texts: What options do rejected applicants have if mistakenly told they were admitted to a program?

texts:
I was reading up the Reddit page here, which described a case of admissions error, in which:

The person obtained an acceptance for a PhD program in writing.
The person personally called the university and confirmed acceptance of the program
The university then said that they had made a mistake, cancelling the acceptance.

What would be some things that the person can take, and if some of these actions required specific conditions, what would be the conditions be?

For the purposes of answering this question, we will assume that there is no stipend involved, and the acceptance was confirmed by the departmental admissions staff.


texts: Writing an email to a professor for teaching assistantship for the second time

texts: I am a graduate student and I had asked for TA/grader position, with a few professors at my institution in fall semester. But at that time there was no position available. Now I want to send another email to them again, asking for a position in spring semester. Should I reply back to the previous email that I had sent, or should I send a new email? How to remind them that I had approached them earlier?


texts: 2 majors with average grades or 1 major with excellent grades?

texts:
Is it incentivised to pursuit two (related) majors (eg. Math and Aero- Space Engineering) or a single major (eg. Math)?

The question is asked with the premise that if one chose a single major, one would have more time and thus achieve better grades (assume top 5 or 10 percentile), whereas with a double major, one would only be able to achieve slightly above average grades, but have a broader scope and be better prepared for industry (at least that was my line of thought).

I guess that the answer is very different for someone who wants to go into academia, as opposed to someone who goes into private industry, so I would appreciate a split answer regarding the two cases.

Thank you very much in advance.

Edit: With "double major" I mean two separate (masters) degrees. At least in Germany, that means much more work load: 1,5 times is an optimistic guess. This supports the premise that grades would suffer by doing a double major.


texts:
Quite a few tenure-track job ads I've come across recently have mentioned supervising research of undergraduate students as one of the position responsibilities specifically. I have had plenty of opportunities to supervise graduate student research activities, but have no experience supervising undergraduate research.

Personally, I never took advantage of opportunities to do research as an undergraduate (as an engineering undergraduate student, I was more focused on doing internships). So, unfortunately, I don't have any personal experience on "the receiving end," so to speak, to draw upon for what makes a good (or bad) approach to undergraduate research supervision.

My question:

  What are the key components of being an effective supervisor of
  undergraduate researchers?

If the field of study matters, this is in engineering (in particular, electrical engineering, and some of the job ads I've seen combine research supervision of both the electrical engineering and computer science undergraduates).

Somewhat related:

What are the main differences between undergraduate, master's, and doctoral theses?


texts:
I am currently working in a research laboratory in a University under the leadership of one of the university professors. This professor is in charge of several students doing their Bachelor Thesis but sometimes he delegates the supervising work to me and then I supervise some students during the whole thesis.

I do not mind doing that, I liked. My question is if this task can be added in a CV or if it looks not professional. How can I add or explain it to add it in a CV? I am interested in add it as a personal skill (something like thesis supervising) and academic (supervisor of project X)


texts:
I am currently writing my research proposal and I have a piece where I quote a book. In summary I am saying the following:

  Mr. X says that there is a very high probability that squares have four sides. This can be concisely summarised as "a polygon with four sides". ...

Note that at the end I am quoting him directly.

When do I put a citation to Mr. X’s book?

Immediately after the first sentence.
At the end, when I stop referring to him in the paragraph, i.e., after the second sentence or later.
Both?


texts: cell biology PhD desiring to do postdoc in bioinformatic

texts: I am junior phD student in cell biology and recently I have been much into bioinformatic. I am currently learning basics of R language. Do you think if it is possible for me to do a postdoc in either computational biology or Bioinformatic?


texts: Biotech: Competing Interest Statement after leaving academia

texts:
I have recently started working on a Biotech startup in the biomedical field, and some of the academic collaborative work I did before being at the company now being published (several publications). This work is in basic research but sometimes it revolves around diseases and that is clearly stated in the papers. The usual "our work provides new treatment avenues for Disease X". The scope and therapeutic interests of the company are fairly narrow, however broad enough that I am concerned about the impact of not disclosing Competing Interest - I have stock options in the company.
Several hypothetical, but fairly realistic, scenarios:

The company project on Cancer and the paper is in cancer, even though one is a drug and the other is a screening / test
The paper is on immunology and there is no plan whatsoever for the company to be in that space (but who knows in 3 years time)
The paper is about aging in worms.

The question is how to handle this? Disclose that I work for a Biotech company in all of them? In none? And to phrase How to phrase? Would it be enough something like:

Jane Doe is now an employee of Biotech X


texts: I have a paid (education) plan of Zoom cloud meeting. I use it for my university classes. I would like to get meeting participants’ names. How can I get that?


texts: About awaiting assignment status of manuscript

texts: I submitted a short paper to a math journal more that one month ago. The status is still "awaiting assignment" and I checked the online system which shows that even no editor has been assigned to my paper. I sent two emails about updating the status of the paper to editor and Editor-in-Chief several days ago and I got no reply from them. What can I do now? May I withdraw that?


texts: Does posting papers on Academia.edu count as publishing?

texts: Does posting papers on websites such as Academia.edu or ResearchGate count as "publishing" for the sake of future journal submission? That is, if I have uploaded my paper to Academia.edu, can I later submit it to a journal that wants only "previously unpublished" work?


texts: Is it usual to write referee reports in the first person?

texts: It is common to write papers in the third person, using sentences such as "The author(s) did this", "the author(s) thank XYZ" etc. Is the same convention true for referee reports? I have noticed that my reports tend to be a mishmash of first and third person, with sentences like "to the best of the reviewer's knowledge" next to "I think equation 123 has a typo". What is the most common convention? My field is math, in case it makes a difference.


texts: How to research about professors wisely?

texts:
The application season is coming, and I'm going to spam the mailbox of every professors.

OK, just kidding, but not completely untrue. Of course I will do my homework. As Anonymous said, it is fine to contact a professor if you are:

  asking detailed questions about the professor's research, or questions about the research group beyond what you can discover on the Internet

Does that mean that I need to spend time to dig into their papers (actually beyond the internet), or just reading the descriptions in their website is enough? I mean, sure, just like asking questions in SE, the more detail you give, the more likely you get the answer. But I cannot only concentrate on some particular professors, I need to increase the chance of being accepted by, erm, spamming other ones. One PhD student says that he had to contact 17 professors in order to find the best for him (good fund, good research, etc). I think contacting 17 professors, with all emails are careful prepared and worth to reply, will drain my energy soon.

Not to mentioned that in the email setting, you don't have to be obligated. If the email require you to spend a lot of energy to answer it, and if you are super busy, you will likely to ignore it. This will waste my effort.

Q: So, how likely is a professor to ignore an email even when the sender does their homework? How many professors should I contact in order to find the best one? And how much effort should I spend for a professor?

Also, there is a probability that after I read some papers of the professor,

the paper is easily to follow, that I don't have any question. How should I email in this case?
the paper is hard to follow, and I meet my limit of knowledge. Is this the gold chance for me to ask, or should I self-teach me this? This could be a trivial question, and asking it may bother them, increasing the chance to be ignored. Especially that I want to switch my field (a little bit).

Anonymous' comment on  Is it unwise to contact the professor directly before getting admitted to a program in US?
Related: How to contact professors for PhD vacancies?


texts: Should I include papers that were published during first revision round of a literature review paper?

texts: I submitted a literature review manuscript to a journal in September. In January, I got the result of the first round of revision. The result was conditional acceptance with a number of corrections and questions. During the revision, some papers about the survey's subject were published. Should I include those papers? Otherwise, is there a chance that reviewers would keep the conditional acceptance status and ask me to include these papers?


texts: A potential supervisor didn't respond to my email. It's been a week, does this mean he's not interested?

texts: A week ago I contacted a potential supervisor with shared interests. He answered back on the same day, positively reflecting his will to cooperate and support my application. I replied to him on the second day with a draft of the aimed project. It has been a week since that email and there has been no answer or reply. Should I assume that he is no longer interested?! Or should I wait a bit longer?!


texts: Difficult to finish work started at a previous lab

texts:
I finished my master's degree last year, and took a PhD position in a different country. I have several ongoing projects/papers from the previous lab but it is difficult to finish them. The reasons are

I am not allowed to spend any time on the previous projects at my new lab
The co-authors from the previous lab are not actively contributing anymore
Some co-authors choose to ignore my emails or respond slowly
The previous PIs are interested to get the projects finished but do not do much else than ask why things are not already done

The thing is, after working 8-10 hours at my current lab, I am too exhausted in the evenings to do much. Or during the weekends.

I would be quite depressed if the projects get never finished but I am running out of ideas. What should I do?


texts: Issues in self-publishing old work. Recommendations for Necromancy?

texts:
Main Issue:  What credit should be given (and how should it be given) to the alma mater in publicizing old work?

Background: I entered and left a Ph.D. program in another millenium.  During this time
I produced some results, one group of which was to become my dissertation.  (At one point, my advisor said the equivalent of "you have enough to graduate; write it up".)  However, all that I did distribute during my time as a graduate student was a couple of preprints, one of which later got cited in work of others.  I did not finish the dissertation and did not get the degree (although I did get to attend commencement and walk across the stage).  If it matters, during the time I produced results I got one TA (teaching) grant, and no other funding.

