texts: Should a programming Instructor urge students to use more efficient practices?

texts:
I teach programming, and it is painful to watch my students slowly arrow around the screen, backspace over something, then retype it. It would take less than a second for him to have grabbed his mouse, double-clicked the word and started typing the new word, all without looking down.

I taught them about editing and keyboard shortcuts at the beginning of the curriculum, yet they do not all take everything on board (who does?). So now months later I am left with the question of whether to urge improvement on them like a mother bird, or just let it go. As programmers, their time will be valuable, and their enjoyment of work improved by the ease of getting work done. But is it up to me to reinforce this after having made it thoroughly clear early on? This is not just about editing, but all sorts of practices like naming conventions, coding standards and so on, which I did in fact present already and have said that the industry expects these things. Editing is simply one obvious example.

Addition: It is not for me to dictate how students should work, but I would be remiss if I did not point out better ways to accomplish things. The question is: to know if I have made the point or when to stop trying to make it. "A word to the wise is enough", but how many of us are wise, especially while learning many new things at once? An example of coding standards is a student who doesn't like Properties. Well... They are useful or they would not have been invented. I couldn't convince this person.


texts: What should I recommend for a foreign student with problems on the country language?

texts:
Later this week one of my undergrad classes have their first written test and one of the students is not from my country, and he said he's been having some problems both understanding my lectures and the recommended book

And now he desperatedly sent me an email asking for advice on what to do.

The thing is: I don't know what to recommend either... I never have this case before...
What could I indicate/advice him that would help?


texts: What is an effective note taking procedure?

texts: I've recently started to use the onenote software to keep track of valuable concepts in different fields of interest. I have constantly found myself dubious during the note taking process. I never know whether I should copy large book paragraphs into my notes or whether I should summarize them. I have little knowledge about how to make the most value out of my note taking process. Is there any good book recommendation or resource to help me answer these kind of questions ?


texts: Can referees publish in the journals they are responsible in?

texts: Can the referees publish an article in the journal they review or the editorial board members publish an article in their journal? Is it ethical? Can you give examples for my question? Your answers are quite important for my research.


texts: Sole data analyst in an academic lab, is authorship viable?

texts:
I am in a very biological sciences heavy laboratory where every one has a basic background in the biological sciences and that's pretty much it. I was recently hired as a research employee (non grad student) in this laboratory originally as a biological sciences research assistant. Upon finding out I have a graduate degree in statistics (it was on my CV so I don't know why they  were surprised), my PI has considered using me as a hybrid researcher/data analytics person to streamline some past data and make it more quantitative in nature. Some of my data analysis is very niche, and pseudo-original because of the context of the problem that we're working out. There is no backup person capable of doing any data analysis. Is there any way I could use my role as leverage and formally request authorship from my PI (in a polite way of course)?

I have future goals in mind, professionally speaking, and those goals would be much more facile in approach if I could get my name on a paper.


texts: Use of automated assessment of programming assignments

texts:
(This is a reworking of Software for submitting and testing programming assignments.)

First, a bit of background. Many courses in applied mathematics have a programming component, where students are asked to implement algorithms (say, in Matlab) and possibly test them using a given set of interesting data. Although they are a valuable part of the education, these usually receive little love from the students (who, moreover, have rarely received a rigorous  training in programming). The result is -- with rare exceptions -- lazy hacks at best and "at least it looks like code" (often followed by my favorite, "it worked on my machine") at worst.

So I am thinking about having students submit their programming assignments via an automated assessment software. The idea is to give them instant feedback on their (repeated) submission with the goal of

saving the TAs from having to check every submission and (if they are generous) inserting all the missing semicola to make the code run, and
trying to increase the student's motivation to do more than the bare minimum by introducing some gamification elements (giving points for the fastest/most accurate code, for example, or a current ranking to encourage resubmitting improved solutions).

Hence my question (which is hopefully relevant to other disciplines as well): Has anybody tried such a thing? Did it actually lead to less work and/or more student involvement? Any hints on what to do, and what to avoid?

(I know there is the VPL module for Moodle, and we have an in-house system that can provide the necessary functionality, so I'm not asking for software recommendations here. That said, if some software provides a specific feature you've used successfully, by all means mention it -- bonus points if it's open source.)


texts: Methodology for estimating costs of a master’s program before seeking official approval for the program

texts: Do you happen to know any methodology for estimating the cost of a master’s program at university level before proposing and asking for approval of that program and cost by the state or the university authorities?


texts: Is an academic degree an honor, a title, or both?

texts:
For example: Do graduates receive a Bachelor of Arts degree or become a Bachelor of Arts?

Are Bachelor degrees grammatically and/or etymologically distinct from advanced degrees?

I note that the titles Master and Doctor are still in common usage, even though in practice frequently divorced from the associated academic degrees.  (E.g, a Master as a formal designation is now most frequently associated with a skilled trade – like master electrician.  And many holders of doctorate degrees eschew the use of the title outside of medicine and the academy.)

Etymologically it appears that Baccalaureate would be the correct term for a person who has received a Bachelor's degree.  But I can't find that in modern usage, and its etymology (laureate) emphasizes the award of the degree, rather than the achievement of mastery or doctoral skill.

Or do I have it backward, and it is modern academia that has appropriated these different titles without establishing such terminological consistency?


texts: What is actually the difference in student experience between a world famous university and others?

texts:
What would be the practical difference in terms of quality, experience, and future prospect if a student studies at a 4-year undergraduate degree in a world famous university like Harvard compared to a top university in a developing country, like, for example, in an Indian IIT?

Suppose the syllabus contents are the same and and the major is highly technical like Electrical Engineering. My question is not limited to Electrical Engineering, any technical subject will do.

Future prospect means: researcher (academic/industry), entrepreneur, professional, anything that gives him money or/and fame.

The aim of this question is not to understand the career prospect of a student who graduates from a world famous university. The goal is to understand the academic atmosphere or academic culture and academic productivity of the university. My question talks about Undergraduate for a reason. Graduate and PhD degrees are mostly related to research. So, it is natural that a world famous university will offer more scholarships, source more funding for research and deal with more advanced technologies than that of a university in the developing world.

To my understanding the teaching methods, psychology of people, and goal of higher education play big roles there. For example, in the developing world a degree doesn't always mean that you learned something useful nor does a degree doesn't secure one's career because of various socioeconomic realities.

Given that the syllabus is the same, instructors may need restrict themselves into theoretical discussions only or conduct lesser labs because of the lack of sufficient instruments because of budgetary constraints. Moreover, in developed world teaching methods and syllabuses are also subject to continuous research and improvement which is not always true in the developing world.

Salary of professors and their living condition is also a factor in the developing world. Above all, the feeling of not being a part of developed world plays a big role in their motivation.


texts: Statement of purpose: One-for-all or one-to-one?

texts:
This question is about statement of purpose (s.o.p).

I am not sure that whether it is advisable to write exactly one s.o.p. for all the schools or to write for each school exactly one s.o.p.? Does this really matter? Would the reviewers of a school judge applicants by their understanding of the school?

I really need judicious suggestions.


texts: How do we explain a timing diagram in a technical talk?

texts:
One of my slides of my presentation at a technical conference includes a timing diagram. I have to explain the functionality of the read/write operation with the help of this figure. I have maximized the diagram and am planning to explain each signal assertion.
This slide is one of the many slides and I am concerned about the time needed to be allotted for the timing diagram. I feel it is rather important as it explains the functionality of the proposed model.
Please suggest how I should go about formatting the diagram as well as explain the timing diagram.
Edit1 : A timing diagram is used to trace a set of signals to explain the behavior of a particular system. More details here


texts: If a paper has co-first authors, is the next author after the first authors considered the second author?

texts:
I've already read this question in this arena, but I couldn't find an answer.

The question is: if someone obtains first co-authorship, does the "third" author gain "second authorship"?


texts: Assistant professor does not collaborate with or cite fellow department members, despite them being experts on the topic

texts:
I serve on a Promotion and Tenure committee for an assistant professor who has (in my opinion) a lack of professional courtesy and collaborative attitude. This professor will collaborate and publish with graduate students or faculty at other institutions.

However, has conducted at least 5 small research projects, that have been published in regional or national research conferences, where faculty in our own department who are experts in the field were not included and even their previous published research not referenced (I think there's a clear issue with reviewers, but).

Only after it is clearly and sometimes loudly pointed out "you did this whole project and didn't even reference any of XXX's work or ask them to be part of the study in his/her area" will this faculty member ask people to review the article for journal submission.

Further, there are a few faculty across the country, who could be external reviewers for this individual. They have also witnessed this lack of collaboration and professionalism.

While collaboration is not a measure of success in the P&T process, the quality of the research conducted and published should be.

My questions are:

How do I guide, mentor this young faculty member through the promotion and tenure process, so that they understand the importance of collaborating with the experts within the department?

