texts: What actions can I take about an I-do-your-homework website offering academic fraud services for money?

texts:
I came across a website specific to my country (EU/Hungary) that offers to commit academic fraud. Basically, they offer to solve assignments, homework, even online tests, for money. The student sends them the assignment and the money, and he gets back the written solutions. No coaching or live discussion involved.
This website is actively advertised in sponsored posts on a Facebook page that is very popular among the student in my country - more than 50.000 followers - so I'm sure a lot of them this.  I feel like something must be done against a service offering services that are "academically illegal", even if they probably made up some half-sound legal ground.
I'm worried about the existence and widespread advertisement of this "service". I don't like that it enables unfair advantage of rich students, who can pay them for every assignment they have. Also, maybe some desperate students use their service and gets in big trouble. Even it's very existence degrades the common belief in academic integrity.
Should I take some actions, or let it go? What are the best actions I, a student, could take against this website?


texts: Is it safe for a student to give negative feedback in student evaluations?

texts:
It's common for students to be asked for their evaluations of a teacher/course at the end of the semester. Is it safe for the student to give negative feedback? After all, even if the lecturer will not see these evaluations until after the grading is completed, it's possible the student will want to work under the lecturer in the future as a research student, or take another course by the same lecturer.

In my experience, back when I was a student, nothing negative actually happened to me when I did this. The closest was an incident at the university housing, when I sent negative feedback about the catering. The warden came to my room threatening to expel me unless I apologized. I refused to send any more feedback when they asked for it at the end of my program.

However, this question (and answers) is making me wonder if I got lucky. Did I? How common is it for the student to suffer negative consequences for giving negative feedback?

Edit: about anonymity, I recall giving handwritten feedback, which is not likely to be truly anonymous since one can compare the handwriting vs. assignments. One university had an online evaluation form, but it warned respondents that the names would be revealed to the lecturer (although it also said it will only be done when the grading was completed). Truly anonymous online feedback forms seems pretty courageous because of the online disinhibition effect, I can easily see things like this happening.


texts: For my PhD, should I go with the more prestigious university, or the one that is a better research match?

texts:
I will be starting a PhD in computer science in the UK this year, but have to decide between two offers that I'm pretty torn about. I've communicated with the supervisors from both universities in detail and contacted current graduate students there, and feel I have all the information I need, but am still struggling to decide.
University A has a very reputable department with a lot of academic staff and graduate students in it. The academic community here seems bigger and more vibrant than I am used to, which would be a big learning experience. At University A, I would be funded to work with a younger supervisor who's pretty early in their career and who can offer me more office hours due to less academic duties. However, our research interests don't align as closely.
University B's department is also of a very good standard, but is less prestigious than University A's. It is also significantly smaller, both in terms of staff and students. I have previously spent 1 year at University B and know that the research being conducted there is a closer match to what I want to work on. The supervisor here is more established and is well-liked by the community, but has more academic duties.
Funding from both places is comparable and I believe both supervisors would be good mentors both academically and personally, so the two options seem to be equal on these points. Even though the student community is very important to me, I would be willing to sacrifice the better community at University A in favour of working on my preferred research at University B. What I am more hesitant about is whether choosing the less prestigious option now will hurt me in the future when looking for jobs (ideally, I want to stay in academia). I'm under the impression that going to the more well-known institution would put me in a better position and provide me with more options when applying for postdocs.
I appreciate that I'm very privileged to be in this position in the first place, and am thankful for the opportunities in front of me, but I've been thinking this over for weeks and still haven't made up my mind. What I find the most scary is that it feels as though where and with whom I do my PhD will stay with me for the rest of my academic career. I would appreciate any feedback from people who have been in similar positions in the past, and/or tips on what I should prioritise when making my final decision.
Thank you!


texts: I reported several students for cheating, will anything ever be done by the math dept?

texts:
There was an elaborate scheme to cheat on an in-class final exam a couple of semesters ago.  Students in the back of the room set up an exam-swapping strategy: circle a problem that you didn't know how to do, and pass it along to someone who may be able to solve / prove it for you, and hand it back over to you.

I sat in the first row, so I had no clue about this until the end of the (very tricky and very long) exam.  The very old professor, charming, still very sharp, and very great at teaching, was busy grading algebra final exams from his other section of class that he taught that semester.  He was probably completely oblivious to the activity around the back of the classroom.

So, these students bragged with lots of chuckles and smiles, and I had told one person that he must report this; his answer was simply, "no, I can't, because I was in on it, too."

I met with the professor, whom I have a good relationship with, and he simply said thank you and that he'll report it to the Department.

He focused a bit more on his belief that "those students eventually won't be able to deliver the goods" and to "believe in karma, they will get theirs."

Is there any way the Department could have looked into this and done something about it?  I am at peace with what has happened, and I have moved on, but I am also curious about the internal workings of a respected math department, and how it deals with elaborate cheating schemes.


texts:
I am a latinamerican student and I am not sure about the responses from potential PhD adviser email responses, I had a very nice interview with one of them who told me that he enjoyed our conversation ( our interview) two days later he wrote me an email in which he said that " I enjoyed our conversation a lot" and that he decided on aother candidate. He also said " be assure that you did an excellent job I just simply had to make a decision"

Is this genuine ? or a polite way to reject me?  I would prefer the truth from a PhD adviser in order to improve other interviews!

In my Country too much politness is not used

Thanks in advance


texts: Statement of purpose: how to give motivations for applying to a certain graduate school without stating the obvious or gratuitous flattery?

texts:
In a statement of purpose (for graduate admission, in mathematics), how can one address the question of "why do you want to attend this university?"  without making it sound like I'm stating the obvious or giving out gratuitous flattery?

In paticular, for reference's sake, I'd be interested in reading some sample statements where this issue is addressed smoothly.


texts:
Is it acceptable to use references as a subject in a sentence (in the context of academic writing, preferably in computer science)?

For example:

  An extensive research has been done on eye capture by [Bérard
  et al. 2014].

Versus:

  An extensive research has been done on eye capture by Bérard
  et al. [Bérard et al. 2014].

I feel like it removes tautology and makes the text easier on eyes. Moreover, I have seen published papers where authors write like this (although not many). However, it is considered to be bad style by a couple of people who I have asked. Their reasoning is that a reference should be an additional information and if you remove all references from the text, the text should still be complete and make sense. I understand this reason, but I feel like there are no real cases when this can be needed.


texts: In IEEE format, How to cite a website when no author name is given?

texts:
Problem

I have to cite this webpage. However, no author name is given there.

What I have found?

This and this one have referred, when we do not find author name, the title moves to the first position of the reference entry. However, it is in the APA style. From this one, I understand that I should use organization / Company name regarding the website, when no author name is mentioned.

My Question

In IEEE format, Should I use organization name in citation of a webpage when no author name is given? Citation of this webpage in IEEE format is given below as an example:

RSPH Authority . "Instagram ranked worst for young people’s mental health." https://www.rsph.org.uk/about-us/news/instagram-ranked-worst-for-young-people-s-mental-health.html (Accessed Sept. 28, 2019)


texts: Ethics of scraping "public" data sources to obtain email addresses

texts:
I am wondering whether the following research practice is ethical.

A software engineering researcher downloads source code repositories from Github, a large source of publicly available open source code.  The researcher searches the git commit logs to find email addresses of software developers who have committed to a project, and uses these email addresses to send them an email asking them to participate in a survey.  If the recipient clicks on the link to the survey, the survey contains an appropriate briefing and obtains informed consent.  The researcher follows all institutional and legal requirements related to human subjects research.  The researcher limits the number of emails sent to only the number of participants they think they will need to test their hypotheses.  However, at least one recipient of this email is annoyed that the researcher obtained their email address in this fashion and sent them unsolicited email.

Is this an ethical research practice?  In particular, what would be the relevant ethical principles or ethical framework for analyzing this question?  I've read a bunch of papers and backgrounders on ethics in human subject research and in engineering research, but they seem focused on other issues.  Are there accepted norms or guidelines relating to this sort of situation?  Has it been considered in other fields, such as the social sciences?

A possible argument that the practice is ethical: The data source is publicly available, and the email addresses were collected from this publicly available data.  Developers chose to make their software repository publicly available, and they should assume that any information contained in it are public.  Developers who don't want to be contacted could have configured their git client specially to use a different email address.  The research will benefit our understanding of the science of software development.  Subjects have an opportunity to decide whether or not to participate in the survey.  Participant confidentiality will be protected, and all responses will be treated anonymously.  The research complies with all legal and compliance requirements.  From a legal perspective, the emails are not "spam", since the unsolicited email was not sent for a commercial purpose.

A possible argument that the practice is unethical: Software developers probably would not expect someone to scrape email addresses from the git commit logs.  Their email address might be contained in a publicly available data set, but some developers might expect/consider the information private, or at least not public and free for unrestricted use.  Some developers might object that it is one thing to use email addresses that are publicly listed on their Github profile page, but it is another thing to extract private email addresses that are provided as part of their git configuration, and that their understanding of social norms is that the email addresses automatically inserted into the commit logs by their git client were not intended for this purpose.  Some software developers might object to having an unwanted email message in their inbox or find the practices "creepy".