I am considering self-publishing material related to the work I did in grad school.
I have already given presentations on some of the work;  I now plan to submit to ArXiv some of my work done while I was in graduate school; later I may follow up with results based
on this work.

Question 1.  What kind of issues might I encounter in doing so?  Would the University have some recourse to discourage me?

Question 2.  If there are no intellectual property issues involved, what is an acceptable format?  (I was thinking: write a wrapper giving a brief history and introduction, insert my preprint verbatim, and close with acknowledgments and some follow up.  The preprint I distributed does not contain my dissertation, but is a key piece of it.  What would the
acknowledgment section look like?)

Question 3.  If I decide I also want to go back and finish
my degree at that program, (ideally by finishing the remaining requirement of submitting
the finished and approved dissertation, however unlikely that may be), would doing this
self-publishing be contraindicated?  If so, why?


texts: How long is too long for a personal statement for undergrad research application?

texts: Many REUs (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) require a personal statement or related essay as part of the application. I am wondering, how long is too long? My essay is right now 1000 words (but it could be ~1300), and my worry is that the people reading it will lose interest in an essay that long.


texts: Does applying for a PhD program directly make more sense in my case than for a second master program first?

texts:
I recently decided to apply for either a Ph.D. or a second-master program in computer science in the US.

Educational Background: I earned my undergraduate degrees in economics and mathematics (average GPA 3.2) from a university outside the US and got my master degree this past summer in quantitative finance (GPA is slightly higher than 3.5) in a US university ranked around 60 nationally.

That said, I had a few project and invited-talk experiences during my master program that are related to CS, also, I had a working experience in a fin-tech startup as a software engineer since April (I am using my OPT now to work after graduation). My only undergraduate experience relating to CS is a short summer internship as a quant in a non-US investment bank.

I also consider the possibility of applying for a second master in CS first and then preparing for a Ph.D. while reading my second master. Honestly, I know this may sound over-educated because this can take even longer time (say, 1.5-year second master plus 5-year Ph.D.) before I can come out of campus and look for a job. But there is an advantage: I suspect my current background makes it hard to enroll in a decent Ph.D. program now (I am not even talking about top universities/programs, the list below may give you a sense of the levels of schools in my mind), but by first reading a master in CS, maybe it will be easier for me to apply for a better Ph.D. program in the future?

FYI

None of my referees are working in the university I am applying for (two are from my graduate program and one is my current employer)
I don't have the working opportunity after the second master so that I have to read a Ph.D. later to find a job afterward. The only reason for applying a second master is it makes a Ph.D. application easier;
The invited talks mentioned above are like some developer community seminar/meetup, and I don't have published papers

  Should I just go for a Ph.D. now or consider a second master in CS first?


texts: Can I leave PhD after two years to join a company?

texts: I'm from Africa. I came to the US three years ago to do my doctoral studies. Now, I am thinking of leaving my PhD, as I have found a two-year contract management job in Texas. Could you please advise me whether I should continue my PhD or join the company in Texas?


texts: Would it annoy a professor if a student does not reply their email concerning the career development of the student?

texts:
I asked professors for recommendation letters this past year for grad school applications. I got into one school, but I’ve decided to put off going due to the coronavirus (the program was going to be online). Also, secretly, I decided I should be pursuing a different path after a lot more reflection.
All of my professors I asked for letters, understandably, told me to let them know what I end up doing. I haven’t yet. Will they be pissed off if I tell them about my change of plans? Should I just not email at all?
I do feel bad having had them write letters that ultimately will not be used.


texts: Is passion a must-have for a Master's student?

texts:
When I was accepted to become a Master's student, I had virtually no experience in the topics that my supervisor wanted to work in. Lately I've been catching up on background knowledge (I've been in the program for about a month), but I still haven't developed that ever-elusive passion that I probably should have by now.

So why did I choose to work with this supervisor? I chose a supervisor based on personality, and I decided to take a risk with a brand new topic because I was feeling jaded about what I had studied in undergrad.

I'm not asking "how do I find my subject?". I want to know if this lack of an all-consuming obsession with a particular subject is a real cause for concern. What should I do, and what do you suppose my supervisor would want me to do?


texts: Are there journals in science communication (STEM field) that allow technical notes?

texts:
I've written a small piece of software which allows users to gain easy access to nice visualization of computed chemical reactions. It's great having such videos in a presentation in a professional environment but it's also nice for teaching or just science communication, even simple videos get quite a lot of views on youtube and they can be used for sparking interest in STEM careers.

I was thinking about writing a small tutorial about how to produce data to visualize using freeware and how to handle the software to make such videos in addition to providing the software. Since I'm already producing a manuscrip I thought I might be able to publish it rather than just putting it on a preprint server.

However, it's out of scope for the chemistry journals I've looked at and also the chemistry education journal. I thought about science communication journals (terrible search phrase) but all that I could find are reporting on research regarding science communication and tools helping with science communication don't seem to fit.

Any idea where such an article could be published?


texts:
I have submitted a paper 3 weeks ago for a good journal + conference and I just figured out that there are small typo mistakes. It is very disappointing as I have made a great effort (who does not) to have a crystal-clear, well-written paper.
One mistake is in a Figure (I have forgotten to define an element. It is defined later on so it is not really a problem, but still). Another one is in a sentence, where one word disappeared. And this word is important: it helps to directly understand a point in the paper, without having to backtrack in the paper. None of these mistakes impact the methodology or results of course.
When I am reviewing a paper for a conference, I like to read something that is neat. I don't mind English mistakes or even small typo errors as English is not my main language (except when it is very hard to understand ofc). I will not reject a paper because it has some typo mistakes in it.

However, is it possible to get rejected for such stupid mistakes? To what extent such mistakes can impact the opinion of a reviewer? Does it have a potential influence on the overall paper review process?

Thanks for your answers.


texts: Before I finished my undergraduate thesis, my supervisor had asked me to write a smaller paper with the same content as my thesis and send it to a conference. Now, my thesis ended and my paper is going to be published. Should I cite my undergraduate thesis in my paper? Because undergraduate theses are not easily accepted as a references.


texts: Should I leave my area of interest as my supervisor advised?

texts: I am an undergraduate student, applying for honours next year. I asked my current supervisor if he is willing to supervise me and he said he had to change the current project as I took a lot of time to do calculations, there was a lot of going back and forth and he said I am an average student and a project in this field in honours will be very challenging for me. I think that he does not have a good opinion of me. I am very heartbroken and have no idea what to do. Should I change my field? He said you should look for a field you are better at but I actually like my current field a lot.


texts: I switched PhD programs after a month, do I mention this on my CV?

texts:
More detail: After a failure of communication, I turned down other funded offers to accept an unfunded PhD. I had some money saved and tried it out anyway, but after one month quit and went with a previous offer (after telling them I'd made a bad decision)!

I worked for 3 months specifying my skills for the defaulted PhD, do I mention the experience on my CV? On one hand I don't want the blip recorded as it leaves a little time gap between finishing MSc and entering PhD and records my bad decision making, on the other the institute name is a major buzzword for careless recruiters. Thoughts?


texts:
This is probably field specific. I'm mainly interested in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields and psychology/neuroscience.

So, like the title says, how novel should conference papers be? I'm early in my career and find it difficult to judge if my work is yet publishable or not.

Suppose my advisor says nothing about the work I have done, and I have to decide myself.


texts: Which would be more beneficial when applying to theoretical physics PhD programs, Math M.S or experimental physics M.S.?

texts: I am graduating this semester with a bachelors in physics. My goal is to do theory in my graduate level course work. The problem I am in now is that I missed the deadline to take the physics GRE (I'm taking it in April) so I also missed the deadline to apply to most graduate schools. Fortunately, I was accepted to pursue masters degrees by both the math and physics departments of my current school. My plan is to do one or the other and apply to other schools next semester. My question is which one will be more beneficial to me? Our math department is all around phenomenal... but it won't say "physics" on my applications. Our physics department is good, but it is completely geared towards experimental nuclear physics, which is not my interest (and there is no non-thesis option). Every day now I have been swinging back and forth; math... physics...etc. So, which one would be more beneficial when applying to schools with top theory programs, Math M.S or physics M.S.?


texts: What skills are necessary to become President(Rector, Chancellor)?

texts:
Recently on my University he dies and now I was wondering how should be the ideal candidate. Taking into account that he/she is the one above all the faculties.

Does he/she need to have a Doctor degree? and of what kind?
Does he/she needs to speaks more than just one language?


texts: May I mention in my CV that I am a reviewer for a journal if I co-refereed?

texts: Recently, a collaborator of mine received a paper to referee from a journal, and he proposed me that we review the paper together. When he submitted the report, he indicated to the journal that he reviewed the manuscript with me. Am I allowed to write in my CV that I am a reviewer for this journal?


texts: Electronic version of diploma in the US universities?

texts:
In a job application, I received electronic version of diploma and transcript (not scanned copy, but the official electronic file that the university prepared to be printed on official diploma and transcript papers).

Is it common in the US universities to give the electronic version of diploma and transcript to graduates?

I thought that the only version which will be released is that printed on the university official papers.

