want to kindly inform X that, I do not want to involve any
> future studies with X. What kind of wording should I use?
>
>
>
No wording should be used. Don't send anything.
Now you may be very angry or upset, but there is no point to send a message to imply you will never work with this person. If the professor does try to contact you for possible projects or studies, just simply say thanks, and proceed with saying that you have thought about this and have decided to pursue other options.
If you send a no-involvement-in-future message, you'd just end up looking obnoxious. This is not grade school, we don't tell everyone that "I am not going to play with you, and don't you dare inch your elbow over the side of my desk, or I am going to tell the Dean."
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Talk to students. Always talk to students of the Prof. If you start finding out lots of previous students dropped out, don't go that route. If they look at you and say "run" follow their advice. If it's clear that they are trying to not say something bad about their supervisor but clearly aren't willing to say anything good: stay away.
But don't burn bridges. Just go for other options. No need to say, "I'm sorry you're too busy". Just you've gotten interested in another problem.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/23 | 1,898 | 8,095 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm writing my dissertation and I have drawn a diagram explaining how a algorithm works. Recently, I've found an ebook, legally obtained, illustrating the same algorithm, but with more details and better drawing.
Is it ok to use their figure instead of mine if I properly give the source?
Here is the copyright rules (highlight is mine):
>
> The Author(s) 2014
>
> This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. **Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.** Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the Copyright Clearance Center. Violations are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein.
>
>
>
I'm asking because of the highlighted excerpt:
>
> Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.
>
>
>
I think my dissertation fits the "reviews or scholarly analysis" rule, so is it ok? This juridical part is very delicate.
**Update**
I have contacted the book's author; he was really nice and said that there are no problems of using his illustration. But, he advised me to contact the publisher (he even pointed me a page to do that). As the page was not working well, I sent an email to the publisher's staff to which they answered asking me some information:
>
> * your name, address, and email address;
> * ISBN of the book requested or journal title, volume and issue number, author/editor, year of publication of book or journal;
> * which material you would like to use indicating page numbers and figures numbers;
> * will your publication be open access?
> * purpose of using Springer-Verlag's material;
> * number of copies of your publication to be printed;
> * name of your publisher or the company/institute.
>
>
>
Now, I'm just waiting for their answer.
**Update 2**
The publisher gave me permission and I added the image to my dissertation. Here are the conditions that I had to follow:
>
> Thank you for getting back to me. With reference to your request to
> reuse material in which Springer Science+Business Media controls the
> copyright, our permission is granted free of charge under the
> following conditions:
>
>
> Springer material
>
>
> * represents original material which does not carry references to other sources (if material in question refers with a credit to another
> source, authorization from that source is required as well);
> * requires full credit (book title, year of publication, page, chapter title, name(s) of author(s), original copyright notice) is
> given to the publication in which the material was originally
> published by adding: "With kind permission of Springer
> Science+Business Media";
> * may not be altered in any manner. Any other abbreviations, additions, deletions and/or any other alterations shall be made only
> with prior written authorization of the author and/or Springer
> Science+Business Media.
>
>
> This permission
>
>
> * is non-exclusive;
> * is valid for one-time use only for the purpose of defending your thesis and with a maximum of 100 extra copies in paper.
> * includes use in an electronic form, provided it is an author-created version of the thesis on his/her own website and his/her university’s repository, including UMI (according to the definition on the Sherpa website: <http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/>);
> * is subject to courtesy information to the corresponding author;
> * is personal to you and may not be sublicensed, assigned, or transferred by you to any other person without Springer's written permission;
> * is valid only when the conditions noted above are met.
>
>
> Permission free of charge does not prejudice any rights we might have to charge for reproduction of our copyrighted material in the future.
>
>
><issue_comment>username_1: If you are critiquing the image or expanding on what was said then technically you are in the clear. In the real world it comes down to what Springer decides and the country that you are in. The exemption there is not really an exemption in the US. That is copyright law, the part called fair use. How the courts see it if you were sued is a different issue and Springer has the deep pockets here and could make your suffer no matter what. Whether it is worth it to Springer depends on the circulation of your thesis. If you can reproduce the graphic yourself you will obviously be better off.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In fact, I think that your proposed use would *not* fall under "fair use", in the sense that you are not addressing the other authors' work, but merely (!) using some of their stuff. The fruits of their labors... which is what various reasonable notions of intellectual property are meant to protect.
Of course, if you write the copyright owners and they say "go ahead", you are legally fine...
However, legal correctness and moral/ethical correctness are not the same.
Might be better to take the trouble to make your own graphic that is good enough. At the very least, in addition to investigating literal copyright issues, you might contact the people who made the graphic and ask their permission. If everyone says "go ahead", out of generosity or whatever, then you are *truly* fine.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I think the more relevant part of the rules is this:
>
> Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer.
>
>
>
If you use the figure, you are duplicating a part of the text. The relevant copyright law is that of where the publisher is located, not your country. Finally, regardless of this, they say "permission for use must always be obtained from Springer", which seems pretty clear. This doesn't necessarily mean you will need to pay to use the figure, but you do need the publisher's permission.