How do I address this issue during the P&T meeting with the rest of the committee?


texts: I have been accused of cheating on an online exam because my answers were similar to those in a math website, is this sufficient proof of cheating?

texts:
My professor has accused me of cheating on an online exam, which was proctored by a TA. My camera did fall a few times but I was constantly lifting it up. The class is a precalc class which I'm just retaking to get grade forgiveness for the time I took it during my first semester (serious health problems caused me to do badly my first semester). Anyway, I had gone on to retake precalc, pass, and had taken calculus and had gotten a B. So by retaking precalc, which I also took in high school, I just wanted to boost my GPA. I was not raised in the states so my basic understanding of math was not taught in the same system or approach that my professor is taking right now.
He asked to see me after class, and told me that my answers were suspicious and that he had to report me. I asked what questions seemed suspicious, and he proceeded to show me the middle of a very long question that was in the middle of the test and asked me how I got to that answer. I was taken off guard, my anxiety started peeking through, and I just kinda blacked out. I would answer the question, and be confronted with, “but how, and you’re the only student who’s answers stood out” and “its too many coincidences”. He then proceeded to tell me that the same exact steps were found on a math website. I asked which website, but was met with “you can’t even explain how you got the answers that you did”.
I am very confident in my work and offered to retake the exam, take a new one and even send my scrap pieces of paper (despite being proctored as well). I was just met with “I'm gonna report you”.
I told her that I was being honest and if I was given a chance I could prove it with another test. I just get very anxious when basically I was given very random pieces of a problem and was kept being asked in the middle of me talking as well.
I was told he wanted to talk to me first to ‘give me a chance’ but he said either way he was gonna report me.
There is literally no proof other than the fact that a website did it the same way I did. Can they say I cheated without any real proof?


texts: Reasons a paper may be open for revision after the majority of reviewers recommended rejection

texts:
Two out of three reviewers rejected the paper I had submitted saying that it is not of high scientific content. But the third reviewer suggested "publish after minor revision."

The paper is open for revisions. Does my paper stand a chance of acceptance after revision?

Why is it open for revisions when majority 2/3 of the reviewers had rejected it?


texts: Can I publish a paper that doesn't have a specific question to answer?

texts: I have created a new data structure, and I intend to submit a paper about it to an ACM conference later this year. However, in writing the paper, I realize there is no specific "question" the research answers. I was simply curious if such a structure could be created. Can I simply write the paper, describe the structure and how it works, and then give a pseudocode example and perhaps comparisons to other data structures? The structure has some rather interesting properties, and I can see specific applications for it in statistical analysis. But beyond that, as far as I can tell, it's just a neat structure with some weird properties.


texts: What does it mean if my advisor decides to remove his name from a paper we co-authored?

texts:
I recently received a rejection to a paper that I co-authored with my advisor. There was nothing wrong with the content but the reviewer believed it was too simple by the journal standards. My advisor's advisor who has more that 30 years expertise in the field has suggested to combine the paper with its sequel (which I was in the process of writing) and submit elsewhere.

While I am getting ready to do the same my advisor has asked to remove his name from the paper. This worries me a little. It makes me think that the paper isn't good enough and that is why my advisor want to disassociate himself from it.

Could there be any other reason why my advisor is doing so? Should I ask him?


texts:
A friend has made some nice slides that I could reuse (similar topics). He sent me the slides and commented that if I use them and could cite him that would be nice, I asked him how should I cite the slides but he said that whatever suits better to me he said "Just add my surname in some place where it's not very intrusive".

I'm not sure if he doesn't care or he doesn't want to be too picky, but I'd like to cite him, to each one his own.

AFAIK, they are related to a paper (but not in the paper) and to his thesis, where they could be as a diagram but definitively not animated. The slides (as such) may be available at some URL, he said they will be but they are not available yet (so I don't have the URL yet). If citing by the URL I guess I could use this: "How to cite a website URL?"

Should I cite slides? If yes, how?


texts: Talks vs. poster presentations: Which is better for advertising your research and building research networks?

texts:
I'm looking into applying to present at a conference for undergraduates in mathematics this summer. When I apply, I have to either apply to give a talk (~20 minutes) or present a poster.

From what I've read on this site, it seems posters are often looked down on relative to talks, especially in mathematics. However, one advantage of a poster session is that I can have a back-and-forth discussion which is impossible in a talk. I think this is especially important for my research, since the computations in the subject are notoriously tricky and will trip up even experts if they aren't paying close attention to the details.

What are the relative advantages/disadvantages of each format? Which is a better way to advertise my research and network with other researchers in my field?


texts: Is it appropriate to wear an honor stole/cord to my doctoral hooding and convocation?

texts:
I didn't have the chance to wear my academic stole or honor cord during my undergraduate graduation.

Question:  Would it be appropriate to wear the academic stole and honor cord to my doctoral hooding and convocation?

EDIT I should mention that at least one of the items was earned during my graduate career, if that has any bearing.

I can't find any guidance from my university.


texts: Reject after major revision, reason is that the journal is not suitable for this kind of work

texts:
I submitted a paper in a renowned journal. The first decision was a major revision (revise and resubmit) asking questions. I answered them all and the reviewers were happy with the answers. The second decision was reject and the reason told by the associate editor was that this kind of work is not in correct place in this journal and we should try some other journal. My point is that they could have rejected that in the first review only if this is the reason of rejection.

My question: Is such a rejection common?


texts: Presentation: Is using cartoon slides un-professional or fun?

texts:
I am close to graduating and am going to an assessment center for a very large tech company. One thing we need to do is hold a presentation about one of their products.

I want to stand out a bit from the crowd and show that I spent a lot of time on this presentation. So I had the idea of drawing my own characters and using them in slides to help explain my reasoning etc. (A lot like in the youtube-videos you see nowadays where stuff gets drawn while a person talks).

I find this type of presentation fun to listen to, but is it unprofessional? It is my first time at a global giant like this and I'm sure they are fine with more than others since it's in tech, but is this too much? Should I use the normal "boring" slides with one idea/slide etc. ?


texts: What is a delicate way of identifying key insiders?

texts:
I am beginning a doctoral program this Fall and have been receiving helpful advice from a recent graduate. While this graduate has mentioned a key mentor that will likely serve as my primary advisor, I am curious to know if there were other mentors instrumental to his success in the program.

What might be a delicate way of inquiring who these people are?

EDIT: I was initially afraid that having someone identify the "good guys" might imply that I reckon that some are "bad." But this is probably overthinking it, as one comment pointed out.


texts: Is reviewing papers moving away from voluntary community service?

texts:
I recently came across reviewing policies which make it a requirement for authors submitting a paper to a conference to also accept reviewing for it. Here is an example:

  In order to submit paper(s) to EMNLP, you must nominate at least one
  author to serve as a reviewer, (usually the most senior author) and
  for that author to take on a full load (of up to 6 reviews).

I completely understand the rationale behind such decisions: the ratio submissions/reviewers cannot grow infinitely while maintaining a proper review process. Yet I'm concerned about the implications for the quality of the reviews, since people who are forced to do it might not be as careful as voluntary reviewers. This also feels like a step down from the traditional "community service" philosophy of the peer-review process.

Is this a general trend in the research community, i.e. is this happening in other domains as well?

If yes, does this imply a change in the peer-review paradigm? For instance, as a researcher should I stop doing "free reviews" in order to keep my reviewing time for mandatory reviews?
If no, are there other solutions being tested to the problem of ever-increasing papers/reviewers ratio?


texts: Mental Heath for long-term success in Academia

texts:
I was hoping for some advice on long-term mental health in academia. First off, I am a 3rd year PhD economics PhD in a high-ranking school in the US. Before anything else, my experience has been great. I have done extremely well and I am well on my way to publishing several high-level papers. The department has been supportive every step along the way, from my thesis advisers and co-authors to the more senior members who have helped me grow as a person.

On the other side, I am also the youngest person in my PhD class. Often times, I set almost unrealistic expectations for myself. My goal is to make assistant professor at a research school before the age of 30. I've told this to many professors in the department, and they all told me it was possible. The problem is that I often get upset with myself when I cannot perform at 100% of my best, and even when I do I cannot get myself to take a break. For example, today I sent out my work by 11am, ideally this would mean I would get a free day until tomorrow. But I decided to pick up a side project and now am taking a break to write this. I have discussed about burnout with my advisors. They all just say take a break. Might sound strange, but I do not know how to do that.

The question, in sum, is then: if you have been very successful in this field, have you ever had the feeling that the only person your work is not good enough for is yourself, and that you will always want to push the extra mile, no matter what?  I feel this way because my family, and the entire department, especially my PhD advisor, have always gone the extra mile for me. These include: extra study sessions with professors, helping me design my own field, and making sure I would be in the best position to succeed as a researcher. I feel if I do not put in my absolute best on a daily basis, that would be disrespectful towards them and myself.

