texts: What should I ask a potential PhD advisor in an informal interview?

texts:
I emailed a professor at a school I am applying to, outlining my research interests, two specific projects proposals, and how they align with his research. I let him know that I am applying and I'd be interested in working together and chatting if he's taking students. He said he is taking students and asked if I'd like to set up some time to talk.
What do I talk about?
Here are the main topics regarding his research I can think of:

How did you come to your line of research?
What topics do you feel are under-explored in our sub-area?
What projects are you most actively working on now?

Should I also ask for feedback on my proposals, or would that sound stupid?
To clarify, I closed my email with something like: If you are looking for graduate students and feel our interests align, I'd like to discuss opportunities for working together.


texts: Applied a new technique on a facial recognition program and the new results are better than the previous one. Can I write a paper on this?

texts:
I was playing around with this source code which yielded say results X on using a specific data-set. Now, I came up with an idea to add a change in the source code (specifically, in the data-set) which on execution gives better results (results Y).

The results in X and Y are the facial recognition confidence.

So, the confidence is much better in the Y result when compared to the X results after the new technique is implemented.

Is it possible to publish a paper?

Where the aim of the paper would be to state that this technique gives a better confidence value for the provided data-set.

Any help would be recommended!

This is my first post. Thank you.


texts: Difference between computer science MS and MCS

texts:
I'm planning to apply for a master in computer science, and I need to choose between a computer science MS - master of science, and a computer science MCS - master of computer science.
I haven't really understood the difference. Is is true that MCS is more "professional" in the sense that it doesn't prepare students for a PhD but it is for who wants to directly work after graduating? Do they both last 2 years?

EDIT: I've also found MSCS: master of science in computer science.

PS: So for example MSCS has the thesis. Does the thesis help you getting hired?


texts: Can the university cut the notice period short?

texts:
I am negotiating a position at another university. I’m on a permanent contract and a UK university that states six months notice period on both sides.

This is fine by me since I have many loose ends I need to take care before leaving, work and family wise.

My question is: If I give notice to the university, can they cut the notice short? E.g., can they ask me to leave earlier? Or, are they obliged to respect the six months, even though I was the one giving notice?

I don't believe they will do that, because they need me to stay until they recruit someone else. However, it would be good to know that once I ”pull the trigger”, I have a six months buffer to settle everything. For obvious reasons, I don't want to make this question to HR.

The university policy on notice periods is very concise. It says that unless otherwise agreed in writing, the notice period corresponding to my grade and position is six months from the university and me.


texts: Can you publish a paper Simply Implementing another Paper's Algorithm?

texts:
There was a highly cited paper published earlier this year in my field which introduced a highly theoretical, non trivial, algorithm that relied on extremely heavy theory. The algorithm was exact (Gave the correct solution) but 3 papers were published later on criticizing that it was highly non practical (Its implementation was a nightmare) and proposed approximation algorithms that were simple to implement.

So over the past year, me and 2 of my friends have been trying to implement the exact algorithm and finally we were able to implement it. The algorithm spans 14 files and is implemented in Python. The running time is acceptable for the input size in my field (takes 3-4 minutes on a modern computer to terminate). We also verified its correctness on a data set and it really did predict the exact solution.

We would love to publish the code, but one of our advisors said that it is unlikely that Code only would be publishable in a reputable journal/conference. One option is that we can just put it on Github but that doesn't really count as a publication. Are there conferences/journals which would take a 1-2 page paper that just describes a hard implementation? The only novel thing we did was that we've had to make very minor changes to the algorithm to make it practical but proved that these minor changes don't change the correctness (just makes implementation a lot easier!).

Any ideas?


texts: When applying for a PhD, is it okay for one letter of recommendation to come from a PhD student?

texts:
I am currently a Master's student and planning to apply for PhD. Now, I have directly worked with two professors for research projects. Unfortunately, those two are the only professors I have taken more than one course with too. With no other professor I had two or more classes so they do not know me well. I could be able to convince one of them to write letters for me. But surely that's gonna be a canned recommendation like "I taught him this course and he's got an A". Besides as an introvert, I am not memorable at all. I don't drop by during office hours to have small chats or ask many questions in the class.
On the other hand, I have a PhD student in my research group. He doesn't have the credentials or experience, but he can write a more personal and accurate recommendation letter for me. I have worked with him closely and he can give his opinion from both our personal and academic interactions.

Edit: just to be clear, the two professors I have worked with already agreed to give me LORs. I need a third letter.

Edit 2: I have another option. I have worked as a TA for one semester. The instructor can give me an LOR. But he is neither a tenured professor nor a Ph.D. degree holder himself. So I am not much sure about this option. Is it gonna "hurt" my application?

Edit 3: I collaborated with the PhD student before and we are co-authors of two papers.


texts: Student discount on international conferences for non-matriculated students

texts:
In computer science many conferences provide a fee discount for PhD students.
Currently I am also a PhD student in Germany. In Germany there is a program in which you are registered as a PhD student at a university, but not matriculated.

Can I still register for conferences via the student discount?


texts: How does a dual degree (Computer Science/Maths) compare to a degree in a single area?

texts:
I am considering applying for a degree (ideally, but not necessarily, MSc) in Computer Science and Maths, such as this one: http://www.exeter.ac.uk/undergraduate/degrees/computerscience/comscimathsmsci/#Programme-structure, or another one from a respected university. My father has shared his concerns that this may be a 'Jack of all trades and master of none' option, when compared with single subject degrees, and I wanted to find out if this is true.

Would a degree programme of this nature (CS and Maths) make me just as skilled as somebody with a degree in either Computer Science or Maths, or would I be left with a degree that leaves less competitive than somebody who has studied a single subject?