"Brief excerpts" in your bolded text probably refers to a short quotation, which of course would need to be indicated as a quotation and referenced.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: No one seems to have mentioned this: of course legally you should contact the publisher, which in most probability is the copyright holder, but surely you should also ask the author how he or she feels about it. I would not like seeing my work being used without having been contacted.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/23 | 340 | 1,523 | <issue_start>username_0: Sometimes professional bodies issue diplomas and postgraduate diplomas which, for example in the UK, are recognized at a very high training level.
What I am not sure about is whether these, even though not issued by universities, can help enter university at academia or research level?<issue_comment>username_1: Usually, these topics are discussed on a case-by-case basis. For example, the professional institute can have some kind of agreement or understanding with some universities, but not with others. The best you can do is to choose a research program that you want to join, prepare your record (including professional diplomas) and ask the faculty that rules the program.
Some universities may accept you without conditions, but I guess the most common case will be that you will have to take some extra courses in their program and get the corresponding credit in order to fit your profile and knowledge to their exact expectation.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In addition to username_1's very good answer: In some countries there are legal pre-requisits which are required for a certain position. E.g. if you want to have "Dr." in Germany (~about PhD), you are required to have a masters degree (there are some rare exceptions, but this is the normal process). Therefore you can have as many certificates and be as skilled as you want, you won't get in without taking this step.
So check whether there are formal requiremnts in the country you are interested in.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/23 | 579 | 2,414 | <issue_start>username_0: So here's my situation: I'm a senior electrical-engineering major student in a decent-ranked university (60-80), and I've been working in a lab in our department and published 2 papers as the second author (conference paper, IEEE) and currently I'm in charge of two projects so I may publish more before I graduate. The thing is: I have a low GPA (2.9), but there is a reason: I've been an athlete of the fencing team in our university, and for two years I've been the vice captain of it. I have to go to practice every night, Monday to Thursday, so I don't have a lot of time to study. My boss, who got her PHD degree from CalTech, trusts me a lot so I will have a kickass recommendation. She refers me as a student who's "not very good at theoretical learning, but always creative and can solve practical problems very well." She also granted me the fellowship.
I want to go to those well-ranked engineering schools, like UIUC or Berkeley, and pursue a master's degree (and even a PHD, if possible). Although I do have a good research background, I'm worrying about my gpa. Most schools do have a gpa threshold, but is it possible for me to get into these schools? Thank you.<issue_comment>username_1: Usually, these topics are discussed on a case-by-case basis. For example, the professional institute can have some kind of agreement or understanding with some universities, but not with others. The best you can do is to choose a research program that you want to join, prepare your record (including professional diplomas) and ask the faculty that rules the program.
Some universities may accept you without conditions, but I guess the most common case will be that you will have to take some extra courses in their program and get the corresponding credit in order to fit your profile and knowledge to their exact expectation.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In addition to username_1's very good answer: In some countries there are legal pre-requisits which are required for a certain position. E.g. if you want to have "Dr." in Germany (~about PhD), you are required to have a masters degree (there are some rare exceptions, but this is the normal process). Therefore you can have as many certificates and be as skilled as you want, you won't get in without taking this step.
So check whether there are formal requiremnts in the country you are interested in.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/24 | 1,425 | 5,800 | <issue_start>username_0: I graduated from the University of Michigan with Psychology and Communication Studies degree.
I am planning to apply to Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) master's degree and Information Science master's degree.
For those of who do not know, HCI is an interdisciplinary field, combining mainly computer science, cognitive psychology, and design.
I have two GRE scores and I have trouble deciding which one to send for my application.
Score 1: Verbal: 158 (78%) / Quantitative: 165 (91%) / Writing: 4.0 (58%)
Score 2: Verbal: 162 (89%) / Quantitative: 161 (81%) / Writing: 4.5 (78%)
The second set of scores has higher verbal and writing values, but the first has a higher quantitative value. Which should I send?<issue_comment>username_1: I doubt it really matters which of these scores you send, for two reasons:
1. I don't think GRE general test scores are particularly important in the first place. How they are used may vary between institutions or fields, but in my experience admissions committees do not pay any attention to them. Maybe there are other committees that do pay attention, but I'd be surprised if anyone relies on them as a major component of the evaluation process. [EDIT: As username_4's answer demonstrates, there's more diversity in how these scores are used than I had realized.]
2. Small, random fluctuations are normal if you take the exam several times. This is widely known among people on admissions committees, and it's reinforced by seeing the applications that include multiple scores. This means no sensible admissions committee member will attach great importance to small distinctions.
So I believe you are overthinking this, and either set of scores will be fine.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I want to supplement username_1's answer.
I would lean towards the second set of scores. Writing skills are often overlooked in academia, but since you will be writing a (hopefully great) thesis, I would put the most emphasis on the writing.
Your other scores are basically the same.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Score 2 Writing: 4.5 (**78%**) is significantly better than Score 1 Writing: 4.0 (**58%**). This is one of the indicators that you may have better chance to succeed. Your presentation skills will be very much needed in graduate school.
Score 1 Quantitative: 165 (**91%**) is better than Score 2 Quantitative: 161 (**81%**) but not that much. They are both fine. If the graduate school program you are applying to concentrates heavily on math/stats, Score 1 looks better.
