texts: Are there any particular grants or fellowships in the sciences specifically for non-traditional students?

texts: After obtaining my masters degree, I spent four years doing other things before returning to pursue my PhD.  My advisor has a Dept. of Energy grant which has funded me, but the grant will not be able to fund me for my entire PhD program.  I'll probably need another two years worth of funding to finish my degree.  I may not be able to get a Teaching Assistantship, as they are limited at my institution.  I've also noticed that I don't qualify for some fellowships (like NSF GRFP) because I am not a "traditional" student.  What are some other options for students in the latter part of their PhD program (i.e. dissertation)?  Particularly, for the field of computational science?


texts: recommended and reliable proofreading services

texts:
I have been using some online proofreader tools for checking for grammar issues in my writing, but I have found that the solutions they give are not so good at all.
For that reason I would like to know any human-proofreader service that somebody could recommend me. Some of the characteristics of the service that I am requiring are:

Not so expensive
Confidentiality, I do not want my article to end up published by somebody else
Reliable

Could anybody has experience with those services and could recommend me one? I need to review an article asap

Thanks


texts: Should PhD students be goal or opportunity driven?

texts:
PhD students usually go through a specific topic in depth for several years: understand it and contribute to its literature. Some topics are multidiscipline by nature. Thus, while studying, students may find nice contribution opportunities in not-directly related areas to their research problem.

is it better to be goal-driven (i.e focus on the thesis problem alone) or opportunity-driven (i.e spend your PhD in different problems you encounter in this topic)?


texts: As a MA Student, there is no requirement of 'originality' - what does this mean?

texts:
I do not fully understand - if not original, what will be expected of me? I am currently working on my MA thesis and realised that I just don't have any great insights and I feel I have nothing to contribute really. It really makes me sad, but I just can't find anything. I am in the Humanities, so there is almost always something to contribute if one looks long enough (or that's what I thought). But time is running out now and I feel I am just standing there empty handed.

Can I still get a good grade? What is required of me now? I don't quite understand.


texts: How should one select his or her citations when writing a thesis in STEM?

texts:
I have looked over the master and PhD thesis of several past colleagues, and it seems that their thesis section are all very organized and does not deviate too much from the standard literature. In fact, I was not at all surprised by their selection and could recognize most of them (if their work was similar to mine). One of my colleague's citation mostly contained widely cited papers from well known conferences.

However, I work in the very multidiscipinary field of "theoretical mathematical biology for engineering applications in computer science related fields". So I need results from a wide range of topics.

I have found that I need to cite obscure math references in order to prove my result. On Google, some of these papers have no or 1 citation. This sharply contrasts with the selection of citation from my previous colleague, which makes me a little nervous. I'm sure these mathematicians are famous in their field, but should I keep on digging until I find the (similar) result in a well known textbook?

Further, the text in this area is extremely abundant but no single source contain all the results. This means I have to continuously cite textbooks despite already citing prominent ones such as Winfree's "Geometry of Biological time".

All in all I will probably have over 80 citations. Is this too much?

There seems to be no guideline or rule to selecting citations. Can people working in engineering, physics, and math provide some insights on how to select/filter the list of citations for a master or PhD thesis?


texts: What is the best way to respond to students adding teachers to facebook?

texts:
As a teacher and a teacher manager, I noticed that the students frequently ask teachers for their facebook names or send them friend requests.

I think that students having their teachers' personal lifes on the facebook feed leads to situations inside the classroom that compromises the way students see the teacher.

How should I respond to a situation where teachers actually accept the friend requests?

UPDATE

Thanks to @JoBedard statement about the "age factor":

  It depends on the age class of people your teaching.

We considered useful to specify that the students are age 13 to 20 years old. I would like to add that they are 90% women and from the south-american society, which has different behaviors and educational principles.


texts: Other authors are notified except me, good or bad sign?

texts:
Recently I submitted a paper to an IEEE conference. A week after the notification deadline, I haven't heard anything from the committee yet, so I decided to email the Technical Program Chair directly. They told me that 80% of authors have been notified, the rest have to wait a bit more.

I'm not sure how is that possible, sice the quota for accepted paper is limited and the committee should make all decisions at once? For the 20% authors haven't received notifications, is the acceptance rate for them higher?


texts: Order of authors for a tenure-track assistant professor in the USA: second author after Ph.D. student or last author?

texts:
I am a second-year Assistant Professor in an engineering department at a US university. I did my Ph.D. in a non-US university and post-docs in the USA. I have a two papers that my Ph.D. students are about to submit, with 5 and 7 authors respectively. A Ph.D. student of mine will be first author in each of those, since he contributed the most, no doubt whatsoever with this.

But what is best for me? I am definitely the person who contributed the most after my student. I had always assumed that I should be the second author. A colleague in Europe told me, however, "Are you crazy? You should be the last author of the list, which is the most prestigious spot after the first author! The main PI or person who helped most the student is always the last author in the list!" So now I am doubting my choice.

Where should my name be on the list, given that I am the main PI and I helped the most? I know it is surely not the main factor for tenure, but I'd like to do this in the most correct way.


texts: At what stage should acknowledgements be inserted into the paper if review is not double-blind?

texts:
When the review process is double-blind, I guess (although I have not read this anywhere) that acknowledgements should not be written in the submitted paper, as this might break anonimity. They should only be inserted into the camera-ready version, after the paper is accepted.

What is the custom when the review process is not double-blind? Should I write the acknowledgements in the submitted version, or wait to the camera-ready version?


texts: Without any contribution from my supervisor, is it reasonable to write my papers all by myself?

texts:
Background: I am finishing up my PhD. I'm lucky to be at a good school and my PhD was funded by a competitive scholarship. I have published work from my master's in humanities as a solo author, and as a co-author, I have published a conference paper in CS. But I feel a tremendous amount of stress to have work published in my own field.
The problem I am trying to be resilient for is that my supervisor, who is very warm and friendly, has basically contributed nothing to my PhD. I ask for feedback and they say "looks good!", no matter what I've done. I plead for help from whomever else in my department has five minutes to spare, and I have gotten so much more care and feedback from these people (who are less senior, already overworked, and in objectively less in a position to help me than my supervisor is), although my supervisor is an author on my work.
I understand this hands-off approach can be a sign of confidence, but my very first submitted manuscript was recently rejected by a journal. My supervisor, who doesn't appear to know exactly what is in the manuscript, wrote me to say "don't worry, if we produce major revisions, we might still be able to publish!"
I got a lot of the constructive feedback I desperately needed from the reviewers, but I don't actually agree with the primary reason why it was rejected, which is more to do with theory/experimental philosophy. So I feel a combination of shame (it was a non-blinded review) that I made rookie errors that my supervisor didn't help me to catch, but also I bristle that my supervisor is so quick to accept the overall outcome, without having contributed or helped or potentially even knowing what the manuscript is trying to achieve. One of the kindly non-supervisors in my department who read it and gave me feedback said they disagreed with the reviewers (as regards the theoretical reasons for rejection) and that I shouldn't change, but should work in the helpful criticism and then submit elsewhere.
So, here is where I am at. I have suffered a large blow to my confidence, I have multiple PhD chapters that I am trying to develop into manuscripts all by myself, and I feel like I am clueless and overwhelmed by the amount of work that is. I am also worried this will make finding a post-doc very difficult. Since getting my first manuscript published has been hundreds of hours of lonely labour so far, I am starting to wonder if it is silly of me to think I can also produce all these other papers on my own.
My ultimate question is, how can I stay resilient and get myself out of this situation, and find my momentum again? It feels like I started my PhD with so much optimism and and I really love research. I know I could work in industry or government, but I want to continue in this field. I just don't know if I am failing to read the writing on the wall, or whether I need to change tactics, instead of just slogging along, by myself, writing naive manuscripts that will be rejected and continue to pile up.


texts: Where to put explanation of figures, in caption or in text?

texts:
I am writing an article which include some complicated figures.
These figures are networks with different colored nodes. About these figures, for example, I want to say:
Red nodes show XX, blue nodes indicates to YY, and Yellow nodes show TT.

Currently, I do not know where I should indicate to the details of figures, only in text, only in captions, or in both of them?


texts: How should I ask for a modification in the admision procedure of a Master programme?

texts:
I am a Spanish student and I'm planning to do a Master abroad next year, concretely in France. I met all the requirements to get admitted into the Master but the procedure includes a final interview of all candidates in late June.

My problem is that in that time of the year I have my final exams and I have to defend my thesis to get my degree. I couldn't be able to travel to France for the interview then as it would conflict with my exams or the defence.

What would be the best way of asking to hold the interview in a different date (early June or July would work for me)? Would it be considered rude to ask if it is possible to held the interview via the internet (by Skype or similar)? I was thinking of sending an email to the responsible of the admission explaining the situation but I don't know if this is usual or it would be frowned upon.


texts: Sources to understand dissertation process, methods?

texts:
I am a first-year psychology doctoral student (PsyD) and am forming my dissertation topic. I am having trouble finding a really good book or article that outlines the guts of what makes a good dissertation. Really understanding the core purpose of this requirement for my degree is important to me (instead of just ping-ponging through the process until it's done) because I am creative and have some unorthodox ideas that I'd like to fit into the dissertation framework. So knowing the limits will help me be creative within them. The faculty in my program are great but I am a bit of an anomaly with my goals and need to gather all the resources I can.