Is an electronic version of diploma and transcript as valid as a scanned copy?


texts: What are dissertation hours in the scope of degree requirements for PhD?

texts:
At my school for a PhD I am required to complete a minimum of 72 credit hours of study(around 4 years of study). Of this ~42 are to be course work and ~30 is to be dissertation.

So I know what a dissertation is but not in the context of "30 dissertation hours." For students and professors what has been your experience and what is actually done each semester while you are taking the dissertation hours. Do you go to class or is it a one on one basis with a selected professor or maybe just your adviser. Is there no class/group time, and I just do research into the area I have proposed for my dissertation?

Will be asking my adviser and graduate school dean about this but was also interested in the dynamic that other schools have in this area.


texts:
It is generally courtesy to use the plural 'we' or 'our' in papers, even when the primary author was the only contributor. While using personal pronouns in academic papers is typically a very bad idea, I have seen them being used in theses. What gives? Technically a PhD thesis is only meant to be the candidate's work, but if this work features previously published work surely you'd expect to same rules to apply to the thesis as applied to the academic papers?

So in terms of professional appearance and etiquette what is the (typically) correct approach? Should personal pronouns be used in a thesis?


texts: Do professors care about their rating on websites such as RateMyProfessor or Koofers?

texts: I am wondering if a professor is already an Associate Professor, do they still care about their reputation in the eyes of the department considering tenureship is already granted?


texts: Finding specific types of manuscripts of a journal

texts:
I am considering writing an article to a journal. This journal (Bioinformatics) accepts different manuscripts:

Original Papers
Discovery Notes
Application Notes
Reviews
Letters to the Editor
Conference Papers

In a different topics:

Genome analysis
Sequence analysis
Phylogenetics
Structural Bioinformatics
Gene Expression
Genetics and Population Analysis
Systems Biology
Data and Text Mining
Databases and Ontologies
Bioimage Informatics

In order to improve my article I would like to read similar papers of the same topic and type of manuscript. How can I search for Application Notes of System Biology?

If filtering by topic is not possible, at least filtering by type of manuscript would be desirable.

I can't ask my advisor for guidance, because he doesn't know the field. I tried using Google Scholar, but it doesn't retrieve the type of manuscript or the scope of each manuscript when I use the quotes. The advanced search of that journal doesn't include the options to filter by manuscript and scope. Pubmed doesn't list the types of manuscripts of this journal.


texts: Is there any API service to provide just the number of citations by DOI of an article?


texts:
I read a scientific paper, which is accompanied by a code library published by the authors. I couldn't find anything about its license.

Could I just reuse the code?

Is there a default license for code libraries that accompany scientific research papers? or a standard way to find out the license model?


texts: What do you do if you have developments on your paper during the long peer review process?

texts: We all know that the peer review process of a manuscript can take months, and months, and more months. In this period, one continues to research, and sometimes your manuscript keeps experiencing small changes as your investigation proceeds further. What do you do? Wait until the first revision to introduce these changes and let the editor know that you also made modifications that were not based on the reviewers comments?


texts: PhD Thesis: Cite my own chapter vs my own paper

texts:
I am putting together my published papers to write my PhD thesis, where each paper (or groups of relevant papers) becomes a chapter in the thesis.
My papers are also in my list of references (because I need to list my contributions explicitly), so for example, Chapter 3 = reference [63]
When I'm on another chapter and need to cite one of my own papers along with papers from others, which of the following styles is preferable?

The method we propose in this chapter differs from sequential approaches [25,32, 63] ...
The method we propose in this chapter differs from sequential approaches [25,32],[Chapter 3] ...
The method we propose in this chapter differs from sequential approaches [25,32], [Chapter 3] ( [63])


texts: What is proper acknowledgment for figure authorship in a book chapter?

texts:
A senior researcher, with whom I worked a few years ago, is writing a book chapter. He contacted me to ask what was the latest work of our group on the topic of his chapter. I gave him a few links to recent articles and the preprint of an article soon to be published. He followed up by asking if “[you] would have a figure to illustrate [topic of the preprint]… preferably something that does not require copyright authorization paperwork”.

At first, I thought that was a bit much to ask… I had never asked for figures from anybody who was not an author on the paper. But the situation may be different for a book chapter, and obviously I'm glad to share the news of our most recent results. So, I took an hour tonight to make a nice illustrative figure, and am about to send it. However, I'd like to make certain in my mail that I ask for some sort of acknowledgment. So, my question is: if someone designed a figure for a book chapter, how would that person be acknowledged? in the figure caption, e.g. “figure courtesy of X”? in another way?


texts: How much does a student's ranking in their cohort matter for PhD applications?

texts:
I am from one of the top UK institutions studying mathematics.  I am under the impression that UK universities tend to have a larger cohort (~150 per year) than US but perhaps I am wrong.

I would like to know is there any difference ranking 1st, ranking in top 5 or ranking in top 10 when it comes to PhD applications especially in the US, or is the personal ranking only serves the purpose as a benchmark (say top 5% is enough).

I have heard different theories about this as some would say it's extremely important to get top first or second to get into top graduate programs, and some say that having one or two marks higher than your course mates makes no difference and tells nothing more about your ability.

Thanks for advance.


texts: I'm RAing for a friend who's a professor at my school. How should I address him in conversations about the research?

texts:
I returned to school a few years ago to earn the grades I needed to get into medical school; consequently, I'm the same age as some new professors. One of my acquaintances from a sports club I belong to is approximately my age  and is a professor who researches something of interest to both of us. A conversation about his research lead to me volunteering as an RA for his lab.

Given that we were friends first, I worry that addressing him as as 'Dr.x' might feel weird for both of us. Moreover, it seems that few professors are comfortable asking to be called 'Dr.x' when someone asks them what they want to be called (even if they would prefer it), so I don't think asking him will be of much help.

Lastly, I don't worry about calling young professors 'doctor'; I wouldn't have much of an issue calling someone older, or even younger, than me 'doctor' even if we met outside of academics, It's the fact that we're the same age and that we were introduced outside of academics that makes it, for some reason, weird.

That said, using his first name doesn't feel right either.

I'm considering using his first name in private conversations and 'Dr.x' in public ones.

How should I address this person?


texts: Finding google scholar page of a journal

texts:
Some journals have a google scholar page where you can see how many of their published articles got cited and their h-index.
Example: Scholar page of Advanced Journal of Science and Engineering
How is it possible to find the page for a specific journal (except clicking on the link they sometimes provide themselves on their website)?


texts: Is the GRE experimental section randomly assigned or influenced by program of study?

texts:
I heard a rumor on a message board stating that the experimental section of the GRE is influenced by whatever the test-taker chooses as a field of study e.g. the test would add a Verbal section for Literature majors, or Quant for engineering majors.

Is this true? Or is the experimental section truly random for all test-takers?

Thank you


texts: Examples of harmless mistakes (on purpose) in submitted papers

texts:
Some paper reviewers feel the pressure to criticize something in order to appear competent. Sometimes they feel this pressure due to huge blank form fields for criticism in the reviewing system. As a consequence, they sometimes criticize wrongfully. Fully recovering from wrongful criticism during review is sometimes possible, but not always. This hurts the research community.

A while ago a saw advice in a video to have harmless and rather obvious mistakes (typos, inconsistent notation) on purpose in the manuscript when submitting for peer review, in order to avoid the aforementioned problems. I don't recall the details, nor who gave that talk.

Are you aware of such videos/articles, or can give examples of specific "diversionary tactics"?

Note that I'm only asking about specific example tactics. If you want to discuss (dis)advantages of choosing to use them at all, please open another question, and I'll be happy to link to it.

Edit: This question isn't about the pros and cons (see above). Many answers so far are as if I asked about the pros and cons (which I didn't).

Also, I'm not saying "I plan to do this, try to stop me". I just want to find the information that exists about it.

Note that I mean harmless mistakes. Also, they are fixed before publishing even if not asked to.

A related technique from programming is called "a duck".