Thank you for listening, I needed to get this off my chest


texts: Applying Late to Mathematics Graduate School

texts:
I have posted a similar question to this previously, but would like to reword it and re-ask it.
I just recently completed my undergraduate studies with a degree in mathematics from a relatively well-known US university. During my time as an undergrad I took many advanced (first and second year graduate courses) as well as one-one reading courses with professors on topics in Probability and mathematical analysis (topics like stochastic differential equations, large deviations theory, linear/nonlinear PDE at the level of Caffarelli and Cabre, as well as topics in Calderon-Zygmund and Littlewood-Paley theory).
Due to my indecisiveness and the insistence of my family for me to find "gainful employment", I chose to not apply to graduate school, and instead work full-time in private-industry (quantitative-finance). The work is challenging and sufficiently interesting, and of course pays well, but I still feel that I would be remiss if I did not purse a PhD in mathematics (or related fields). My main issue (in my mind) is letters of recommendation. While I am confident that the professors I have worked with would be willing to recommend me, I am in some sense taking a non-traditional route by delaying my application (for example after one year of working). In turn, I am afraid that the more time I take for asking a recommendation, the less-likely it is that my professors will remember me and be able to write a strong letter for me.
Does anyone have recommendations as to a best course of action here? I am wondering whether I need to bite the bullet and apply to programs this year, and hope they offer deferrals (for say, one year of time) although I'm not sure how the current situation (with covid etc.) could impact this. If anyone here is on mathematics graduate decision boards (or any graduate decision boards for that matter), I would appreciate your input. I am also wary as to the perception of "non-traditional" applicants as my self and how they might be perceived by admissions committees, although it is too late to modify that status.


texts: CRediT contribution statement: Pros and cons of including non-author contributors?

texts:
An increasing number of journals require a CRediT – Contributor Roles Taxonomy statement for, among other things, "Enabling visibility and recognition of the different contributions of researchers, particularly in multi-authored works – across all aspects of the research being reported (including data curation, statistical analysis, etc.)."
Here's an example provided by Elsevier:

Zhang San: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software. Priya Singh: Data
curation, Writing- Original draft preparation. Wang Wu: Visualization,
Investigation. Jan Jansen: Supervision. Ajay Kumar: Software,
Validation: Sun Qi: Writing- Reviewing and Editing.

However, the ICMJE recommends that authorship be based on fulfilling all of 4 criteria (including 1) contributions to the conception/acquisition/analysis, and 2) critical contribution to the actual paper). Most journals (in my field, psychology) follow this recommendation regarding authorship. Based on these criteria, none of the "authors" above warrants authorship. Yet, they all contributed to the paper in critical, but different (even complementary) ways, and should be acknowledged meaningfully.
A common scenario is that students providing critical contributions and substantial time commitments don't end up coauthors because they do not fulfill all four criteria (e.g., Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, and Project administration, but not Writing of the paper, which could be written by another, graduate student perhaps). It feels weird to acknowledge the minor contribution of one author (e.g., minor part of analysis, minor contribution to writing of paper) but not the student who did all the legwork. Or even the student who ended up spending dozens of hours collecting a large proportion of the data (Investigation).
Given that the ICMJE recommendations are not expected to change anytime soon, I wonder whether the CRediT contribution statement could also be used as a convenient tool to formally acknowledge non-author contributors, since right now, their contributions are often buried in obscured, unstandardized (even meaningless) acknowledgments sections. This way, non-author contributors meta-data could eventually be picked up and indexed quantitatively on different platforms (ORCID?).
Question
What would be the pros and cons of using the CRediT contribution statement to acknowledge non-author contributors more formally and transparently? Could it coexist with the current coauthor system or can only one of the two survive? Should you do it even if journals don't expect it?


texts: Should a phd student try present a review paper in a conference?

texts:
I am a PhD student and I am doing a literature review for my dissertation. Despite the fact that I am working on the topic, I am not an expert; but I have enough information because of my previous research during MSc and have a published paper in my CV.

I submitted an abstract of the review paper for oral presentation in the most important conference about the topic and it was accepted. The review is about the developments and contributions from researches in some countries. Then, I told my advisor and he suggested me not to submit the final paper because he thinks that kind of review paper must be done by experts, not by PhD students (it would seem such as teaching to experts); further he thinks I will spend a lot of time which should be spent on my PhD dissertation. I really want to present the review; however, I do not want to contradict my advisor.

Do you think it is convenient to present the paper?


texts: PhD application: my country isn't listed

texts:
I'm from Palestine (or West Bank). Now I'm applying to Boston University (the deadline unfortunately is just  a few hours from now), and my country is not listed in their online application.

What can I do? There is not even an "others" option listed. Could I safely choose the nearest country to mine (Jordan), where incidentally I had earned my B.A. degree from? Or is that stupid to do? I can't call Boston directly now because their offices are closed now.

Should I forget about Boston University? (I did that, sadly, with UCLA for the same reason). But I really care about this school and I already sent both my GREs to them.

EDIT:
I have both Palestinian and Jordanian passports, in both of them my homeland is Palestine. I don't hold an Israeli passport or citizenship.

UPDATE:I submitted an application and followed it with an email explaining the issue. I'm still waiting for a response.


texts: review a review paper with unpublished data

texts:
I am reviewing a paper, which is a review paper. The paper seems good, but the authors included many their own observations, which are unpublished. Is it good for a review paper to include may unpublished findings?

Thanks


texts: Difference between transactions and journal

texts:
I feel a little bit ashamed, but I have never understood the difference between transactions and journals. This question is quite related. However, I could not find any clear differentiation.
For example, in my little field (software engineering) IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering is considered the top venue. However, there is not an IEEE journal on Software Engineering (or whatever name). To be honest, I have never seen any publisher on software engineering having both transactions and a journal on software engineering. This is also why I fail do differentiate them.
This is what IEEE writes at its FAQ page.

What is the difference between IEEE Journals, Transactions, Letters, and Magazines?
Journals, Transactions, and Letters are the primary means for
publishing technical papers concerning original work in IEEE fields of
interest. [..] The primary purpose of
Journals, Transactions, and Letters is to disclose and provide a
permanent archival record of original technical work that advances the
state of the art or provides novel insights. Papers in Journals,
Transactions, and Letters should be of lasting value to the
professional as judged by the authors’ peers through a formal review
process. [..]

The omitted part is about letters and magazines, so it is not related. Am I really missing it, or they do not really differentiate?
What is the difference?


texts: Supervisor who accepted me for a research internship now says he doesn't know who I am

texts:
I've been accepted in a research internship. However, after I sent an email to my supervisor asking about some details, he told me that he has no idea about who I am, and that maybe I've been exchanging with someone else. But the confirmation letter was signed by him.
I'm so confused, I'm afraid if I send more emails it would look like I'm forcing things. I'm really confused because I refused many offers to work in this lab. Any suggestions please?


texts: What should I do if the editorial process 'may' cost me my publication?

texts:
I have submitted a manuscript on COVID-19 to a scientific journal in mid-2020. Since then, I have not heard from the journal, although the status says 'Under Review'. As the publication is related to COVID-19, I believe that it is imperative to disseminate the publication as soon as possible once it is accepted. However, as it has been more than half a year, I am afraid that my manuscript's findings are obsolete once it is published, especially considering that evidence related to COVID-19 is quickly expanding.
I have posted the paper to a preprint database. However, I believe that it is important for the peer-reviewed publication to be disseminated at the earliest. In this regard, I have tried contacting the editorial office several times, but I have not received any replies yet. I am afraid that the editorial process may cost me my publication, especially considering that it has been more than half a year since I gathered the evidence.
Is there any suggestion on what I should do?


texts: How are PhD students assigned to supervisors/professors?

texts:
In my experience, there are two types of PhD students

(1) A professor offers a PhD studentship. Then, students apply directly and know their supervisor from the first day.

In this case, how a professor secure the funding for a PhD studentship?

(2) A department offers PhD studentships. After admission, students can choose their supervisors or the department will assign them to available professors.

In this case, how the capacity of each faculty member is determined to accept PhD students from available students of the department?

I know that the system varies from university to university, but I am curious to know the most common systems for each cases in North America and Eastern Europe.


texts: Should I drop my paper after finding a recent very similar paper?

texts:
I have been working on a research paper to apply a technique X to solve certain problem Y. The field is in computer science. Approximately some months ago I started to check it up if there was something similar to my proposal, but I did not find anything at all.

A couple of weeks ago and when I have already finished the tests for my proposal, I decided to check it up again. In my new search, I found an article that was published about two years ago and when I read it, I saw that it was very close to the idea on which I have been working. The differences were very subtle, I was using a simplified version, data was collected in a different manner, and other tiny differences. If we talk in percentages, the differences would be like 20 % between my article and the one I found.

The reasons that I did not find this article in my first search were that it was published in a not so well known journal, and while it has been cited before, it were only self-citations and there was no strong relation between the article and the citing ones.

So what I can do in this situation? I have not based my work on this paper, but I know that I must cite it like a related work. Should I drop my paper or present it and see what the reviewers have to say about it? I would not like to be pointed as a case of plagiarism because of the similarities.


texts: Is it true that a full Ph.D. is a disadvantage for technical positions in the private sector?

texts:
If you do work that requires a technical skillset (ex. programming, data science) and plan to work in the private sector. Is completing the Ph.D. degree a disadvantage in terms of what opportunities are available to you? Or, do the additional publications, work completed, and everything else that goes into a dissertation count as valuable experience? Is the degree viewed as valuable in and of itself? Additionally, is any increase in pay or job stability enough to offset the opportunity cost of making a graduate student stipend for 2-3 years?