FWIW, right now I am looking at an integral lit review between Murray Bowen's "emotional system" in Family Systems Theory and the core Buddhist teachings of Vipassana. The goal will be to show that they were "proposing" the same core construct of human functioning. Should be very challenging.

Thank you!


texts: Applying to a PhD program whose offer I rejected last year

texts:
As the title suggests I applied to a PhD program last year, I got an offer but accepted the PhD offer from a different school, in a different (but not too different) field.

Now, there are many reasons for me to try to do my PhD in a different department, including, but not limited to, the research interests of the department. It wasn't that I applied to and accepted the offer from a department without knowing their research, but that the research sphere of the department doesn't match my interest. I've already visited the other department, and I think they match my interest better.

I was wondering, does this situation justify reapplying to a program after declining their offer, or is the application just a waste of time?

Also, if I want to reapply to their program anyways, should I contact them in advance and tell them that and try to explain my situation, or should I submit my application just as I do for any other program?


texts: Is Science Publishing group (http://www.sciencepg.net) a genuine publisher related to the Science journal?

texts: I received an email requesting me to apply for a reviewer/editor position at Science Publishing group. But I found that Science Publications have a different website, hence I feel that the email is a fraud. Please help to clarify matters.


texts: How much customization of letters of recommendation is necessary?

texts:
While I know that students are encouraged to "tailor" their applications to the particular school or program they're applying to, does the same hold true for the people writing letters of recommendation on their behalf? In other words, is it possible just to change the "addressee" portion, and use a greeting such as "Dear Members of the Admissions Committee," or is more personalization required?

Just to clarify here, I'm referring to the "pro-forma" parts of the letter, rather than the actual content of the recommendation per se.


texts: Rejecting a paper after final acceptance notice

texts:
I had a paper accepted by an Elsevier journal about two weeks ago.  I’ve already gone through the process of submitting the publishing agreement form and manuscript proofs online.

Then, a few days ago I received a rejection notice. No new reviewer comments were included.  I thought this might be in error, so I wrote to the journal and just received a response that it was not an error, but they gave no real explanation for what happened.

I didn't make any content changes during the proofing process and the initial reviewer comments were all favorable.

Do I have any avenues open to me to fight this?


texts: Found an error in a paper that I already presented at a student engineering conference; what should I do now?

texts:
I completed my undergraduate (in engineering) earlier this year and I am working in a company now.

My senior design project involved me developing a different and cost-effective method for something. So I decided to document everything in a research paper.

I ended up submitting the paper to a national level student engineering conference. The paper was accepted. I presented it. And in fact ended up getting the award for the 2nd best paper.

However I was going over my paper the other day and I found out a mistake in my algorithm. My concept (discussed in the paper) and actual code are both correct. But since I didn't put the code in the paper and just the algorithm I made an error in converting my code to the algorithm for the paper.

The error can be easily corrected however the algorithm in its current state will cause the device to not work properly. The paper also discusses 2 other algorithms for 2 other tasks; both of them are correct but everything is interdependent.

The paper hasn't been published (and can't be found online) but it is printed in the conference proceedings. I am also ashamed to have won the 2nd prize with an error in my paper.

My question is, how do I approach this?


texts: (undergraduate) my graduate student is extremely cutthroat

texts:
I work in a lab in experimental psychology at a pretty prestigious research university. I have worked there for a while (this is currently my fourth semester) for about 8+ hours a week, entirely unpaid. I have worked on menial tasks (data entry), more theoretical things (experimental design for complex studies), and of course actually running participants. Despite doing all this and doing it well, I really get the feeling that my graduate student (in our lab, each undergrad is generally paired with a grad from the start) is definitely not aimed at my success.

For example, our PI told me that she would support me in my pursuit of an undergraduate research grant, but there was some miscommunication about what exactly I'd be writing it on, so she told me to consolidate my idea with my grad student's very similar idea and go from there. Grad and I met and she completely shot down everything I said (very odd, since the PI liked my idea and had told us to work together) and actually recommended I write the grant on her behalf for one of her studies that I had nothing to do with. When I pointed out that the grant was specifically for undergraduate-designed research and was not intended to be used for grad students, she gave me some weasel-y response about "that's how things are done." I didn't write the grant, because I didn't feel good about potentially taking away one of the few grants exclusively for undergrads from another undergrad who legitimately deserved it.

I wanted to apply to complete a thesis in our lab -- honestly, that was a large part of working so long and hard in just one lab. However, Grad told PI that I was having problems with communication and that I seemed "extremely stressed," prompting PI to ask me if I really thought a thesis was a good idea. The hilarious part about that is I had literally just had a meeting with Grad that week and told her I was having a great time in life, the semester was going well, etc.; in fact, Grad told me SHE was stressed lately, not the other way around. There have been no communication issues, except once I was late for a participant because a friend had a medical emergency. (The participant was still ran successfully, by the way, and this is 1 in literally dozens of participants I have ran with professionalism.)

I just am starting to feel paranoid she is out to get me, or at least to step on whoever she has to get to the top. I also was kind of expecting authorship of some kind since I have done SO MUCH on this one study (been working on it for 2 years now, from "PI and I were talking about this new idea..." to training other research assistants on the study because I know it so well) but as it draws to a close, I get the feeling that authorship isn't a thing that will happen for me. I feel I have legitimately done as much as she has, and it makes me a little angry that she will get authorship when she sits on her laptop and says "looks good" while I work with other new RAs and has never ran a single participant for her own study. This makes me feel like I could have had a better professional benefit from being in another lab, but as the deadline for formal application for Honors rapidly approaches, I feel absolutely stuck and frustrated.

Thoughts? Ideas? Am I losing my mind?


texts: Will low grades for a minor on my trascript affect my chances of getting into grad school?

texts:
So, I started out as an Information Technology major and now decided to pursue Psychology. I wanted to also pursue a minor in Computer Science instead because I am 1 class away from a minor. I am undecided what exactly I want to do after I graduate, but I do know I want to go to some sort of graduate school. So far, most of my grades have been at least a "C", most of them being A's. This semester I am taking 3 computer science classes and a calculus class. I have been struggling this semester and I don't count on having high grades (I realized I am not as interested in this field and have trouble understanding the subject matter). I think a few of my grades will end up being D's, but my GPA should still be over a 3.0. Once I start my psychology classes, I think I can bring my GPA back up.

So, I was wondering if graduate schools would worry about the low grades I may receive this semester even though they are not included in my psychology major. I also do not plan on retaking any classes.


texts: Pessimistic with direction of academia-industry project

texts:
I am a recent fresh graduate who came from math and physics. Recently (< 4 weeks), I've taken on a junior research role in a research institute within a University.
This particularly university - and those in this country - have extremely strong collaborations with industry partners so work in Universities in this country is divided into pure/ fundamental research and industry-driven research. The University houses corporate research labs.

The project I am working on right now is in the area of air traffic. I report to a fellow (academic title) who comes from industry who is only focused on research in operations/ convincing stakeholders and sponsors.
Research because everything he proposes and investigates are qualitative and conceptual without any justifications with mathematics in an area which presumably requires mathematical models to validate ideas.

Granted that I have been in this role for <4 weeks, I am miserable and I believe I will continue to feel so.

1)
I believed I was overpromised.
I was promised that I would be working alongside professors to develop new mathematical models for air traffic.
It turns out I am the only person from math and physics. The rest are from engineering or industrial design field.

2)
Much of my time would be involved with producing white papers and policy recommendations for management of future air traffic

3) I am pushed to pursue a PhD (comes with scholarship) which, with internal discussion, would allow me to move into a PhD program even with an average BSc grades since the director of the research institute is the PI for the PhD program.
However, my thesis would have to be in the area of air traffic.
My interest is in Abstract Algebra, Topology and Quantum mechanics and I'll like to pursue this in a year or two time when I return back to University.

4) The fellow I report too is really a project manager in disguise. Every discussions with him mainly revolves around stakeholder expectations and  targeted objectives.

A good case scenario is this: He engages a visiting scholar who has done a PhD thesis in air traffic modelling, look to see how the idea in the thesis could be extended to specific circumstances (without much modification to the mathematical model in the thesis) for national interest before suggesting a feasibility write up on why this works.
From here, it is already obvious that nothing of substance could be published in respectable journals.

I am afraid that my current research role will not provide me with a stronger exposure to math or physics in the fundamental sense.

What is the best course of action?


texts:
I am applying for a scholarship (women in graduate studies). It asks whether I have received any academic honors and prizes. I received a couple of master's awards from my supervisor's grant and a graduate scholarship. Do those count as an academic honor or not?