The psychological phenomenon is called "Parkinson's law of triviality".


texts: Does a late reference letter to UWaterloo accepted?

texts: One of my referees had to take an emergency leave because of a family death and because of that she would not be able to complete the recommendation to University of Waterloo(for MDSAI program) by end of deadline. She has informed me that she could complete the recommendation 2 days later from the deadline but the university website mentions that the reference needs to be submitted by deadline. Can this cause an issue and get my application rejected?


texts: Can a professor grade students based on what she "remembers" with no proper record?

texts:
I was graded unfairly in a communication class. I participated more than some students yet the professor said she couldn't remember me speaking out in class. I asked her if she has any record on that and she said it would be hard for her to record if everyone speaks out

Some of the students who were less active were given better marks than those who were more active, it was inconsistent.
There were 23 students in the class and 13 classes in total. By the end of the class, she could not even remember the names and faces of each and everyone.
How should I approach this?


texts: Do generalist journals try to make sure every subfield is adequately represented? If so, how?

texts:
I am curious: what steps do generalist journals follow to try to ensure that every subfield (e.g., number theory, differential geometry, combinatorics, etc. for pure mathematics) is adequately represented, as the journal deems suitable?
To ask the question in a different way: a generalist journal will typically publish many more papers in one subfield compared to another subfield (in an absolute sense and/or relative to total volume of papers in that field). How does this "publication rate by subfield" come to be? My personal interest is in mathematics, though the question applies to any academic field.
There are two sub-questions here: one for high-volume, "good" journals (e.g. Proceedings or Transactions of the American Mathematical Society) and one for low-volume, "top" journals (e.g. Annals of Mathematics, Acta Mathematica). It is a given that such a journal would have a diverse editorial board (in some cases, subject to constraints such as university affiliation), which is already a partial answer to the question. So the question is whether journals conscientiously or systematically do more than this.
My understanding is that for a journal like Proceedings or Transactions, each subject editor has a certain page quota of articles that they can recommend for publication. What I don't know is whether such a page quota is the same for each editor, or whether this varies by subfield. Or how they decide how many editors per subject. Presumably one subfield may be significantly larger than another, or a single editor might end up being the contact point for various subfields. I also don't know how final decisions are made based on the recommendations of subject editors.
For the very top journals, the discretion of the editors would presumably be a more important factor. But is "we've already published in this field recently" or "we haven't published in this field recently" often a consideration?


texts: Asking about funding when you've already been told you'll be funded

texts:
Disclaimer : Please consider I'm in Europe, and this is for European funding
I've been accepted to do my PhD. I've been told in writing something along the lines of "You'll work for Prof. A doing project X for T years". My professor sent me his proposal and told me that even though it was done in 2016 he still has money for a PhD student.
However if I look for the project online, the funding agency stops giving funding on 2022.
So I'm worried about this divergent information (what my professor says vs what the funding agencies say) and I'm wondering whether I should ask my professor by email if he indeed has money for me to work on that project and also about how funding agencies really interpret their end date. I see this as possibly inappropriate because he already told me in writing that he can fund me for that project, and I don't want to sound like I'm questioning his word especially at this early stage.
How do funding agencies interpret their end dates? I mean, is a professor only meant to hire PhD's several years before the end date? This seems odd because one doesn't know exactly how long it'll take for a student to graduate.


texts: Should edited, multi-author undergraduate textbooks have many in-text citations?

texts:
Journal articles are packed with in-text citations of other works to validate points and situate the work in the context of past works. What about undergraduate textbooks with multiple chapter authors? Each chapter author is likely to be an expert in the field. Are citations necessary in this case as for any other academic work? Or do citations interrupt the smooth reading of the text for undergraduates? Or are they less necessary (or less numerous) because the authors are experts?

I'm editing a textbook and want to have some uniformity among the chapters regarding the need for citations and the number of citations. Each chapter will have a reference list.


texts: Is it rude to send my professor a link with teaching advice?

texts:
I know the title sounds terrible, but it's not as bad as it sounds so please hear me out.

I am an undergraduate and have set up an independent study for this fall about topic X. The professor doesn't work too much with topic X, and she has told me that she may need to review the material a little bit herself before we start.

I read the preface of the book we will be using, and I noticed there is a section dedicated to instructors. This section contains a link with advice on teaching this book.

Is the professor likely to read the preface and find this link on her own? Would it be rude of me to send this link in an email?


texts: Our paper was not published as part of the conference proceedings in IEEE Xplore, what should we do?

texts:
We had a paper accepted to a reputable IEEE conference.

We have completed the copyrights form and one of the authors have registered and presented the paper at the conference.

After a couple of months, the conference proceedings were uploaded to IEEE Xplore but without our paper.

Is there anything to do about this? Is it possible to check (with the PC chairs?) why it is not published?
If the paper stays left out of the proceedings, can we resubmit it to a different venue?


texts: Do research laboratories hire international students with a Bachelor's Degree?

texts: I intend to increase my research experience in a field not very closely related to mine (I am a chemical engineer and want to pursue Tissue Engineering). I a currently a 4th year undergraduate. I have some research experience in the field. Do I have a shot a securing a research job in a european or american research Lab or a University?


texts: What are the important issues to consider when using secondary data?

texts:
Say you want to conduct a research study that observes people engaged in a generic activity. Rather than record this evidence oneself, would it be wise to try to gather recorded evidence that was part of other research studies? I am asking about gathering raw evidence, to re-analyze for the purposes of a new study, not leveraging/citing data/conclusions in other research studies. For example, if another research study recorded 1000 hours of people doing general enough activities, would I be able to ask the owner of that study to share their recorded evidence with me, so that I might use it for my own analysis?

In other words, what are some of the issues to consider when using secondary data?

If it isn't common, why not? What are the pitfalls of using evidence gathered from other studies, to drive my own research?


texts: How to Present Two Authors on the cover page of an APA Research Paper?

texts: So I've done plenty of APA papers, but I have never done one with two authors, so I came here since it's the fastest source for information, in my opinion. I would like to know or see an example of how to present both authors on the cover page.


texts: Out of a long list of suggested master thesis topic, how to decide which one to choose?

texts:
I'm currently doing a master in mathematics, and will start my master thesis in a couple of month. My university provides a list of (suggested) topics. I'm finding it difficult to choose though, since these are my criteria the topic must satisfy:

I must find it interesting/enjoyable.
It must be something relevant/new. This is because I intend on doing a PhD after my masters, and I think it would increase my chances of getting into a good program if my thesis topic is about an area that is still actively being worked on.

These are basically the only two things I care about. However, I do not feel like I'm in a position to determine if a given topic satisfies either of those criteria.

Most of the topics require a lot of reading before I can understand what they are about, so I don't know yet if I would enjoy it because at the moment I don't understand the topic. Even more problematic is the second point, since I have absolutely no idea which topics are currently considered 'hip' or however one would call that.

So I'm asking what the best way to go about this would be? I realise there might not be a clear cut answer, but I'm looking for some suggestions on what to do here.


texts: How does one go about starting a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)?

texts: Currently my university does not offer any MOOCs. I am interested in creating one. How should I go about it? Does my university need to sign an agreement with one of the providers such as Coursera or can I approach them independently?


texts: can my paper be excluded from the conference proceedings after attending and presenting?

texts:
I received a very weird email from an international conference committee, stating that their society (who organised the conference) reviewed the content of my paper and finally decided to exclude it from publication in the proceedings because my ideas did not reflect the society ideas and methods.

This is after they accepted the final edit of my conference paper, about 8 months after the end of a 10 day, very expensive conference. The book they are publishing is not a selection of papers, but the only proceedings which records the facts, topics that were discussed and people that were at the conference.

The paper topics were determined when the initial abstracts were submitted. There were no conditions specified at the time of registration, therefore, as for other general international conferences, registration, acceptance and oral presentation means being part of the proceedings, if not otherwise explicitly specified.

Can my paper and thus the record of my attendance and presentation be excluded from the conference proceedings? Can they discrimate against authors based on the society's views?


texts: What is the purpose of peer evaluation of teaching?

texts: At my UK university all new teaching staff, as part of the requirements to fulfil the requirements for a Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCHE), have their teaching observed by a member of their department, a member of another department, and a member of the Education Department (who run the PGCHE course). I don't understand the advantages of being observed by the three different people. What should I strive to get out of each observation?


texts: Where to find successful proposals of previous ERC calls?

texts:
I plan to apply for ERC ADVANCED GRANT 2015. Is there any place for finding previous winner proposals?

The templates are straightforward, but it is very useful to see what winners have written in their proposals, particularly in the Scientific Proposal (Part B2).


texts: What constitutes as stealing of an idea?

texts:
I have recently been accused by someone of stealing their idea and doing the work required. In fact they had come to me to do, let's say, a literature review because they didn't have the expertise to do one themselves. They gave me an umbrella topic and told me to figure the rest out. I ran with it and narrowed down the topic to a specific research question. Step by step I made sure to keep the person looped in and updated on my progress, as well as answered their questions (such as: what is the research question? What does this mean? What is the point of doing this review?). When it came time to move it forward, the person bailed and said they were too busy to continue.
A year later, I nudged them again as I wanted to finish it off and said I have other resources now (ask a student to do some data validation) to help complete the next step so we could start writing. The person agreed and we finally started to talk about authorship. They asked what I wanted, I said first as I had done a major part of the work. They also needed a first so I counter suggested we do first co authors as it had requires/requires both of our efforts. They were extremely reluctant, saying that I had stolen their idea and that it was wrong for me to do the work when they didn't have the time, and suddenly say that I deserved first because I had done the work but they also needed me to teach them step by step on how to do the lit review.
I feel that I have not been deceitful by hiding information or falsely claiming authorship away from this person. I believe it was a joint effort although I'm not sure what the norm is. What does actually constitute as idea stealing? Did I overstep by asking to be recognised as an equal contributor?


texts: Should I correct a successfully completed Master's dissertation before publishing online?

texts:
I  successfully completed my Master's dissertation a while back and I've decided I would like to publish it online to help others and  probably print a copy for myself to up on the bookshelf.
The dissertation was good but it wasn't perfect. Other than the usual typos, there were a few minor mistakes with how I presented the data which my professor pointed out. Should I correct these things before publishing or is that not the done thing?


texts: Applying for postdoc positions without first author papers?

texts:
I have almost finished my PhD, and I'm looking for postdoc positions. I have found many of the job specifications mention having a good publication record, and some explicitly say the applicant should have impactful first author papers.