I just learned info from the comment the OP made, the student has the option to send single score or multiple scores. (This is why I like this site so much. We exchange info.)
My suggestion is, send Score 2 if applying to a design oriented HCI program (your presentation skills will be important in this case). Send Score 1 if the graduate school program is math/stats oriented. Send both scores if you are not sure.
Also, please note that not all schools require GRE. Good Luck !
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: First I will say that in *some* departments, GRE scores are a very important component of your application. For instance, I work in a department where each year we get applicants from hundreds of different universities in 70 or more different countries. Comparing GPAs between all the different educational systems is very difficult (we do it, but place relatively less weight on it due to uncertainties). Meanwhile, the GRE is a single standard. Also, whereas some departments in the USA can rely primarily on GRE subject tests, it's quite rare for international students to take those. The bottom line: good GRE scores will never get you admitted by themselves. But in some places at least, poor GRE scores will eliminate you.
Now, as to whether the verbal/writing or quantitative scores matter more, I think this depends heavily on the field. If you were applying to a math/science/engineering program, the quantitative score would be by far most important. It's generally thought that good writing can be taught to you later (and technical writing is different from the persuasive writing the GRE tests you on, anyway).
I assume that if you were applying to an English or fine arts program, the verbal/writing scores would be more important. The fields you're applying to are somewhere in between, and I don't know them well enough to say for certain.
[**Edit**: see @shion's answer for the opinion of someone who knows more about your particular field.]
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: In my department (HCI/Information Science), the popular notion is that having a very good score on your GRE **will not get you in** but having a poor score (relative to the rest of the applicant pool) **can keep you out**.
This is especially true for PhD applications and somewhat true for MS applications. For the latter, the pure numbers (GRE/GPA) matter more while for the former, your statement of purpose, research experience and letters of recommendation are what tips the balance in your favor.
In sum, generally for most HCI/IS programs, all parts of the GRE matter equally.
Logistically, it also does not matter which score you send because ETS will send all your GRE scores in the last 5 years i.e. admissions committees will see everything.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: In my heavily quantitative social science program, I have heard some professors saying that GRE quant score is a good predictor for 1st year GPA of grad students. I do not know how seriously they consider GRE math score into admissions, but I am sure they give it more of a passing notice. That said, I think both your scores look fine and they do not really differ much. If I can, I would just send both.
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/01/24 | 660 | 2,770 | <issue_start>username_0: I applied for postdoc positions and I received a few interview offers. I thought not many institution have interview process for postdoc positions and they give offer only based on application material. Do I have false information?<issue_comment>username_1: Honestly, I think it depends on the situation. Being on the market myself (math) and also applying for postdocs, I was under the impression that there would not be many interviews. However, I did get two post-doc interviews, so far.
My take is that this depends on the situation. Many times if they are departmental postdocs, there wouldn't be an interview (or so I gathered). However, if you are applying for a postdoc that is tied to a specific PI, then there would be an interview.
Finally, the climate may be changing in such a way where departments are conducting more interviews now.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I'm in the social sciences and most department postdocs search committees seem to interview before their final selection. I had a few Skype/phone interviews for positions I was shortlisted for.
There are other postdoc fellowships, like national competitions by grant making foundations, which make decisions without interviews though. One I was a finalist for, only asked for a full 10 page proposal and a budget narrative for the final round.
Like the other person said, I think this should really depend on the field, country, and type of postdoc.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: I personally would never employ anyone (even grad students) without an interview, and at least in Germany and and my field (CS), I'd say that most professors do interviews for post-docs since this is really a trust-relationship. On the other hand, the German system differs a bit from the US-sytem (our post-doc positions can often be compared to an assistand professor in the US).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Assuming that you're a mathematician (seeing as how your question migrated from math.SE), I believe that you get interview if you applied for:
* European institutions
* tenure-track level positions at liberal arts colleges
* lower-level research universities who want to gauge the applicant's interest (was the applicant applying to this position as a safety, or is he/she genuinely interested?)
* (only sometimes true) positions where research and teaching are equally valued, or where teaching is valued more highly
* (only sometimes true) if a particular researcher is hiring postdocs out of his/her own grant
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: I guess it depends on the search committee in math major. I know one case that one institute sends out offer without interview this year but it interviewed the applicants last year.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/24 | 2,434 | 10,639 | <issue_start>username_0: I am having a lot of trouble understanding the material in one of my courses. I feel like the professor often rushes through the material, leaving me without enough time to catch up in my busy schedule.
This professor is also really esteemed for his/her research contributions and speaking to my adviser about this (who also happens to be close to this professor) would make me feel very uncomfortable. I even spoke to my peers in the course about this and they seem to agree about the speed at which things are delivered.
Anyway, I often think about what I can do in this situation since exams are coming up. One idea that I ponder is the possibility of privately hiring a tutor within the faculty who could better explain the ideas in the course to me; after all they have relevant teaching experience.
I'm not certain if this is a good idea or not and because of this, I would really appreciate feedback relevant to this idea. If there aren't any appropriate solutions, what else can you suggest?