And in another part, it asks whether I have got funding in the past or present. I am getting some money for doing research. Is it a bad thing to include? They won't give me further funding? Having said that, the amount of money that I am getting for doing research is nominal, that is why I am applying for more funding.


texts: Are there areas where only some universities pay their sports scholars?

texts:
I have a feeling this is off-topic because this is about undergrad and not about research, but this question Why do American colleges and universities have sports teams? isn't closed, so yeah here goes.
Apparently

‘Athletic scholarships are common in the United States, but in many countries they are rare or non-existent.’

But are there countries where there are some universities that offer sports scholarships while other universities in the same country don't? We can shrink country to city, town, district, etc if you like (Note 2). I'll just say 'area'.
I have this relative: My relative and I are expats living in a certain area but permanent residents of the area. My relative recently got accepted into a first world university for an undergraduate degree in engineering and was accepted as a sports scholar...sort of.
None of the tuition is waived. The only thing my relative gets is a reduced fee to be on the team: Yeah, the university charges its students a fee to be on the team. My relative also gets lower grade requirements in admissions or retention, but my relative does not need that due to having outstanding grades in secondary. I figured this was a practice in this area where we both live and where we are both expats (see quote above).
However, I found out that several universities in this area apparently do offer sports scholarships ranging from 50-100% off tuition. One of the universities that offer is even of a lower QS ranking than the university that my relative is attending (Note 1). This to me seems like a big misunderstanding on my part, so I've emailed the university, although my relative has already asked, just to get first hand confirmation.
In the mean time: Why would anyone play sports for a university against other universities but not get paid or get tuition waived for the playing?
Some guesses:

Lower admission grade requirement
Lower retention grade requirement
Admission or retention for dormitory requirement
Possibility of future scholarships
Prospects of a sports-related careers after graduation that include but are not limited to professional sports

The thing is none of my guesses explain why those universities apparently have sports scholarships that waive tuition at least partly while this university doesn’t. Why wouldn’t sports scholars from a university that doesn't pay their sports scholars just transfer to another university in the next year thus causing the university to lose in inter-school competitions?
(Note 1): My relative applied to all universities in our area for sports scholarships and was rejected for all but this university. Also, our area has less than 10 universities, and they're all in the QS... Wait, lemme check...Yeah, ACTUALLY, my relative's university has the highest world QS ranking in our area. Meanwhile, the university with the lowest world QS ranking in our area has sports scholarships. Also, all universities in question are in the top 100 in our continent's world QS ranking, our continent is not Africa, and my relative's university is not the highest in our area for our continent's world QS ranking.
(Note 2): I'm thinking perhaps of a possibility where, say, in North America or Europe this might be the case but is not the case for a specific state or city or something like Massachusetts, Boston, UK or London. You can shrink as much as you want on the condition that universities in your shrunken area compete with each other in sports.
Update 1: Relative is sibling. saying this just to link to posts. lol.
Update 2: Starting 2nd year of university, sibling got into dormitory scholarship. So, tuition scholarship isn't the only thing student athletes can get. (Sibling is now 3rd year going 4th year.)


texts: Writing a recommendation letter for a senior colleague

texts:
A good colleague of mine from a previous life is applying for outside professorships at both pre-and-post tenure Associate levels. I was flattered when they reached out asking for a letter from me, and am happy to help.  The only thing is, they are a few more years more senior than me; I am a new, young, relatively no-name junior professor, and I worked under this person a few years ago when I was a postdoc. We had a good working relationship, the only thing is that I'm not totally familiar with the idea of writing letter for a senior colleague. My understanding of this kind of letter in general is that you get top names in your field to vouch for you. Assuming that my colleague is already recruiting top names alongside mine, what do I have to contribute that they don't; how should I approach the letter? Am I just writing a character reference, or do I wax about their potential to transform the field? Is it on me to be explicit about what I do and don't feel credible to claim about this person, or my vision for how the information in my recommendation should complement that from the other letters; or can I trust any readers to gather that info for themselves?

Because norms differ so much by discipline, please include your own field in your answer. I'm in information science.


texts: Difficulty reading scientific papers in two columns

texts:
It sounds stupid, but I came to realize that it's significantly more difficult for me to read scientific papers when they are typeset in two columns than papers in which the text appears in one column. Something about multiple columns feels too "packed" and wearisome to the point that it takes me a lot more time to read than a single-column paper.

Each publisher chooses its own style, obviously (an interesting discussion about it here), but what I want to know is if there is any way to transform a two-column paper into a one-column paper for an easier read? Are all papers being published with a single typeset according to the publisher's preference, or perhaps there may be different versions in different databases?


texts: Transitioning from a BS in CIS to an MSE in Software Engineering

texts:
I'm considering an attempt to gain admittance to an MSE program in Software Engineering but I realize that most of my education may not be fully relevant. My BS is in CIS where the focus was real world application and lots of management type stuff, so there wasn't much math and I know that is going to be be a problem. I was looking at ASU's MSE program which implied that the only pre-requisite was Calc I. However, when I was looking through the pre-reqs for each individual class, there were things like Intro to Embedded systems and such; subjects that were obviously not included in CIS. I currently work as a Software Engineer, but our focus is pretty level in that it's typical information systems type stuff (just moving data in and out of databases). I have a true passion for it, I'm not terrible at math, and I really do want to get deeper into the matrix so to speak, so motivation won't necessarily be a huge issue.

So, I'm wondering if anyone had any experience with this or could give me some info on what to expect or what I'm going to need to do in order to make this happen. For instance, am I going to end up getting a second BS (in CS) before I can make the transition or should I still be able to make the switch outright? I haven't contacted ASU yet because in my experience, they push you to apply without actually providing guidance first.


texts: How formal should the dedication section in a master thesis be?

texts:
I want to make a little practical joke in the dedication of my master thesis. It's nothing extraordinary, and it's harmless, but it is all but formal.

I searched around and found this answer that states, as I already thought, that the acknowledgements section is not so formal and I can write it the way I want, but in terms of the dedication, it doesn't state anything.

Will the academia receive it well if I make this little practical joke in the dedication page, or should I write something a little more formal?


texts: Is it appropriate to address a PhD holder as "doctor" (without name)?

texts:
In the US and Canada, I addressed my lecturers and instructors as "Professor X", "Dr. X", "Mr. X", or "Ms. X" (depending on their formal education and academic position). I am currently at a university in Southeast Asia where students rarely (almost never) address university staff by name. They will say (always in English), "thank you professor", "thank you doctor", "good morning sir", "good morning miss", etc. There is nothing wrong with this; it's just the academic custom here.
My question is about US and Canadian academia: is it appropriate to address a PhD holder as "doctor" without name? For example, is it appropriate to say "thank you doctor" instead of "thank you Dr. X"? I recall hearing "thank you professor" (without name), but I can't recall hearing "thank you doctor" (without name).


texts:
I have one more year until finishing my PhD. I feel that I will have a mediocre PhD thesis, at best. I feel like quitting, and I had this feeling even from the start of the PhD. I felt even from the beginning that something is wrong and I should not continue but I continued anyway because I was very passionate about the subject that my thesis is supposed to be focused on. (Of course I did not get to do exactly what I thought I would do, but still... the things that I worked on belonged somehow to that area of study that I always interested in). I struggled a lot during these PhD years, and that's mainly because I did not get much help. Now I feel exhausted. I don't have any energy left to continue. I really feel that the reason I got into this situation is because people that were supposed to help me think very low of me... And they just left me to deal with my problems all by myself. Probably because they think I wasn't good enough to deserve much of their attention.

I have a few publications. In principle, I have all I need in order to finish. But somehow I feel like it is worthless. I am aware that it would be very stupid to quit right now. I don't know what to do. I don't know whether I will continue my work after the PhD graduation.


texts: How to reject a PhD Scholarship offer after accepting it?

texts:
I have accepted a scholarship at a certain university, after exchanging many emails with the supervisor. I was interviewed by him and he personally took trouble to secure funding for me. And he also helped me a lot throughout the process. But now I have received a better offer from a better university, which has a better research group.

Now I am not sure how to email my supervisor rejecting the offer, after accepting it months back. It seems a really unethical thing to do. But considering all the other aspects, the second university seems to be the ideal choice for me.

How should I reject the first offer without offending my supervisor?


texts: Proper procedure when promised funding not given to Ph.D. graduate student

texts:
I have a friend who was accepted into an interdisciplinary program at the University of Arizona a few years ago.

They are more than halfway to completing their Ph.D., however their advisor is indicating that they may not receive the full amount of funding this year.

Their offer letter and governing handbook all state that students will be funded at an annual rate of $25k for up to 5 years.

My friend has procured much of their own funding for many of the years through fellowships, so their salary was payed from outside money for over half of their time in the program.

The relevant handbook text is:

  The basic graduate stipend is $25,000 (pro-rated the first year due to
  August start date). Depending on the source of funding, you may
  receive this stipend in the form of bi-weekly paychecks or in larger
  lump sum amounts... In addition to your stipend, tuition is waived and
  single only health insurance is paid. Miscellaneous fees incurred each
  semester are the student’s responsibility to pay.

and

  All first-year students are funded from multiple university sources.
  By the middle of the second semester, students should have identified
  a dissertation advisor. From that point forward, financial
  responsibility for the student besides with the dissertation advisor.
  During dissertation research, students are typically paid as graduate
  research assistants (via payroll) for a period of up to five years,
  contingent on the availability of funds and continued satisfactory
  progress.