I currently have a first author review article and middle authorship on many original research papers (including several published during my PhD). My own original research paper(s) are 'in preparation' and most likely won't be published for another few months, i.e. after I hope to have secured the postdoc position. I have also presented my work at prestigious national and international conferences.

My question is, as a potential employer, how much weight would you actually put on publication record for a recent PhD? In particular, would you specifically be looking for first author papers, high impact journals etc? And if so, would this be a factor used to throw out applications at the initial stage, or would you consider such an applicant based on other merits?

Edited to add: The field I'm in is biomedical science.


texts: How to find OA free to publish journals with a JCR ranking?

texts:
I would like to find journals that:

are ranked with JCR (no matter how low) and
have open access (anyone can access the papers for free) and
are free to publish (authors are not required to pay)

Maybe I am asking for a unicorn, but I think this should be feasible.
If I'm not mistaken, arxiv.org only fails in the first point. If someone could provide (a link to) a list of such a kind of journals that would be awesome. If such a list does not exist, how would I go about creating a list.


texts: How should I disclose a data extraction error when submitting a revision?

texts:
I was recently asked for a minor revision a review paper submitted, including more detailed reporting on parts of the analysis. When performing this additional analysis, I noticed a big data extraction error which had a small effect on the results and conclusions. It has no relevance to our main conclusion. This wasn't picked up by the peer reviewers, who were generally very positive about the paper and I think it has a good chance of being accepted.
Obviously I intend to correct this error and the conclusions derived from it. What is the proper way to go about disclosing this? My plan was to include this as a general note to all reviewers at the start of the response document before addressing all of their individual comments. Should I explictly point this out to the reviewers and explain, or just fix it without explanation and only address their comments directly in the response?
Any and all suggestions much appreciated.


texts: My department delayed my viva and is being unprofessional. Should I report this?

texts:
I submitted my PhD thesis to my department last August for examination. However, I found out from my supervisor that my department only sent my thesis to examiners last November for examination. So it took them about 3 months to get my thesis to examiners. Before submitting my thesis, my supervisor already has elected examiners to examine my thesis and they all agreed to do so. Thus, there would be no problem in getting examiners to examine my thesis. And crazy thing is, when I confronted the staff who is supposed to handle my thesis examination, she nonchalantly said that she was so busy handling something else and she apologized for purposefully delaying my viva because her plate was full. I was beyond furious to learn how unprofessional she is when handling my thesis. Now I am thinking to lodge a report to the Dean of my school regarding how unprofessional my department was in handling my viva voce. But then, I'm scared that my department will have their vendetta against me when they found out that I made a report. Another option is to lodge a report to the Dean once I graduate from the PhD program but that seems like a cowardly move.

What should I do?


texts: As temporary faculty, how to deal with a colleague who, via email, questions agreements made in a meeting?

texts:
I'm on a short-term contract with a local state university.  I have been teaching there as an adjunct for a while, but a full-time faculty needed to take emergency leave so I was asked to cover their courses.

As part of my full-time responsibilities, I was asked to a meeting for some administrative work that I know something about.  There were four faculty members: the head of department, a recently tenured faculty, and a tenure-track faculty.  During the meeting we divided up the work and said we'd meet in two weeks or so to review it.

There was some discussion about who did what, but the recently tenured faculty said very little.

The next day, that recently-tenured faculty sent an email saying that they had "felt uncomfortable" with how the work was assigned and had a "clear vision" about the part of the work that I had volunteered for.  As I said, the recently-tenured faculty said very little during the meeting and seemed to agree with the outcome.

In addition to the four people who were at the meeting, this email was CCed to the Dean and the rest of the department.

Coming from a commercial, rather than academic, background I found this behavior disturbing and unprofessional.

My full-time contract ends at the end of the calendar year, but I am wondering if you have any advice regarding how I should deal with this  recently-tenured faculty apart from doing the work that I was asked to do during the meeting?  I'd rather have nothing to do with them and, were they in a commercial environment, they would probably be on a PIP (performance improvement plan).

The head of department has been supportive.  The Dean has not weighed in.


texts: Which funding agencies pay their reviewers?

texts:
As in the title of the post... I am interested in engineering or closely related.
Note this is a request for information/facts not an invitation to an intellectual/ethical debate.
Pierrot


texts: Writing a research proposal in mathematics for graduate school

texts:
My question is about research proposal, I want to apply for a PhD program which requires writing a research proposal.

What exactly should I write for the methodology section of a research proposal in the area of mathematics? I have several ideas about my project, but I have not proved anything yet, so how can I know its methodology?


texts: How closely to the deadline should I expect professor to submit reference letter on my behalf?

texts:
I asked a professor to write a reference letter for me and he agreed to it; however, the deadline is coming up and he has yet to submit the letter.

As I am not experienced with the process, I wanted to ask if, based on your experience, it is typical for professors to delay submitting references to the last minute.


texts: Can I get into PhD in Physics with a high GRE score and an unrelated masters degree?

texts:
I recently completed my MBA and have worked in the IT field for the last 7 years. I have an undergraduate degree in mathematics, and have completed 3 physics graduate courses (mechanics, E&M, QM) as an open university student. Is it realistic for me to self study for the physics GRE, get a great score, and then have a chance to be admitted to a physics PhD program?

The physics graduate courses I took were from a master’s school, but I had to pay for these out of my pocket. I though about continuing in that masters program but it is just too expensive given my situation (I have a family and a mortgage).

I want to know if I have a shot at a PhD program without going for the masters and only with a great physics GRE score and a mathematics undergraduate degree.


texts: Conference paper rejected without any fault in algorithm

texts:
I am working on a hard problem in computer science. The problem is NP-complete. Untill now, the fastest algorithm for this problem runs in $O(3^n)$ time and I came up with an algorithm with a time complexity of $O(2.82)^n$. Yet the paper, in which I described my approach, was rejected in three A* conferences. I am wondering why.

First conference: They asked why I did not compare my algorithm with
algorithm X. They appreciated my algorithm and have not found any
fault with it.
Second conference: Now I compared my algorithm with algorithm X.
They asked me why I did not compare it with some parallel algorithm Y.
Again they appreciated my algorithm and have not found any fault
with it.
Third conference: This time I compared my algorithm with algorithm
Y. They did not find any fault with my algorithm and said that it
still is exponential and that for large input number it will take
much time. The paper was rejected. But isn't 2.83^n a clear
improvement over O(3^n)?

I'm at a loss. What should I do next to publish my result in a good conference?


texts: How to deal with dramatic drop in grade due to strict attendance policy

texts:
I'm currently taking a required class where attendance is counted at 15% of the grade.  The policy is that if a student misses more than 2 lectures, they lose all 15% of those points.  The class itself takes place 5 days a week, and attendance is taken daily and uniformly.  I currently hold a 91% in this class, but I missed my third class today and I'm trying to decide how to proceed from here.  I feel like all of the time and effort I've put into the class has been totally discounted for a reason that has nothing to do with my knowledge of the course material.

Am I wrong to feel as though this is an unfair mark?  On one hand, I knew that this policy existed and the consequences for missing 3 classes.  On the other hand, dropping a grade from an A to a C for such a small reason feels absolutely unacceptable to me.  How should I approach this situation to help repair my grade?


texts: Disgruntled with my supervisor - be truthful about this in my semi-annual PhD report?

texts:
I am just done with 2 years of my Ph.D. study. I have some issues with my supervisor. He is repressive, forces his vision on me, e,g, he wants publications in one particular area (and loads of them) to bolster his reputation. He is rude and arrogant and behaves bossy for no reason.

More importantly, I believe that I have not learned the skills which I wanted to during my study. I spend all my time writing mediocre papers and learning very little. I want to mention that in my six-monthly report.

Now the question is that I cannot change my supervisor, I do not care to either. Fighting with him is not my goal. He is incapable of teaching me the skills I want to learn and I have to learn by myself, which I will do. But I wonder if I must say what I feel in my report truthfully and boldly. If I do that, it will annoy my supervisor and there is a good chance he might even decide to not support me in future if I need something.

Advice/suggestions?


texts: What counts as a "project" when a potential employer asks a graduate about recent projects they have completed?

texts: I recently graduated with a BS degree in Physics and I am looking for a job in the tech industry. A common question I get is talking about recent projects, so in general, what kind of assignments in academia counts as useful projects in industry? I've had the pleasure of going to a private institution with one of best science programs in the country, I managed to get coursework and research work in Physics, E.E, Economics, Computer Science, and Computational Biology.


texts: Should I always address both PhD supervisors in emails?

texts:
I am starting my PhD and have two equivalent supervisors at different universities in different cities. I am going to city A first and then later to B and so on.
What is the etiquette regarding emails? Is it impolite to address emails to just one supervisor even if it's not an important subject like informing that I arrived in city A? Should I always send emails to both of them?


texts: How to increase the number of authors followed in Google Scholar?

texts: I have created alerts in google scholar (one alert per researcher). The number of authors I can follow is limited (to 200) and thus I am not able to add more authors. Is it possible follow more authors?  How?


texts: Should I add descriptions of courses taught on my CV

texts: I'm working on my CV right now. I have been teaching EFL at a university for 2 years. It has been my first university position. I am planning on applying at universities back in the States soon. I am educationally-qualified (meaning, I have the degrees required), however I do not have much experience (6 years teaching, only 2 university). I wanted to list as much information as possible, so I have been writing about each course I have taught (about 6 different courses). I have included course name, objective, textbook, and course highlights (meaning unique projects that would set my courses apart). I am wondering if this is necessary or useful?


texts: Is it OK to extract datasets from somebody's paper and work with it in your own papers?

texts:
Let's say David Smith has published a paper a while ago. In this paper there are some results plotted in a graph. I want to use this dataset in my own research and extend it with my own results. Unfortunately, it is not possible to contact David Smith. So I use some of tools mentioned for example in this question to extract the dataset from the plot (which, of course, might introduce some kind of small errors).