Please note: I am not asking about IRBs, legal requirements, or compliance.  I am super-familiar with those considerations.  Assume that the researcher has complied faithfully with all of those requirements that are applicable in their country.  I'm not asking about that aspect.  In my view, researchers have an independent obligation to conduct research in an ethical manner, and to exercise their own judgement in avoiding unethical behavior, even if is legally permitted or approved by an IRB.


texts: Is it advisable (or even usual) to invite a foreign member of doctoral jury to give a lecture just after the defense? Or is it inappropriate?

texts:
I will have my doctoral defense next month, in Italy. In my jury there's a foreign member, who comes on purpose from Belgium (I know him in person and I invited him to be member of the jury, through my supervisor).
I had two opposite advices.
Somebody told me that it is usual, in this situation, to invite the foreign member to give a lecture at my Department, after the defense (in the afternoon). They say that it is a great occasion, and that he would happy of doing it (or, even, he would be upset if not invited).
Somebody else told me that it is not polite, that he could feel forced and that, after the discussion, maybe he would like just to go around the city and relax.


texts: Why does the director of graduate studies want me to keep my TAship, even though I obtained a scholarship of my government?

texts:
I am a first year math phd student. I could get a scholarship from my government and notified the director of graduate studies of my department (which is now my provisional advisor) that I wish to decline my TAship position for the next term. He advised me to think more about it and told me to think about it 2 more weeks. He told me that I should keep being a TA.

Well, my TA duties are a burden and I do not learn nothing of math from it. Besides that, it drives me crazy. I do really detest having to deal with those undergrad students. I prefer to devote myself to learn and then do my research. But my advisor wants me to think more about it, Why? If I am not a TA, I could have more time to work on my advisor's projects. Besides that, I do not think my department would have any trouble to find another TA. My school is not Harvard but it is ranked among the 30 best of USA, so there is a lot of people that want to be a TA there.

Why does my advisor want me to keep being a TA?


texts: When do researchers decide to be listed as last author?

texts:
As I see, most if not all Ph.D. students strive to be listed as the first author of the research paper, then followed by coauthors and finally the Prof who is responsible for the lab.

While I am checking my professor previous publications; I noticed that over the last 30 years my professor name slides from being the first author to second and lately the last-mentioned name in the affiliation list.

For my understanding, the first author is always the person who contributed the most to the manuscript. So when/how do these professors decide to stop being first authors and be listed as the last author?


texts:
This is something I've been confused ever since I started my undergraduate research.

My research related to User Interfaces. Based on some of the previous years undergraduate research or from some research in the same year as me, as far as I see, have these steps:

Suppose we wants to design new interface for a system-X
We do the survey about the interface of system-like-X (but not X) to the users
From the survey, we get the data: what the users don't like from the present system interface, which part should be improved, etc
Then, we propose the new design based on that data
We then, again, test that new design with users

And now, my steps, according to my advisor

You design the new interface
Test it

I'm so confused, because, based on what would I design the interface? What standard or principle I should used? Also, in my case, I have to implement or develop the testing tools myself, which means that I got more work to do compared to my friend's workload. Could that be why step 1-3 skipped? But this is academic, I can't say the reason I choose that design is because "well, because that feels good/looks nice!". But my advisor never told me by what should I based my design on, she just "Yes, you design it first". But that's not my question here.

My questions are:
In this case, where if I do not base  my research on data, by what should I based it on? Should I use a principle to back it on or what? Is there a research method like this? What is the name of this research method?

In case I ask in wrong place or there's lack of information, please tell me.


texts: Switching between different graduate departments within the same graduate school?

texts:
How difficult it is to switch between different graduate departments within the same graduate school? And how can a student initiate the process?

Some have told me that it's easier than getting into a graduate department via PhD admissions. But I do wonder - does it depend on what school it is? (I'm at Brown). What other factors determine how easy it is to get into another graduate department? Would they look at your transcript/GRE scores/etc? I have GRE scores of 96th percentile Verbal/96th percentile Math/99th percentile Analytical/89th percentile Biology. My grades are weaker though. I'm currently a student in a Geoscience department and am considering switching to Physics or a Biology-related field.

Of course, one has to convince someone else to be able to take them on. Most of my experience is with Physics and Scientific Computing, however, and a lot of fields really value the skills that people in Physics/Scientific Computing have.


texts:
I have applied to a very well-known institution for PhD in Europe. They evaluate students first and then match them with advisors, so this is not a position with a specific supervisor; an admission committee will decide, not a single supervisor.
I am thinking about an interview that one will have with them. This university has almost the best group in my field and is extremely famous for it. It’s obvious that many students, who are interested in this field, want to study there. I was thinking about the following question in their interview, and how I should answer?
“Why did you decide to apply to this institution/Why in particular this university?”
I am having a hard time in preparing an honest while strong answer to this question. The problem is that, as I said, it’s obvious they’re good and I think they aren’t interested in hearing this from an applicant. At the same time, that’s basically my reason for applying there: since there are great professors there, very talented students, etc. On the other hand, their research is very specific and I believe they do not expect from a candidate to show off with “knowing” their research in “detail”. I know what they are doing, I believe it is important and valuable, and it matches with my interest as my background shows. However, I cannot prove to them by examples or other ways I know in details what they are doing since that’s not right. My question is this:
What is your suggestion to me? Should I start reading their research in detail to be able to make specific examples to support my reasons for applying to their group? I am a bit puzzle about this.
Please if you think more information is needed leave a comment before writing an answer. Thanks a lot!


texts: Someone else's PhD student is not getting proper advising on methods. Should I interfere? How?

texts:
As in the title, someone else's PhD student is doing things that are clearly wrong in terms of statistical methodology. Because it is a field of social sciences where statistical methodology is not so common and well developed, they are getting away with that, surprisingly.

At departmental seminars and colloquiums with more quantitative-oriented researchers (myself included), they receive criticism but the student in question seems to be having difficulties addressing it. The main advisor, who seems to not be very knowledgeable about quantitative methods (at least not beyond point and clicking his way through SPSS and getting tables/plots) apparently supports all that is done and sees no problem. Advice on how to improve the methodology and to seek the help of statisticians goes unaddressed. It seems that their modus operandi is to continue doing what they are doing and strategically choose journals where reviewers will not pick on their flawed quantitative methods.

I see two problems there. First, the student is receiving wrong advice and learning problematic habits/strategies for research. From an educational point of view, it is wrong to educate someone to do sub-standard research when it is possible to teach them the correct way of doing it. Second, it is problematic to submit and publish flawed research, even if it is just as part of the education of a PhD student. It is not the case that they understand the criticism but have valid counterarguments. It is rather that they either do not understand Statistics well enough to realise the problem, or that they do but choose to deliberately ignore the problem because it doesn't influence the prospects of publication in their field. In either way, the result is that substandard research is produced and published when it would be perfectly avoidable.

One of the co-advisors of the student agrees with me and our other colleagues regarding the methodology and the need for a methodological advisor (a statistician, perhaps), but both the student and the main advisor don't. What can be done in this situation? Should I just leave it be and treat it as one of the many other oddities in academia? Should I approach the main advisor or the student and try to convince them somehow? Is there a good way to improve this situation? Preferably without disturbing the harmony of our department (which is very harmonious, discussion friendly, and conflict-free). It is also worth adding that I'm junior faculty and would like to avoid career-suicide.


texts: Phd after a master's in pure mathematics

texts:
I am currently finishing my master's degree in theoretical maths (mostly courses around algebra, geometric algebra, a bit of Riemann geometry, K-theory etc) and I don't know which area to go into for a Phd.
I was interested in cryptography but have never taken any advance classes in coding theory. Is knowledge in "pure math" enough to apply for a PhD in this area? I wanted to do something which uses my theoretical math but into a more applied subject ... any ideas would be very welcome !


texts: IBM/Google PhD Fellowship along with current salary

texts:
In Germany, PhD are covered by salary as a research assistant. But, is it possible to apply for an extra scholarship like IBM/Google PhD Fellowship?
If selected, is it legal to take both fellowship and the Salary?


texts: Can I directly use a professor's suggestion?

texts:
A professor that I have been emailing for advice on graduate school offered to read one of my works for applications (specifically my statement of purpose), and he offered some suggestions using a commenting system on my paper. In the email back to me, he gave some general improvements on things that I could say, but he also crafted a few sentences that would get some of the points across by using quotes.

For example, the email would say something like "You could say something like 'sentence that is applicable to my SOP' to convey your interest in this topic."

Can I use his quoted sentences in my SOP? Was his intention in providing them so that I could directly use them if I chose to?


texts:
I just did my bachelors in CS and am looking forward to studying further (I want to pursue a PhD because I love studying). I graduated with a good CGPA and a good overall profile so I think I can get into a good MS program.
For my MS I am applying to different universities these days. I have noticed a few universities offering a Co-op degree. As per my understanding in this degree, I would have to work (paid) for a few terms rather than writing a thesis.