Now this was sold to them by the program recruitment as they would have complete coverage for 5 years at $25k salary, but the statement "contingent on the availability of funds," seems to be an escape clause here.

When a Ph.D. student is promised a certain level funding in the US, but legally the University can shirk that duty, what is the typical response, recourse, and avenues that the student should take when that funding is lowered or removed?

Note that my friend is still in negotiation about this with their advisor, and they may still obtain full funding, but I thought it would make a good question.


texts: Can two universities have the same name?

texts:
I am now developing a database having information about universities. The database has a feature to prevent a duplicate name for the university title. I actually wonder of whether it is possible for 2 universities/colleges to have the same name in one country or different countries.

EDIT:
I am actually not asking to make this database field the unique identifier for my university entries, but rather for preventing potential duplicate of a university when the the data entry guys use the system. I know I can do a quick check on duplicates but I thought to use this Unique attribute if universities have unique names worldwide.


texts: What might the editor do if my supervisor contacts a journal to claim authorship of a paper?

texts:
When I was doing my PhD project, I got an idea to solve a different but related problem. However, my supervisor said neither the motivation nor the initial result were interesting, and so he refused to offer me help on this topic. Then, I did a paper on my own with a lot of work afterwards, and submitted it to a high standard journal, and it was accepted.

My supervisor knew this, and he commanded me to add his name to the paper, otherwise he would write to the editor. I asked him what his contribution was. He had nothing to say, but insisted he had spent time to discuss the result with me.

So, if he writes to the editor, what would happen? Or if the paper has been published, then he has nothing to do with it? I am pretty much sure he can almost show nothing about the evidence of the contribution.


texts: Can open science project be performed/published by non-scientists?

texts:
In other words, can anybody publish an open science project, or does the author need to have some specific title or at least study the subject in order to receive some positive feedback from the community?

Or is it simply evaluated based on the quality of the published data and its positive feedback/output?


texts:
I came to the US with my PhD classmate having similar backgrounds and took postdocs at two different universities. My research output is much better than him, but he has won three awards from reputable societies/organizations. Now he got a tenure-track position, but I was not even invited for an interview.

The point is that his PI nominates him for every possible award, but my PI never does. I specifically asked several times, but he doesn't care.

What should I do? Should I move to another group whose PI supports me in getting such credits?


texts: Is there any free alternative to Mendeley desktop app on Windows?

texts: I have been using Mendeley for a very long time now. I use it for organizing and reading articles. I just noticed that it keeps removing files randomly from the folders and groups. I don't know the exact reason for this. I wonder if there is an alternative to the Mendeley desktop client for Windows.


texts: How to cite sources written in a different language than English?

texts:
Assume one wants to cite a paper written in a different language than the article citing said paper (e.g., ones own article is written in English, but the source is French).

How to properly handle citation in such a case?

Do I cite the original (French) title or a translated title? If I use a translated title, people might have a hard time to find the source; if the original (French) title is cited, people might have a hard time understanding it.


texts: Resources of APIs for automated paper citation aggregation

texts:
I'm looking to do an extensive literature search.

I would like to start with about half a dozen or so survey papers in the field, and look at their bibliography. Then, I would like to go through each of those papers and look at their bibliography.

This can continue until I have, say, 500 - 1000 papers in a a relationship graph, after I've pruned papers that do not contain certain keywords or words in their title/abstract. Then, I can rank the papers based on their connectedness in the graph, weighted by the age of the publication.

Sounds great, but I can't see any easy way to accomplish this. I've looked at DBLP and crossref.org, but neither of these show the bibliography of the papers. Web of Science has an API to which I may be able to get access, but I don't think that will provide bibliography either.

Short of manual web scraping, is there any way to achieve this?

I can't scrape Google Scholar since it doesn't show the bibliography of papers, but Microsoft Academic Search does. MSAS does have an API, but you need to apply with information like Project URL to get access, which is not applicable in my case.


texts: I find a work title similar to mine without any published paper, what I have to do?

texts:
I am doing my PhD study. I have already finished my objectives. Before 4 months, I have done one of my objectives.  Today, I found a title similar to mine in some way,  in one of the conference workshops. The work was presented at 04 to 07 of Jul 2018. I read the abstract which does not give any further information about the work. I search for the work via Google Scholar and the library of my university, however, I found nothing.

All what I understand from the abstract is that they used the same name as the model that I have used, which was not investigated when I finished my objective.

I am really confused now. I do not know what I have to do. There is no peer review paper about the work.

Any advice, please?


texts: Why would a university restrict publication of work due to plagiarism fears if TurnItIn was used?

texts:
I used to host some code I'd written for university assignments publicly on my GitHub account (after the deadlines had passed, of course). Before long, I received an email from the dep't asking me to take it down due to fears of plagiarism (if students were given the same or similar assignments in the years subsequent).

I did so, but recently I've been thinking - my university uses Turnitin for plagiarism detection, which as I understand it means that my code is already in the Turnitin database as shown in the below excerpt from this FAQ:

  Misconception 7: Every student paper submitted becomes part of the Turnitin database--forever.

  Reality: Turnitin has many options--including the ability to offer students an "opt out" of the database and the option of having an institutional database of student papers.  Student papers may be removed only by request of the instructor of the class.

I don't recall opting out of anything, so if my code is in the Turnitin database surely undetected plagiarism wouldn't be an issue? Of course, the morality of providing a desperate student with both the temptation and means to plagiarise is another issue entirely.


texts: Question of authership. Belonging to two institutions. Are both required to be mentioned?

texts:
I have a question about my affiliations on my article.

I belong to two institutions, A and B (both are schools).  I have a regular position at A (so I receive a monthly salary from A). I also have a non-regular position at the other shcool, B.

This time, I am contributing to an article as a co-author at school B. Do I need to mention school A as one of my affiliations? (I did not do anything at A. I did not use any resources at A. )

One more question. Do you think school approval (review) at A is usually required ?


texts:
I know there are quite some questions about business cards, but as far as I can see they are all about professors, PhDs, and so forth. I have finished my Bachelor's degree in Germany and I am currently taking my Master's (computer science).

Although there is a certrain trend in Germany (especially in STEM-related fields, even more in Startup culture) towards a more casual way of dealing with each other, there are still some things that are considered rather negative. I guess compared to other countries we are still kind of strict in our behavior, even in defiance of globalization.

One such thing is business cards for students. Albeit scientific degrees enjoy a very good reputation in a CV in Germany, students are often seen like non-professionals. It would be an exaggeration to say "school-kids"...but sometimes even in this direction.

Hence, many (business) professionals would not recommend business cards for students. Some even consider students with business cards as self-exposers and would disrespect them.

However, I am mostly talking to people in Academia (or sometimes human resources people). Since I have written my first publications, people started asking for my contact information at conferences (and sometimes at exhibitions, like CeBIT for example). Even though many of them are German, there are also lots of international people.

In fact I will visit a big conference in my field in Japan this year.

So I am wondering what "etiquette" does exist in other countries for business cards (as a student)?
Is it probably helpful to have some that you can hand out at events? Or is it considered rather negative (at least in business quarters), like in Germany?


texts: GPA weightage for changing fields in higher studies

texts:
Currently pursuing my 3rd year of  BTech in electronics and communication engineering, I plan on pursuing an Integrated PhD / PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics due to my deep interest and passion for th field.
I have relevant research experience in the same, good GRE scores and LORs.
My question is that due to the change in my study field, how much weightage will my engineering GPA have on my application? If it is average, will it be a drawback?
Thanks for your help.


texts: Describing speculative challenges for a new method in a paper

texts:
When presenting a new method in a paper and you don't have any/sufficient empirical evidence of the limitations, what is the best way to introduce speculative challenges and potential mitigations?

I'm looking for the title of the section: is this part of the limitations section? my understanding was the limitations had to have empirical evidence.

What wording would be used for introducing them?

Update: the field is interdisciplinary: a mixture of Business Administration and Computer Science.  The method is for Business Administration but relies on some Computer Science techniques and theory.


texts: PhD Thesis based on published articles on different topics

texts:
I am in 3rd year of PhD and I was suppose to graduate after 1 year, but suddenly due to some unknown reason my adviser gave me 2 months to write my PhD dissertation. He said I have published 7 SCI journals (as a first author) and what I need to do is just compile all articles into single document.
I know it is common to publish article based on PhD dissertation.  Is it also common to compile a PhD thesis based on published SCI journal Articles? More tricky part is that out of 7 only 2 articles are written on same topic rest of work is totally different. But he insist I can create a link between all articles, which in my opinion doesn't make any sense. It something like saying apple and orange are same fruit.Let say I have no other option except compile my dissertation within 2 months. Is it possible that the PhD dissertation chapters may cover unrelated topics? Let say one part is related to Operating System and other part is related to Future Internet?


texts: Writing a Technical Paper /research paper about an assistive (technology) software project

texts:
I'm an undergraduate student of Computer Science. I have been working on a software project all summer, and is successfully completed now.