---
**Note:** I don't really want to give out any other details that would compromise his/her reputation. So I'll just leave it at that.<issue_comment>username_1: Let me give you a few thoughts (which might be slightly off-topic) from a professor's perspective:
* I usually design my courses in a way that the average student has a significant work load to keep up with the topic without frustrating them. (with 'average' I mean what I think the average student *should* be able to do after finishing the class - so this is a bit biased and independent of the actual students in my class)
* This leads to the situation that there is about 20% which keep up with (more or less) ease (I try to give them some extre assignments which are usually to hard for the rest of the course), ~50% are doing more or less fine (they have to work hard, but come along), and ~30% are having a very hard time.
* The ones which are having hard time are usully not having the required pre-requisites for the course (I talk to each of them and try to find out which problems they are having), this could be they dont have the knowledge and skills needed, but some have problems organizing their daily life etc.
Depending on the group you are in (I know, it's very rough classification and might not be helpful in your case), you can follow different strategies:
* If you are usually among the top performers in your class, you just might have some misconceptions which prevent you from putting the topics in the right part of your brain. I'd suggest talking to your adviser or your professor about this. They can help to disentangle your thoughts.
* If you are in the "average" group, you are the core audience of the class. Your professor *should* be interested in getting feedback about speed and perception of the content, but you must decide by yourself whether they are interested or not. If they seem to be open, I would suggest talking to your adviser and ask him about additional material or whether s(he) can recommend a tutor.
* If you feel you are missing some pre-requisites, you should clearly identify for your self, what you are missing. Try to get this first, even if it's not part of the course or you already *shoul* be knowing it. If you skip this opportunity kow, life will only become harder. After you know what you are missing, try to find appropriate ressources to learn thos skills (online courses, personal coaching, taking a class again, whatever). Additional tutoring will not help as long as your brain is not ready for the topic (unless the tutor helps you with getting this knowledge and skills).
In general, I assume that my studnets are working in groups. Many assingments are very hard to complete for one person, you often need discussion about the topics. One thought gives the other and having a group of peers working on the seem topics is very helpful. If you are learning alone at the moment, try to find some peers and team up with them. It is optimal if they are a bit better than you, but the most important thing is to talk about the course content and try to find different approaches to understand it. Tackle the problems from different directions and see which one is the best for you. That's the real skill you are learning when you are studying.
I personally regard taking a tutor as a last resort, but that's a bit opinion based. A good tuutor is a coach helping you with the things described above (which is great, go, get one!), a bad tutor tries to think for you and focuses only on the course topic which is at hand. You won't learn much.
And coming to the question whether it is ok to ask a faculty member: It depends! You can not ask someone who is actually involed in the course (directly or indirectly), otherwise one could argue that the course is intentionally to hard and the faculty members are doing side business by helping the studnts to succeed. This would really be unethical (end even if it is not the case, it might look like this to an outsider).
If you can find someone, who is not involved in the course, and (s)he is willing to do it, I see no problem, unless there are no rivalries between your professor and the person. Still, I would prefer someone from a different institution since teaching students should be their main job, anyway. I personally would not take any students for private tutorship.
I hope this helps a bit.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: As a faculty member, I feel that most students who struggle
* don't put enough time into the course materials; most courses are designed with the expectation that you put into the course around 10 hours a week.
* don't seek out help, or don't speak up to communicate their difficulties; there are office hours by the professor, as well as the TAs, and most of these people would be very open to hearing your opinions of the course. If the course is going too fast, tell them.
* don't talk to their peers; sometimes understanding the material requires talking to others about it. You may *all* have been confused by the material, but by struggling through the assignments together, you will probably all learn (but remember to credit your friends).
If you have done all of the above and you are still struggling, then hiring a private TA may be the next step. One tip for choosing a good TA: I actually think that asking someone just a couple of years ahead of you is the best thing to do. They see from your perspective, and they often understand/remember what was hard about the material better than the faculty members. It's cheaper, and you'll learn better. As a faculty member, I would *never* agree to privately tutor a student. Teaching is only a small part of my job, and I prefer to be doing research instead of spending more of my time with an undergraduate student.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: I'm going to provide a completely different perspective, mainly based on your comment
"Well, I would say in a class of 16 students, I spoke to 7 of them about this issue (at different times) and most seemed to talk about their issues (with the class) quite a bit. I'm not sure about the other remaining students though"
if you have confirmed that many people in the class are struggling (note: it's not 100% clear from this quote that you have), this is enough to warrant talking to the professor about the general pace and difficulty level of the class. In this case You may want to schedule an appointment with the professor and speak to him/her about your troubles with the class and how you have talked with other students and that these students are having similar issues. Ask the professor about what he/she imagines the average work load is for the class.
Most professors want the class to learn and are willing to teach to the ability of the class, but many of them are not so good at adapting to subtle cues from their students; they need to be explicitly told to slow down or cover more basic concepts. Find out what your professor thinks about what the course should be like and then adapt what you say based on that.
Sometimes the instructor does not modify their course (or they try to but really don't change as much as they think they are). There isn't too much you can do about this, however, many professors will change the course significantly and you may find yourself happier because of it.