Do you consider it as OK if I now publish a paper which includes the old dataset from David Smith + my new data in a new plot? I would, of course, cite the old paper by David Smith. (I might deduce some results from the old+new data that a somewhat different that the original conclusion by David Smith.)


texts: Is it ethical to use a data-set made as a research assistant?

texts:
Two years ago I was a research assistant during my undergraduate and my sole duty was the aggregation of many economic surveys, a very tedious task. This data-set, to my knowledge is one of a kind.

Now in graduate school, I had come up with a research idea, and this data-set that I made would be perfect for my research. My research idea is not related to my previous professors, though as of yet, he has no present publication for the research he was doing when I was working for him.

My question is, would it be ethical for me to use this data-set for my own research when I had made it while being employed for my previous professor. The obvious response would be to ask him but sadly we had a falling-out just before I graduated.


texts: Is it necessary to include and update the status of a paper on arXiv once it has been accepted for publication in a journal?

texts:
Let's suppose you write a paper and you post it on arXiv. If a paper is sent to a journal for peer-review, should you always include this information in the paper comments (including the name of the journal where the paper was sent)?

If the paper is accepted, is it necessary to include in the comments that the paper has been accepted for publication in... (and include the name of the journal)? Or it is better to wait until the paper is published and then include in the comments "Published in... [name of the journal]."?

I understand that it may take some for a paper to be published once accepted.


texts: One more undergraduate year for grad school?

texts:
Would spending one more year as an undergraduate adversely affect my chances of getting into a graduate program?

I wasn't really thinking about economics PhD until recently so my GPA is not too impressive and I lack in math courses so I've decided to spend one more year to boost my GPA taking upper level courses and get a math minor.  However, could the very fact of spending one more year to finish college be a disadvantage of getting into a graduate program?


texts: How do you know if university is right for you?

texts: At the secondary school I went there was an implicit sense that all students were expected to go to university. For example councillors would come into our English classes to give presentations on how to make smooth transition to a university. I guess I always had the assumption that a university degree is necessary to a) make a living and b) make a living doing something you enjoy. Now that I'm a little older and a little more experienced I know this is not always the case. There are plenty of people (especially in business) who did not complete a university program. How do you decide if university is right for you? Is the correct approach to decide on the job you want and then, if university is required, get the degree for it?


texts: Questions about research assistant posts

texts:
Warning: The following are stupid questions. (Read in Kiefer Sutherland's voice)

Question 1 Is it weird or stupid to apply for a research assistant post at some university or research institute, and not a company in industry, with the purpose to gain research experience to boost profile for graduate studies, and why/why not?

I think it could be weird or stupid for the same reason why you shouldn't mention potential graduate study plans during job interviews.
Then again, my understanding of research assistant posts is that they wouldn't be for long term employment as is the case in industry, say, "research" analyst jobs in industry. Rather research assistant posts are usually on temporary contract. So, yeah, I am just doing this with the intention to apply for a PhD because I'm apparently not yet good enough to get into a PhD program.
Based on what I've read online, this is the baby version of a postdoc, so postdoc is to faculty applications as research assistant is to PhD applications.

Question 2 Who are the usual applicants of research assistant posts?

I can't think of any applicants for research assistant posts besides people exactly in my situation: wants to go to grad school, is waiting in some process of grad school applications (for the application period to start, for the results of application to come out or, for those already accepted, for the semester to start) or wants to boost profile for grad school. Please enlighten for other cases.

Question 3 What's the difference between a research assistant post and an internship in industry?

I think I recall seeing some research assistant posts that pay as much as a full time job in industry, so I'm guessing research assistant posts are not necessarily simply academic versions of internships in industry. I think things like this are academic versions of internships in industry. But my understanding is that they are both short-term. I guess a research assistant post would be analogous to a temporary contract job in industry.

Question 4 To confirm, if research assistant posts are indeed on temporary contract or short-term, is there indeed a risk for someone to quit their regular full time industry job hoping that a research assistant post will boost their grad school application profile?

Background:

Since I graduated master's in 2015-6, I started work as a maths teacher at a branch of a company that is something like Kumon. I guess I haven't done research there.
I'm waiting for results for PhD/MPhil applications for 2018-9. I already got rejected for one (well technically I'm not on the list of applicants who got initially offered admission, so I guess I could still be accepted if others on the list back out), and I think I'll be rejected for others.
ETA: Not sure if this counts but I actually got accepted for an interview a few days after the deadline (early December 2017) for one university but the PhD position given to me by the professor said something like "experienced in XX" which I don't have. I'm still waiting to hear back from the university.
For 2019-20 applications, I am thinking to boost my profile by, among others, working as a research assistant, either full time or part time. In the former case, I'll have to quit my job. In the latter case, I think I can downgrade to part time.

The following are related questions:

How can I improve my research experience for PhD application?

How to boost academic profile for Master's application

How to gain research experience after master program?

If I cannot get sufficient recommendation letters, what can I do?


texts: MSc Programme without a Postgraduate Certificate or Diploma

texts:
I'm currently applying to an MSc programme at Imperial College London but at the bottom of the page for each of the programmes I am considering, it states the following:

"A Postgraduate Certificate and Postgraduate Diploma are not available on this programme."

Is this usual for MSc programmes? What exactly does it mean?


texts:
I am a graduate student in the U.S., specifically California although I am not sure it matters.

After three months in the American university system I am almost convinced there is an organizational level plot to ignore my emails, or people's emails in general. From Health Centre personnel to personal advisors it seems no one manages to answer an email.

Over the course of four weeks I emailed this employee at the Student Health Centre, not once, not twice, but four times. Each time I would receive an automated response "We are very busy bla bla bla will reply in 48 hours", and each time I patiently waited a week without response...After a month I decided that the only way to get an answer to my question was to corner said employee in their office and ask them!

Later during the quarter, I attempt to get in touch with my advisor. I get an half baked reply to my first email (it seems they couldn't be bothered reading past the halfway mark), and then nothing to my several other emails. (Just to be clear, I am not spamming anyone. We are talking about one email per week at most) As it turns out, said advisor went on sabbatical leave between my first and second email - and didn't bother to inform anyone or set up automated email responses...

Even later during the quarter, I get a new advisor. I email said advisor asking to set up an appointment since they need to sign one of my forms. As you can imagine...nothing, no reply, nada. Send another email a week later....nothing, tumbleweeds in my inbox.

Over the four years of my undergraduate degree, I think only one of my emails did not receive a reply. Given that my undergraduate was in the U.K., is there something about the American system that makes people not reply to their emails?

I am aware that most graduate lecturers have outside jobs, but it seems even in person some staff have little to no clue as to what their task is, they are slow in getting back to you, and are not helpful in general.

I was just wondering if the issues I am encountering are related specifically to my university of if it is an American issue?

Thanks!


texts: Are undergraduate journals a good choice for publishing papers?

texts:
I am 18 years old (high school undergraduate) but I have had my first scientific paper published by the age of 16 to a regular (non-undergraduate) journal. However, I am preparing some papers for publication related to Computer Vision, Computational Geometry and Scientific Software and, through a scholastic search at the Internet I found that there are some undergraduate journals that are often more flexible to what is being published since they contain undergraduate articles, as well as in the reviewing process.

So, generically speaking, are undergraduate journals a good choice for publications even for someone that has already published some of his work to regular journals? I know that it heavily depends on the content and the significance of the contributions being discussed in the paper but do undergraduate journals trigger the interest from other researchers to cite work and get informed from them?


texts: Trouble with advisor in final Ph.D. phase

texts:
I am a 6th year Ph.D. student in the sciences. The typical duration of a Ph.D. in my program at my institution is 5 years. I am months away from finishing the last component of my research; however, issues have arisen.

I am having strong doubts that my advisor cares about my success in my future career. In addition, she is forcing me to graduate in 2 months. While I myself would very much like to graduate as early as possible, I am faced with a series of challenges:
1. There is unfinished research work. While I'm not trying to solve the problem at hand completely, I do wish to produce something of quality, and for the manuscript under preparation to have a reasonable chance of being accepted.
2. I wish to spend adequate time preparing my thesis.
3. I need time to prepare postdoc and job application materials.

While someone as capable as my advisor may be able to finish all these in the time allotted, knowing myself, these tasks will take more than two months for me. And yes, I've discussed this with her many times, and she has been quite adamant about not financially supporting me after two months.

Recently, she has also asked me to withdraw my paper in a respected international conference, which has been accepted and selected for a meritorious award.