My question is whether or not I should opt for a Co-op degree as I'm afraid it might hinder my chance of getting into a good PhD program? Don't good PhD programs prefer students with prior research experience (in other words students that have done their MS with thesis/research option)?


texts: For paper based on thesis, should I list my university as affiliation or the name of the company I currently work for?

texts: I am currently writing a paper for the thesis work I did last year along with my advisors. (I successfully graduated last year and currently work in a software company.) I am confused regarding what organization I should  mention in the author's section. Should I mention my university name since I completed my thesis work when I was a university student or the name of the company I currently work for?


texts: Channeling bias in social science / epidemiological research?

texts:
Has anyone seen "channeling bias" in the context of epidemiological research? I'm working on a manuscript describing analysis of a workplace-based, non-medical occupational health intervention using observational survey data. The intervention is treated as an exposure and is not randomly allocated. I recently discovered the pharmacological research term "channeling bias", where individuals most in need of treatment are more likely to receive it, usually in a trial setting. This could result in the treatment's observed effects being smaller than they actually are, since sicker individuals have a lower baseline. Participants may also be channeled if researchers think they will receive greater benefit, and thus inflate observed effects. With a workplace-based intervention, I suspect employers may be frugal and, the healthier the worker is, the less likely they are to provide the intervention (despite the intervention being mandatory), thus biasing the exposure group to be in worse shape than those without the exposure.

I think the term channeling bias would apply well to epidemiological research, but have not seen it used in this context. Are there any reasons why it would be inappropriate? Note, I only discovered the term when reviewing a doctoral student's thesis in pharmacology, in which the student used "healthy worker bias" to describe this phenomenon, which sounded the opposite of what they meant, and looked into what the term would actually be. Could its use only/primarily in pharmacological research just be the result of siloing across disciplines?


texts: What exactly is a "non-archival venue" and "workshop with proceedings"?

texts:
Questions:

What do people exactly mean when they say "non-archival venues" although the venue might have "publications"?
What is the exact difference between "workshop with proceedings" and one without it? Is there a way to determine this without having to contact organizers?

Note 1: I perfectly understand the consequence of being archival or having proceedings however what I want understand the meaning of these terms. For example, if workshop puts out pdfs of accepted papers on its website, is it considered proceedings? Is your paper now "archived"? Or is it "published" only if it has DOI? If you submitted short paper and it was assigned DOI but they never put out online copy of your paper anywhere then is it considered "published"? What exactly does "archiving" mean in academic context and how exactly is it supposed to be done by the organizers?

Note 2: I understand there might not be one well established standards but I would like to know common understanding in the community. For example, Venue1 says you are allowed to publish elsewhere but they also go ahead and assign DOIs anyway. Venue2 says they don't accept papers published elsewhere. So now what? if your paper in Venue1 really "published"?


texts:
Should I include a bibliographical entry in the Works Cited pages for works I just mention?

For example, if I mention the work of an author by title just as an example without quoting from it, should I include an entry for it in the Works Cited page?


texts: Are scientific conferences important for a PhD-student?

texts:
I'm a PhD-Student in economics in my second year. But so far I have not attended a single scientific conference or similar. First, I wonder how such a conference works. Do you present your latest research papers there or do you discuss other things there as well?
Furthermore, I would like to ask for an opinion of how important participation in conferences can be for a scientific career. Can you do without them or are they indispensable for a PhD-student?
I would also like to know how to get to participate? Does the chair or my professor organize the participation in conferences?
Or should I apply for conferences myself? And what is the best way to find conferences that correspond to my field of research?
I would be very happy if someone could answer my questions and tell me about their own experiences. Many thanks in advance!


texts: Will journal editors contact you if your book review has been rejected?

texts:
I was sent a book to review for a journal. Book reviews of the particular journal are peer-reviewed. It has been 3 months after my submission but I still haven't heard from the editors.

How long does it take to decide if a book review is accepted or not? Since a book review is rather short in length, I am wondering if the time frame for peer review will be shorter too... Is it a common practice that editors will contact author even if the book review is rejected?

Many thanks.


texts: How to communicate with the advisor if someone wants to downgrade his PhD to Master in university A and then apply for PhD in university B?

texts:
I am a M.Sc. graduated from a developing country and I recently got admitted for PhD in one of the reputed universities in Canada (rank 20-30th world-wide), say university A. In fact, because of the compulsory military service I could not exit the country with an M.Sc. admission letter, so I ended up applying for the PhD programs.
In general, I am completely happy to do my PhD in A and the university is considered a good place to research, however I thought that by doing research with great scientists there and completing a M.Sc. degree I probably would have a better chance of getting a PhD admission from a better university (e.g. a top-10 place), say university B.
As I have an interest to work as faculty in future, studying in B may slightly  increase my chance for my future carrier.
So, I would like to know is it anything bad or immoral to express my idea to my potential advisor when I arrived in Canada? Please note that I would be perfectly happy to work as a PhD student under his supervision in case that he is unwilling of the downgrade but I fear that the proposal in itself burns the bridges or implies that I have not interested in doing research with him. All in all, I would like to know that what is the best (safest) way to express my desire to my advisor?

P.S: regarding the university policy, I checked and the university accept it if the advisor agrees.


texts: What is the purpose of letter of recommendation?

texts:
I have completed 2.5 postdocs in the US. In all of my applications plus a Green Card application, letters of recommendation were a great deal. In all cases (overall, about 10 letters signed by professors at top US universities), I was asked to write the draft and my supporter did not change more than a sentence or two.

I wonder if anyone really reads the letters of recommendation. And if yes, the judgment is simply based on my words about myself.

My interest in the answer is that I am applying for Assistant Professor position now, and my references asked me to prepare the draft. In the past, I thought that it was because of a special trust in me and I wrote the letters with modesty to respect their trusts. Now, I found it is the norm and professors/PIs do not have time to write such letters (there are about 20 postdocs in my current lab). How should I write the drafts of three different letters of recommendations for myself (sounds funny)!


texts: How do I cite a paper that is not yet submitted for publication?

texts: I am revising a paper which is due to be submitted today. In it, I would like to cite another paper of mine which is not yet submitted as it is still reviewed by my coauthors. How do I cite this latter paper in the former? Is it ok to say '(submitted)' when it is actually not, although it may have been when the former paper is published? Or can I say '(to submit)', although I am not sure if such is formally recognised?


texts: Cite or reformulate perfectly formulated sentences?

texts:
I'm just writing my bachelors thesis and I need to reference to a book for an in-depth derivation of something.
The concluding sentence in this work is just perfectly formulated, there is no way of making it shorter or more precise. I wonder whether I should write something like

As [4] points out, it can be shown that
the enhancement in the second-harmonic power is given [...]

With the bold text being the quote from the book or reformulate the sentence, making it somewhat less precise? Is this even enough attribution when copying the sentence verbatim or do I need to put quotation marks?


texts: Could I plot data from other papers in my figures for comparison?

texts: It's necessary for my current paper to compare some values from my work and previous work. Since the mean and std values of previous work are shown in their paper, could I plot some bar chart for the comparison between mine and theirs(of course I'll specify the source of the data)?


texts: Is it rude to forward an email message to the original recipient if they did not respond?

texts: If an email message sent to one's professor is not answered promptly, is it rude to forward it without comment to the original recipient as a reminder?  If so, how long should one wait before doing so?  Assume the professor is teaching a class the sender is taking.


texts:
I'm writing my first proposal for M.Sc. , meanwhile, I keep reviewing many papers and tracking sources of citation, I noticed that some authors cite from review introduction while others cite from review conclusion. Does it mean that I can cite from any part in review paper as long as the cited information is by the sound of the review author (when he/she doesn't talk about a certain research nor cite from any) wherever it can be found in the review sections ??
thanks


texts: Better organization of knowledge for courses?

texts:
I am currently thinking about organizing a course for next semester. The most important aspect that I worry about is: How to sustainably organize knowledge? This should be a new "hands-on" course where students research and work on novel solutions to real-world problems (Note: How to get the students to innovate is not the question I am asking).

One key aspect of this course is to keep track of knowledge from previous semesters, so students of later semesters can build on top of what was previously achieved, and can find good (over the years better and better) answers to commonly (and less commonly) asked questions. They should also be able to get a good idea of what students worked on previously, and even decide whether to build on top of what was previously done, or just roll their own thing.

The knowledge that needs to be tracked, in short:

Q&A's regarding the course contents
Interesting and useful material relevant to the course
Project approaches and results by students who have previously taken the course

I am currently thinking of using a Stackoverflow clone in combination with a Wiki. Does anyone have good suggestions/experiences? Maybe more professional solutions?


texts: What should I do if the Production editor has not responded after the proofreading process for over a month?

texts:
In February 2021, my paper was accepted and the proof reading process started immediately. I have returned the corrections in begin of March, but after that no sign of communication. I send 3 emails to the Production editor, without any luck. How do you recommend to continue?