I've wound up in a situation where I'll probably be financially unable to take a postdoc position upon graduation, and will likely be forced into the private sector anyway (which functionally closes me off from an academic career-track), so am considering the option of leaving my program after advancing to candidacy.


texts: Data/analyses on distribution on academic research income across research active staff

texts:
Does anyone know of any analyses of the level of ‘research income inequality’ in research grant income across research active staff? Ideally by field, country, and time?
I.e if you had a list of all research active staff, and the research grant income associated with them in a given year as PI or Co-I, and arranged the list from lowest to highest, what would the distribution look like, and what would the gini coefficient and other measures of inequality (eg 10:90 ratio) be?
I would expect something like an outsized hockey stick, but also that there would be greater inequality in less well funded fields and vice versa.


texts:
So, I have a bit of a dilemma on my hands.

I took a gap year after graduating from college, and I thought I was going to go straight to grad school after. I got accepted to multiple programs, and I already declined all of the programs except one.

Here’s the problem: I also applied to a competitive, two-year fellowship with a government organization, and I made it to the interview stage! And now, I changed my mind about going to grad school and I’d like to get more experience on my hands. Unfortunately, we won’t know if we get the position by July. Point is: there might be a chance I might decline the school after I accept my intent to go there if I get the fellowship. I know that grad schools (I applied to both public health and heath administration)  allow deferment for only a year, but I’d like to have a backup plan just in case I don’t get the fellowship (which is go to grad school).

So let’s say if I do get the fellowship, should I just be honest with the school I accepted and tell them I want to do the fellowship? Or take a risk and decline the school and I hope I get the fellowship?

If I do the former, I just hope that this won’t hinder me from other schools considering  my application the next time I apply to grad school. I’m applying right after the fellowship, and this time I INTEND to go back to school.

Thanks.


texts: Supervisor/advisor ignores me regarding my paper

texts:
I did an honours degree last year (4 year undergrad study with a research  thesis). My supervisor shafted me towards the end of that year when I was coming up to submit my thesis by being absent with his own life issues and barely communicative, and gave me back drafts literally days before it was due. End result was I fell barely short of the requirements to get a PhD scholarship. So I discussed with my supervisor and he said I could write a paper with his assistance about my work, to bolster a future PhD application.

So we agreed on a date to catch up, the time came and I sent him an email. He has not responded at all, it's been 10 days at this point. Normally he would reply back quickly. I'm getting the strong feeling he's got yet another excuse, but I really need to do this for my professional development/future PhD application. What should I do next? Would it be possible to write the paper myself without assistance (I have all the data).


texts: How to proceed after academic dismissal from PhD program (plagiarism) and successful completion of master's?

texts:
I was dismissed from a (Canadian) PhD program on the charge of plagiarism. I had muddled up sources, and the professor insisted I deliberately did it to get higher grades.  My student advocate informed me that plagiarism is plagiarism, whether intentional or not, whether only on a single line or not, and regardless of the professor's motivation. So, I admitted to the charge, while looking for ways to avoid a repeat and rebuild my reputation.
I did inform the tribunal that this was a single sentence in a 22-page document, and that I was traumatized during this period as the state had taken custody of my two children.

The tribunal upheld the charge but recommended that the provost should consider a minor punishment. My advocate suggested I should not contest the recommendation of the tribunal. However, four months later, the Provost decided to dismiss me because I did not appeal the decision, and because I had failed to inform the professor of my personal challenges when I took the course.

When I was dismissed, I completed a master's program at another university with a GPA of 4.0/4.0. I discussed the plagiarism incident with my master's supervisor.

Now  I want to apply for a PhD Program in a separate, but related, area (my current supervisor does not work in this area and so could not supervise me), and I am wondering how to go about it since I am required to disclose all the post-secondary education attended. I would appreciate any suggestion on how I can navigate this muddy waters.


texts: What to say in one-minute presentation of a poster in a scientific conference?

texts:
The chair person of my poster session has told each participant to make an one-slide presentation with one minute maximum speaking time (known as poster blitz or poster madness).

I am wondering what to keep on the slide and what to say in one minute? Is it Okay, if I speak my abstract only along with a figure? Could you please suggest me if there is any other good way of presentation?


texts: Ratio of faculty positions to applicants

texts:
A few years ago for every fresh PhD graduate in Management Information System (MIS), there were three open faculty positions. Then the ratio of graduates to positions dwindled to 1: 2, then to 1:1.5, later to 4:1. Finally MIS departments all over started shutting down or being merged into Management, Operations or other departments and today hardly any schools offer a PhD in MIS.

It is possible that there are still many fields where for every PhD graduate there are 2, 3 or more open faculty positions. Are there any areas with faculty shortages these days? Animal Sciences? Genetics? Psychology? Sociology? Wildlife Sciences? Mechanical Engineering? Computer Science? Statistics? Any field at all?


texts: Proportion of papers involving grad students and postdoc

texts: I am wondering if there are studies measuring the proportion of research papers involving at least one graduate student (master, PhD) or Postdocs in the authors.


texts: PowerPoint presentations including Latex both under Windows and Mac OS

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How to make a presentation that includes math symbols?

I have been using TeX4PPT for PowerPoint under Windows for a few years to include matematical formulas in PP presentations. Recently, I got a Mac notebook and I would like to use my PP presentations both under Windows as well as under Mac OS X. However, I cannot find a program that would allow me to use LaTeX generating formulas in PP under both operating systems (so I could use my  presentations freely on both OS). Any ideas?


texts: No interesting research topics available - should I quit and pay back my stipend?

texts:
I’m currently enrolled in Mechanical Engineering MSc program in the UAE. I’m on a scholarship program as a TA/RA. I just finished my first semester through which I suffered greatly but I ended up with a GPA of 3.75.

To find a research topic, we are required to choose 3 topics off a list and then be assigned one of them. All three of my choices were given to more suitable candidates. I will have to choose another topic. The problem is all the other topics are of absolutely no interest to me.

I don’t want to waste my time for two years doing something that I hate. I would rather quit now and start looking for a job instead of wasting my time. But if I quit, I will have to pay back the fees and probably my stipend, which could add up to 35,000 USD. This amount increases with every semester I spend in grad school, so I have to decide now whether to stay or leave.

I might be able to pay the 35,000 with the help of my family. But I would like to know if quitting could affect my job prospects and opportunities. What would you do if you were in my place?


texts: Ranking of National Institutes of Health as Research Institute versus top universities

texts:
due to lucky (?) circumstances, I ended up as a postdoc at a top 3 university (level of Harvard, Stanford, MIT). However, the supervision and my direct working environment are anything but ideal.

Currently, I am funded by my home government so I could technically switch my job after 12 months. I would have the opportunity for a postdoc at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda and to be involved in a (to me) more meaningful research project.

While the NIH-institutes are well known to researchers in my home country, my current university has a much better standing among the general public in my home country.

Now to the question:

Where does the NIH rank as compared to the to top universities for people in the US (both in academia and outside of academia)?
Would you consider switching the institution in favour of more meaningful work or is the reputation of the above mentioned institutions in your view way above the NIH?
Wich university among all institutions in the US would be in your eyes "equivalent" in terms of reputation to the NIH?

I know, circumstances matter a lot. However, I would be eager to know how a random recruiter at big pharma company would judge two candidates (all other things being equal) from a top university versus the NIH.

Thank you very much for your responses,
J.


texts: What's a good way to prevent students from saying I lost their paper?

texts:
As a teacher, I've often had students say that they turned in an assignment, but that because I don't see it, grade it, and return it back to them, that I must have lost their papers/assignments. I tend to be disorganized at times, so it's hard for me to confidently say that I really haven't lost their papers. To make matters worse, I have lost a student paper or two over the years only to find it weeks later.

How should I respond?

Notes:

Many have noted electronic submission. I'm assuming for this question that students turn in something physical that I could theoretically lose. ;-) This also allows this question to be applicable to schools that may not use electronic submission.


texts: What should/can I do on finding an error in a published article?

texts:
Recently I found a paper that has a number of typographical errors, esp in equations. Should one notify the authors or the publishers on such issues? How do the approach change if the article is somewhat aged?

When should/can one write a 'Comments on ...' article? How different is an Errata and a 'Comments on ...' article?


texts: University Teaching Certifications for Different Countries

texts:
A while back I asked this question which was about teaching certifications. As I dig into the subject more, it seems teaching certifications are quite rare for university teachers in many countries.

The UK has the PGCHE (post graduate certificate in higher education) - optional
Canada has the UTC (university teaching certificate) - optional
I'm unaware of the US having anything required or anything optional for university teachers
In Switzerland I don't see any information on university teaching certificates

I'm curious about European countries, especially Switzerland, and what teaching qualifications are accepted or required for university teaching.

Is anyone familiar with this topic in that geographic region?


texts: Is deferred enrollment normal or acceptable to graduate programs? What are the acceptable reasons for it?

texts:
I am an undergraduate student majoring in computer science. I am currently doing graduate (Master's) program application for top US universities.

However, just now I get a pretty nice research assistant internship which requires me to work for them for one year.