Would employers/universities (I am currently interested in academia and being able to enrol in a Ph.D programme is beneficial) respect this degree as much as a degree in one or the other?

If this is true, is this true for both MSc and BSc courses, or would the integrated Masters make me competitive against single subject students?


texts: What to do when research is ending up in useless clinical trial

texts:
I wonder a bit whether I should have behaved differently. I worked in a institute. They developed "drug candidates" for a disease.
At the end of my PhD I definitely proofed that the binding mechanism is unspecific and the binding coefficients are low (for the whole class of candidates). I was, by the way, not allowed to publish that stuff and PostDocs working there started to get angry in meetings acting like I do crap.
I noticed that experiments from other PhDs were manipulated as well:

Small sample size (1-3 mice)
Repeat until you see what you want
General problems with positive controls

Later, I left for PostDoc and had to sign a confidentialiatity contract. Now one of the besaid drug (candidates) is going into human patient test trials, and I suspect that they take something which will not do anything (good). A subsequent PhD published parts of what I was forbidden. In the initial manuscript a friend send me, my name was missing, than I got one of the last positions, for "previous work". I guess, they got afraid, that I may read it later somewhere. Of course all the initial PostDocs which opposed, were in the author list :D

Actually, during that time I started to write a Review which illustrates all the contradictions in that field in general, knowingly that no higher IF journal will ever take it. I also noticed that many groups in the field are doing similiar fake science and even publish sometimes high (Nature, ..). I once wrote to the journal that one paper is based on a wrong experimental setup without any further answer.

Question:

Is it worth it to write a Review when you actually work in industry and have no institute email anymore
What should you do, if you know that you will lose your job and others their founding if you whistle blow?

Against this idea speaks the fact that you cannot really proof manipulated setups
.. and institutes tend to roll over single persons


texts: Should my master's thesis be related to my future PhD research?

texts:
I'm doing a master's degree in theoretical physics in Europe. After the end of the master, I want to pursue research in the area A. In fact, I've already come in contact with a professor that works in the area A in a different country.
The problem is, I'm struggling to find an advisor for a possible master thesis about the field A. I contacted roughly 6-7 professors at my university already and they either: 1) are too busy and don't want to start a new project, or 2) are not interested in what I want to do because they only accept projects strictly related to their recent research interests, or 3) don't answer my emails (after 2 weeks of waiting).
I'm considering to accept a master thesis in a different area B due to these reasons.
How would it be seen from the point of view of a prospective PhD advisor?


texts: Is it okay to send a thank-you-for-teaching to a professor who taught a course a few semesters ago?

texts:
In my first semester of Ph.D., I took a course about machine learning (ML), because I find it very fancy and interesting (however, my field of research is theoretical physics, far away from ML).
The professor who taught ML was an old and super cool guy. He made this course a real fun to learn. Now after one year, as a side project, I wrote a "deepfake" ML algorithm (of course, it had already been done, and I took a lot of help from GitHub), but still, the content that I learned in my ML course was very helpful in all this process.
I was about to write an email to the professor who taught the ML course. I wonder if it is okay to send something like, "Professor, I am really very thankful to you for putting all the effort into making the ML course easy and fun. Here is what I have achieved from the content that you taught me [attachments]"?


texts: Invitation to review for an unknown journal

texts:
I recently received the following invitation to act as a reviewer for an unknown journal. Is it ok to just ignore it?

  Subject:   Invitation to Review Manuscript for  Asian Journal of
  Current Research

  Dear Colleague,

  I am approaching you with the peer-review request of the below mentioned manuscript, submitted in  Asian Journal of Current Research
  Title:  X   I would be grateful if you would kindly find some time to
  review the above mentioned manuscript and send your valuable comments
  within 10 calendar days (13 Mar’2017).   Abstract of the manuscript is
  available in this link (http://[]). If you require the file as E-mail
  attachment kindly let us know.   If you accept our invitation, we’ll
  send you the full paper.  Authors’ affiliation will be supplied, if
  requested by the reviewer.
  After completion of timely quality peer review, we’ll be pleased to provide you Official   Certificate of peer reviewing from the journal
  (signed PDF copy). You are requested to submit your full affiliation
  in review comments forms to facilitate the preparation of the
  certificate.
  Please inform as early as possible if you agree to accept our invitation to review. Would you not be able to find time to act as a
  reviewer this time, please let me know through an email. We hope as
  part of academic community you’ll appreciate our efforts to complete
  quality peer review within stipulated time period. Comments received
  after stipulated time (as mentioned above) may not be utilized. Here
  we politely want to mention that, if we do not receive any
  communication within next 7 calendar days, we’ll be approaching to
  alternative reviewers to complete this peer review.
  Useful Links: Journal scope link:    Editorial Policy link:   Thanking you

  Mr. Sadek Mallick www.ikpress.org EUROPE: International Knowledge
  Press, S107, 3 Hardman Square, Spinningfields, Manchester, M3 3EB, UK,
  Fax: +44 (0)161 667 4459, Email: contact@ikpress.org ASIA PACIFIC:
  International Knowledge Press, N. S. Road, Tarakeswar, Hooghly,
  PIN-712410, West Bengal, India, Email: contact@ikpress.org (Editorial
  Office)


texts: What changes should be notated in a journal resubmission?

texts:
I am currently in the process of submitting a manuscript to a journal.  During this process my manuscript has come back for revision, and the journal has asked for an updated manuscript with revisions annotated.  What level of changes should be annotated?  Similarly is it acceptable to provide a generic comment when changes are for flow and not for content (e.g. "sentence rephrased for clarity")?