Finally they replied and told me that they have not received my edits through the online proofing system. I have submitted everything four times and nothing is received by the other end. It is over a month since the proofreading process began and concerns only 9 edits!!! I talked with the eproofing service, but the result was the same. What do you suggest me to do? –


texts: What is the meaning of the title "Akad. Orat"?

texts: What is the meaning of the German academic title "Akad. Orat"? What would its international analogous be?


texts: Question on etiquette while trying to secure a postdoctoral position

texts:
Let us suppose that a certain senior Ph. D. student is interested in "securing" a postdoctoral position under a professor whom he does look up to. Would it be right for the student to write the researcher and ask him if he stands a chance of eventually being hired as a postdoctoral fellow in the institution wherein the researcher works? The Ph. D. student is certainly interested in some topics on which the researcher has written in the past; furthermore, there is a certain problem at which the student plans to try his hand once he manages to graduate and this problem is also somewhat near the area of expertise of the researcher in question.

Thanks in advance for any suggestion you may want to leave for me below.


texts: What should new faculty focus on when meeting with the university public relations representative?

texts:
I am a new faculty member at a medium-sized liberal arts university that focuses on undergraduate education.  I have recently been contacted by the university public relations representative and he would like to set up a meeting to meet with me and talk about what I am doing.

I recognize that this is a good opportunity to get exposure for me and my lab so I want to make the most of it.

What should I prepare/present to the university public relations representative for this type of informal meeting.

NOTE: As background, I am brand new at the university so I have just begun developing my research and teaching here.


texts: After 3 years... Should I stay at a PhD position that I think is holding back my thesis?

texts:
I was supposed to do my thesis in a research department of a company in the field of computational science (developing new computational methods that they could use to design and engineer nanostructures). In parallel I registered as a PhD student in computational physics (my undergrad studies) at a University nearby.

In practice I have spent 3 years developing software for them, with no contributions of my own, just taking already published research and making software out of it. I only have 2 co-author papers, on another field and a topic that I can't really use for my thesis.

I am unable to publish by myself in this field, as experiments are usually required and I have little experimental support from my boss (he disregards any of my ideas, and just wants me to pursue those things that would benefit the research of someone else, work that for me does not answer a "scientific question"). I'm also hating right now my job, the first year I could learn some things, but now is just coding to make the "user experience" better.

I have also tried to get involved in other experiments, but my ideas are taken and carried out by someone else (even if I insist a lot on doing them). I have also proposed small projects, but usually anything is disregarded by my boss with the pretext that it would take "too much time" (for example, I offered to do a small complementary data analysis for an experiment in 3 days, he said no, it was too much time, it was months ago and they haven't finished the data analysis yet). He has also had me studying for some months different techniques difficult to master and later told me to drop it as it wouldn't fit our project requirements (FE, MD, QM/MM...)

I know it is mainly my fault for not having been more aware that this was happening (it started more clearly after the 1st year), I spoke with my boss a number of times but that didn't change anything. I doubt he read my thesis proposal. He always answers that the software will be published in very high impact factor journals (he has little to none high impact factor publications so far) and therefore I would be able to get a thesis with it since no one will question a paper published in one of the top journals (the contribution is purely the software as all methods were already developed). I don't believe this, for me it sounds like bullshit (that it will publish this well, and that in this case it wouldn't be question as not answering a scientific question, which is the requirement for a thesis in my field).

On top of this the environment at my group is quite bad for me. One colleague is not even speaking to me and no one is coming from my field, so I'm professionally isolated.

Due to this I finally reacted and started collaborating a few months back with a group in a university here. They have let me on a project and I'm learning a lot and having fun. My boss obviously doesn't like it and has tried to push me away (including a 3h meeting). In few months my contract runs out and I will probably get an extension offer from my boss for half a year more, if I take it I'm pretty sure this collaboration would have to be entirely in my free time (I work full-time on my "thesis" position).

So far it feels that my job, which should be doing my thesis, is actually holding back my thesis and that they are using me as a low-cost programmer. But it is the only financing I've got. Also, by now is impossible to carry on the thesis proposal I submitted, although if I manage to get some papers out from the collaboration, I can manage to save it.

So what should I do? Give it up entirely and look for another PhD? Give it up and forget about the PhD (maybe I'm not made for this)? Try to finish on my own and look for a part-time job meanwhile or tell my collaborators? Accept the extension and continue knowing how things are and trying to somehow get some papers published so I can leave with a thesis? I feel that I already made too many mistakes in handling this, and one more could put a definite end on my research career.

Thank you if you read this.


texts: How to stand out in math graduate school admissions

texts:
In less than a year from now I'll be applying to pure math PhD programs. I'm going to have a competitive application. I'm attending a well regarded school and will no doubt get good reccomendations; I took a whole slew of math undergrad courses receiving all A's; I took (and am taking) a handful of graduate courses receiving a mix of A's and B's; TA'd some undergrad courses; I have two solid REUs; participated in Budapest semesters in mathematics, etc

But these are all things that every top (20 or so) graduate school is going to expect from all it's applicants. I don't have any research independent of my REUs, I've never done notably well on the Putnam, and so on. My main concern is that I'm not going to stand out in any way to a graduate school admissions committee.

Looking at application threads, this seems quite worrisome. There are consistently applicants in a similar position as I who get almost universal rejection from good graduate programs. I love mathematics and so that I can pursue a fruitful research career someday, I want to attend a serious graduate program.

What can I do in under a year to improve my graduate application? How can I stand out?


texts: Distinguishing "Presentations" and "Experience" in CV for application for Ph.D

texts:
I'm working on a CV for a Mathematical Sciences Ph.D program. Though I don't have any papers published, I have contributed to a number of research groups and given some hour-long presentations. I also did some presentations as part of my capstone projects in both of my undergraduate majors (math and chemistry). I thus think it's valuable to have a "Presentations" section on my CV for now until I have papers published.

However, some of the info in the "Presentations" section would necessarily overlap with some of the info in my "Employment" section, e.g.:

"Developed and presented an improved C algorithm for [analyzing
simulations for xxx structure] using [mathematical
technique]."
"Presented a literature review on [use of a mathematical technique in
simulation] including a detailed overview to the research
group on [mathematical algorithm used for analysis]."

How can I distinguish the two sections? Should I emphasize the content of the presentation more in the "presentation" section, and my day-to-day routine more in the "employment" section?

Any other suggestions?


texts:
I've seen many theses with long long title.

I understand that can help to narrow down the scope of the thesis.

Yet, I was recently asked to think of the title of my thesis, and I don't like those long long titles.

Is something in the form of "On XXX of YYY" a good title?

For instance,

"On the uncountability of real numbers"
"On the identification of biological systems"

I think this can make the thesis rather straightforward. Is such a title specific enough to attract the intended audience?


texts: how to format computer code in APA style

texts:
If a psychological methods journal only specifies that the entire manuscript has to be in APA style, how should I format computer code snippets in the manuscript to be submitted? I see nothing mentioned in the actual APA manual regarding this.
Is there any convention? In specific I wonder whether or not I should include syntax highlighting.
(The code currently in question is R, but it could also be, say, Python or JavaScript.)

EDIT:
The original question referred to the 6th edition of the APA manual. As HumberSean answered, computer code style is now specified in the 7th edition.


texts: I need a reference letter but I've been out of school for 3 years

texts:
Ok I need some advise on my situation. I obtained my BSc in Mathematics and Physics in Spring 2011, but I've been working in a programming position since then, in actuarial business. I want to apply to Financial Mathematics, but I need two reference letters. I was not a very good student back then, I skipped a lot of classes, didn't take care much, yet I've done ok in terms of grades. Anyway, the point is, I rarely spoke to my profs, so I'm not certain how I could ever be endorsed. I'm doing very well at the job, but I believe reference letters from academia are much more valuable than those coming from the industry.

Also, I think it's worth mentioning that I applied in the past, but got refused. Still, my personal situation has much positively evolved since then. I'm just not sure how can convey it.

Thanks for any comments/advise !


texts: In PhD admission is research internship or a job in a research lab better?

texts:
If I hope to enroll in a Computer Science PhD program in a top tier university (Stanford/CMU) and I currently hold a master's degree (without publication). Is a year-long Research Software development job at a reputable R&D Lab (Microsoft research lab at my country for example) or a short-term research internship at a good lab that may get my name on a paper in a good journal?
Of course you may assume I cannot do both.


texts:
I am revising a paper submitted to IEEE TVT journal. I'm quite tight on time and trying to complete the paper revision by its deadline which is on Sep 10,2018 (Monday).

Does anyone have a paper on TVT and know the exact meaning of deadline for this journal ? Is it on Sunday night or Monday night ?


texts: Is it okay to ask for a letter of recommendation more than a year before applying to a master's program?

texts:
Not too complicated of a situation -- I'm graduating with my bachelor's degree (Mathematics) in a couple weeks, but to support my wife, I'm going to get a job for a while before looking at attending a master's program. The soonest I am considering starting a master's degree would be something like Fall semester of 2017.