However, whatever you do, do not make any accusations and try your best not to come off as entitled. Stay nice, and spend more time listening than talking. You may not end up needing a tutor
That said: for most research colleges the answer is NO to your question (graduate students would be more appropriate, perhaps someone who TAed the course before - but not currently, and possibly not while this instructor was teaching the course). For teaching colleges, there are often not enough professors in the department to even find one that would be an appropriate match to the subject matter.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: From a student perspective, there are actually several things you can do:
First, you can go to the professor and/or the TA's office hours to get help with the material that you're struggling with. You didn't mension whether or not you've tried this, but often if you aren't understanding things in class then the professor or the TA would be happy to go over it again with you and to try explaining it in alternate ways or more slowly. If you're having trouble making office hours because of scheduling, the TA or the professor will often be able to schedule alternate office hours to meet with you.
Second, you can ask other students for help. You could try starting a study group or many students have mailing lists where you can ask for advice from people who have taken the class before. In addition, in a graduate level class there are likely to be graduate students who are working in/doing research on some of the topics covered in the course---these are definitely people who might be able to help.
Last, as someone mentioned, it's unlikely that other faculty will have the time to provide private tutoring. It's much more likely that a TA or another graduate student, probably one who is doing research under that professor!, would have the time and the inclination to tutor. Some ways to try to get in touch with someone like this is through student mailing lists, the professor or lab's website, or by asking other graduate students.
Most graduate students are pretty open and nice because they've been where you are in not getting a course, so don't be too nervous about approaching them.
Upvotes: 1 |
2014/01/24 | 2,024 | 8,242 | <issue_start>username_0: Q: Should I keep [Eagle Scout](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Scout_%28Boy_Scouts_of_America%29) (the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America) on my CV?
I do not think that this is an appropriate item to include on a CV. However, CV is loosely translated as ''the course of my life'', and this is an achievement that takes a lot of perseverance, and something that is earned and not just given away. It requires a significant amount of time and volunteer work to complete a project that gives back to your community and also shows leadership and management skills which, you don't normally acquire until a little further in your academic career, but shows the ability to do so.
Is this award detrimental to include? looked down upon by hiring committees? not even given a second glance?
I have not found a satisfactory answer for this.
If it is kept on the CV, where should it go, i.e. award or outreach (both I think would be appropriate items, and it may be that if deficient in one or the other, one could move it around).<issue_comment>username_1: I wouldn't include it. I doubt it makes much of a difference, but you yourself say it's not an appropriate item. I agree.
To expand a little bit, let me say this: the things you should put on your CV are those that directly connect to the job you want to have. Something like a job you had in an unrelated field is worthwhile in that it shows you were employed and not a hobo, but most other things that aren't really directly part of your career (jobs, education, publications, info about teaching, conference presentations, grants, etc.) is just a distraction, and will make it look like you are padding. I think high school achievements are especially bad in that they focus things too much in the past. Nothing on my CV goes earlier than my junior year of college (and probably I should cut that; nobody cares where I studied abroad).
Of course, it's good to have lots of things to list on your CV, but you also want to keep the average high. There are only a few things on there that are really important, and you don't want to distract people from what they are.
It would be great to discuss your experience as an Eagle Scout in a personal conversation, say if you have an informal dinner or drinks during an interview, but I just don't think the CV is the place for it.
**EDIT:** A point which a deleted answer raised also occurs to me: one reason to avoid putting extraneous things on your CV is that you can't control what associations people reading it might have. For example, the Boy Scouts of America have stirred up a lot of controversy with their stances on homosexuality, and for many people that maybe be the first thing that pops to mind. It's unfair to connect one scout to that, but people aren't logical. They read "Eagle Scout," they think homophobia, and they have a negative reaction to your application that they weren't even conscious of.
I recently read an application for graduate school by a student who listed on their CV membership in some political groups with which I vehemently disagree. I don't think that should affect my judgement of their file (luckily, I'm not on the committee, so I didn't have to try to make a judgement), but I honestly did not want to know about that aspect of their lives. I'm sure they thought it showed something about leadership, but to me it looked like very poor judgement.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: It depends on the position you are applying for. I would not include it in an application for a professorship, but for a post-doc I would keep it in under *"misc"* or *"additional information"*. If there is a structured application form and they are asking for it, then include it.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: To me, as someone who isn't an eagle scout, it seems inappropriate. But I will tell you this, every person who I personally know in academia who also happens to be an eagle scout has for some reason left it on their CV (there may be some selection bias here, but in each of these cases I didn't find the fact out by reading their CV, so probably it's not that big - sample size of 2 though is very small - 1 postdoc - 1 grad student on the job market for postdocs - note no professors). Anyways, based on this fact, I surmise that other eagle scouts will see it as a positive. So if there is an eagle scout on the hiring committee it may very well be a net positive! Now the probability there is an eagle scout on the hiring committee is very low (as you point being an eagle scout is an amazing accomplishment and very few scouts ever get it). I'd leave it out based on my initial reaction, which I think is the reaction most people would have. I see why you might not want to leave it out though. This line shows a lot of qualities that may be important in academia but most people would find it irrelevant even though it is an amazing accomplishment.