My specific questions are:

As a student, I may not understand the rationale of the decisions of my advisor, who is not only technically competent but abreast of the research community. However, I am having strong doubts that my advisor is advising in my best interest. I've had several arguments with her about the remaining work and I feel even if I do somehow defend my Ph.D., we will be on negative terms thereafter. Is it uncommon for Ph.D. students to leave on less-than-amicable terms with their advisor?
One of the options I've thought of is changing research advisors. However, I'd rather not change my research topic - the scope of my dissertation research has been approved my Committee after all. So, is it likely that a faculty member would be willing to serve as the Chairman of my committee in a topic only peripherally related to his/her expertise? As my advisor is senior in her field, I'd think a junior faculty member is unlikely to take on this role, in avoiding any run-ins with my advisor. Are there other considerations I've missed that may discourage a senior faculty member from agreeing to be my Chairman? (The university department is usually able to provide funding to students in their final semesters, so financial support may not be an issue.) And my committee members are either junior faculty or close collaborators with my advisor, so I doubt any of them would be willing to replace my advisor as the Chairman. Should my new advisor approve of my work, he/she may also serve a reference, which I will very much need for my upcoming job search.

Thank you. All advice is surely welcome.


texts: In conference review process, what do "author response" and "author notification" mean?

texts:
I just visited a conference website where organizers, for the submitted paper review process, listed a date for paper submission, a date for "author response", and another date for "author notification".

It's the first time I see this double wording.
I suppose that "author notification" is when they communicate to authors if their papers have been accepted or not, but what does "author response" stand for?

Thanks


texts:
I have earned a PhD last year in materials science (semiconductor processing). Now I find myself in a job where most of the work is managing other people. To mee it seems like most of my former colleagues at university share the same fate.

What are your experiences? Have some of you found a job in industrial research which is really hands on like at university?
In particular I am interested in the field of semiconductor processing.


texts:
I have BSc and MSc in Chemistry, and I have enrolled in a PhD project in Europe since mid of last year. The project is funded by the food department that means I would officially be a "PhD in Food Science" after completion.
I think I have made the wrong decision to be here because I want to find a position in chemistry department or industry. I have checked job advertisements from chemistry institutions and found that none of them hiring PhD in Food even for the subfield (not Food chemistry, unfortunately) I'm working on.
Chemistry is a highly competitive field and I think I would lose my competence. I also doubt if I'm qualified to be a food scientist without previous education in food.
In the end, my choice would be to quit or stick it out. But I'm debating if an MSc in A plus PhD in B better than MSc in A for a job in A field. Anyone have experienced this situation before?


texts: What can a student who is already studying hard do to improve low grades?

texts:
I have been studying hard for the past year and a half (it's my second year of Computer Science) while not getting remotely close to the desired results. I passed my first year with a 7.2 GPA (5 (failing grade) - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 (best)) which is very low given that I want to master in applied maths or an area revolving around that.

I'm doing 6 hours a day Monday to Thursday, 10 hours a day Friday and Saturday, and on Sunday I try to rest a little. I rest every 30-45 minutes for 5-15 minutes. Now, I'm isolating myself, sacrificing my social life, among other things. I'm feeling angry at myself every time I get the exam results or when a deadline passes and I haven't finished the lab/project.

I even started eating healthier because I thought unhealthy food was the problem.

What can a student in this situation do to earn better grades?

P.S: I do like what I study, no matter how angry I get, I know I will wake up the next day and head to the library/school.


texts: I have made my independent research available as a book on my website. Why is it not celebrated by the mathematics community?

texts:
Some mathematicians said that general topology in general and theory of proximity spaces in particular are dead (meaning that no new discoveries appear in this field of mathematics).

I have discovered a theory which generalizes general topology in general and theory of proximity spaces in particular, opening a new major area of research.

It is described in this draft book.

So general topology "resurrected".

Where are the celebration and fireworks proclaiming: "General topology is alive!"?

I am an amateur mathematician and my speaking English (and also my purse to buy air tickets) is still not good enough to participate in scientific conferences.

I am not allowed to submit to either arXiv or nLab.

Something is wrong: There should be a celebration of general topology being alive, but this does not happen. What is wrong?

Well, one thing because which this does not happen is that I have not (yet) solved any specific open problem (not counting open problems which I myself formulated). But what else keeps the world off celebration?

My question is not a duplicate of Publishing vs. putting work online under a free license because at that question I ask about how citing (not acceptance in general) of my work may be influenced by its license and method of publication. Here I however ask about acceptance (not citing) of my work independently on its method of publication.

It is surely not a duplicate of I believe I have solved a famous open problem. How do I convince people in the field that I am not a crank?, because in this situation I have not solved a famous open problem.

It is not a duplicate of Creating a community around my research book, because in that question I ask what to do but in this question why does it happen. These are entirely different questions.


texts:
When creating online learning materials, I like the idea of sharing slideshows with audio commentary for each slide.  I know it is possible to do this with PowerPoint (e.g., see this MS Office tutorial).
However, I prefer to create PDF slides using tools like beamer.

Questions

Is it possible to create PDF presentations with embedded audio?
What is a good workflow for implementing this (e.g., recording the audio files, storing the audio files, sharing, etc.?

Ideally, the solution would be cross-platform and minimise external viewer requirements.


texts: When to include degree classifications on a CV

texts: I've looked at some CV's from colleagues and superiors that I've worked with in academia, and one interesting thing I've noticed is that most of them don't mention if they've graduated with distinction (cum laude, first class etc), but for me it's crucial to mention. At what point is it not necessary to include? Does some amount of academic experience such as publications trump whatever the honors one received when graduating to the point where it's not necessary to include? Is this done because potential employers aren't interested after the person has a solid enough background in academia post graduation and degree conferral or is it simply not worth the whitespace?


texts: Citation of a website: How to determine the year?

texts: If there is a web article (or even a website) without a date of publication, is there a chance to determine a year of publication for a complete reference of it? Or should it omitted in the reference?


texts: Benefit in listing major rejections in one's CV?

texts:
I ran across an assistant professor's CV which had a category that outlined major rejections. The category listed items like how many times they were rejected from graduate programs, the most times a manuscript got rejected prior to being published, how many times they failed to secure a research grant, etc. I have never seen any other scholar's CV that had such a category.

I personally thought that this was refreshing to see where one was humble enough to outline their major failures in light of their impressive accomplishments, especially considering how the academic sphere can be rather... ego-inflated.

Is there a benefit to doing so, or would it be construed as something problematic? Or would it largely depend on where someone is in their career (e.g., Grad Student vs. Tenure-Track Assistant Professor vs. Tenured Full Professor vs. Distinguished Professor, etc.)?

It's somewhat similar to this question, but also unique in that it's not as specific as listing which conferences or papers got rejected--it's just a numeric category that says something like "Rejected from 3 Grad Programs" rather than "Rejected from Harvard, Yale, Princeton".


texts: Is it unusual for a collaborator to ask for funding for a very short project?

texts:
I am working on a paper that requires a comparison method to be implemented. The method of choice is not in my discipline. I asked a collaborator, who is an expert in the area and with whom I have several papers published, if he could implement it. It is about a week worth of work, most likely less. Both the collaborator and his professor would get an authorship on the paper.

His professor said that the project can be only done if I had funding for him. The collaborator is already funded through an external fellowship. The project does not require any purchases. Is this an unusual request?


texts: Does an author have to submit an article to Math databases once it has been published in a journal?

texts: Let us suppose one publishes an article in a peer-reviewed journal that is archived, indexed, etc. in databases such as Zentralblatt, ResearchBib, etc. Does the author have to manually submit his/her information and his/her journal article to those databases, or this is done automatically by the journal or by such databases?


texts: Publishing in 'leftist' journals or book projects: Impact on career?

texts:
I am aware that this question is of different relevance for each science field. I am asking as a social scientist/sociologist here. The line between research and own political opinions is more or less clear/diffuse for other fields.

In short, my field of research is relevant to some more or less intense political discussions, especially coming from the political 'left'. Along with my own political believes (which I don't discuss here), publishing in some journals or book projects is interesting for me a) because it advances my research on specific topics b) it allows me to articulate critique and take a position in public discourse c) advance critical sciences and critique in my field -- and in society as well.

Is it a problem for a pursuit of an academic career, if I publish some papers in 'political biased' journals/books? Of course my own choice of jobs/funding etc. is selective and tends to exclude opportunities that are for example 'too conservative' for me. However, sometimes you cannot chose freely. Further, said publications can be omitted in my publications list; but internet makes one transparent. Has anyone of you made any experience in the either way? Or has anyone expierienced conflicts?


texts: graduate student credit for work on a paper

texts: I am a graduate student with a question about credit for work that I did. I contributed design, data collection, analysis and writing for a paper for which I am almost certainly not being credited as an author.  Though I have tried, I have not and am not expecting to make headway with the PI and first author to address issues clearly and fairly.  I am also pretty certain the PI would find a way to retaliate if I push this issue with others. I am not sure if it is better to just give up and graduate or continue to push because I think I am right and I have put a lot of effort into this project.  Would you please offer advice?


texts: The Priority Criteria for Selecting The Principal Advisor

texts:
Long story short, I have left behind a toxic PI and now I am considering applying for another labs at different demographic locations, however, I found it little bit harder to make a thorough decision. One of the challenges that hinders me to make a selection is different feedback from many students from different labs, I have asked them and there is their response as follows.