Since I'm leaving the school, and I may be moving states with a job, should I go ahead and bring up the question of a letter of recommendation with the professors from whom I think would write them? I have a good reputation with them, so it's not like they'll forget me in a year, but I'd rather have it done sooner while I'm still technically a student than a random email they may miss a year from now.


texts: Do US universities still use imperial units in teaching?

texts:
How much of the teaching content at universities in the US is delivered in imperial units instead of SI?

I imagine that industry (e.g. Engineering) is still stuck using imperial units, but research and physics are much better suited to SI units, so I am interested to know how this is dealt with.


texts: What to select for "type of source" for a paper in Microsoft Word?

texts:
I am currently doing my very first paper at university and am a bit lost with Word’s citation system.
What does a scientific paper (more specifically this one) classify as when it comes to “type of source” in Word?

This probably is a very simple question, but I am really having trouble finding an answer.
Here’s an explanation of my thought process:

It is certainly not a book nor a book section.
I don’t feel like it would count as an article in a journal or peridocal as from my understanding research papers are published as a stand-alone?
Conference Proceeding: I have no idea what that is, but I think it isn’t it.
Maybe a report? As it reports on findings that were made ... but I feel this is also not quite right ...
It is not a website.
I might use document from website, however this paper is available on several websites (at least through my Google Scholar search) that seem to have picked it up, however it was not originally published through them from what I can tell.
While I have it as a PDF, I don't think that is meant by **electronic source.*
Art: no
Sound Recording: no
Performance: no
Film: no
Interview: no
Patent: no
I have no idea what is meant by case. As in a lawsuit?
Misc is what I will pick for now, but I guess citing research papers in a scientific work isn’t something happening so seldomly that one would have to resort to misc.


texts: How can I prove that the head of the lab did not have contribution to my work?

texts: I performed part of my PhD thesis in a lab outside my university. After deciding to publish the result, the head of the lab did not give me the permission to publish it. He wanted to be the coauthor, himself and one of his students. But they did not have substantial contribution to the project. They allowed me to use their lab and their materials. he blocked my work totally. I do not have permission to publish the results just because I do not want to give credit to them since they did not contribute to my work. According to ICJME, technical help does not make eligibility to be the coauthor. Their lab knew these standards and accept them. However, the problem is that I cannot prove that their help was not that much to make them eligible to be coauthors. Even my supervisor believes that I should consider them as coauthors because he thinks that they helped me during my stay in their lab. Also, he thinks, like many other people, that it is a custom to consider the head of the lab as a coauthor.  Does anyone have suggestions for me? How can I unblock my work?


texts: Getting stuck in a rut while writing a thesis

texts:
I'm to write my MSc thesis soon, and am a bit worried that I will get stuck in a rut. By that I mean that I will have very little variety in my daily (work) life, and that it will not only be stressful, but also that I will sort of stare myself blind on the same problems every day.

Any advice? Do I even need to worry about this?

EDIT:

I probably didn't explain myself very well, because everyone seems to have misunderstood my question (don't get me wrong, I really appreciate the feedback, it's useful nonetheless).

I'll be working on the same problems for about 6 months. I'll probably get so tired of it. I'm wondering what I can do to avoid that making me crazy. RasterImage mentioned changing the work environment once in a while, that might do some good.


texts: Why would a school prevent reapplying after declining an offer of admission?

texts:
I am currently applying for a mid-range private school that teaches the career I want primarily (software engineering) and a prestigious public school for computer science (it doesn't have software engineering). So if I make it into the public university, I would evaluate between the specific career of the private one and the economic help of the public one, and choose the most appropriate one.

However, reading their entrance rules, I saw that if I decline the offer of admission in the public one, I could not apply to it again for the next two admission cycles (at two per year, that means a year and a half). What is the philosophy behind this? Applying to several schools benefits  students, giving them more schools to choose from. And it also raises the funding because of the payment that is done to give the entrance exam (which is not one of the things public schools in my country can brag about). And it doesn't harm anyone, because the next one in the list would enter. The only collateral damage I can think of is extra administrative effort, but a year and a half vetted from applying to the university because of that seems too much for me. So, why? Is there some extra side effect that they are accounting for?

The information @Pete L. Clark requested: I am living in Peru, and here the admission process in public universities is pretty simple: You just present your legal and education papers, pay for the entrace exam, take it, and see if you are admitted or not. So, everything boils down to that 3-days exam. But once it is finished, you are in.


texts: What should I do if I uploaded my manuscript in arxiv and plan to pass it on a peer reviewed journal?

texts:
I have a question related to this post,

Is it legal to upload a paper to arXiv when it is under double blind review for one of the IEEE journals?

What should I do if I uploaded my manuscript on arxiv and plan to pass it on a peer reviewed journal? I am worried after reading the answers in the link.


texts: How to avoid desk rejection of a paper on novel findings?

texts:
I've prepared a manuscript on biomedical sciences and my advisor, who commonly reviews papers from high-impact journals, and my co-advisor, who is in the editorial board of an open-access journal both liked it. I'm very sure that my results are novel, and I did my best to prove my hypothesis.

So, I sent this paper to high-impact (around 7) journals and both sent "desk rejection" one saying "it was out of scope" and other one suggested couple other journals. We couldn't send our manuscript to those journals because they had strict word limits.

So, I decided to send it to a medium-impact journal, and again they got us from novelty and rejected it in only one day.

Again, we sent it to a good-impact journal of Elsevier, and after one week in "awaiting editor decision or reviewer confirmation" now I see "decision pending", so we probably got another rejection.

Considering our findings were novel, our written language had no issues, and we tried to do our best with what we had in the lab, what do you think is the issue?

I really don't want to send it to a low-impact journal; so shall I consider some "nonspecific area" open-access journals?


texts: How should I respond to someone's research "elevator pitch"?

texts:
I am starting my PhD in cosmology in October of this year. I have already met some of the older PhD students and postdocs in the department where I will be studying, and I am going to be attending two summer schools before I start the PhD where I will meet more new people, from other institutions.

It seems a natural conversation opener to ask people what their research is about or what they are working on at the moment, and in response I generally get their 1-2 minute elevator pitch summarising their work.

My question is: what questions are best to ask them to keep the conversation going after they have given this spiel when I am a novice in the field?

I don't want to squander what could lead to a valuable discussion, but at the moment I can do very little except make some banal comment such as "that sounds interesting..." and let the discussion drift away from the nitty-gritty details of the field, because most of the time the things they tell me about are completely new to me (but presumably old hat to them).

I don't feel that I know my own topic well enough yet to explain it properly in return- so what could I say instead?


texts: What items should I ask for in my startup package?

texts: I have offers for tenure-track computational biology positions at a couple of U.S. research universities. What sort of things do I need to budget for in my startup package?


texts: Can I serve as a reference for someone applying to fill my position?

texts: I work as an administrator at a university and will soon be resigning from my position (the job has already been posted). A student who I formerly supervised is applying for my position and has asked if I would serve as a reference. Is there a conflict of interest in doing so? I am not part of the hiring committee and, while I don't think this student has enough experience to be called in for an interview, I would gladly speak to my experience as her former employer if she was offered the job.


texts: My question is regarding the American Mathematical Society-Simons travel grant and I wanted to know what makes one competitive for AMS-Simons travel grant.


texts: Difficulty getting published in top tier journals?

texts:
How much harder is it to get published in a top-tier journal (ACM, IEEE) compared to a small second-rate conference?

Is it an unrealistic goal to try to publish my 1st paper in the #1 journal in the field?

Is it likely such a journal will accept my paper if I am proposing a hybrid method that combines methods used by other papers? Or do I need something completely new and ground-breaking?

Does the fact that the 1st author will be a student (undergraduate) will reduce my chances?


texts: How to request other researchers to read one's paper for suggestions?

texts: Suppose a researcher uses the application of another researcher's idea in his domain. Given that original researcher knows basics of his idea better, he may help correct any mistakes and give valuable suggestions. In this way, the quality of research paper will be increased. But at the same time, giving away one's complete unpublished paper to unknown person is a matter of a bit worry. In your opinion, should he ask for suggestion or not? If yes, what is a proper way?


texts: Release application of research before publish its paper

texts:
I'm doing independent research in computer sciences and i develop some program that i think i might be could write a couple paper for this.

My question is what should i do between

Publish a paper first then release its application
Release application first then publish its paper

In actually i prefer the second choice because i start developing application already and this can finish soon. May be better to release it than waiting to finish writing a paper that a little bit take time.

Any advice or concern please ans below.


texts: Why are operations research departments usually separate from mathematics departments?

texts: The title says it all. When I look online, they are usually separate departments


texts: Slept through final, professor is giving me a zero and failing me – is there anything I can do to change this?

texts:
I slept through my 8 am final last Thursday, and I didn’t wake up until 11:50 am. By the time I scrambled to remember what day it was, it was already noon. I frantically sent the professor an email telling her what happened and asked if I could take it in her next section (the syllabus said no, but I was desperate). I found her at her office where she said she couldn’t meet with me unless the head of the department of marketing (her boss) was present. The meeting is tomorrow at 12:30, after two other finals starting at 8.