However, if you "organized" a massive charity event that is at least loosely related to academia as part of your eagle scout badge, you probably should list it, but not necessarily just putting eagle scout down. You might "sneak" it in by saying "organized ... as a part of winning my eagle scout badge" or something like that, and stick it in the service section. But if you do include it, at least make an attempt to make it sound relevant.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: It depends on:
- whether you have other volunteer experiences
\* If your last volunteer experience was only in Boy Scout, then I wonder why you didn't get involved in other things in undergrad/grad. If you are listing a bunch of experiences, it probably doesn't hurt to include it.
- whether this experience is related to what you are applying for
\* If you see this being relevant to an education or outreach aspect for the position you are applying for, then perhaps it is a good idea.
If you list this as part of your career achievements, I might think that you are a bit desperate (as if you don't have anything else to write about and just want to pack your CV). Not to say that this is not important, but for an academic position it is not directly relevant; if you want to include it, it should go into "miscellaneous" or "volunteer experiences."
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: I wouldn't put high school achievements on a professional CV unless it's at the level of a medal on international science olympiad or a top 10 Intel talent search finish. I don't think Eagle scout is quite at this level. That said, it probably won't make a big difference either way, unless your CV has enough questionable things that it looks padded (which is bad).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: If you have a longer and more comprehensive CV, I would keep it. It's an achievement and it tells people who know a little about the Boy Scouts that you've learned a few things about leadership and engaged in significant community service.
That said, I would put in *way* at the end with other trivia and less important tidbits. An an extra, it *might* end up being a slightly positive thing for some readers. For those of that don't care, make it very clear that you don't place this among your most important achievements as a scholar.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: I have a "Non-academic activities" section at the end of my CV that mentions that I'm a semi-decent long distance runner and that I used to moonlight for an amateur comedy troupe. But then, I do this because I can afford to do so: we are talking here about *two* bullet points that come after about 150 separate items including publications, talks, grants, teaching, advising... so it's obvious that I'm not including this to make my CV look longer than it actually is. If your CV is substantially shorter than this, you might want to think twice about including this kind of section. If you do include it, *please please please* do not write anything banal or mundane there. I once read a postdoc application to my department that included the line "Hobbies: watching movies". The CV in question wasn't great anyways, but this line was the metaphorical nail in the coffin.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/24 | 1,200 | 4,907 | <issue_start>username_0: What should I do if I have lost faith in my PhD advisor (leadership, research direction, everything)? I have worked in this lab for three years and from my observation, none of my advisor's project work out and zero publications so far. Since I already had a gut feeling that everything would eventually go on a dead march, I have tried to propose to him an alternative approach but my advisor never listens (or only listens passive-aggressively). Guess what, my advisor ran out of funding, and he blamed us (the graduate students) for no publication. Now we all have to serve as TAs. I somehow manage to pump out my own project but my advisor didn't quite like it unless it's his idea. He told me he had no funding for my proposal and continue to gamble on his own project. (Come to think of it, no funding was a lie.) Recently, I am publishing my paper and the way he edited my manuscript is always cursory, mindless and pushy. I have a feeling that I am destined to fail the moment I joined this lab, any advice?
I joined the lab because his research topics are interesting but found out later that all his approaches to the problem just don't "hit" the point. For example, you know you need different tools to solve a problem but he just keeps using the same one again and again and my mind just get narrower and narrower. Also his work were simply a rehash of the previous one, like switching apple to orange, and everything else stays the same.<issue_comment>username_1: I am sorry for your situation. I think many of us had confronted situations like this some time in our academic tenure.
Although you should make your own mind about how to handle it, I personally suggest looking for another adviser. If you feel uncomfortable and you don't want to end your relationship in a bad term (assuming your current adviser will not take your decision easily), you can always think about adding a co-supervisor. This way you'll be on track and will be mostly working with your second adviser.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Sounds like you two just don't get along. You are not interested in what the other is working on, and there seems to be no respect between the two of you. You need to think about working with someone else, or you need to be more open-minded about your advisor's suggestions and his ideas.
I think that a very small percentage of advisors are universally terrible for everyone. Most student-advisor problems come from the fact that you are incompatible. You either need to make serious effort to understand one another, or you had better get out before it is too late.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> but found out later that all his approaches to the problem just don't "hit" the point
>
>
>
...
>
> I guessed he hate me for that and trying to stall my work
>
>
>
...
>
> Any risk that he will rant me to the co-supervisor?
>
>
>
...
>
> I just had that bad feeling about the project he led and many of his direction doesn't make sense to me. Doing his way or my way is doomed anyway.
>
>
>
There is only one suggestion that we can give you. Get out of there. There is no telling whether his research is indeed "doomed", or whether you just have different angles of attack and ideas. In the end, it does not matter. You have no respect in his guidance and will need to find an advisor whose *advise* you actually trust.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: >
> we get along okay
>
>
>
**You don't.**
Look at your question (and if you're so inclined, look at your previous questions). As username_2 and username_3 point out in a previous answer, the advisor-student relationship is broken.
At this point, it almost doesn't matter whose fault it is (but see below). Since the trust in the relationship is gone, even well-intentioned gestures will be misunderstood, and unless there's a strong desire on both sides to repair things, the best bet is to leave.