As an example (in my perceived order of required-ness):

Adding or removing significant content (figures, paragraphs, sentences)
Rephrasing a sentence changing the meaning
Rephrasing a sentence changing the grammar, but not the meaning
Adding/removing words that are superfluous (or change the meaning in an insignificant way)
alteration of comma's, periods, etc.


texts: Pre-print service like arXiv but with private option, so I can correct my mistakes without publicly advertising my mistakes?

texts:
As a student, I make mistakes all the time, and stealing my idea will not face heavy retaliation. I don't mind if someone comes up with concurrent works, but I do mind if my key idea is leaked. Many graduate students in my field therefore only use pre-print services if their papers are either publicly presented or conditionally accepted.
I am looking for a website that can do most of what ArXiv does, with an additional private option or limited visibility, for example an option to make the paper unindexed by search engines. This way, my paper cannot be seen for at least a few months. By doing so, I can at least claim that I am one of the first few researchers who got the idea right. And most importantly, I can privately correct my mistakes, if any. Publishing mistakes is embarrassing and sometimes harms one's career. Many mistakes will be revealed during the peer-review processes and I have a chance to correct them before publicizing.
Please kindly think twice before giving ethically and "politically correct" comments like no one will scoop me, everyone will cite me, and the scoopers will be punished. At least in my field, scooping and idea-stealing is commonly observable, and big-names don't care about publicizing pre-prints because they have resources to punish the scoopers. I do understand that keeping my work private might harm the community as the information becomes less transparent. However, it could also be possible that my un-reviewed flawed works misguide the community, and a paper reviewed will benefit the society more.
I personally wasted six months because of someone else's mistake in a published work.

I heard that in molecular biology there is a widely-used service to upload your research data, like protein structure and sequencing, to get a timestamp. The uploaded materials can be set to be private for a period, and fully disclosed later. A lot of people do use this function. This is not exactly what I am looking for but shares some similar ideas.
If I remember correctly, there is an interesting paper studying the scooping patterns with the aid of this database.

Solutions found! Zenodo and some other university-run pre-print services do have an embargo function.
Moreover, SSRN is a widely used repository, that, unlike arxiv, only displays the newest version to the general public, although still keeps a tag on the first submitted date!


texts: How do search committees judge the publication list?

texts:
As I understand, the search committee held a meeting to shortlist a few candidates from tens (or even thousands) of applications received. Thus, they should decide by a quick look at the CVs. The list of publications is the most important part of a CV, but how they can judge the quality of publications?

Many of the committee members are not expert exactly in the applicant's field to know all the high impact journals. On the other hand, by the growing number of open access journals by unknown publishers, there are similarities in the name of high and low impact journals.

A committee member spends a few minutes to read an application, how he or she judge if this list of publications justifies being shortlisted?


texts: How Scopus CSAB plan to evaluate a submitted journal's citedness in Scopus?

texts:
Our journal applied to Scopus for inclusion a few months ago and I, as an editor, would like to clarify some citations to our journal from articles already indexed in this database (as far as I know, the Scopus Content Selection and Advisory Board will be looking for the citedness of our articles in Scopus and the outcome will affect the result of the journal evaluation process).

Though there are some articles in Scopus that cite articles published in our journal, many of those citations are corrupted: Our journal's name is not given in full, sometimes author/article details are missing or misrepresented etc. I contacted Scopus Author Support but they informed me that they can only process my request once our journal is indexed in Scopus. Until than, they will not modify the incorrect citations.

Now I'm wondering how Scopus CSAB plan to evaluate our journal's citedness in Scopus if their database do not show these existing references properly? I was barely able to find them in Scopus and only succeeded because I knew exactly what I was looking for. If I've simply used advanced search and searched to our journal's name within the references (what I'm expecting the committee will do) I would have found no citations to our journal whatsoever.

Is there anything more I can do in this situation?


texts: Look for a second advisor while on the first, any advice?

texts: Due to incompatibility with my current advisor, I am currently looking for other advisor on his back. Any advice? I am so scared that what if he discovers that I'm looking around. Now I have tried to set up new email account so I can deny everything if things get ugly. Any people have the same experience, can you share your trick with me please? It is pretty much a very dangerous covert mission.


texts: How can a present software-engineer (with experience of 5 years at least) turn into a physics professor?

texts:
There are often many people who switch careers midway. Some from software engineering to a product management role which is quite popular given relevance of previous career to current career. Another example is software engineer to a data scientist. Some might be less relevant but still have the same corporate setup, for example, a software engineer to supply chain engineer. Some might be irrelevant like software engineer transitioning to teaching high school physics but transitioning is still easy. Some might be super irrelevant and 'risky' like software engineer with 5-7 years of experience, going to study masters in physics then a PhD then couple of postdocs and finally becoming a professor in say high energy physics.
I exactly wanted to know about the last case, how can a present software engineer with >4 years of experience in software engineering, pursue physics and establish a successful career (PhD, post-docs, then professorship) in physics academia.


texts: Is it unethical to interview at a more prestigious program while currently enrolled in a PhD somewhere else?

texts:
I applied at two different PhD positions at universities X & Y a while back (both in EU, I prefer not to disclose identity for specific reasons, sorry).

I got into X and have been here for about 2 months, and I heard from Y a few days ago inviting me to interview with them. Y is more prestigious, and also many of my friends are there. (Note: Both positions had different starting dates, X was more of a start-earliest program, Y is for 2015 admits)

Considering I am more interested in studying at University of Y, would it be unethical for me to take up the interview with Y, after I am here for 2 months?
(I am at X as a RA presently)


texts:
If a paper has four or more authors, it is common to use the style "Firstauthor et al. discovered that the sky is blue.".

I do not like this style, as it is unfair to the other authors. In my field, authors are always listed alphabetically. So being first author is an accident of birth, rather than an indication of being the main contributor.