A 0 is the grade you receive when caught cheating. I did not cheat; I did not lie; I slept. I don’t believe an F is a reflective grade of the knowledge and work that I put into that course is an honest one. I don’t believe that a student should learn and learn for an entire semester and then have one time slot to prove their knowledge. People make mistakes and I need a chance. I need to think of an innovative assignment to turn in after the meeting that may interest her in giving me a few points to pass. Or, I need to market to the marketers my case.

Does anyone know what I can do? What I can take upon myself to do – even though my professor said there is nothing – to show her that I am willing to put forth the effort and that I am committed to learning.


texts: Is it bad to teach high school science for a few years before attending graduate school?

texts: I've just graduated with my BS. I have been offered a job to teach biology at a christian university prep academy. I desperately need the money, and I was raised religiously, so I expect that I will be able to do the job fairly well. However, once I get a stable financial foundation, I want to get a PhD in cell and molecular biology. Will teaching at a Christian high school basically be "career suicide" for me? Will I forget all the complex things I've already learned?


texts: What is the difference between a lecture and a seminar?

texts:
I understand the main difference is the amount of active engagement of the students (questions, interaction, etc.).
But is there more, to describe the difference?

In a lecture there will be questions and answers, and in a seminar there will be times when the teacher talks. So, how can we describe the difference in a more articulate way.


texts: Can a school change their admission decision before April 15th?

texts:
I have been accepted at a good school in the U.S. with full-funding. However, I am still waiting on the status of three very good U.S. schools as well.

Can the school that already sent me an offer of acceptance change their mind before April 15th?

I want to wait until I receive all the schools letters and make a decision around the 1st week of April, but I'm worried that just in case nobody else accepts me; what if the first school that accepted me changes their mind? Is that a possible scenario?


texts:
I just started being a TA in mathematics at a university in continental Europe. My big problem is my time management: I feel like I don't have time for my own research. During a working time of 40h per week, I usually have the following duties (other than my research):

Teaching duties 3h
Attending two lectures (total of 3h) plus their exercise sessions (total of 2h)
Attending a seminar of 2h
Solve exercise sheets of the two lectures I attend
Think about good exercises for the course I'm a TA of
Write solutions to the current exercise sheet

If I include the last three points with a total of - say - 7h (which is probably too little time), my duties in the week take around 17h. Well, this does not sound too much. I do not have to attend these lectures and the exercise sessions, but my advisor strongly recommends attending, as their topics are very important in my field, although they are not at all related to my current work.

But, of course, there are some other things which prevent me from working on my stuff:

The two lectures I'm attending are right one after another. Between these two lectures, I have a break of 30 minutes. But in this short period of time, I cannot be productive. When I finally got started working on my research, I already have to attend the next lecture. This problem occurs a lot for me: during my teaching duties and another duty, I have only one hour to do something. But in this one hour, I mostly have to prepare for the next lecture/seminar/... - Basically, my whole Mondays and Tuesdays are blocked by problems like that (I cannot be productive in just one hour - it's just too little time to get started).
Prepare seminar talks for the seminar mentioned above. This is not a regular work to do, but nevertheless takes a lot of time.
As my two lectures are on the same day and there is only a 30min break between them, I usually feel very tired after the second lecture. This decreases my working efficiency by a lot. I do take some lunch break after the lectures, but I usually feel even more tired after the break.
Attend seminar talks which take place on a irregular basis.
The only day on which I don't have any duty is Friday. But on Friday, I'm usually really tired as a consequence of the stressful week. Therefore, I cannot be as productive as I should be, even on Fridays.
As I just started being a TA, there are many "small" things which have to be done. Set up a new computer, find out how to use SSH on this one, ... - those small things add up and end up costing a lot of precious time.

I also considered working on weekends, but this would be too much for me; there have to be some days spared for regeneration. Sometimes I think about the exercise sheets of the two lectures on weekends, but nothing else.

About the two lectures and the seminar: I really want to attend those to broaden my view of my field and learn new things which are (currently) not important for my work. One could think about not solving the exercise sheets of the two lectures, but then I won't learn a lot by attending these lectures.

So my question is the following:

How do I maximize my productivity as a TA (in mathematics)?

(Closely related: How can I stay being concentrated after two lectures/on Fridays/...? How do I maximize my productivity-to-time ratio?)


texts:
I have an offer of a Mathematics PhD position at the rate of €28000 gross in a German university. The position is itself great, a really interesting topic, but obviously I need to compare the financial aspect of it to my other offers.

I believe €28000 is 66% TV-L E13. What does this come to after tax, i.e. what would the net pay be for this position?

(I am 35 years old with no dependents if that makes a difference).


texts:
My question may be a duplicate of: Sound reasons for excluding a reviewer, but it is motivated by What do you do when you are asked to perform an official review for a journal of a manuscript written by your supervisor?. Because there is an obvious conflict of interest between a supervisor and supervisee this answer claims the manuscript never should have been sent to the current student. The issue I see is how is the editor supposed to know if the potential reviewer has a conflict if they are not listed as a reviewer to exclude.

I essentially never list anyone in the excluded reviewer box. I would likely alert the editor if I was asked to review a manuscript from current and past collaborators, supervisors and advisees as well as colleagues in my current and past departments. This becomes a long list of people to include in the excluded reviewer box and it is not clear to me that it is helpful to the editor. Are there standard people that go in the excluded reviewer box?


texts: Suggesting future work in technical report

texts:
I’m writing a report for my bachelor’s degree and have come to the last section where I am supposed to suggest future work. As I have learned, while writing the conclusion-section just before the future work section, I am not supposed to present new details. All conclusions must be supported by previous parts of the report.

My question is if this normally also applies to the future work section? I have a few ideas of my own of what can be done to broaden the research question that I cannot support by, for example, something I have written about in the background section (where I describe theory), related work section (where I investigate state-of-the-art), etc.

So basically, is it bad to all of a sudden include information based on my own experience, or kind of my intuition, in the very final part of the report? To be a bit more concrete, if I have a theory that I did not investigate as it did not really help me answering the research question, hence not supported by any reference, would it be possible to express it as something that is based on my own experience and impression of the field, and suggest that it should be investigated?


texts: Where can I find online research projects that I can work on?

texts:
I am interested in doing some research online in theoretical physics, quantum mechanics or computational physics.

Is there a way that I can work with an advisor or in a group online? I don't mind doing it for free, or even I can pay to work on such research projects.

I have a bachelor's degree in Physics and currently pursuing a masters in Mathematics.  While studying Math, I found myself missing physics so that's why I am looking for physics research projects to work on.


texts: Is it possible to change the application area of research while looking for a postdoc position after PhD?

texts:
My PhD is in materials science in the field of environmental remediation (water decontamination) using different advanced materials as adsorbents. I also have expertise in computational chemistry and currently, I am doing some DFT calculations on electrocatalytic water splitting using some transition metal selenide hybrid materials. And this work has been published in a good ACS journal.

I am interested in seeking a postdoc and expanding my horizon in the field of energy production (water splitting, lithium ion batteries, hydrogen production and storage, etc.) using materials as catalysts (both experimentally and computationally).

How should I back my research profile while seeking a position in this field with no prior experience? The postdoc openings demands a desirable candidate with extensive record and experience in batteries and handling elecrodes, etc. which I clearly do not have.


texts: What is the most logical course of action if your P.I does not write you a letter of recommendation in time even though s/he said that s/he would?

texts:
Context:
I am an undergrad, and working in a research group over 7 months now. I have asked my P.I (group leader) whether he would write me a recommendation letter one month before the deadline of Master's programs, and he said that he would.

Now, the deadline was yesterday, and he haven't write me any letter. I have reminded him the letter regularly via email, and he responded positively, and when I reminded him again just one day before the deadline, he said that he will write it after finishing a report, and still there is no letter.

What is the most logical course of action in this case?


texts: Do graduate schools consider courses that are exclusive for one country?

texts: In Norway, it is mandatory to do a course in philosophy named Examen Philosophicum. I got a B in this subject, and as such, it hurts my GPA. Do graduate schools (in mathematics) care the least bit about such subjects?


texts: How can I check which Bachelor's degrees are offered by which institutions in Israel?

texts:
I want to be able check, given the name of a field or discipline, which Israeli academic institutions offer a Bachelor's degree in that field or discipline. Hopefully also whether it's a B.A., B.Sc. or otherwise (LL.B., B.Ed. and so on).

I realize some of this information can be gleaned from just a search engine; and of course one could visit each and every university and college and check. But - is there some kind of central directory/website/list?


texts: does prestige of university where I will be getting my Master's degree matter?

texts:
I was recently admitted to few universities for my master's program and I narrowed the university of my choice down to two. The options are:

Option 1: A Mid-ranked public university in US (around #160 among the US National Universities,around #500 in World ranking ), where the potential supervisor is believed to be a good fit for me

Option 2: A top ranked university in US, here I am mostly going after the prestige, but supervisor is not as good as the university mentioned in Option 1.