For the future though, as you look for a new advisor, it's important to keep in mind that **on average** advisors are not malicious agents trying to harm their students. Again, I emphasize **on average**. Which means that behavior that carries multiple interpretations can be interpreted as benign but neglectful rather than as malicious.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: For anyone else in the same situation, gather as much evidence you can and send a formal complaint to the management. Maybe that risks even more the chances you get your PhD. Another option is trying to readdress the situation with a new discourse (in emails) and trying to raise the accountability level from the supervisor. Another resource is to ask the management for an external communication assistant between you and your advisor. You can try this in the first place. These does not guarantee you fulfilling the PhD, but would you rather stay passive?
Upvotes: 0 |
2014/01/25 | 988 | 4,420 | <issue_start>username_0: I am looking for an assistant professor job in engineering. While working on my Ph.D., I had the chance to mentor graduate students in my research group (suggesting experiments, helping them analyze results, etc.), and I also mentored an independent studies student for a summer. Would these types of activities even loosely be considered as "service activities" by a search committee, or, if the question comes up during an interview, just say that I don't have any such activities to mention? If the latter, what are some good ways to respond?<issue_comment>username_1: As for the question in the title, some common examples would be organising a seminar, helping to organise a conference or workshop, or serving on a committee.
I don't think that the activities you mention are generally considered 'service'. They are definitely activities worth mentioning in other contexts, though.
If you really don't have any experience in 'service activities', then perhaps a good way to respond to questions about service would be to admit that you don't have such experience so far, but express interest in gaining such experience (with specific details of the kinds of service you are especially interested in). I have no idea whether this is good advice, though, as I'm only a postdoc myself and have never been on a search committee.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: As a grad student, you're not expected to devote much time to professional service. Even assistant professors are usually intentionally spared time-intensive service roles. Expectations increase as you become more senior. I was never asked about service in an interview for a post-doc position, and your postdoctoral supervisor would probably rather hear that you don't have time for service because you spend all your time on research.
I think the only service activity you should naturally expect to be involved in is that of refereeing papers, but that generally won't happen until you have one or more accepted publications.
You might also organize a minisymposium at a conference -- that's considered service and is a great excuse to get to know researchers in your subfield.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I'm not sure if this is specific to the US, but on many graduate school admissions, search, or internal program related committees, there will be a graduate student representative serving alongside professors. I have seen people put this as service.
You can also volunteer to preside at conferences, organize sessions, or serve on journal editorial boards, review as an ad-hoc reviewer if you have opportunities to do so.
Another way of showing general commitment to the field and scholarship, at least in the humanities and social sciences, is contributing book reviews for journals (or other publications with book review sections). This will not go under the "service" section of your CV, but under a separate "book review" heading and will be a nice way of showing commitment to the field.
However, I have also heard warnings against overdoing these things, especially when you do not have a good enough publication record. It can be seen as proof of inefficient time management, and not having one's priorities straight. As book reviews are not peer reviewed, and easy to get, they can be seen as "fluff" to your CV, if you have too many with not much else going on.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: As a current graduate student there are 3 primary ways in which I provide service to the academic community and mention them on my cv.
1. Reviewing articles in journals and conferences. I regularly review for a top journal in information science and a couple of the top conferences in HCI (Human Computer Interaction)
2. I am the student member on our department's PhD admissions committee. My responsibilities include evaluating prospective applicants with the rest of the committee, matching applicants with interviewers and organizing the PhD visit day.
3. I have been a student volunteer for top conferences in my area. Some of my other colleagues have been student volunteer chairs for said conferences or they have been in the organizing committee for such conferences.
These are only my personal services to the academic field and my department recognizes and honors these services as an integral part of being a scholar (teaching-research-service).
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/25 | 1,361 | 5,582 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm an international student and I'm currently studying pure mathematics in undergraduate level with a relatively low GPA (~3.5/4.0). I've recently read so many positive reviews about the universities in Singapore. I checked the "National University of Singapore (NUS)" on the internet for its international ranking and it was ranked 9th in mathematics!
How much do you think the ranking of a university positively affects my future career? For example, one of my dreams is that I can study in some Ivy-league university in the USA or some grand ecole university in France like Paris Sud 11 in the future, but because of my low GPA I'm afraid that that will never happen for me. Do you think that going to the NUS can help me to get accepted into world top universities in the future?<issue_comment>username_1: Rank is not an absolute index, it's relative. University X may have rank 9 this year, 15 next year. University Y may be ranked 16 this year and then rises to 10 next year. Different ranking agencies have different ways to rank universities.
I see those rankings as references. It's a factor. I would put more attention on the programs/faculty when selecting a school I want to attend.
I will not choose a school just because I want to increase my chance getting into Ivy-league universities. One reason for that is, I might have even lower GPA in a high ranking school. Of course, we can argue that better schools may have better professors so I can learn more. The bottom line is still, how hard do you study? In particular, you don't need expensive labs in order to study math. So, ranking may be important, but not a decisive one.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: In my opinion, it is more important who you will be working with, than what university you will be at. There exist productive scientists who are great at supervising PhDs, while working at medium-ranked universities. Likewise, there exist tenured scientists at highly ranked universities, who are far past the peak of their career and lukewarm about PhD students.