One option is to list out all the names, but this can be impractical. (A compromise is to list out all the names at the first mention, and then revert to "Firstauthor et al." when mentioning the same paper again.)

I often see no names used e.g. "[1] discovered that the sky is blue." However, this is bad grammar -- parenthetical citations should not be treated like proper nouns. (The passive voice is one way to avoid this issue. i.e. "It is known that the sky is blue [1].")

Is there a style that avoids these problems? Is it acceptable to refer to a paper by an acronym, as in "ABCD discovered that the sky is blue." or "ABCD [1] discovered that the sky is blue"?


texts: Letter recommender hasn't responded to request and has conference deadline coming up. Should I remind them?

texts:
The title is a bit lengthy but captures the crux of the issue. I made a bit of a hasty decision to apply to PhD programs this round rather late (last Thursday) and sent potential letter writers a request on Friday. One of them is my advisor, another is a professor who I've worked with briefly, and the last is a professor who's not in my field but has known me personally for a while.
The second professor hasn't responded, and I'm beginning to worry. It has only been 5-6 days since I sent the request, but there is also a deadline coming up for a major conference on the 16th.
I also made the mistake of not including the deadlines in the initial email. The deadline for application is December 1st, so there isn't much time.
I'm wondering if I should follow up this week with a reminder, or if I should go in person.
Any feedback or opinions are appreciated. Thanks.


texts: A journal appeared indexed until 2016 is now cancelled in Scimago. What does this mean?

texts:
In some online databases such as DBLP some journals or conferences appear that are canceled or not appear at all after a few years. For what I know that is because, according to DBLP, the mentioned conference does not uphold with some criteria of quality to continue to appear on that database.

In Scimago, I have seen that a journal appeared indexed until 2016, but now it appears a message saying "Cancelled", what does it mean apart of the obviousness of that message? maybe that the journal has become a predatory one? or that it quality has decreased?

Any comments?


texts:
I recently submitted a paper that includes formulas related to building physics, such as

Q = K (t_b - t)

where Q is the daily heating load, K is the building's heat loss coefficient, and so on. All the quantities should be familiar to the reader.

A reviewer asks that I provide units for the quantities in this (and other) formulas. But this formula will remain true no matter which system of units I use.

Should formulas include units? If not, how can I tactfully rebut the reviewer's request?


texts: How do I reply to a professor's email who wants to chat with you?

texts:
I contacted a potential advisor for a PhD program. He replied to me that he was not in a position to accept any PhD students at this time. But he also wrote to me:

  "I'd also be happy to chat about the program and my work generally if helpful, but would realistically have to be in mid-January. Let me know if of interest."

I am not sure what and how should I reply to him. I am interested in having a talk with him, but what should I ask?


texts: A PhD student is using all the work I did for my master and presenting it as his own for his dissertation

texts:
I worked under a PhD stundent's supervision during my master thesis. After I finished my thesis, I continued working at this lab on the same project however just as a "research assistant" and not as a student. Now, the above mentioned PhD student is graduating and HALF of the dissertation is the project I did in my Masters and that I still work on until this day.

I must say that this PhD student does not know how to do the techniques that I used during the project and to this day he still asks me for figures for his defense presentation ( that I myself do from the data analysis that I know how to do). He helped with patient recruiting and some statistical analysis.

Our PI never talked to me about the situation and that is why it hit me until now that this student is using all of my work and presenting it as his PhD work!

What should I do?


texts: Why transcripts instead of degree certificates?

texts:
I've been offered a few adjunct teaching positions recently, and the colleges have said that degree certificates don't count in verifying my credentials and that only academic transcripts are acceptable.

Given that I finished my degrees 20+ years ago, what is the reason for this?

I eventually managed to get my transcripts, but no one has ever asked for them before, my degree certificates were perfectly acceptable (including tenure-track positions in Australia).


texts: Thesis in use, potential employer wants to see source code

texts:
EDIT:

Let me clarify things and specify my concerns:

I wrote a program for my thesis that solved a problem for the target establishment.
The establishment now uses the program with my consent but nothing was signed and everything was verbal.
I applied for a job and that company now wants to see my program source code because it's relevant to the job I'm applying for.
My advisor is directly tied to the establishment using my program. I have notified him and we have scheduled to meet up and talk about it in a few days.

My concerns: ( just want to get more info before my talk with my advisor )

Is my program source code still my own? Have I accidentally given up my right to share it? Can my advisor and the establishment prevent me from sharing my source code to the company I'm applying for?
The source code is also included in the published thesis I submitted, doesn't that make it open source in a sense? Does that mean neither me or my advisor/establishment can claim ownership or anything of the code?
Are things different because my thesis is applied  to an actual situation as opposed to a theoretical situation? Like there is a period the thesis isn't made public (open source) like a grace period before it's open to the public?


texts: What to do when you get a grant and move to another institution

texts:
My general question is; let's say that you are PI and apply individually or jointly with other research groups to a grant, and you get it. After some months, you move to another institution; can you generally "move" all the money and resources you were awarded with or should you abandon them?

The question goes for H2020 projects or any other national or international funding schemes (NIH, NSF, UK, etc)


texts: Timing and length of 'author response phase'

texts:
I've submitted my first scientific paper to KDD, an academic conference with a decision deadline of May 12, 2016. However, before decisions there is an "author response phase" (see below). I'm a bit surprised that we haven't heard from the reviewers yet as there is only about 5 weeks from now (Apr 3) to the decisions deadline.

Is this normal? Also, how many days are authors usually given to formulate a response? It seems like we'll have very limited time so I'm slightly concerned with how intense the author response phase will be (seeing as I also have other ongoing projects).