The project is an assistive technology , a unique piece of software or program which runs on the Desktop/Laptop for peoples with
disabilities.
My teachers have recommended me to write a research paper on it and publish it in a international journal or a well recognized
journal.
But I don't know if a software is worth writing a paper on.? and would it be accepted in any standard journal of IT.?
Do I have to include the code in the paper.? or provide a web link in the paper to the software project to be reviewed by the peers.?

Also there is some related work/papers published in some fake/bogus international journals , the papers are poorly written , the papers feels like they are written by some high school kids plus their projects are nowhere available on the Internet, the actual products that they have developed and is the topic of their research paper is no where to be found on the Internet. (ok I have to admit the authors (students) are from India).

Now the question is that do i have to cite to these poor papers on these fake international journals.? do i have to mention them as a
related work.? would it be considered plagiarism if i claim that there
have never been any work done on this Topic although my project has
additional features and different approaches and privacy related
solutions that were not solved or mentioned in those fake journals and
their papers.?

Those papers are not just immaturely written but the same papers has different authors in different fake journals.
I'm just worried that even if i mention those papers as related work, it might downgrade my paper as the quality of those papers is really really cheap, and if i show my work as original work which is never been done before might cost me plagiarism related issues .
Would really appreciate any research scholar to guide me.
Thank You


texts: A social experiment. What is the worst that can happen?

texts:
I am a postdoc and I have been applying for jobs in both industry and academia. My h-index is good enough for junior faculty (~7).

Along my academic CV I have an industry-oriented CV and send both of them out accordingly. I have had a handful of final stage interviews (faculty/scientist) for academia but none in the industry so far.

I suspect I am being interviewed as the "token diverse female" (I'm asian) as my area of science is white male dominated. The whole experience, along with prior job hunts, has led me to suspect that my gender and race may be hindering my earning potential. I believe I have the required qualifications and skills.

I am thinking of reapplying as a white male to these same industry jobs I got rejected  for (especially the rejections without interview) just to see if how far along I would get. Only for industry jobs because those CVs don't make it to the chief scientist's table. Maybe make a documentary or blog about this if there are significant findings. Now put your imagination to the test: what is the worst that can happen?


texts: Can i continue studying architecture in Germany after i did two year of bachelor degree in architecture in Lebanon

texts:
I started studying architecture in Lebanon and I have finished two years of bachelor degree and when I started the third and final year I decided to continue studying abroad,
So my question is: can I continue studying the third year or should I start from the beginning?
P.S.: I have a high school degree and the university I'm studying in is known internationally if this can help ! Thank you :)


texts: Is it possible to survive in university academia without applying for grants?

texts:
I see that many professors spend all of their time applying for grants, minus a little bit of time to interact with the graduate students on their grants and a little bit of time to fulfill their teaching obligations. They are of course doing a great service to their graduate students, who perhaps otherwise would not be able to do research, but it doesn't seem very enjoyable to be in such a position.

I've spoken with many researchers at national laboratories who say they chose to go that route so that they could be mostly freed from the grant game (of course some of them still have to write grant proposals).

I enjoy doing research, but my real passion is in teaching, so my goal has always been to be a university professor. However, I am not fond of the idea of "hustling for money" (as one researcher at a national lab put it). I personally would much rather spend most of my time preparing strong lectures. (I would consider high school but the topics I would like to teach only are offered in universities.)

So, my question: can one survive in university academia without grants, perhaps at the cost of not having graduate students? Is it enough to be an effective teacher, with a strong albeit grantless research portfolio?


texts: How to turn a book chapter into a publishable paper?

texts:
I'm a PhD student in the field of operations management. I've just finished writing a chapter in a handbook and am thinking about rewriting it into a publishable paper.

How much of the content can be the same and what else do I need to consider - such as empirical data, new conceptual development, etc.?


texts: Why are faculty positions in Management Information System (MIS) going down?

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

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


texts: How do you organise scientific articles with and without annotations?

texts:
Like most of you, I read several scientific articles every week and annotate them on my tablet.

Do you know of a useful way to organise "clean" vs "annotated" articles in a way that is searchable and mobile-device friendly?

I use Papers now, but it isn't useful to have two copies of everything: a clean one and an annotated one.

Maybe one of you guys have a brilliant method to deal with this.


texts: Are there any changes in NSF proposals/awards processes that are likely to be of special interest/relevance to PIs?

texts:
The NSF has recently released a new version of their Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide, releasing their previous guides.  (See their Dear Colleague Letter.)  This contains a number of changes to the policies regarding grant proposal reviews and ongoing reporting.

However, it is unclear to me whether any of these are likely to be significant in practice for PIs; many of them sound primarily bureaucratic in nature.  The list of changes seems like it was written by a bureaucrat and seems likely to be of interest only to a bureaucrat, and of modest relevance to PIs (e.g., it might change a few section headings in proposals to comply with the new requirements, but not make any fundamental changes to what we propose or how we do research).

Are any of these changes significant enough that PIs should be paying serious attention to them?  Are there any changes that are important enough that they would make a substantive change to how we write proposals or do research or interact with the NSF, and if so, which changes are those, and what will their impact be?  In short, if a colleague of yours (a fellow PI) asked you what the impact of these changes will be, are there any changes that rise high enough that you would highlight them as important to be aware of?


texts: I am an Undergraduate Student who landed a job as a Data Scientist. Should I pursue a PhD and can I do it while working full time?

texts:
I just graduated with a computer-science bachelor’s degree and accepted a job offer as a data scientist with a well-known company. It is a research role; so I’ll presumably be working towards goals that are also academic in nature.

Now is it possible for me to find an advisor who would be okay with me working full-time? I’ve interned for this company and they have no issues with sharing any research as long as no confidential data is involved; so I will be able to publish and share some of my work with an advisor.

I am really enamored with the idea of having a PhD – for the sake of having a PhD (which is silly, I know). However, I’m hesitant to put my life on hold or quit my job so this is the only option left to me.


texts: Years of experience - how to count PhD and postdoc years

texts: I am a physicist specialized in developing algorithms for microscopy techniques and after a postdoc I am applying for data scientist / engineer positions at various startups. To estimate what would be a fair salary range, how should I consider my phd and postdoc years? My research work was related to data and image crunching, but the tools I used were more primitive than what is used in the industry.


texts: Is it ok to use Github code by having explicit permission from author for Thesis but without license mentioned on the repository?

texts:
I am writing my Master Thesis. I used code from GitHub for my application and did modifications and extended its functionality to adjust my requirements. I am also citing the code in my own code and text.
My question is that the Github repository doesn't mention any license, which means that the copyright law applies by default. However, i know the author and have their explicit permission to use the code.
What are my options here?. Should i ask the author to upload the license or is it not necessary since i have their permission?.


texts: The importance of having a "big name" as your thesis advisor

texts: When it comes to postdoc positions in mathematics in the US, does it make any difference for the hiring committees if your thesis adviser is a big name (say, someone like Gromov or Milnor)?


texts: I feel I may have misspoken about Donald Trump in our Dept. Should I risk drawing attention to the issue by apologizing for it?

texts:
Some administrators and professors and I were talking about all the recent events going on, and I feel I may have participated a bit much in the dialogue and now feel I may have gotten on some people's bad side.  If I email one or more of these profs. / admins, I risk drawing attention to a non-issue - there's no proof that any of them were even bothered by the dialogue, yet I feel uneasy about the current events being discussed so openly inside of a school building.

What do you recommend that I do?  Be proactive and send an email and apologize in the event that I may have misspoken about something -- or keep my mouth shut and don't draw any more attention to that conversation?


texts: Tips for revising manuscripts months later

texts:
While I tend to write articles quite quickly, whenever revisions come back from a journal, I find myself taking forever to finish them. Part of the problem is just that my mind is no longer in the same head-space as when I wrote the article, and so getting back into it is difficult. Also, changing the structure/flow of the paper after the fact I find painstaking.

Are there any good strategies for speeding up the revision process?

Just for context, I’m a PhD student in the social sciences, and work more with theory than with data.


texts: Papers on cost of (ir)reproducibility and data loss

texts:
I am looking for a study or conceptual/theoretical paper on monetary costs associated with bad data management practices in academia. As "bad" I mean not following FAIR principles, lack of archiving, backups, fast networks, and lack of tools to share data.

One and only example I've seen is a comment from DRYAD data system authors "Data archiving is a good investment":

  As an example of how much research is typically published per grant dollar, core grants in population and community ecology from the US National Science Foundation averaged 3–4 publications per $100,000 of grant between 2000 and 2005 [...]. That is, $400,000 invested in original research resulted in about 16 papers. [...]
  Assuming that Dryad has a comparable rate of reuse and collects at least 2,500 data sets annually, an investment of $400,000 in one year should contribute to more than 1,000 papers in the next four years — far more than the accepted value for a research dollar.