I think I might take a gap year between my undergraduate and graduate study for the internship. But if I am accepted by the university I want to go, can I ask for a defer enrollment? I know I can reapply the next year, but despite the new research experience, my professor might refuse to write me reference letter again , the things might change (more applicants, less slots) and I might not be accepted the next year(I am also wondering will turning down an admission affect my application for the same program the next year). So I am thinking if I can use the defer enrollment to "hold" the admission.

Is taking a research gap year an acceptable reason for defer enrollment? Or generally, what are the acceptable reasons to take a defer enrollment?


texts: Can one write a research paper on a engineering project idea that one cannot execute due to financial constraints?

texts:
We have a project idea of making a few processes in farming automatic. As it includes much of robotics the budget required is high, which we cannot afford.
So, can I write a detailed research paper on the idea?


texts: Research interests Vs Statement of Purpose(SOP)

texts:
I am not sure if this question is too specific. Please feel free to mark it as such if it is.

I have come across a PhD advertisement that says "upload a curriculum vitae including a brief description of your research interests".

Does 'brief description of your research interests' means SOP? I can see that research interests and research experiences are different. Is 'brief description of your research interests' different from SOP?


texts:
I have been in a rush to accomplish academic goals since I remember myself. Started my PhD right after undergrad and did my Masters on the same time. Now I am about to submit my thesis and feel kind of burned out, having spend so many years in a far from perfect working environment.

Academia has always been my goal (I like both teaching and research and I am not interested in industry), which is why I started a PhD on the first place, but I really feel I need a big break to think clearly of what I really want before applying for a post-doc. I also read this somewhere: "The rest of your life you are going to be a scientist. This could be your last chance to be something else. Take it."

So I thought a "late gap year" would be ideal for me. I would get to travel, which I love, volunteer in wildlife conservation and in schools of developing countries and take some time to clear my mind, so that when I am back, I can take the right decision for a post-doc and be totally dedicated in it.

Up to now I have a decent resume with a 5th paper in preparation (including first-authored) and several international conferences, fellowships and awards. However, I am very concerned on the impact such a gap would have on my CV, since I want to apply in high reputation universities/institutes, where competition is fierce.

Should I tell a future PI I did a gap year and if not, what would be the appropriate excuse for a year off? Also would this gap have an impact in future job-seeking (mainly for positions in academia)? Finally, I am also worried about the reaction of my current PI (who has been asking me lately, which lab I am planning to apply for a PD) when I tell him my plans. The last thing I want is a reference letter from an angry PI.

*EDIT*My field is Molecular Biology. I performed my PhD research at several European countries and I am flexible with post-doc positions (Europe/Israel/US/...) depending on the projects available.


texts: Retaking undergrad econ courses to apply to masters in econ programs?

texts:
I majored in a social science (not economics) in undergrad and I did poorly in a couple of intermediate-level economics courses, with grades in the C range. I was clearly a bit unfocused at the time.
I'm applying to masters programs in economics this fall and, while I have a mix of undergrad and even grad courses in economics and statistics with grades in the A range, my sense is that those two intermediate economics courses from undergrad will be a weakness in my applications.
I plan to take a couple of math prerequisites before applying, but I'm wondering if it's also worth retaking those two econ courses -- or if somehow the act of retaking them (regardless of grades) would be viewed negatively by admissions committees.
All of this is leaving aside the other obvious considerations (have solid recommendations, do well on the quant section of the GRE (for programs that require test scores), etc.).
How should I handle this? I feel that I'm already at a disadvantage for having not majored in economics or STEM, but I'm committed to doing everything I can to strengthen my profile.


texts: My defense is next week and and I have found an error in one of the proofs in one of the chapters of the thesis. What to do?

texts:
In one of my PhD thesis chapters, I have a derivation of a theory that I have proposed in the paper. I just found out that I have made an error in the calculation, and my derivation is flawed. The chapter is yet to be submitted in a journal, so it has never been peer reviewed. I never saw the flaw before this. Do I bring it up during my defense? And what do I say if the committee asks me about it? Can that have a negative outcome on my defense result?

I am feeling scared now!

Should I mail my advisor? My defense is on Monday afternoon and I don't know what to do!


texts: How to (gently) pressure a collaborator?

texts:
During my PhD I had an awesome collaborator that taught me a lot in an area that my main advisor had no experience at all.
I have a paper draft with him that's getting more than 3 years to get published. He is extremely perfectionist and always wanted to add one more little detail here and there. With that, I don't mean from a writing standpoint. He actually asks for new calculations and analysis which usually takes months to finish. I read papers in this area which presented much fewer results and details than my paper. It's frustrating because I'm applying for faculty positions and I need this paper to show as a record of a very important part of my research plan. I explained it to him, many times. I also like him very much and would like to have him as a collaborator. So, I don't want to make pressure in a bad way. In short, he doesn't need this paper, he doesn't need the collaboration. He is a very accomplished researcher. Also, he didn't have any formal responsibility for my graduate studies. But still, I need the paper. We are in different countries, so I cannot have a one-to-one conversation with him. My former advisor cannot do much as well. My question is simply: what should I do?

Edit.

I talked with my collaborator and everything went pretty well. I submitted my paper this morning!!! Thanks for the feedback. I think just the act of writing here, in addition to the feedback I got help me a lot to leverage. (I also followed some Carnegie's rules)


texts: Graduate Student Co-authorship Etiquette (Dissemination of Student Papers Not For Publication)

texts:
I recently finished my masters degree and co-authored a lengthy paper (It was my idea and I took the lead on the research and writing). The paper is not for publication but provides valuable information and research for the the department faculty and dean.The paper is a program development proposal that our academic department would like to implement. Our group discussed sending the paper to the Dean in conversation with her, and one of the co-authors brought it up with her again at the end of the semester and offered to send it to her individually without consulting our group.

I'm okay with her sending it, however, I felt that she acted independently and did not consider the time-lines of the other co-authors for doing final edits, or offer to CC us when she sent it.

My name comes last on the paper (alphabetically) even though I wrote and researched more than the other two authors combined. I have the sense that my co-author is taking more credit than she is due on this project since her name comes first and because she acted independently.

I requested that I be provided an opportunity to review the paper and to be CC'd on any future sharing of our work with others.I think my co-author was offended.

I am interested in asking my two co-authors if it is okay to have my name as the first author on this paper (then she can send it).

Please advise if I am being petty or if this is a reasonable concern on my part. I would like for the Dean and faculty to remember my contributions. The co-author who offered to send it has already made her mark on the program in other ways and I am not sure I have stood out as much.


texts: Reivsion in ScholarOne: Where to upload the response to reviewers as a attached file?

texts:
For the revision, I found there are two possible attachment places for the response document.
I don't know which one is the appropriate place for attaching the document. Please help me!

One is in 'Step 1: View and Respond to Decision Letter'. At the end of the page, there is a sub-section named 'Attach a File:'.

The other is in 'Step 3: File Upload'. Similar to the first submission of the manuscript, I think the response document could be attached as supplementary file below the revised version of manuscript.

So where is the right place to attach the document responding to reviewers comments?


texts: Will a dropped class hurt PhD application?

texts:
I'm currently in a Master's program for mathematics and I want to apply for a PhD.

I'm thinking of dropping one of my classes because it requires a final project which will be very time consuming. (I would have very little time to complete obligations for my other classes.) If I drop it, this class will appear with a grade of 'W' on my transcript which stands for "withdrawn". I'm worried how much this will blemish my transcript in the eyes of PhD programs.

I'm thinking this won't matter so much because this is the only class out of 11 classes that will have been dropped. Also, this is a physics class, not a mathematics class.


texts: How to find grant opportunities for academic position?

texts: I am a senior Ph.D. student in software security in Germany. I am looking for some grants for my postdoc. I have a proposal ready, but I do not know good enough about the grant opportunities. So, I think that I need to submit my proposal to many places to increase the chance of obtaining a good grant? What do you think? Is any neat database for finding the grants?


texts: How to know a community of researchers in order to be more successful in research and getting papers accepted?

texts:
Knowledge is what lies between heads of people in a community; This is an idea, I recently learned from a video tutorial on writing research papers in a youtube video. In this video, a professor presents such a model of knowledge which is different from what I already thought.

This suggests a measure of success in research is the amount of change she's able to effect in the space between heads. This video talks about community and people in power in that community. So we must know the community, its structure, who the people in power in the community are, and what knowledge is already in the space between heads.

The ideas proposed in this video seem tantalizing but I feel I haven't completely understood his thesis.  I will try to lay out what's hanging me up about this:

I want to understand what a "journal's community" is? since this professor says that will affect the acceptance of a submission.
In short, please help me understand the outlined aspects of this model of knowledge?
Note from question editor: if you have some ideas about how to improve this post further, with the goal of getting it reopened, please grab your red pen and help out.  Thanks.

We usually want to know something from a perspective. Here we want to know a community such that we as researchers can better understand how to communicate with the community through Papers. All of the aforementioned sub-questions are around this single thread.


texts: Do research grants from USA governmental agencies (e.g. NSF, NIH, DOE, etc) require that all of the PIs be affliated with a university?

texts:
or to other research organizations for example government labs?