  Papers will be reviewed by members of the KDD program committee and
  decisions will be emailed to all authors by May 12, 2016. Note that
  there will be an author response phase between submission and
  decisions.


texts: Is it ethical to have a former student serve on my hiring committee at a community college?

texts: Recently in an interview for a full-time faculty position at the college I work as an adjunct; one of the members was a former student of mine. This student barely passed my class the first time and retook my class a second time to raise his grade. This seemed like a case of conflict of interest. The other adjunct in my dept, who also had this student was advanced to the second level of the interview process. I know this student is not a fan of mine and could have viewed this as a chance to "fail" me. I have spoken to our union rep but their answers are vague. Do I have reasons to take my issues to the next level-HR?


texts: Should someone continue with their PhD if they fail the core courses in master's?

texts:
A friend of mine had failed core courses during his master's program. He had to retake the exams and passed them with minimum grade. However, his research output was good and he was able to publish a journal paper (first author, IF~4).
Now he has been accepted for a PhD in Canada on the same topic as his master's. He will be working with application of the courses he had failed in.
Should he continue with his PhD journey? At the university he will be carrying out his research, they don't have to take any coursework. So, he would have to continue with his research without having to take any courses.
Is he suitable for PhD? As far I know, PhD students are supposed to be proficient in the coursework.


texts: Should I leave my PhD after 3 years with a Masters?

texts:
I am a current PhD student who just finished my third year in a Computational Biology program at a respected university, and I am looking for some advice. Basically, I am trying to decide whether or not I should stay in grad school.

I have finished all my coursework and my qualifying exams, and according to previously graduated students in my lab, I will most likely require 3 more years to graduate. If I left now, I would leave with my masters.

I have had thoughts about leaving my PhD throughout the years. But I have seriously been thinking about leaving the program for the past 6 months. When I first felt like quitting 6 months ago, I decided to sit on the feeling for a while because I realized that it will definitely affect my life long term. I also know that almost all PhD students want to quit sometime during their PhD, so it’s hard for me to know whether it actually would be the right decision. On a general level, I am doing well. I received my own grant and have made research progress. However, I have lately reached a point in my work where I am feeling stuck. This has increased my work load and pressure significantly, which has made me really push to think about whether the work is actually worth it, especially if I don’t want to do this in the future.

I started my PhD straight out of my bachelors degree, and I soon after realized what research actually is. I am a highly creative person who loves to dance, draw, design, teach, and cook.  I do like science, but I wouldn’t say that research is my passion. I have overall become very apathetic to research, as I feel like it squashes my creativity. My favorite part of research has been creating PowerPoints and presenting work. I feel that if I left and got a job in a different field that allowed me to be more creative, I would be much happier. My current work life has triggered mild depressive symptoms and panic attacks, for which I am now seeing a therapist.

As my project is at a critical point but in a competitive topic, I am facing intense pressure to work constantly. If I don’t take time for myself, my mental health deteriorates. When I do take time for myself, I do not work as long hours and cannot meet the high expectations. This cycle has not allowed me to take a step back and think about what I would like to do instead of a PhD in this field. I unfortunately feel like I wouldn’t be able to look for jobs seriously while I am in my current lab. I have thought about taking a break from my PhD, but I know that this will not go over well with my PI. Therefore, I don’t want to bring it up unless I’m fairly certain about leaving the program.

I know that if I left, I would be leaving a big opportunity behind, as I have already dedicated 3 years and am working under a well respected professor. However, I don’t feel that losing my mental health over a degree is worth it, even in the long run. To be completely honest, I am scared to stay because of how it will affect me mentally, and I am scared to leave because I am afraid that I may not be able to switch careers as easily as I thought. Plus, there may be no guarantee that my next job won’t induce this amount of stress, and I don’t want to regret my decision of leaving for the rest of my life.

I would like to hear advice from people who actually have left their PhDs. It would even be better to hear from those who quit and changed their field or those who quit a PhD in a related field. Is it a good idea for me to stick around, or should I move on and do something new?

Thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
Confused PhD student


texts: Listing publications for a non-tenure track teaching job?

texts: I do not have a stellar first authored publication record as I am finishing towards earning a PhD in environmental science. I do have several conference abstracts and a few coauthored publications, however. I came across a non-tenure track academic job that is purely focused on teaching elementary environment science courses with an additional academic management role. Assuming the search committee is primarily interested in my teaching experiences, is it worthwhile to list my publications/proceedings in my CV? What are the pros and cons? My fear is that the search committee might flag me as a candidate who is occupying the position temporarily (they are looking for someone permanent) based on publications/research interests. I am genuinely interested in the job to gain teaching experience no matter how much I love doing research. Thanks in advance!


texts: What should I write as affiliated institute?

texts: I have been accepted into college but have not yet started. The research I did was done before I was accepted into college. So should I add the college as the affiliated institute or not?


texts:
A common way to handle grant applications seems to be to request external reviews, to which the applicant can then respond. Reviews and response together are discussed at a panel where the proposals are ranked, and the top x% then are funded.

I've found myself in a nice, but perplexing situation: I got back the reviews for my first grant proposal, and all reviewers gave top scores (and very positive comments). Now I'm wondering whether or not to use my right to respond - all information I could find about responses boil down to addressing criticism, but what do you do if there is no criticism?

Edit: The grant agency explicitly discourages using the reply to thank reviewers. The alternative option besides not replying at all could be to attempt to selectively agree with the most praising comments or something like that, but I'm not sure that is a good idea.


texts: Are you unofficially a PhD holder after passing viva voce for PhD?

texts: In my university, after passing a viva voce examination, it will take more than 3 months before the university issues an official letter/transcript/certificate to certify that one is officially a PhD holder. Of course, after PhD viva, it will take some time to perform correction as stipulated by examiners. It can be major/minor correction. After a PhD candidate passes viva exam, is she/he unofficially a PhD holder? Considering that one has yet to successfully correct one's thesis as instructed by examiners during viva exam.


texts: Correction of figure in galley proofs in Elsevier journal

texts:
I have submitted the final manuscript after it got accepted, but I just found one error in the figures. The mistake is copying overlap two figures (2 similar figures). This mistake did not occur in the first and second submissions for reviewing and answering revision. Hence, may I change this figures in galley proofs?