Here authors claim that good data archiving/management can increase academic "yield" by 10-100X


texts: Why do I see research being republished in Springer?

texts:
For example, I see a "book" on Springer published in 2017 that is identical to a conference article presented in 2011. What is happening here?
In my opinion, duplicate publications are not good for the research community. I am annoyed because if I cite the Springer version in my paper, then the reader will see e.g., 2017 and think that the work was proposed in 2017 when actually it was proposed in e.g., 2011. Furthermore, if I come across a paper published in 20XX in Springer, I have to play detective to make sure there isn't a version 5 years old that is identical...
Edit1: I must point out that the "book" versions of the papers I am referring are not extended versions but instead are identical.
Edit2: So, the specific case I am thinking of is a paper presented at a conference. The publisher of the book and conference are both Springer, but I am confused as to why conference proceeding are being published 5 or more years after the conference.


texts: I just had a job interview for a tenure-track position where I interviewed with several people from the department. As far as I know, I'm supposed to send a thank you note after the interview. Should I send one to each person I've interviewed with or would this be perceived as excessive?


texts: Why does arXiv not allow numbered lines in submissions?

texts:
I just tried submitting my first paper to arXiv. To be honest, this hasn't been an unqualifiedly fun experience.

One reason for rejection was that my paper contained line numbers. I am a bit confused as to why arXiv would reject papers for containing line numbers. One reason for me to submit to the arXiv was to potentially get comments on the paper - and it's a lot easier to comment on a paper that has line numbers. It's easier to discuss "lines 95-105" than "the third paragraph on page 5, not counting the table and its caption". I really like line numberings in papers I'm supposed to review.

Can anyone tell me why arXiv does not allow numbered lines in submissions?

(A quick internet search didn't turn up anything useful. )


texts: Creative Ways of Getting Teaching Experience

texts:
Here is my situation, I'm about to graduate with a Ph.D. within the next few months.  My dissertation is done, so I can dedicate quite a bit of time to the issue I'm describing.

At the moment, I have never taught a college level course.  For the entire length of my program I've been on the research side.  I'm very frustrated by this, as "teaching" was always my personal number 2 choice after graduation (number 1 is not in academia, a long shot and not relevant to this conversation).  (And just to remove those suggesting that I should have asked to teach, I have -- for years -- but that's water under the bridge as they say)

Due to this lack of teaching, I've done everything I could think of: I've taught mini classes to staff and my cohort on specific topics (e.g. LaTeX), and when available, I've taught at university programs for high schoolers.  And, I've recently, applied to every community college in a two hour radius (our university is in the sticks, so that isn't actually very many), to try to get an adjunct job.

But my fear is that the community colleges won't care about my research or other experience -- they will just note that I don't have teaching experience, so I won't get those positions either -- which means I'll graduate without ever really teaching.

So, here is my question:  Is there something I should be doing that I'm not already?  What have others done in similar situations?  I'm starting to get very concerned about the long term implications of this hole in my CV -- especially given I could really see myself at a lib arts university.


texts: Is it cheating on lab report homework if a peer points out calculation error that you then fix before submission?

texts:
I am in a science class in which we have to write lab reports. Lab reports count for a significant part of our grade. I was working on my lab report but before I got to check over my calculations, a peer of mine mentioned the results he got. I realized that my results were different and saw that I had a very dumb calculation error.

I am not sure if this is considered cheating because I am not sure if I would have noticed the mistake had I not heard from my peer (although I did plan on checking over my work).

I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on this situation. I plan on telling my teacher exactly what happened tomorrow before handing in the report, I just feel really bad and guilty now. Any help/advice would be appreciated. Thank you!


texts: I regret publishing a sloppy conference paper

texts:
I have published two conference papers at one conference in physics with two other authors and I am the first author in both articles. And I am currently in the second year of my PhD Thesis and these were my first published papers at all.

I have trouble with one of those articles and I am constantly thinking about it. The positive thing about this paper (as well as for the second) is, that it is very interesting for my scientific community and also for the authorities for decision making about a political charged topic. I used a fancy method and the results are good.

Firstly, I was satisfied with this paper. I thought it its "just" a conference paper and spending to much time for writing, wouldn't pay off, because this paper doesn't even count for my PhD-Thesis. So, all in all I was very happy with presenting it at this conference.

The bad thing is, that I was very stressed, when I wrote it. The statistical analysis took a long time and I had not much time, due to caring for my newborn child. I finished writing and correcting this paper (with the other authors) shortly before submitting it. After the reviewer mentioned a very small revision (a more detailed abstract, spelling error or a hint for a better literature reference), I recognized that three sentences within the results had to be changed and also two or three sentences within the discussion. I fixed it, showed it to my supervisor (I don't know how carefully he read it) and now it is published.

After reading it again after some time and very often, I found some mistakes, especially in the parts which I fixed lately after the revision. At first I didn't realized them, but after reading it again and again, I found more and more: A typo as well as at least three grammar mistakes, which are in my opinion not that bad and I only recognized them by reading it a lot (two of them are even in the abstract), but that doesn't makes it better (I don't have an eye for grammar). In the corrected sentences in the discussion I partially used wordings which are more common to say, but uncommon to write in science. Because its my first publication I was more focused on writing things correctly, but after asking other people, I now think, that it is not so handsome and sloppy. There are some other sloppy wordings in other parts of the paper, but I think its not that big of a problem due to the proofreaders didn't complain, but the sum of the mistakes makes me feel very bad about this paper.

Another point is the discussion: The results are great, but the discussion could have been way more precise with a better interpretation, less focus on repeating the results and a stronger focus on other literature. After rethinking it, I would have done it quite differently.

All in all I regret publishing this paper and I fear that I am in my scientific community now known for bad writing style. And another problem is, it is forever available by Google Search and it could have a significant negative influence on my career, because everybody who writes my name in Google search, will find it very easily. I think many people don't differentiate between conference papers and journal papers.

Has anybody been in a similar situation or can you give me any advice for dealing with it? I think an errata for grammar mistakes wouldn't be justifiable.

By the way: The second conference paper has got a better style.


texts: When is it appropriate to contact the editor before submission to avoid rejection without review?

texts:
Manuscripts submitted to a journal are often directly rejected by the editor without going out for review. I find this acceptable with the caveat that it's a huge waste of time having to reformat and readjust word length. Journals with high rejection rates should have an abstract only submission as a first step.

Anyhow, given this current situation: should I contact the editor of one or more journals that I think would be a good target for my manuscript before formally submitting my manuscript?

Some journals offer this option but others don't. So I am not sure if it is acceptable to or if just by sending an abstract I will somehow limit my chances of getting to the review stage.


texts: Why would a revised manuscript following very minor revisions appear as "under review" in the journal management system?

texts:
I have a paper on an Elsevier journal with "accept, minor revision". There were 3-4 little modifications required by referees. Then, I have made all the necessary modifications and resubmitted.

The status was "With Editor" for three weeks, then it changed to "Under review". What I have heard was that minor revision does not require another round of revision in most of the cases. In this case, does it mean that the paper is sent back to referees again? Or is it just with the editor who evaluates the last version of the paper?


texts: While contacting professors should we mention if we have contacted some other faculty in same department?

texts:
If a student is contacting faculty member and finds that there are two professors that are of his interest. So, he decides to contact both of them.

While contacting should the student mention that he has also contacted another professor in the same department?


texts:
Recently, I have worked out a solution manual for a book.

I have not found on the Internet any existing complete solution manual for this book.

Since the solution manual of mine contains every exercise given in the book,
my question is: In order to publish or distribute publicly this manual, do I have to first request the consent of the publisher of the book?

[Editors note: A solution manual is an accompaniment to a textbook that provides the answers and/or techniques to solve the exercises given in said textbook. Other names for these include: answers keys and teacher's handbook.]


texts: Should I risk being fired to help the students?

texts: I am a new high school teacher, and I want to disclose the risks and limitations of learning in a classroom to the students, but my supervisor said I cannot do this.  Other teachers must have their concerns and doubts from time to time.  The concerns I have are that I think there can be undetectable  bullying among the students in some of my classes, and I think several students will need to do certain things to prepare themselves for non-academic careers that have nothing to do with schools.  Should I risk getting fired or should I just hope the students will be OK despite my concerns?


texts: Finding Article Template for New Journal - PRX Quantum

texts:
I've undertaken some novel work as part of my undergraduate thesis and have been advised that this work goes sufficiently beyond the brief of an undergrad thesis and is novel enough to submit for publication. Since this will be my first paper and my supervisor is a subject matter expert, we've decided that we will coauthor an article based upon this research.
The most relevant fields are Quantum Electronics and Quantum Optics, so the logical place to publish this would seem to be Physical Review X's new spinoff PRX Quantum, launched last month.
However, I've been unable to find a LaTex template for articles in this new journal.
Would anyone know where I could find this? If not, would it be inappropriate to email the editor and ask if one exists?


texts: Is there any unwritten rule against hiring already unemployed PhDs?

texts:
I have seen several articles in internet about a general bias against hiring long term unemployed people in non-necessarily academic jobs, see for example here and here. I was wondering if there is such an unwritten rule in academia as well?