If I am planning to get a job directly after my master's (i.e. without doing PhD, although I might go back to school for PhD after gaining some work experiences on my belt), which option would you take? I have very good GPA from my undergrad years (4.0), and my parents want me to take the second option, but the first option is considerably more affordable and plus I like the fact that the first university has a good potential supervisor...

any thoughts are welcome

:)


texts: Should I include a title page and abstract if the journal does not specify anything at all?

texts: Novice here. I am looking to submit a manuscript to a journal, Monthly Review. The journal website does not specify any template whatsoever except for the instruction to use Chicago Style, 16th edition for referencing. Should I include an abstract and a title page with a short bio in the submission  (as is the custom in most social science journals I know of)?


texts: What are the academic career prospects for someone in their late 30's starting a PhD?

texts:
I'm in my late 30's and started a Ph.D. program and am wondering what my academic career prospects are. From my understanding, after the Ph.D., there are 2-3 years of postdoc, then 4-6 years of tenure-track before becoming a Prof. Is that correct?

My field is machine learning (or artificial intelligence) and I'm in the US.


texts: Unpublished PhD work and unresponsive advisor

texts: I finished my PhD two years ago. However, my advisor left academia one year before I defended. I finished my research and successfully defended it (obviously), and have a good draft of my paper, but my advisor is completely inaccessible and has seemingly no interest in it (otherwise he would have answered me or contacted me). Is this work lost forever, meaning I cannot publish it without his consent?


texts: Let's say a research assistant has provided help on conducting a literature review and that some of the references are eventually used in a published paper. Would the research assistant normally get some kind of acknowledgment or authorship if they did not contribute any written material?


texts: Should I translate experimental materials for my thesis?

texts:
For my Ph.D. thesis, I developed a new usability method which focuses on a survey. The main contribution is a description for practitioners how to conduct such a survey. For this, I could not develop a standard questionnaire, but gave guidelines on how to construct one.

I am validating the method by conducting such a survey myself. My target population consists of German-speaking people (I’m measuring the usability of a software available only with a German interface), so my questionnaire is in German.

I want to add the questionnaire in the appendix. But my thesis is written in English. Now, my question is: Should I provide the questionnaire in English or in German?

If I provide it in German, some readers won’t be able to understand it, and it won’t be useful as an example if some of them want to apply the method themselves. Note that my reviewers speak German, so this won’t be a problem for them.
If I provide it in English, it won’t be a documentation of what I actually used in the experiment. Note that in psychometry, a translated questionnaire is not considered equivalent to the original and when a standard questionnaire is developed, any translation is required to be validated again.

What is the proper thing to do here? Use the original experiment material, even if it is of no use to many readers, or create an approximation which has not really been validated and whose usefulness is thus diminished as well?

Returning back to my old question, now that I am close to finishing - there is about 15 pages per questionnaire, with 4 questionnaires, so I already have a 60 pages in this appendix. I also have another appendix with 50 pages. If I double the questionnaire-containing appendix, I will have 170 pages worth of appendices at a 100-115 pages thesis, which seems excessive.


texts: How to include volunteering work in CV (as a PhD)?

texts:
I defended my PhD in Dec 2017 and then stepped away from academia for a while and decided to pursue other stuff. I realized I wanted to change fields and started reading books and papers about it and even contacted a local prof to write a review paper about that topic, which he accepted. Now I finished writing that paper and I'm just waiting on the prof to finish his part and we're gonna submit it in a month or so. What I'm wondering is - how do I present this in my CV? I was writing the paper since Nov/Dec 2019, so I spent a bit over 3 months on it (it's huge), and I'm wondering if I should put that under "work experience" on the first page, or under "activities", which are on the second page.

My initial idea was something like:

+------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| 2019-2020  | Volunteer work, Institute X, Department Y, Lab  Z |
+------------+---------------------------------------------------+
|            | Project: "Name of the review paper"               |
|            | Supervisor: Dr. Proffy McProffson                 |
+------------+---------------------------------------------------+

I'm just trying to make it look like I did something of substance and I'd like to present that volunteer work in the best possible light, so that I have better chances of landing a position. Which is pretty hard, since I've been away from academia for so long.

Any input is welcome. Thanks.


texts: Effect of Research in an Engineering group on Physics PhD application

texts:
I am a Physics undergraduate and my institution requires that we do undergraduate research and a senior thesis on that research. However, due to some personal circumstances I would like to do research with an electrical engineering group at my university due to their research topic. However, I would still like to apply to a Physics PhD program.

My question is this:
How would doing research in an electrical engineering group or co-authoring an EE paper affect my application for Physics PhD programs in general? I am specifically curious about the opportunity cost of not doing research with a physics group and the attitudes of graduate school admission committees on me doing research with an EE group.

If it is important, the EE group does research in Silicon Photonics and has connections with a national lab working on a Quantum Key Distribution project, which is what draws me to them. I would like to do research in Quantum Information or Computing in graduate school.

Thanks!


texts: Is it considered offensive to address one's seniors by name in the US?

texts:
In my country (India), there are several implicit norms that need to be followed by almost every one.
Among all, an important norm is that juniors does not address their seniors by name. It happens in both students' circles and faculty circles -- thus, even junior professors would not address senior professors by name.
Recently (in the US), a female assistant professor addressed a male associate professor by his name. It is the first time ever I saw an incident like this personally. I personally considered it as an offense to the male associate professor.
So, I am wondering whether it is a norm in the US to address seniors as "sir" or any other respectable salutation instead of addressing by name.
Note: The question is broader than only addressing a professor.


texts: Why do potential reviewers take a lot of time to reject the request for review?

texts:
I understand that reviewers are quite busy and have not only a single paper to review. But, no matter how busy someone is, it should not take more than 2 minutes to reject a review request.

How did I get this question to my mind?

Well, it is a common question for everyone in academia, I guess. I am quite frustrated with the peer-review system and yes, I am impatient. Because after doing a lot of hard work on something and then achieving something real good out of this, which would lead to potential dissemination, turns out to be depressing.

We had submitted a work back in December 2016. Since February 2017, It was Under review. Suddenly, I see that it is Reviewer assigned. This system is really pathetic. Other parts of my question can be inferred from this.

As a reviewer, I don't reject the requests for review after 4 months. I would do the same within at most a week.


texts: What are the goals and benefits of doing a PhD?

texts:
I'm a master computer science student in a German university and I will be graduating soon. I'm in a situation between accepting a PhD position or leaving academia to start looking for job. This is a very hard decision to make so I need some advice.

I see most of the people who do a PhD leave academia afterwards and start looking for jobs (is it also the same in the US?). Very few people continue with a postdoc and remain in academia after getting the PhD.

My question is then, what is the point of doing a PhD (especially if one gets a job in industry afterwards)? What are the benefits of spending 3-5 years obtaining a PhD? What kind of goals should a person enrolling in a PhD program have?

From the point of view of industry, I realize that after a PhD they might start with a high position in the company. But, on the other hand, in those 5 years they could have started a small tech company and make it somehow medium or even a bit successful. Instead of doing a PhD, after 5 years of investing in their own company, they could be paid for working for themselves and not for others, having their own companies.

From the point of view of obtaining knowledge, if someone is curious about knowing, they could learn new things by themselves. After graduation, finding a job or starting a company, knowledge could be obtained by buying books and reading during one's free time, or following extra courses. I don't think you don't need a university for this.

Am I right in my analysis? Is it true most people go to the industry after the PhD (I'm especially curious about people in the US from top universities)?

If my analysis is at least partially right, and since there is other viable ways to become successful in industry and to obtain knowledge, what are the benefits of doing a PhD? Is it only a good idea for people with strong plans to continue in academia, or are there other goals one can achieve (better) by obtaining a PhD? I am afraid that doing a PhD might be a waste of time if I plan to continue in industry.


texts: Is it good practice to let students consult their text materials during exams?

texts:
I teach undergraduate level courses in the humanities. Following practice in my department, I have let students take their texts for consultation during their written exams. They can choose a number of questions they want to answer from a set of questions. After a few semesters, I have begun questioning the validity of such an approach.

I usually had one exam in this form and one final essay in the end of the semester. The issue is, although the subject dealt with in the first part of the course is more or less objective, I find students "copying" my classes much more than using the texts to answer the questions. A complicating factor is that most students cannot presumably understand the material, available only in English. To make it clear, most of my students cannot read English (I could mention the material is not available at the library, but that is another matter). And it is a required course.

What bothers me is that with this approach I cannot, as suspected, measure the level of understanding of the students. Some of the questions deal with very basic issues and concepts. Even then, the overall level of reading, understanding, and writing, as evidenced by their exams and final essays, is very low.

I have thought about changing the syllabus next semester, to one exam (without consultation), perhaps another exam and the final written assignment, but I am quite unsure of the results. Perhaps a lot of students will fail.