This is my mistake. This change does not affect the content of the paper. I have not yet received the online proofing version. Hence, should I wait to correct it in the galley proofs? or should I resend the correction version now?


texts: In a publications list, how to categorize paper from conference whose proceedings are published in a peer-reviewed journal?

texts:
In a "list of publications" (e.g. for a PhD thesis), should a conference paper which is published as "proceedings" in a peer-reviewed journal be categorized as a "journal article"?

(I'm from Liquid Crystals field.)


texts: Undergraduate recitation/discussion session: when is it (not) counted as a credit hour?

texts:
I am a member of a curriculum committee where we want to improve our undergraduate physics program. One way of doing that is to include weekly discussion sessions with our courses.

After looking at the undergraduate physics programs in some universities, including top ones, I have noticed the following:

Such sessions come under different names: recitation session, discussion session, tutorial session, problem session. Are they all the same thing? if not then what is the difference?
The total number of credit hours for a course that has 3 hrs lecture and 1 weekly discussion session sometimes is listed as 3 Cr. in some universities or 4 Cr. in other university. What are the criteria to include or not to include that session in the course credits?

(Replies are welcomed from math, chemistry, biology, computer science, engineering, geology, etc.)


texts: Can one submit overlapping grant proposals?

texts:
I plan to submit an NSF CAREER proposal this Summer.
From what I have heard, the review process will take several months, and most likely I won't receive a decision until the next year.
In December, I would also like to submit a regular NSF proposal that describes exactly the first 3 (out of 5) years of the research plan in the CAREER proposal.
So I will have two overlapping proposals being reviewed at the same time by the end of this year.
The reason for the overlap is that both of these describe a project that I feel very passionate about.
I will focus on this project in the next 5 years no matter what.
So if the CAREER proposal is not funded,
I would like to have a shot to be supported by a regular grant as soon as possible.
Plus, it seems CAREER is very competitive,
so my chance of getting funded is not much above zero.
My question is:
Will the two overlapping proposals be in conflict with one another?
If not, what is the right way to clarify this situation to the program officer and panel?


texts: How can I protect a course I created independently from being taken by the community college I substitute for, when I am about to teach it there?

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I have created a course independent of the community college I substitute for. I contacted the CE department about a year ago to see if my course would be something I could offer as a CE course at the college. They were excited and after several meetings my course is scheduled to begin this fall.
However, there have been a few red flags that have me concerned that maybe the college will try to take my course and teach it without me being the instructor. No compensation for all the hours creating the course has been paid. Besides substituting for one of the technical programs, I am not currently a paid staff member. They did not ask me to create the course for the college, I came to the department with the course already created.
I guess my question is: how do I ensure they don’t take the curriculum as property of the college if something goes sideways?


texts: Publishing without a pre-defined PhD topic?

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I tend to believe that starting with a well defined goal is an undeniable prerequisite for publishing a quality paper on a certain topic.

Alas, can a PhD revolve around a fuzzy subject, that offers the student a lot of freedom of choice regarding what problem to solve, as long as the problem is solved using the methods in that field of study?

More explicitly, is it possible to develop a quality research paper in an applied scientific field without fixing the goal beforehand?


texts: Personal research journal/notes - an electronic solution?

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Is anyone perhaps aware of an application, or ideally a website (always accessible) to keep track of personal notes on ones research?

This would be similar to a physical personal research journal (e.g. a simple hardcover book with ones notes), but in electronic format. I'm looking for something a bit more structured and standardised than an MS Word or Excel document, although if there's no alternative, that will have to do.


texts: How will taking upper level undergraduate courses online affect graduate admissions?

texts:
My dilemma: I'm interested in potentially going to graduate school to obtain my PhD in math with an ideal career as a professor at a research university. I entered undergrad as a computer engineer and didn't add a math major until the end of my third semester. In my school, you have to select electives to satisy an "elective focus area" (cohesive plans of study in fields such as data mining, signal processing, applied physics, etc). My field of study is currently software engineering, something that still interests me. I'm still early enough in my undergraduate career (going into my fifth semester) where I could alter my focus area to include many more upper-level and graduate math courses instead of continuing on the software track. However, I'm hesitant to do so because I know that software engineering is a lucrative field with significantly more job availability than math academia and I would likely enjoy my work as a software engineer.

My inclination: Given that software engineering is something that I'm interested in (although not as much as math) and the job market isn't quite as cutthroat, I'm inclined to continue on my path while trying to sneak in a couple upper-level math courses that have crossover -- large data analysis, numerical methods -- where I can. I could work in industry for a few years after graduating. Ideally, I would be able to take one or two courses a year throughout this period, most likely online, that would solidify my mathematical background and make me a more desirable student when applying for grad schools.

My question(s): Would taking a solid portion of my post-calculus mathematics coursework online have any adverse affect on my graduate admissions? Would it matter if the coursework came from my undergraduate university or from a variety of institutions? Are there other unconsidered obstacles in my inclined path?


texts: How can I Get a Job Reviewing Math or Comp Sci Articles and Books in Advance of Publication?

texts:
I spend a great deal more time than other graduate school students identifying and figuring out how to fix mistakes in published papers and specialized books. Time and time again an author's careless error has sent me down a rabbit hole. In fact, finding the mistake and fixing it is often more interesting to me than the research itself. It dawned on me that I might be able to make a career out of editing working papers and books in advance of publication. However, I am not quite sure how to find such a job.