I am sure someone might say it is not the case and according to the rules X and Y, it is considered a discrimination and it is forbidden by law and so on. I am not asking what the written laws say. I would like to know if there is such a bias in hiring committees or not? And if there is such a thing how can a long term unemployed academic do to overcome this obstacle?


texts: "Awaiting AE decision" has lasted for nearly four months. What should I do?

texts:
The status of my manuscript is "Awaiting AE decision", and it has lasted for nearly four months.
I have sent two pieces of mail to AE to inquire of the status, but I have not received any reply.
What does this situation mean? What should I do?
..While, I am still waiting, no reply.


texts: If I request a paper through my university library, must they pay a substantial amount of money?

texts:
I was asked to referee a mathematics article, submitted for publication in a reputable journal. To evaluate it, I also wanted to look at a cited article which it claims to extend. Upon searching online (through my university's VPN) I hit a paywall: I can read it for "only" $39.95.

My university subscribes to some journals, but apparently not this one. I find this price ridiculous and I will not pay. But I am also reluctant to ask my library to; that money is coming out of our students' tuition. If I ask a librarian to furnish me with a copy of the article, will they be out this same $40?

Related question: will publishers (requesting that I do peer review for them) obtain and provide articles upon request, in situations like this?

(Related but different.)

Update: People gave me the (excellent!) advice to ask my librarians, and they got back to me. Their answer in brief: It depends. Usually, it doesn't cost my library anything; sometimes it can, but the requests go through different channels than the paywall I encountered.


texts: Transitioning from Electrical Engineering to Applied Physics/Material Science

texts:
So I have a bit of a dilemma. I'm an American. I graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering and worked for the past two years in the RF field. I'm heading to school this fall to get my Master's. A somewhat unusual step, but I want to gently re-enter academia and improve my chances at getting into a good Ph.D program (Undergrad was good, but not spectacular). Overall my goals are:

"Master" Classical Electromagnetism
Learn semiconductor device design and fabrication
Get publications (I will be working with metamaterials)

Essentially I want to master the classical side of physics, dip my toe into quantum physics, and then for my PhD do research in solid state/device physics. The closer to basic science I get, the better. My university has plenty of classes on the semiconductor device design/fabrication and I know how I can fit that into my schedule. The problem is:

Can I apply to an Applied Physics program without filling the gaps in my physics knowledge prior to applying(stat. mech., solid state physics, et al.)?
Does the answer to question 1 change if I apply to a European university?


texts: I am having difficult first year in my part-time PhD program; How can I figure out whether I should leave it or not?

texts:
I have a full-time job, and am a part-time PhD student who is experiencing tremendous struggles throughout the first year, compared to my previous schooling which was extremely easy. I want to know if I'm psyching myself out / over-thinking things, or if I'm being rational or not, given all the circumstances.

My academic career began with a degree in Computer Science, but I took as many side courses in Mathematics as I could.  I did very well, loved it, and thought to do graduate studies. A couple of my professors thought it was a great idea, considering how well I did in their classes, and suggested going for a Ph.D., part-time as I have a full-time job, in the same school. They wrote me stellar recommendation letters and I got in without any issues, whatsoever (unfunded, but that was not a concern to me).

I am nearing the end of my first year in the program, and it has been an unbelievable struggle. A family/personal emergency caused me to have to withdraw from my classes for the first semester; despite how embarrassed I was, my professors told me it was okay and that things happen, and that they still had complete faith in me. Now it's the second semester, and I am struggling to keep up in my classes.  I have always approached math via my intuition, but now I feel I am able to follow my professors in lectures and participate, but when it comes to studying or applying it that's when I struggle. Self-study takes so long and is very arduous and as I'm not used to it; I get extremely distracted.

Compounded with this, is that I want to discuss this with others, but I find it almost impossible to face my professors that recommended me, anymore. I haven't spoken to them since the winter due to shame. They had so much faith and confidence in me (and probably still do), but I feel that as a PhD I should do better, but I'm not. My performance is shocking and appalling to me, considering what I was used to doing. Talking to my adviser is out of the question as well, as when I discussed my last-semester withdrawal situation with him, he made a loose implication that "he wasn't necessarily sure he would've admitted me, in hindsight," and he wondered aloud who was the one that did admit me.

I am still in a position where I feel that I would not be happy unless pursuing graduate study in mathematics, as I want to learn this subject inside and out, be surrounded by a community that I find interesting and exciting, and researching and publishing new ideas. I just have no idea if my struggle is either completely normal, if I'm horribly under-qualified, or if I am just psyching myself out.  How can I figure out whether I should stick with my program or not?


texts: What data about grades should I tell the class? Make public?

texts:
I have had a few professors who announced to the class the mean and median scores for each exam, but I haven't seen anyone go further than this (e.g., announce this information for homework too, give a histogram of all the scores, etc.). Also, this information has always been kept semi-private, in the sense that it is announced verbally in class, without an explicit instruction not to share it, but still making it unlikely that the information would spread beyond the class.

I'm wondering what to take into consideration when deciding what sort of information to provide, and how. Would it be acceptable to put the mean and median scores for each exam on my (publicly available) website, for example? Or is that violating the privacy of my students in some way? Might they be ashamed, as a group, if they've all done extraordinarily badly? But as their teacher, I would have to also be ashamed if that were the case - so perhaps deciding to publicize how my students are doing ought to be considered as a sign of confidence that my teaching will make them do well.

I'm sure there are other issues I'm not thinking of regarding this. Your experiences (either as a student or as a teacher) with classes that gave this sort of information, and any other thoughts, would be welcome.

Edit: I'd be teaching an undergraduate math class. But regardless of my personal situation, I'd like to hear whether you think the field of study, or the level of the course, affect the answer to the question.


texts: Can I ask an author to send me his ebook?

texts: I'm working on my research paper. My subject is quite original and I even had difficulties to find a supervisor. In short, I found a fairly recent book on the Internet (2017), which is exactly what I am looking for, but it is not available in the libraries of my country. Could I ask the author to send it to me by email or even to send me some chapters?


texts: How can I complete the prerequisites for Masters in Computer Science on my own?

texts:
My Background: I am an EE graduate, working in a Software Company from last 2+ years as an Application Developer(Java & J2EE). Recently I started thinking of going back to college and do my Master's in CS, as most of the jobs in industry require a degree in CS.

Country of Residence: India

Countries of Interest for University Applications: US, UK, Australia and EU.

I have noticed that there are prerequisites to get admitted to those programs. Specifically, I need to have completed courses in Data Structures, Algorithms, Operating Systems, Theory of Computation, Compilers and Computer Networks. My undergraduate degree did have courses like Computer Networks, but nothing else.

In some other Universities, I can get admitted to MS in CS, but then I need to complete those courses at the College before starting graduate school coursework. I understand all of those things, as I took various Computer Science Courses online. I understand all the things that there are in undergraduate Computer Science Course. So here are my options:-

1) Take a post-bacc Course in computer science. (That Costs a lot in money and Time)

2) Do Nothing and apply without requirements being completed and let them decide whether or not I should enroll in UG CS courses at college.

3) Do some online Computer Science courses on edX, Coursera and show them that.

Which one of them is more favourable to a person working in Software Industry with an EE background?


texts: How to the enlarge the font size of a journal paper

texts: I’m a low-vision person. I want to print research papers to read. But the font size is very small for me. Is there any way to make it bigger and print it?


texts: Can/Should I add CRAN package to my work published?

texts: I've developed a package for R and it is added to CRAN. Should I add it to my work published, although it isn't peer reviewed for content, or should I just add a single line that mentions the package?


texts: How to leave graduate school without pain

texts:
I am an international student in one of the top universities in Canada.
The graduate admission in Canadian university is a little bit different from other countries; if you want to pursue Phd, you have to have a Master first, and Msc program here is usually admitted with funding (everything paid by supervisor). Currently I am second year of a Computer Science program and going to get my Msc degree within the next six months.

The problem is that before I came here, I told my supervisor I will do a PhD with him. After I came here and dig more into the area, I found out that I am not very interested in his current research. Additionally, my supervisor is not really giving me much support, the funding for the project is actually paid by another PI not in CS. My supervisor is a full professor and does not care much about what research his students are doing, he really enjoy his life a lot (often leaving the office very early). I think what he wants is just to produce some phd students to show he is still active (I can see this because every meeting he seems to talk about phd stuff, and he is kind of really pushing me into phd because he only has one phd student right now, two student in total including me).

Because of this, I want to leave with only a Master degree. The process is that before you finish your Master, you have to fill a form to indicate whether you want to continue Phd with current supervisor or not. This form has to be signed by the supervisor before you graduate with Masters. I think if I directly tell my supervisor I am not doing phd, he will be mad at me and prevent my getting Master degree.