After your PhD, what matters most, is your publications and possibly reference letters. If you have great publications and superb reference letters from famous scientists in the field, I don't think you will miss out on this or that post-doc because whoever reads your letter doesn't immediately know the university where you got your PhD.
This is my opinion, based on quite limited experience — having recently finished my PhD at a university that is not top-ranked, proceeding to do a post-doc at a university that is. I don't think the name of the university where I did my PhD is a handicap. In fact, I've always been better at doing research than at writing exams, so if the place where I'll be going for my post-doc would accept PhD candidates purely based on GPA, I'd never have gotten in.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> Is it a good idea to go to “National University of Singapore”
>
>
>
It may be. I have recently visited NUS, and talked to a lot of smart faculty and some truly outstanding students. Personally, I can only recommend both NUS and NTU Singapore. Singaporean universities are well-funded and offer a reasonable research environment. Singapore itself is also a nice place to live, with a quite interesting mixture of different cultures, lots of food, high standard of living, etc.
>
> just because of its high international ranking?
>
>
>
**Oh god no.**
If you want to go to NUS, then because of the reasons stated above. It think convincing the world that university-level rankings are a good thing is the largest disservice that the US has done to research. Let me make this clear - if you graduate from NUS and do uninteresting research, *nobody will hire you*. If you graduate from another reasonable university and do good research, *you will find a post*.
>
> Do you think that going to the NUS can help me to get accepted into world top universities in the future?
>
>
>
Only for the reasons stated above - NUS has an environment that certainly enables you to do world-class research. For this reason, NUS may certainly help you get into a top university, but it does not make you accepted. The hard part (being a good researcher) will still be required from you.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: It might be enlightening for you to carefully study how these rankings were formulated. Some of them are based entirely on reputation and subjective opinions. Some of them are based on a suite of detailed metrics – factors which may or may not be of much interest to the typical graduate student. Seldom, if ever, are they formulated by a team that visits university classrooms to evaluate lecturers, or interviews graduate students to accurately determine overall satisfaction with their programs. These rankings don't come close to telling the whole story.
Some schools have meteoric rises in the rankings just because their institutional research department is able to collect all the right data and send it back to the organization doing the rankings.
I'm not saying that most of the highly-ranked schools are not good schools, or that they are undeserving of their good reputations and high rankings. However, you can get a very good education an unranked school, and you can get a below-average education at a very highly-ranked school. There are several factors that determine how well someone does in graduate school and beyond, and school ranking is probably **not** a very big factor in the overall scheme of things.
Upvotes: 2 |
2014/01/25 | 751 | 3,132 | <issue_start>username_0: I'm a first year postdoc in pure mathematics (geometry/topology with strong background in analysis) with undergraduate statistics and probability background (with also measure theoretic probability). I also have some programming knowledge in ForTran, C and Matlab, but I never used them in my pure mathematics career in my graduate school for the last 5 years.
In my next job, I'm considering doing a postdoc in machine learning (ML). The reason behind this switch is: I'm satisfied with my pure knowledge so far and have been wanting to see some real-life applications of mathematics, and also keep my options open in both industry and academia.
My questions are:
1. How hard is this switch going to be? I guess I've all the required mathematics background, but will it be hard to pick up the necessary computer science skills, even if I work in more theory-oriented problems?
What exactly are the programming knowledge I need to master to work in ML?
2. Is there a website/email-list where I can get notifications on jobs in machine learning? I'm looking for jobs in Europe mostly, but information on the US would also be welcome.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> 1) How hard is this switch going to be? I guess I've all the required
> mathematics background, but will it be hard to pick up the necessary
> computer science skills, even if I work in more theory-oriented
> problems?
>
>
>
**Not a problem**: picking up the math associated with ML. You've got the right background and you'll find it easy to understand the papers after an initial learning phase.
**Potentially a problem**: understanding why certain questions get asked and what's considered interesting. This is where mathematicians and computer scientists tend to diverge, and translating your intuition for questions might take some time. But a more mathematical mindset can also lead you to ask interesting questions that CS folks are NOT asking !
>
> What exactly are the programming knowledge I need to master to work in
> ML?
>
>
>
Depending on how theoretical the postdoc is, anywhere from **none** to R, python and matlab, and maybe even some distributed large-scale learning framework like GraphLab. But you should definitely get some familarity with the first three - ML is a good example of "no problem formulation surviving first contact with the data".
>
> 2) Is there a website/email-list where I can get notifications on jobs
> in machine learning? I'm looking for jobs in Europe mostly, but
> information on the US would also be welcome.
>
>
>
One good mailing list is [`ml-worldwide`](https://mailman.cc.gatech.edu/mailman/listinfo/ml-worldwide). Another is the Google group [`ml-news`](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/ml-news).
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: If you are a pure mathematician with background in geometric analysis there are interesting problems in the sub area of machine learning called "Manifold Learning" which requires quite a lot of Riemannian Geometry and intuition. Machine Learning is a vast area and it is a question of what suits you the best.
Upvotes: 3 |
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