I am currently a post doc at large and would like to co-write a proposal (probably NSF) with a Professor at a nearby University. With the funding, I'd be getting a salary and doing the majority of the work and the lead PI (the prof) would work partial time and time in the summer.


texts: Should I be honest about my past history of attending a Master degree in the past?

texts: I am planning to attend a PhD program in the future. Should I be honest that I have some experience of attending a full-time Master degree in the past for three years? I had a somewhat rocky relationship with the thesis supervisor resulting in me being kicked out from the program. I am a bit worried that revealing this might be not too beneficial for me during the application process. Can I pretend that I did something else during the three years? In reality, I did some work in a part-time manner while attending my old program (self-employed).


texts: Can I use text from my dissertation in a manuscript?

texts:
There has been general discussion of whether one can use a published work in their dissertation, with the consensus being 'of course'! The first two chapters of my thesis will be published works. I'm interested in the reverse now; I intend to write the third chapter of my thesis as a draft of sorts for a publication. Now I'm wondering whether including text and figures from my dissertation in a [future] manuscript constitutes 'self-plagarism'.

A fellow graduate student advised me that it's only 'self-plagarism' if I formally copyright my thesis, however, I'm skeptical of that being the important distinction.


texts: What should I do if actually I found a serious flaw in someone's PhD thesis and an article derived from that PhD thesis?

texts:
Recently, I came across a PhD thesis and an article derived from that PhD thesis and found a serious flaw in them that actually makes their conclusions invalid.

In the first place, I was unsure if I'm right or not, so I contacted the guy that wrote the PhD thesis and subsequent article and described my concerns and I showed my calculations to him and asked if he thinks in fact there is a major problem in his PhD thesis and that article, which is derived from it. He responded back that embarrassingly, in fact I'm right and there is a problem but he can't do anything about it.

I didn't want to force him to do something but I'm just thinking maybe there might be a possibility to publish an erratum for at least that article. It's a major flaw and unfortunately it just invalidates the major conclusions of paper and PhD thesis. Surprisingly, the article is cited for 15 times and nobody found that obvious problem. My question: What's the best way to deal with these kind of situations that even author himself/herself admits that in fact there is a major flaw in his/her thesis or article?


texts: Should unsavory but otherwise scientifically correct experiments lead to retractions?

texts:
The following occurred at my university (this is from a preliminary report that has been published):

  Three colleagues requested permission to perform a certain chemical experiment (analyzing environmental samples) in a laboratory. The request was denied as the lab does not have sufficient ventilation for this sort of job. The colleagues ran the experiment anyway for several months. This was uncovered when several workers in nearby offices complained about headaches, skin rash and breathing difficulties. One person had to stay in a hospital for several days. The scientists have been suspended from or have left the university.

Apparently, the results from these experiments were used in a publication.

Should this publication be retracted? One argument is that the researchers knowingly risked the health and lives of persons to conduct their experiments. Others argue that the results themselves are OK and that the ‘side effects’ do not change the validity of the paper. Are there any ethical standards that deal with this situation or similar cases?


texts:
I have been reading that many students have a PhD committee. I assume this is a group of experts supervising the student.

In my case, and I think this is quite common, I had two people. One was the principal supervisor and the other was the associate supervisor.

Almost all my contacts were with the principal supervisor. The associate supervisor was a back-up resource if and when needed.

This was a simple one-on-one contact between me and my principal supervisor.

I am just wondering how does a PhD committee work?


texts: Advisor's/University's rights in the PhD/MSc alumni's research projects and publications

texts:
After a series of discussions about the level of dependency of a research student on his advisor in this link and this link, a question comes to mind that when the person is graduated and leaves the university; even he is now working independently in a company or he is a faculty member of a university; as far as most of the researches he is going to do may be based on his PhD dissertation;

Until when should this person contact his supervisor about the researches he is doing?
Should he ethically acknowledge that his researches is roots of his PhD project under his advisor's supervision?
If, based on his dissertation, he works on a research project; should he talk about it to his supervisor and he should be aware on every single after-PhD project? Just because the base of the publication and research is the PhD dissertation which is done under his supervision?
To put in a nutshell, as a matter of academic ethics, what are exact rights of a supervisor in projects done based on his student's supervision (after graduation of the person)? What are the rights of the university from which the student is graduated?


texts: How do I express a degree on my CV that I have completed but have not been awarded?

texts:
I have completed all the requirements for an M.S. degree and have filed the appropriate paperwork. All I have left to do is walk at the end of this semester. I want to put this on my CV, but it seems appropriate to differentiate it from my Ph.D., which is (only) "In progress", and another M.S. which I completed a few years ago.

How should I express this on my CV? Should I say "Anticipated" or "Expected", with the date?

My question is different than Should one list incomplete degrees on a CV? because that question asks about a degree that was entirely incomplete, unawarded, and is not likely to ever be awarded. In my situation, the degree needs only to be formally awarded.


texts: Is it necessary to show what improvements you have made to similar work in literature reviews section?

texts:
I have seen quite a few research publications where the literature review section doesn't compare past work to the author's work. It's like:

  [1] did this using X technique. [5] used Y technology. (etc.)

This type of literature reviews are easier to write as I don't have to read similar works in extreme detail to create a list of things that we are doing and they are not. I can understand their technique by reading their abstract but it won't matter too much as long as I am using a completely different technology.

I have also seen some good publications which compare each and every work in literature review section to their own work and say "They did not do this", "Their work couldn't do that". While, of course, this looks a lot better but it's a lot harder to write.

Let's say I using queuing theory for a similar work which has been done using some other technique. I can easily state that they used this technique in their work instead of trying to find drawbacks in their work.

So which approach is better when writing the literature review section?


texts: Has a STEM professor ever been nominated for - or won - an Oscar for their academic research?


texts: Recommendation letter from a supervisor after falling out

texts:
In the event of a falling out with a supervisor (Master's thesis or PhD) is there generally anything one can do about it if one wants to apply to a (different) PhD program, for which one would need a recommendation letter? I am mostly interested in the European academia.

I am certain this must have happened a lot in the history of academia and I am wondering what happens in such situations. Is it the end of one's academic career? Are the other options to leaving or (if possible) changing research groups within the university? I know that one can't force a person to write a positive letter, but is there anything that outsiders can do to effect such a situation or is all the power with the supervisor?


texts: Are abstracts confidential during the review process?

texts:
In an answer to a question about the confidentiality of reviews, I basically said you cannot reveal information about the review until the paper is publicly available. This question about revealing information after publication is making me rethink my answer. The question I have is, is the information (e.g., title, authors and abstract) that you are given to decide if you want to review confidential?

It seems to me that the process of agreeing to do a review is NOT

Please review our reviewer guidelines (including confidentiality policies),
If you accept these guidelines please look at this abstract and let
us know if you want to review.

Rather, it seems it is

Please look at this abstract
If it interests you, please consider our review guidelines.

This suggests to me that the initial information (title, authors and abstract in a non double blind review) are not confidential.


texts: Why does the application portal ask 'To what other programs/universities are you applying?' while applying in US universities?

texts:
I am applying for higher studies in US universities. Every time I fill up the online form, there is a section where they asked which other universities or programs I am applying too? Why do they ask these questions? Do they check where I am applying?
What if I wrote a university name but later drop the idea to apply?


texts: What are the chances of getting into a PHD program even if your graduate research is completely different?

texts:
I have decided to apply for PhD in cybersecurity even though my research during my graduate time period is totally of a different topic, which is neuroscience. My CV is majorly focused on research in neuroscience and data science and it doesn't contain any previous experience even though I have been learning a lot in cybersecurity and getting trained in the area.

What are my chances of getting into the program(in US, Sweden, UK) even thought I don't have a research experience in Cyber security nor have worked on a project?


texts: Tell supervisor I am unhappy with grading even though grades won't change

texts:
I have been working in a group project of six people at university.
I think I made an substantial effort, and would consider me among the two best performers in the group (please accept this as a fact for answering the question). I do not bear grudges against my group, I think we worked well together and I liked working with all of them. I just put more effort in the project, and I am proud of my contribution.

Now the grades have been published, and I have been graded worse than two other students, because of things which were not communicated to be part of the grading process:
We finished the project mid of July. Recently, there has been a presentation of parts of our results, which required some extra work. I am currently abroad in an internship. The two students did some additional experiments for the presentation. I was not aware of these additional experiments, because there was no communication about that on our mailing list, basically the two students just happened to be around. I communicated my internship early, and this was accepted by the supervisor. I think the additional experiments do not outweigh my previous contributions by far. Also, I would have helped with the experiments from abroad (which would have been easily possible, because it's computer science), if I would have known.

I am unhappy with this distinction, because I think it is not fair and does not represent my performance, which is also admitted by the two students with the better grades. For me, it would have been ok, if we all got the same grade.

However, the grades are already published, and there is no good way of changing the grades now (pushing the entire team to the better grade is not an option because of politics; I do not want the two to get a worse grade; I would feel unhappy with only me being upgraded). I know this and I accept this.

Now, should I tell my supervisor, that I am unhappy with the grading and explain my reasons why, even though I know it will change nothing in the grades? I do not want to make accusations or anything, just express my problems with the grading.