Am I too concerned, or is this the way to go?


texts: Enquiring about postdoc opportunities: should I contact professor directly or via recommendation/networking?

texts:
I have recently finished my PhD and I'd like to contact a professor to introduce myself and express my interest in doing a postdoc in their group. My doctoral supervisor is familiar with this professor's work, and he may know him/her personally.
How should I approach the professor? Should I contact the professor directly via email, presenting myself and mentioning my supervisor? Or should I start by asking my supervisor to connect me with the professor, and take it from there?
In case it is relevant: this is in Europe.
Thanks for the advice.


texts: Accepting admission offer from more than one institute in United States

texts: I'm an international applicant and I'm not very familiar with the routines of admissions in United States. I was wondering if I get admitted from a university and accepting their offer and while trying to get F-1 visa for it, I get another admission from another university, would I be eligible to accept the admission offer of the latter university or not?


texts:
Imagine a post-pandemic world where we can travel. You’re invited to give a talk at a university. You would present your research in front of room of faculty and grad students, have numerous one-on-one meetings, and go to lunch or dinner with some folks. Why should you go?

As the presenter, what are the goals of invited talks? How should I understand my objectives during these visits?

I’ve heard the saying that “Every talk is a job talk.” So I would treat these visits with a degree of seriousness and focus as if these folks were considering hiring me. But aside from that high bar for seriousness, what other reasons/attitudes do people approach invited talks with?

I see some possible reasons: Stay current on what people in my field are working on. Increase the visibility and impact of my research. Cultivate relationships with potential tenure letter writers. Brainstorm around potential research collaborations. What else? Why should one travel around to give talks at universities?

I’m a junior faculty member in the social sciences, and I recognize that some specifics vary by field and career stage, but I’m sure some lessons are broadly applicable.


texts: Being in "reviewer invited" state for a long time before changing to "under review" : Is this a bad sign

texts: My paper was in "Reviewer invited" state for close to 7 months and recently changed to the status "Under Review". Why did it took 7 months for a reviewer/reviewers to accept to review, or find one who accepted? Is this generally a bad sign? and how much time it may on the "under review" state? Is it recommended to wait further for the review process to complete? Its an inter disciplinary math journal, to which both engineers and mathematicians contribute.


texts:
I am applying for a master's program in the US and am not sure how I should present my GPA ethically when discussing it. I have an undergrad total GPA of 3.394 and when asked to put in my undergrad GPA it only gives room for 2 digits and nothing more. EX: 3.0. Can I round up my GPA since it's so close to 3.4, or would this be unethical and I should round down to 3.3?

To make this as general as possible: How should one round their GPA when only 2 digits are accepted, and they're less than .05 away from the next digit?


texts: Computer Science vs Computer Graphics Masters

texts:
I am an undergraduate student who wants to do research in computer graphics field. I would like to know how a computer science masters degree and a computer graphics and Game Technology (goes with similar names at different universities) would affect my future Ph.D. applications and career, upon graduating from the masters program.

At this point I should also mention that some of the "Computer Graphics and ..." master programs are 1 year long. (No thesis I assume?)

Thank you


texts: My paper was rejected following a lengthy delay during which an editor published a similar paper

texts:
I have had a very bad experience with a journal. After nine months under review, the system showed that a decision had been made; I have checked and was “revise and resubmit”. Two days later, the editor contacted me to let me know that the paper has been rejected.

I don’t how to proceed with that journal and felt really disappointed and frustrated especially after it took such long time to respond. I also discovered that one member of the journal's editorial board has published a similar paper in the following issue.

Any advice on how to handle such a situation?


texts: Should I mention the title of my published paper in a personal statement even though this paper is not in a top level?

texts:
The personal statement is for a scholarship. I want to write about my achievements to prove I am a qualified candidate. But only one of my papers is related to the research area I am applying.

  I have published several academic papers. One of them, ABC, is published in EFG conference.

Neither my paper nor the conference is top level. The conference is just a local conference. I believe most people in selection committee won't hear about them. Should I list their name on my PS given that they are already on my CV?

If I only say "I have published several academic papers.". Most of them are even not related to the research area I am applying for. I think this word would prove nothing.

How to structure the word in this situation?


texts: In general, how in-depth do graduate schools analyze the difficulty of the classes you take?

texts:
For example, I am considering taking a proof-based linear algebra course that caters to math majors, when I could be doing a much lighter class focusing on applications rather than proofs.

Do graduate admissions look at your courses close enough to evaluate the difficulty of each one? To make things worse, not all more difficult classes explicitly say "honors" or emphasize that it is more difficult through the title.

Will graduate admissions care enough to look at it closely?


texts:
Some background: I'm currently about to finish my first PhD year (in a 4 year program) in complex geometry and I'm really struggling with it because I have to learn a lot of new mathematics essential for the area and which are completely new to me. My background is not completely in mathematics. I did my bachelor in physics and computer science, and after that I obtained a masters in pure math, where I got to learn the foundational material (analysis, topology, number theory, etc.)

As a consequence I've contemplated the following options:

The first gambit: Continue with it and give it my best try. I'm confident I can learn all the material I'm required to, the problem is my learning speed is not fast enough.
The second gambit: Change to a more friendly area: I'd like to think of this as an area that requires less foundational material (more vertical perhaps?). An area which may be better suited for me according to my background AND for which my university has a group for it (this limits the options). One of the options would be applied math.
The solution I fear most: Quit the PhD. I really don't have the slightest idea what would be of me in this case since I despise the idea of working in a 9-5 job, it's just not my thing.

In fact, all this got triggered by my advisor showing concern about my progress a few months ago, and as of now, they told me to learn certain topics, yet I find them quite hermetic given my foundational gaps, so I often get very stressed while studying this foundational material since I should be also studying what I was told to.

At the moment I'm not personally ready to take options 2 or 3, but these ideas are always in my mind.

What this post is for: I'd like to know what other people in similar situations to mine have done and how it worked for them. Maybe I'm overlooking other better courses of action. Maybe it's normal to feel this way or have some of this problems, or not. Broadly speaking I'm looking for advice from a more experienced person.


texts: Just received a great recommendation letter with one incident of a different student name

texts:
In reviewing graduate school applications, I have a letter of recommendation that consists of two paragraphs. The first one is very detailed and personalised. The second one I think is standard and used for all students. The problem is that on the second paragraph, another name is used. I guess the professor copied and pasted it from another letter of recommendation and forgot to correct the name.

How do I ask the professor, politely, to change that name?


texts: Who launches a private non-profit university?

texts:
Universities are normally non-profit. For public universities, it is understandable that governments invest the taxpayers' money for education purpose.

However, investors of a private university should invest a huge amount of money (campus, buildings, facilities, staff, etc.) without ambitious hope for financial gain. At best (after a few years), a new university can earn enough money (tuition fee and donations) to operate without financial benefits for its original investors.

Who invests in private universities?

It cannot be financial investment, and not all cases are charity. Then, how does this system work? as it is rapidly growing in many countries.

Who makes the huge initial investment?


texts:
Assume I’m writing a paper about randomness.  I might have this text:

Traditional TRNGs are (typically) external add on devices of varying size, cost and complexity [11][12][13].

How would I cite three specific examples such as:

TrueRNG v3 – Hardware Random Number Generator selling for ≈£50

Quantis Random Number Generator selling for £1100

Dice-O-Matic accessed 25/11/2017 which is a DIY toy device

Are these even products, or are they just web sites?  What if the referenced product was a Ferrari sports car instead?  There are a few product citation-style questions showing up in the Similar Questions box, but they tend to be for software.  Is there a difference?
Note that I'm not asking a philosophical question, rather a formatting one.  What do I actually type for each reference?  What would you type if you were going to add a reference for say the TrueRNG?


texts: What should I do if my department head encourages us to do questionable practices to raise publication indices?

texts: In our departmental staff meeting, we were encouraged by the head to practice salami slicing and to require authors of the papers we review to cite our own papers. What should I do in this case? What is likely to happen if I express my disagreement? I am a junior member of the faculty.


texts: Should figure captions include the "take home message" that the figure conveys?

texts:
Should figure captions only describe all of the necessary components (e.g. the meaning of axes, etc.) or can the figure caption also include a brief sentence about the main conclusion drawn from the figure. For example, say the axes are labelled "speed" and "time". One caption might be "Speed of a giraffe in meters per second as a function of time in seconds from when it first starts moving." It could also have the additional sentence "... Note that Speed is increasing with time." For the previous example, this is probably unnecessary, but for more complicated "take home messages" the point of the figure may not be as obvious. So should comments describing the main result behind the figure be only put in the text body or is it OK to put it in the caption as well? I think this might be field dependent.

The justification for wanting to put the main message of a figure in the caption is that it makes the paper easier to skim, as, anecdotedly, I've heard quite a few people say they skim the paper and focus most of their effort on the figures before ever looking at the results.


texts: Where to locate authors’ names in sentences?

texts:
Is it or is it not good practice to make an author the subject of sentences in a paper? When should their name be central, discreet, or absent in the sentence? Here are five variations showing different approaches, four of which include the author’s name. Are there particular identifiable use cases for these styles?

Johnson argued that this will never work.
Per Johnson, this will never work.
The argument was advanced by Johnson that this will never work.
This will never work (Johnson).
This will never work [42].