A star professor at a high ranking university:  One of his student told me he doesn't have time to manage the lab by himself and as a sequence, he hired postdocs to be intermediate between him and his students. In retrospect, the student informed that he had tried to leave the lab at the beginning, however, they continue and mentioning that he benefit from his PI's reputation. Adding that, he and other colleagues suffered from anxiety and chronic stress due to the demand of having highly quality research papers.
Intermediate professor not very well: His student told me he is not qualified to work with students, but the student told me that she doesn't feel so much pressure on her research.
Junior PI: I think it could be risky as I don't have any background about their supervision history. However, what makes interested to contact them as they did good research and we have the same passion for this research line which triggers me to contact them.

My previous experience with ex-PI, he was not junior and not star, but he did research for more than 14 years, however, he didn't help me in my research or even writing papers besides being abusive and very destructive person.

The question is : If am going to select the new PI which very critical decision, how I should consider these scenarios, for sure, I avoid PI in  the influence circle of the ex-PI as I have been advised before, but what are other key corners I should bear in my mind.

I know we cannot make sweeping generalization, however, I would like to hear from the academia community if your have any prior experience or recommendation I should consider to make a reasonable decision regarding the PI selection.


texts: what is the best starting point to prepare for graduate school if you are not well equipped?

texts:
I suffered seriously from both bipolar disorder and major depression during my undergraduate*. It took me 7.5 years to graduate (including 1.5 year suspended from school due to bipolar disorder), with GPA near 2.0. (Furthermore, I do not fully understand the material in the core courses - approximately 15% of them, mostly last chapters.)

From the day I left school with a bachelor in physics, I have given it carefully thought for literally half year, and determined to pursue a career in physics science. I understand it well what it takes, and what I will face.

Right now, I am studying statistical physics on my own from John Perskill's open courses on Youtube, I work the problem set and do the reading (and ask questions on Stackexchange), as well as teaching myself a few minor things (such as Mathematica)

So far, my recent priority is building a solid understanding of physics (at least the cores courses in undergrad; ideally even includes quantum field theory.), as well as equipping myself with programming skills, before being fluent in a specific field, then I will be looking for a position of research assistant, and publish research result in 2 or 3 years, such that I have a shot when I apply to American graduate schools (along with maintaining my health).

My question is: what is the best point to start, given my current situation?

*Information: I studied in Asia. and would like to do graduate studies in Physics in the States, Japan or Europe.


texts: Fun experiment on memory: for data of one subject (myself), is there a name for it?

texts:
I'm doing a year experiment on memory and I'm the only subject. I will be done collecting data in 2 months. I've been using software to evaluate myself daily as I collect data.

Is there a name in the literature for such kind of experiments where you evaluate yourself?

(NOTE: I won't publish my results, it's only for fun and to have an educated guess of my progress in memorizing).


texts: Is an Additional degree required to qualify myself for post doc/industry position outside my area of expertise?

texts:
Can someone with a Ph.D in field X get a job in academia or industry in field Y, even if the  job posting says "PhD in field Y required?". If not how will going back to get a second post graduate degree be looked upon by academic and industry employers in field Y?

Background:

I am finishing my PhD in Mathematics and am currently on the job market.   Ideally, I would land a math post-doc position, however, I have also been looking at industry jobs (as some of these would be more satisfactory than say a 4/4 teaching load or 3/3 or whatever it would be), but most of these seem to indicate that I would need a M.S. or PhD in Computer Science.I have a background in math as well as in C.S. (B.S. in C.S., B.A. in Math).

If I don't get a post doc offer, I am considering attending a school for a master's in C.S. in machine learning or a related field.  Considering I have all the math background, I believe I would be a good candidate for a M.S. or PhD in C.S.  And there are a lot of interesting problems where the two areas overlap.

Is it reasonable to return for a second degree if I don't get my dream post-doc offers, especially to make myself more marketable to industry?  I am seriously considering this option.


texts: Should there be a space between a value and the units used?

texts:
When preparing a technical report or paper, is it better (more readable, more common) to use a space between each value and the units for it, or no space?

With space: 10 mA
Without space: 10mA


texts: Changing mailing and e-mail addresses as corresponding author--which to include?

texts:
I finished my undergrad last year and have since been working in the private sector.  I'm about to submit a paper with my senior thesis results.  Two questions about corresponding author information:

I'm listing my current affiliation in the private sector for various reasons.  We are moving offices, and our address will be changing in about 3 months.  Should I use the new mailing address or the old mailing address?  I know it's kind of silly since nobody sends mail anymore, but I'm curious either way.
I will probably be going to grad school in a couple of years, and my private sector e-mail will not be accessible if I leave.  Would it be passé for me to list my @gmail.com address for correspondence to ensure I'm always reachable?

Thanks!


texts: What are the Do's and Don'ts of Computer Science PhD viva?

texts:
Going into ones viva, there are obvious do's and don'ts. For example, do not try to show off, do be prepared to go into an in-depth discussion...

What, in your experience as either the PhD candidate or the examiner, would you consider the do's and don'ts to be for a candidate in a Computer Science PhD viva?

I am a PhD student in the UK.


texts: Papers from different authors with similar results submitted to the same conference

texts:
Me and my coauthors have recently submitted a paper to conference X. By talking to colleagues I discovered that another set of authors have had a very similar result, and submitted their paper to conference X.

Basically, the result is a theorem that solves an open problem stated in a paper which appeared at conference X in the previous year. The new theorem is essentially the same in both papers, but the proofs are very different.

What happens in this case?


texts: Can I change my academic affiliation after a conference paper is accepted but before submitting the camera ready version?

texts:
My case is the following; I was doing independent research while I was working in a university, which, by the way I did not use any resource from that place of work at all. During the time I was at this university, a conference came up where I saw the possibility to submit my research, and because they asked for an academic affiliation to be put in the paper; I put the one of my then current work-place.

While I was waiting for a decision from the conference on whether my paper would be accepted, I got a part time job in another university. The good thing about this new place is that they have offered me that they would pay any expenses related to research publication. I know that they have not said that straightforward, but I suppose that they want me to put them as my academic affiliation.

Now the paper has got accepted, and I have to make the final version of it, so I was wondering if it would be possible that I can change my academic affiliation to the new place which has offered to pay the expenses for me?

Can I do that?


texts: Pursuing PhD with no relevant coursework. Is self study and publications sufficient to show competence?

texts:
I am from metallurgical engineering background. I am doing PhD in mechanical engineering. I have an average of B+ in my undergrad advanced mathematics and programming courses. I have no past exposure to Non linear mechanics and Finite Element Analysis.

I am in the first semester of my PhD and I don't have the courses on Nonlinear mechanics and Finite element analysis being offered in my university for the next two years.

If I manage to self study the material from books and publish 2-3 papers on the application of the subjects in the next 5 years, will that be enough to show competency in the topics on my future career applications?


texts: In my freshman year of undergrad I was a chemistry major. However, I hated it and because I hated it I did not do well in my chemistry classes. Because of this, I cheated on a midterm as well as a problem set by over collaborating with another person. I got caught and was called in - but long story short, I ended up confessing and was put on leave for a term. During this term I spent a lot of time thinking about what I did, volunteered at a summer camp, and spent my time productively. I truly regret what I did but I cannot change the past. When I came back, I switched my major to math because I hated chemistry and I wanted to pursue my true passion. However, I now soon will apply to graduate school for math. I am planning on disclosing the academic dishonesty I committed during my freshman year. Nonetheless, I am worried that my application will be dismissed entirely because of my cheating incident. Obviously cheating is a big red flag in any student's application. But will I even have a chance at being accepted at say a mid tier math graduate school? Will it help if I manage to get the undergraduate dean whom I confessed to, to write a letter on my behalf?


texts: Does publishing in a journal and getting cited constitute a "contribution to knowledge"?

texts: If I publish my research in a respected journal and I get cited a few times in less than a year (cited as part of the literature review and background of my field), does this mean my work is a "contribution to knowledge"?


texts: Path to AI research from math undergrad, no CS background?

texts:
Suppose someone has a math bachelors with a developing interest in AI research but has not taken a single computer science course.
Is it advisable to "start over" and try to be admitted to a masters program in computer science, perhaps by taking prerequisite courses as a non degree student somewhere?
Or is it possible to approach the field from the perspective of statistics, getting an MS in Data Science or Statistics and self-teaching programming and CS along the way, before applying to a CS PhD?
In other words, is there really any AI or machine learning research being done in most statistics departments?


texts: Research assistant in Germany. When is it possible to switch projects

texts:
I'm a research assistant (Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter) in Germany in a BMBF funded project. I just got an offer to join a project that has a longer runtime than my current project and offers more opportunities. My professor is supports the switch. My role in the team is vital to the project (full time position) and there is no replacement for me in sight. There is a colleague who could to my part of the work but that would mean that he would have to qualify for the position (learning effort, etc.) and has less time for his role.

I'm relatively new in the position of a research assistant so I don't know how the legal situation is here. Is such a switch from a legal perspective even possible when the project is not done? How to justify the switch? Could someone dispute the switch, considering my new role was not advertised publicly?