I am not seeking to publish my own research; I prefer revise and improve others' work. It seems like a useful thing to do: Author's mistakes becomes my personal headache, so that a dozen or more readers down the line do not have to independently run into the same issues (after publication). It is better to fix this sort of problem at compile time rather than run-time.

However, Most peer-reviews are unpaid and done by collegiate professors. I am not seeking a professorship; I don't even have a Ph.D. The highest degree under my belt is a baccalaureate (It is in mathematics at the very least).

When I took the GRE, I was in the 98th percentile for verbal reasoning. This and other indicators seem to show that I might be a good copy editor. However, I really would like to review papers in mathematics and/or computer science. Although editing at The New York Times, or at Tor Books™ might be someone else's dream job, I very much love math. I would like to focus at least as much time on the rigor and correctness of the mathematics done, as time spent on English grammar.

I am very good with logic (the formal kind), comfortable writing proofs, and unperturbed by mathematical symbols equations which make the general populace groan. I am better with graph theory and theory of computation than writing code; my math skills are strong. I have no previous job experience as an editor (other than a pitiful stint at my high school newspaper) and I am not sure where to start looking. I spend a great deal more time than my peers (in graduate school) identifying and figuring out how to fix mistakes in published papers and specialized books. Time and time again an author's careless error has sent me down a rabbit hole. In fact, finding the mistake and fixing it is often more interesting to me, than the research itself. It dawned on me that I might be able to make a career out of editing working papers and books in advance of publication. However, I am not quite sure how to find such a job. A penny for your thoughts?


texts: Does systematic search makes someone a true author for a systematic review?

texts:
I have written a systematic review which all words are extremely mine. Another colleague gave me the idea of writing this review and just carried out the systematic search, but did not participate in any other parts, such as design and outline of the study, interpretations, edition or even extracting the results from the reviewed articles.
I would like to know whether his contribution is significant enough to consider him as an author or not.


texts: Should academic CVs include reviewing, non-academic service, hobbies and languages?

texts:
Do you suggest adding these to an academic CV?

Review journals/conferences. Can adding such information creates negative issues or it would only have positive impression?
Non-academic service: example, Unesco volunteer
Hobbies. Many sites suggest to remove them http://www.academiccareer.manchester.ac.uk/applications/cvs/content/ , but isn't it important to show that the applicant is not a robot? Some suggest to include them wisely http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2011/03/30/how-to-get-tenure-at-a-major-research-university
Languages. Can knowing a certain language be used as a discriminate against an applicant?!


texts: Can I turn down a postdoc offer after I have received the official offer letter but haven't sign it

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I have got two postdoc offers, one with the official offer letter in hand and the other still pending for the letter.  I am considering to turn down the first one. Since during previous emails with the PI who sent the offer letter to me, I have indicated to accept the offer, although I haven't put my name on the letter yet.
At this point, is it appropriate for me turn down that offer?


texts: Do big tech companies require on site interviews?

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I'm a postdoc in the US, from Europe originally. I plan on applying for research scientist positions at big tech companies in Canada e.g. Google, uber, etc (I want a change from the US).

My problem is that my travel outside of the US is restricted on my current visa. Is it possible to get positions at these companies without doing an onsite interview? Alternatively can I interview for positions at their offices within the US for positions in Canada? Has anyone had a similar issue or have any knowledge that may be helpful.

Thanks!


texts: Trying to finish a paper with a professor, but also needing to let them know I switched advisors

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I need a bit of advice. I am currently in my third year of a math PhD program.

I have been working with Prof. X for about 2.5 years now. He thinks he is my advisor but I have also been working with Prof. Z who is my chosen advisor for many reasons. In short, Prof. Z a much better advisor for me (nicer to me, better at helping me learn, more available, supportive for me to attend summer research programs, etc.) and I want to work in the research area of Z and not X. I know that I will be successful with Prof Z.

Last semester I was traveling most of the time doing research related to Prof. X's work. In that time, I solidified that X's area is not the area I want to study. I am trying to finish a paper with Prof. X though.

I need to tell Prof. X that I want to finish the paper but then work with only Prof. Z.

I am thinking that telling Prof. X in person is best; however, I am also worried that Prof. X will have a bad reaction (due to his personality). Maybe it is better for me to tell X over email so that the initial reaction doesn't happen with me there.

Any advice would be really helpful on how I should tell him.

Thanks!

Update: Hey all. Just as an update. I told him today. I thought he would be mad but it was more of a sad reaction. I felt bad, but I know I’m making the right choice. Thank you all for your time and help with this :)


texts:
I have noticed that there is no real workshop or conference in my particular field of research, that tends to be across different fields (for instance, security and risk). There are of course general conferences where I can submit a paper, but they are very general (i.e. either security, or risk), and somehow, I'd sometimes rather gather at the same place and the same time the small community who is working on this particular topic.

So, my question is: how do I create a workshop/conference? In particular, how to define the steering committee/general chair/PC chair/PC Committee? Is it better to be attached with a major conference? (I know some conferences have "call for workshops").

I'm interested both in technical answers and in useful advices (for instance, I guess that technically, you could create PC with only postdocs, but I can imagine that in practice, you need a good ratio of established researchers).


texts: What should be included on the title page of a conference presentation

texts:
I am preparing slides for a conference.

And I struggled (a bit) for what to put on the title page.

I know the paper title is a must, maybe the conference name, place, date.

How about authors and affiliation?

Should I put all the authors name on the title page?

Or only the presenter?

How about if they are from different institute?