I do not want to burn any bridges, and might want to work with this supervisor again in the future.
I would see this as
(i) feedback for my supervisor for the grading process
(ii) a way for me to finish the project and get over the frustration (again, I do not intend to make accusations, just lay out why I am unhappy).

Should I do this or should I just swallow my pride and deal with it?


texts: Options with a Diploma in Theoretical Physics (A failed MSc)

texts:
To put this bluntly a number of our class are facing a real prospect of failing their finals myself included. By fail I mean not obtain MSc. and instead obtain a Diploma.

What are our options if we instead obtain a Diploma in HEP Theory and not an MSc?

Will any other programmes take a student with a diploma for a repeat?
Is a PhD still a reality for those of us holding offers?
How can we explain this to future employers when "no-one fails a masters degree if they put the work in"

I am unsure if the reality of the volume of work we have undertaken nor the academic credentials (on paper) of those attending and potentially failing, will strike a chord with any reader who has not been in this exact situation. Consequently, I will save our despair for the MSc. coffee room chat and keep the question on its intended topic.

The reality...

Out of those risking failure the grade average is between 70%-95% (mine is 86%)
This includes a number of scholarship recipients with perfect undergraduate grades (GPAs)
No resits

I emphasise that if any of the concerned did fail this would be highly unexpected and possibly a bit embarrassing for the programme due to the merit of several high calibre students in this group (I would not consider myself in this list) not to mention the time invested by all. This does not change the outcome of a fail for the student.


texts: What are the differences between teaching in the quarter and semester system?

texts:
I am currently working as a junior faculty member at a university where we teach a 2:2 (2 fall, 2 spring) on the semester system. I would like to know the differences between this and teaching a 2:2:2 (2 fall, 2 winter, 2 spring) on the quarter system. What is the workload difference? How is class preparation different? Intensity of each week? Grading timeline and expectations? Other considerations?

Edit: @Buffy is correct. The current courses are each 3 credits. The 2:2:2 courses are each 4 credits. The three-credit courses meet once per week for 3 hours (or are online) and the four-credit courses meet once per week for 3.75 hours (or are online).


texts: Which is a better combination for PhD recommendation letters?

texts: My field is language-related and I have been conducting research in it with two professors in the past couple of years. Is it better for me to request recommendation letters from these two professors for my PhD application or should I rely on a more diverse approach? For instance, combining letters from one of these professors with those coming from professors who taught me during the MA years (which, by the way, I graduated from several years ago) or maybe even my MA thesis advisor. I should also mention that it is not very likely for me to apply to universities in the US.


texts:
I'm an undergraduate student, rising senior. I've been immersed in academia now since freshmen year, and I'd like to pursue a PhD in Computer Science in the future. I'm posting here because I just feel hopeless right now.

I've had research experiences at top schools, like MIT, and now, at a top research company (where I've been for a couple of months).

I know to the readers these sound impressive, but with every experience, I feel like I let my mentors and advisors down. I feel like they all had really high expectations for me -- and I just disappointed them.

With every opportunity -- and in every scenario, whether it was in school or some other aspect of my life -- I noticed a common pattern in myself :
 I just didn't want to learn.

I did very well in high school. I do very well in college. But I just don't have the motivation to learn ... anything. I want good grades. I want to build the projects I have in mind. I want to finish my research project and get that publication. But I don't want to put the work in. Everything I achieved through academics was done under some combination of procrastination, stress, fatigue, and luck. I never really cared about what I was learning. I often did things just the day before, or late. I only learned just enough to do the assignment or get the grade I want. I always thought -- I can learn it the way I'm supposed to later. I just wanted the results. I wanted to look good on paper. I didn't want to feel ashamed in front of my mentors and co-workers, so I always did just enough to look like I was doing something.

These couple of months that I've gotten the opportunity to work as a research intern at a top research company (I didn't even get an interview to get there, I think I just got lucky), I've felt like shit. I knew nothing about NLP when I got here, and now it's the focus of my project. I've been working with neural nets for 2 years now, but I still don't fully understand the basics. I just feel like I should know this by now. And with every meeting, I feel like I'm doing the bare minimum -- just enough to look like I was doing something.

I feel too slow. Whenever I have to learn about a new topic or read a new paper, I get overwhelmed. I think I will never understand it enough to be able to contribute anything meaningful. And when I see how knowledgeable, motivated, and quick people are about their work, I get discouraged. I feel like time is quickly passing me by, and I am crumbling under every passing day.

Now I'm contemplating whether I will even have potential for an academic career in computation, or an academic career in anything, or a career at all. I know I love solving problems. I know I am creative and have good ideas when I really understand something. But that's what I'm worried about. What if I never attain that level of understanding?

I just don't know -- is this normal and must I just learn to deal with it? Am I experiencing this just because I'm at a different level than my co-workers here, who are PhD's and research scientists? Have academics gone through this phase where they feel like they just can't do it?
Or is there some underlying issue? What have been people's experiences?


texts: How to quote in the title of a thesis in APA style?

texts:
I am writing my bachelor thesis (in psychology) and I am planning to use a quote from the series Game of Thrones as my title. More specifically, my title is:

  ‘The lone wolf dies but the pack survives’: The influence of perceived social consensus on the fear of death

Now, I am really unsure how to quote this. According to APA Style, I would have to write the producer, director and the year in brackets but it doesn’t make much sense to this for the title (it looks stupid).

Is there any possibility to quote in the title using footnotes?


texts:
Small talk in the title refer to the small questions or words that are culturally used in preserving and maintaining relations among people.
The normal small talk are as follows

How are you?

How is your health?

Happy married life.

I am deeply saddened by the news of your brother passing.... etc.,

Actually, all these are more relevant in case of relatives, extended family and personal relations. But, I observed that lots of people in academia network also does the same.
Is there any purpose in small talk? Is not engaging in small talk an improper etiquette?

Consider the situation in which a lab mate underwent a life event and everyone in the lab is wishing or showing condolence for the same. Is it improper to not care about it as it is an personal level or non-academic achievement?


texts: How to get a research professor position?

texts:
Since universities do not normally pay the salary of a research professor, and salary along with research funding comes from external resources, this not a paid position. On the other hand, a few people are interested in a job without a secured salary (or a few researchers are confident enough to get enough funding to secure their salary too).

As a result, universities do not advertise for hiring research professors (at least, I do not see in job websites). Therefore, it should be based on private negotiation. Logically, universities should not have limitation for the number of research professors, as they do not pay their salaries. If they can obtain fund, it is good for them, if not, the university loses nothing.

In the aforementioned circumstances, I guess, potential researchers should start this negotiation. If yes, how this negotiation is normally started? A potential research professor contacts the university President, Vice President for Research, Dean, Department Chair with a proposal?

What is the procedure for hiring a research professor?


texts: Do extracurricular research/activities in graduate school negatively affect your future?

texts: I'm the kind of graduate student that finds many research topics interesting and wants to participate in lots of student organization activities related to science and academia. But recently, one of my professors warned me against "doing too much" beyond my research focus, both in terms of publications and in terms of extra-curricular activities.  As I see it, your goal as an academic is to develop a "specialty", so it is important to focus on one narrow topic and pass over opportunities to research other interesting, but unrelated topics.  But can research outside of your particular focus in graduate school really negatively affect your ability to get hired in an post-doc or tenure track position in the future?  How can "doing more" reflect negatively on one's self?


texts: I have found an error in a textbook. What can I do about it?

texts:
In the book Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory (10th edition) by Boylestad and Louis Nashelsky, I have found a technical mistake.

What can I do about this?
To whom should I send an email, the authors or the publisher? (Also, there is no email address mentioned in the book or on the Internet to which I can send my suggestions.)
I have never written an official email of this kind. If I should send an email, how should I write it?


texts: Stay put or enter the US application process

texts:
I am an American who came to Europe last fall to do an MS which would complement my BA, since the field of study for my BA was different than my current one. My original plan was to apply to PhD programs in the US this fall, but recently I was offered a PhD position by my current adviser. I have until this summer to decide, which means I can either stay where I am now or decline the offer and cast the dice in the US application process.

In itself, my current department is not particularly well known in the US, where I would ultimately like to work. However, my field is small and my adviser is somewhat influential. Moreover, the advising is high quality. My adviser and I generally meet for one to three hours a week to discuss my work. I genuinely like my adviser, her insight, and the work I am doing. If I stay here I would also have connections to a lab in the US which is among the best in the world for my field. I would spend some time there as needed/desired, and the other members of my dissertation committee would likely be from this lab.

There are several US departments where I originally planned to apply. They have good faculty, have a large number of students in the same subfield, are close to other institutions doing related research, etc. In short, if I were accepted to one of these schools, I might sleep sounder knowing that others have tread my path, and at least some have had a good outcome (solid reputation, decent job, etc.).

My situation can be problematized as follows. The offer from my adviser is obviously an opportunistic move on her part. As a friend of mine put it, “she sees a talented young scientist and wants to snatch him up before someone else does.” Regardless of whether the characterization is accurate, that's a way of looking at the situation. My task is to decide whether the move is the right one.