So, should I get admitted in the phd program first and then quit later, or just leave now? If I do the former, I can search for a job first and then tell him I am not interested in academia career anymore. How can I leave with Master degree peacefully?


texts: How to dress for PhD interview at US institution

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Dressing etiquette for interviews in academia

I have been invited for a PhD interview day at an institution in the US. I was just wondering how formal/informal these interview days are. I know I will be meeting a few professors for which I have expressed interest. I definitely do not want to be underdressed but also I do not want to overdoit. Especially because I have noticed in my field ecology/biology the dress code is quite loose. (I remember this colleague of mine that would come to work with a shirt full of paint stains because he was painting his house, that cracked me up every time)

Would nice pants, a buttoned shirt, and elegant black sneakers be good enough? Should I wear a blazer as well?


texts: Is it appropriate for a PhD student to write reference for a PhD applicant?

texts:
I am a PhD student, and was recently approached by a (very bright) student in an exercise class I teach, requesting a reference letter for his PhD application. This makes me wonder: Is it OK for a PhD student to write a reference for a PhD applicant?

There are obvious reasons why I might be able to say something informative: I saw a lot of his solutions to assigned problems, and I saw him work through an extended period of time (as opposed to say, a lecturer, who only sees his grades, and possibly final exam). However, I am concerned that I am not senior enough for my opinion to be taken seriously. Is it a legitimate concern? Would the student be better of asking someone more senior?


texts: How to in-text cite a series of paper with nothing in between in APA?

texts:
E.g. Would it be OK if I write:

The papers by Bechara, Damasio, Damasio, and Anderson (1994), Bechara, Damasio, Tranel, and Damasio (1997) and Bechara, Damasio, Damasio, and Lee (1999)  shows that .....

?


texts: Mention impact factor or conference acceptance rate in CV

texts:
Some people, in their CV or publication list, add bibliometric information to each entry. I've typically seen:

mention the impact factor of each journal
number of citations of each paper
mention the acceptance rate of each conference

I'm not sure it is very helpful: people from your field will surely know the journals/conferences, while people from outside your field might be more interested in a “macro” view and not go into the minute details of your publications.

Moreover, I'm not sure I like the tone it conveys: it feels like bragging (this is typically done by people who are proud of these indicators), and a bit over-the-top to me. Finally, it's well accepted by now that things like the journal impact factor are a poor measure of individual papers' merits.

So: is it accepted practice to do it? does it improve the CV? or does it risk alienating the reader?


texts: Can a theoretical proof-of-concept be published?

texts:
I am working independently on an idea, and to test its conceptual feasibility, I have done a bit of math, and it seems to check out. The idea is in the area of web engineering, or web science.

Now, in order to simplify the math, I've had to make several assumptions, which may or may not be valid in the real world. Is this a problem? I'm trying to make the calculation as realistic as possible, but I've noticed that it can quickly get out of hand in terms of complexity of the problem.

However, I believe that the concept has value in that it is a novel way of approaching an existing problem, and it could have the legs required to flourish in a theoretical sense.

EDIT: Just to be clear, the simplification I'm referring to replaces non-linear functions with linear functions, so that the math is simpler.


texts: Do having 2 masters increase the possibility of acceptance in a joint PhD program?

texts:
Suppose, a research school in the USA offers a  Joint/Dual (Education + English) PhD  program. That university has an acceptance rate of 27%.

Understandably, someone with either an MA in Education or MA in English can apply for that program.

Do having 2 masters (MA in Ed + MA in English) increase the chance of getting acceptance in that joint PhD program for the student?


texts: expectations when applying for an adjunct position

texts:
I applied for an adjunct lecturer position through a university's web site at the beginning of August.

I assumed I would be put into an 'adjunct pool' of some kind, or simply be declined . . . or something.

However, no one has reached out to me. I've logged into their application site several times since and my application is still active, supposedly. I have never taught before so I guess I'm not sure what my expectations should be. Is this normal? What should I be expecting?


texts: Impact of private home research in graduate application

texts: Assuming non-excellent and only good credentials when leaving college, can you increase the chances (how much?) of admission to a public R1 university by doing low-budget but unique research projects at home, like cultivating and study microorganisms under supervised conditions, contributing to the knowledge about asteroids by doing photometry and positional measurements, or building a small telescope array and observe Jupiter? Would projects like that help against other application competitors who have better marks from their college? What influence does life experience have in the process?


texts: Should I use my university's letterhead for a cover letter for a job application?

texts: I currently teach at University X and am applying for a job at University Y.  Should I write my cover letter on University X's letterhead, or use a blank page?


texts: Correct abbrevation of academic titles, e.g., “B.Sc.” vs “BS”

texts:
I am interested to know which of the following abbrevations of academic titles are correct:

B.Sc. or BS
M.Sc or MS
Ph.D or PhD


texts: Manuscript submitted to Crelle's journal without acknowledgement

texts: I submitted a manuscript to Crelle's journal about a month ago but never received a confirmation email from the editor whom I emailed the manuscript. I sent him/her another email asking about the status of paper and never heard back. I was wondering if that is a common and that is how it works with them.


texts: Should I agree to referee a paper when I don't feel I can judge its importance?

texts:
Background: I am a first-year PhD student in pure mathematics studying subject X. With my supervisors, I recently published on arXiv a paper on a particular example A that explores how X works when applied to A. My contribution to this paper was partial (a couple of proofs and calculations) but I did read and check the whole paper before submission.

I have recently been asked to referee a paper for a reputable journal also on the application of subject X but to a different example B. The two examples are distinct but are of roughly the same flavour overall.

Initially I thought that I was too junior to agree to referee this paper. I am only a first year PhD after all and my only paper so far hasn't been peer-reviewed yet. But having looked through the paper, I do believe that I am qualified to judge its veracity.

My main concern however is that I do not feel able to judge whether this paper is substantial enough or the results are new enough to merit publication in this journal. My opinion having read the introduction is that the paper is an interesting application of X and is worthy for publication. However, I have not read many papers from the journal, and the total number of papers I have read is small so I do not necessarily feel qualified to judge whether this paper is suitable for publication in this particular journal.

Despite this, I still think I could provide a useful review in the sense that I could do one half of the referees job: that of verifying the results in the paper. So my question is this:

Question: Should I agree to referee this paper even if I do not feel I can judge whether the paper is worthy of publication on the grounds of importance and interest? Should I talk to the editor about this before accepting?


texts: Should I retake GRE given my situation about university deadlines?

texts:
I recently took GRE and got a score of 310 (Q164 V146 AWA3.5). I think i can really improve this score because i made a lot of silly mistakes in quant which i realised after the test. I want to apply for MS in CS at USC for which Jan 15th is the final deadline. I have 2 options:1) take the test on Jan 2nd  and send the scores to USC. Not sure whether the scores will reach them on time. 2) Take the test on Jan 10th  and miss the USC deadline. However, this will get me a better shot at other universities.

What do you think i should do?


texts: What to do when you're not confident your advisor will be able to write you a strong LoR?

texts:
The title is pretty self-explanatory, but let me explain.

The lab I'm at right now is very big. It's around 30-40 people. I'm a master's student that just finished his first semester and am looking to apply for PhD programs this fall/winter so that if all goes as planned I'll start school in the fall of 2021 right after graduation.

The problem is that my advisor is "more like a business person than an advisor," so to speak. He's always attending networking events, meeting people, etc. rather than advising his own students. The few times that he does hold "meetings" with students is when there's something to be discussed regarding a project that brings in the funding. Even in these meetings it's more like a briefing session where the students fill him in on progress rather than him advising us on what to do.

Anyway, long story short I need him to write me a strong letter but I'm not confident he'll be able to. Your advisor is the one who should be the most familiar with your work, but in all honesty my advisor probably doesn't even know what kind of research at least 90% of his students are doing.

I imagine that it would also look a bit strange on the admissions committees' parts if an applicant's advisor's letter lacks quality content.

What should I do in this situation? I have about 6-7 months until applications open.

Edit

Allure brought up a great point in a comment and I'll try to fill up some more details on how the lab I'm at usually operates.

The lab is usually busy grabbing government or corporate grants (as I assume most are).

The professor pinpoints a few that he wants.
The students write up a proposal and bring it to him, which he assesses. Afterwards he meets with whoever to present the proposals.
If the grant is approved then we get projects to work on.
Teams consisting of PhD students and juniors like myself are assigned to different aspects of the project.
The "meetings" that I mentioned are usually the aforementioned teams briefing the professor, with the PhD students usually doing most of the talking. Honestly speaking, juniors like myself usually just sit there and pretend to take notes.

So yes, usually it's PhD students that I'm working close with, and I'm more than certain that a letter of recommendation from "someone who's not even a PhD" aren't acceptable as LoR's.

My anxiety and worry stems from the fact that, as mentioned above, the most detailed and supportive letter should be from one's advisor. However, I have a strong feeling that it's going to turn up to be a generic one like "student X exhibits very strong research potential!"


texts: Is it normal for the manuscript submission date to change from the original submission date to the revisions submission date?

texts:
I submitted a paper to an ISI journal almost a year ago. The submission date of the manuscript was May 20, 2015. I received a referee report on January 15, 2016. The report was quite positive but asked for some major revision. I made all the required changes and submitted a revised version of the manuscript on March 10, 2016.

Ten days afterwards I received from the Editor a message that the manuscript would go into the refereeing process and Date received: March 10, 2016. Is it normal to change the initial submission date of the manuscript?