Has anyone had a similar experience or just care to share some insight?


texts: Questionable content in student's theses

texts: If having some questionable aspects in the thesis - like not elaborated and rather simple theoretical models -, that did not influence the whole work and results, but might still arise the thought "Why didn't the student know/do better here?", can this have a negative influence when applying to some graduate school?


texts: When a graduate student be a part of a research grant, does he get paid in addition to a university stipend?

texts: This year I will graduate from a European university and willing to start a Ph.D. program in the USA. As a graduate student, there is a “guaranteed financing” opportunity of approximately $ 32,000 per year. My question is when a graduate student is part of a research grant (ie NIH / NSF grants) of his PI -in their own lab-, does he receive payment in addition to the guaranteed funding stipend? Does income from the research grant -if some- and guaranteed funding stipend different things?


texts: Allowing preprints boosts the impact factor – was this argument ever (prominently) made?

texts:
Background

The impact factor is a journal metric that rewards citations in the first two years after publication (or five in some flavours).
For better or worse, this metric has some importance and thus there is some incentive for journals to increase it.
Some journals have been accused of artificially inflating it.

If a preprint of a paper was available a considerable time before publication, this increases the chance for citations within the first two years:

The paper can already be cited shortly after publication as related work, corroborating evidence, etc., whereas without a preprint the citing authors would not even have known about the paper in time.
Work sparked by the paper gets a head start to be finished and published within the two-year span.
Authors that would not have access to the paper otherwise can cite the paper.

Thus, allowing preprints has a positive effect on the impact factor of a journal, the only question is how much.
Some other journal metrics are similarly effected, but the impact factor is arguably the most prominent one.

Question

Has the link between allowing preprints and boosting the impact factor (or other journal metrics) ever been prominently made? Alternatively, was it prominently opposed? For example:

Have any journals, editors, or other people in charge stated improving journal metrics as a motivation for allowing preprints?
Have prominent advocates of preprints used this argument?
Is there any evidence that journals allowing preprints benefit from this move in terms of metrics? (Eliminating the effect of other trends and factors of course.)


texts: How to indicate a 'summary' of some sort in a presentation

texts:
Soon I will give a presentation in college for a few professors. In this presentation I research a somewhat complex concept, though the focus is how said concept can be used in company X.

So I'd rather not spend too much time elaborating on the concept and spend more time on the actual findings of my research. How can I do this though?

Currently I have a slide with a rather long quote on top, 5 key points in the middle and a 'summary' or a 'simplified' version below. I'm not entirely happy with this though, as in my opinion a simplified sentence implies the stuff above is less important or even too complex for my audience.


texts: I have to do my defense seminar in couple days. I personally hate to kick off the talk with "hello and thank you for attending my talk". I am wondering if you know better ways/phrases to start a talk. You attended many conferences so I bet you saw some good starts.


texts: How to mitigate bad grade in research on PhD application?

texts:
I've just finished my fourth year (out of 5) of biology studies in one of European universities. I have some experience in research and my grades are quite ok (in US scale it would be 3.75, which means I'm in 5% of the best students in my university). This year I'm starting my master thesis and I expect it to be rather successful - I have interesting topic and good supervisor, with whom I have good contact. This year I'm also starting new studies in electrical engineering and I would love to work in biomedical engineering.

There are several PhD programmes I would like to join abroad (mainly US, UK and Germany). However, I have just got my grade for a research project from spring semester, which is really bad (C+). It is my only grade lower than B, but since it's in research (actually, it's my only grade in research), I'm afraid that it might be a big obstacle in admission process. I'm not a kind of person who blames everyone for my failures, but this time I cannot explain it in any other way than bad supervisor who didn't like me. I've learnt many methods during this project and I've done the worst job for the research group. I've also learn a lot about research in general by seeing my supervisor's mistakes. That is why I'm really happy about this experience, but it doesn't change my grade.

My question is: is there anything I can do to make this grade seem less important or to explain it to admission committee? I'm pretty sure that "Supervisor didn't like me" is not what they want to hear.


texts:
I was reading a blog post, How to reject a rejection, by biologist Claus Wilke where he explains that it is common to resubmit a rejected paper to the same journal after a revision or appeal a rejection and get it published there.  This was surprising to me because, in mathematics, my impression is that this is very uncommon.  I believe overall resubmissions and appeals are uncommon, not just successful ones.  I suspect a reason for this is that are many good journals that are appropriate for any given (good) paper, but maybe it happens more than I thought for the most prestigious math journals like the Annals.

While I'm interested in mathematics, I'm also curious about how things are different in different fields, so let me ask generally:

  How common are resubmissions and appeals for rejections for the very top journals in your field?  How often are these successful?


texts: Unresponsive advisor, job offer in limbo

texts:
I'm in a rough place right now in the homestretch of my PhD, and I'm looking for advice. I've recently reached out to my advisor about this, but they are not responding to my emails, hence me asking this question here.

My advisor is on sabbatical this year (my final year of my graduate program). Three months ago, I sent my advisor a more-or-less complete draft of my thesis, and I have not heard anything at all from them since. No edits, no comments, nothing. In part, I feel responsible for this situation; I was slated to finish last year, before my advisor left, and now they are having to edit my thesis while on sabbatical. I realize that this is a big burden. I am not sure whether or not I have the right to be upset about how long this has taken as a result.

My main concern that I have is that I want to defend before September 1st, as I have an academic job that is set to begin on that date (contingent on me actually being awarded a PhD). In order to give committee members enough time to review my thesis and for my university to process the necessary paperwork, I will likely need to have edits incorporated into my thesis by the first week or two of July. Given how long this is taking, I am not sure if this is possible anymore, and I am not sure who is ultimately to blame here.

My main question is this: Is it out of the question for someone in my position to ask their new employer whether or not it is OK to defend their PhD after the start date of their new job? Would I most likely have the offer revoked if I do so? I realize that there is know surefire way of knowing without actually asking, but I'm looking for some advice before potentially shooting myself in the foot here.


texts:
Why do some publication venues prefer TIFF over some vector formats?

Example:

  Most figure file formats are acceptable, although TIFF is preferable.


texts: How to manage your advisor's jealousy over your work?

texts: 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?


texts: Best position title for International/USA context

texts: I am writing a resume for a doctoral application. In my current job, I am an Assistant Professor (tenured). However, besides being young, I don't have a doctorate or postdoctoral degree. I am also not a genius or a prodigy. In my country, the way you manage to be a university professor is different from other countries. If you want to work at a federal public university, for example, you take a test with several stages, and in some cases, people with only a master's degree and young people can get the job. I am still starting my career as a professor and researcher; I have no papers published in high impact journals. I don't want to look like something I'm not, but it also shows that I have some merit in having this position. I would like to know my title in an international context, specifically in the USA. My first option was a Full-time Lecturer (permanent appointment).


texts: Authorship Dispute: Soft threats from funders to cancel project unless they are listed as coauthors

texts:
A lot of backstory but I will try to be brief. I am employee of USA university but work abroad at a research nonprofit serving industry. (industry meaning an industry in general; many companies) My assigned handlers at the research nonprofit have power to ban me from the research non-profit facility, which would lead to unemployment and loss of residency. Access to the research nonprofit facility is a type of funding because academics don't normally get to work on tools this expensive. The (non-scientist) handlers don't help train me on equipment, get access to the research nonprofit facility and its resources, don't plan experiments, don't collect or analyze data, etc. When I was starting out and asked the handlers for help they indicated I was external and any issues I had with access or training were my own problem, and that asking the handlers for help was inconveniencing the handlers from their own work activities.

Generally the handlers are mean to me and take away opportunities to present my data to the industry sponsors which are afforded to my peers at research nonprofit who are internal. The handlers invoke the contract which gives the handlers all discretion in this area. My USA bosses threaten me with the handlers banning me from the research nonprofit facility if I do not make slides about my data and let the handlers present it. When the handlers present my data in situations where they don't think I will be able to see, the handlers just put their own name next to it, not mine or any of the USA people/institutions. My friendly colleagues at research nonprofit who do see such presentations then show me what the handlers are doing. I kept my head down and worked independently of them for a year and a half to get data in this tough situation. Now that my contract is up and the handlers and USA bosses can't hold employment/residency as leverage anymore I would like to publish my data ethically and independent of the handlers that do not satisfy any criteria for authorship I am aware of.

Including the handlers as coauthors would also be against the Publication Policy for the research nonprofit and EU university that handles my Visa. However USA universities I am aware of do not have a written Publication Policy and research nonprofit would likely defer to the USA universities in a formal dispute. USA bosses say I need to put handlers as coauthors because not doing so would threaten the project. Since the handlers presented the slides I authored to industry USA bosses say that counts as coauthorship of any publication resulting from my time here. Also the handlers are managers of some of my peers who did contribute to my work. What I see as threats of being banned from the facility if I do not list them as coauthors USA bosses say is actually a type of direct support of me that I should be rewarding them with coauthorship.

Sorry, I feel that was already too long. Any advice on how to handle this? Just don't write the paper? Create a messy dispute? Acquiesce? I already have 30 or so papers, so while I would like to show productivity from this stint it won't make or break my next career move.