Should I put all the institute names on the first page?


texts: Why do universities have a reappointment process before tenure?

texts:
US universities seem to have assistant professors go through a reappointment process before tenure. It seems like a similar review, complete with letters. Except unlike tenure, almost 100% of people get reappointed. In fact I do not know of a case in which a professor failed to have their contract renewed at reappointment.

Since it seems pro-forma, why do it at all?


texts: How much help with coursework is acceptable?

texts:
If a university student is set coursework, this is generally a very uncontrolled method of assessment. Lots of different sources can be used to draw knowledge from and often if it's a technical exercise and not a research one citations are explicitly stated as not required.

My question is thus, where would the line be drawn regarding the amount of help that a student gets with their assignment before it becomes plagiarism?

A few examples:

Asking for help solving a question online.
Asking for help from an expert in their field.
Collaborating with other students on the course.


texts: Visiting professor's office before being admitted to PhD program?

texts:
I have applied to graduate school (EE) and am currently at one of the schools to which I applied to. Is it a bad move if I go to a professor's office and express my interest to work with her, and show her my relevant skills?

Why I think this is a good idea:

I am an engineering physics major applying to electrical engineering. I applied to the niche areas of EE that are a good fit coming from applied physics (electromagnetics and solid state devices), but regardless, coming from outside of EE will give a bad impression to the admissions committee. So I want to do whatever possible to show that I'm qualified.

Moreover, the professor I'm interested in works on computational electromagnetics, and if I can show her that I have the required preparation, maybe she'll be more willing to look into my application through the graduate application system.

So what do you guys think? Thanks.


texts: Using figures from my thesis into publication post defence

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What concerns may arise if I copied figures from my approved thesis for submission of research article. This may happen to many during their final months in lab.
My thesis is submitted to the University. Shall I have copyright on my accepted thesis or my University will have? I am not sure if I need to reuse that content who will provide permission for doing so?


texts: How to request that collaborators add my supervisor's name to a manuscript

texts:
I am collaborating with a foreign author. As I am still pursuing my degree, I have to add my supervisor's name in that paper, even though my supervisor has  not contributed to the preparation of this manuscript.

How should I ask my collaborator (foreign author) to include my supervisor's name as a third author? I need some help in this.

Edited: As my supervisor has told me to add his name, I am obliged to add. I have no other options left. I am asking how should I write and request to my collaborator to include my supervisor name in the manuscript. Also, I am afraid whether my collaborator will feel odd or bad if I request him to do that.

Please help me: what should I say to my collaborator so that he may give third authorship to my supervisor?


texts: Can i copy a slide from another presentation or is it plagiarism?

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For my seminar work i want to use a slide which i found in a presentation available on the internet. Now i wonder whether it is considered plagiarism if i copy the slide into my presentation while citing it.

If copying is okay, do I have to quote it on the slide itself or in the references at the end?


texts: Publishing with a Pseudonym that uses my legal first name as last name

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I will soon be published at a peer-reviewed journal and this is my first publication in my career. My concern is that I'm Asian descent and have an extremely common last name, and personally I do not wish to be identified with my legal last name at all.

On the other hand, my Asian first name is relatively unique. Also, I've been going by an English nickname since I moved to US, and all the people I know knows me as my nickname since I always introduce myself with it in person and in my resume.

So, I thought I would choose my publishing name that is unique and personal to be

not this:

[legal first name] [legal last name]

but this:

[daily-used nick name] [legal first name].

I thought about adding my nickname as middle name, but this still results in tons of same names due to my last name.

The question is, would this be considered a good idea if I will always use this for publishing from now on? Or would it cause any big troubles in future career, such as employers having a difficulty with identifying my work or other issues? Are there any potential issues with this style of pseudonym?

I read other similar posts about publishing in pseudonym, but the closest I could find to my question was this:

Pen name similar with real name: Zu Yangzu instead of Zu Yang for papers

Choosing my name as an author when publishing a scientific paper, can I use my "unofficial" first name?

What are reasonable alternatives to changing your name for academic publishing when you have a common surname?


texts: When is it appropriate to describe research as "recent"?

texts:
I want to write: "A recent study ...",

The particular study I want to cite was published two years ago. I don't think that this is very recent in terms of journal appearances. But it is the most recent I could find compared to similar studies, which is what I want to emphasize.

But what are the general semantics of "recent" when referencing sources?


texts:
My question is related to the fact that at a specific conference, if a submission is rejected then the reviewers may instead recommend that it be presented as a poster session.

Specifically, consider a paper that has no technical contribution. Rather, assume that it is a superficial survey of the main topics included in a scientific domain, i.e. This new domain should take points A, B, C, etc. into consideration, and some of these points may use technologies D, E, F as solutions. Not much literature surveyed and no results by the author included.

Now, it is my understanding that poster sessions are normally works in progress. My questions therefore are:

Can weak surveys fit as poster sessions? Is this normal or unheard of?
Using the case described in paragraph 2 above, have you witnessed papers of the same quality presented as posters at conferences? Most importantly, is this acceptable behaviour?

Thanks in advance.

Edit: In response to the discussion between xLeitix and O.R. Mapper (thank you both, honestly), I believe my use of the word superficial is a little vague. Let's for example take the combination of two large domains: virtualization and the automotive industry. Instead of the author surveying specific works integrating these two techs, let's assume the author takes the following broad and hence superficial approach:

The author mentions and discusses a few of the major considerations involved in virtualization.
The author mentions and discusses a few of the major considerations involved in vehicular networks
The author mentions a few of the major considerations involved in integrating virtualization and vehicular networks together.
The author ends the paper by discussing how some technologies may address some of the aforementioned issues. The solutions are not in themselves surveyed extensively, but more so:

"This person did this, that one did that to address X, etc.", without any deep or insightful comparisons.
"To address this issue type 2 hypervisors may be more useful", no evidence backing this claim.
etc..

Very brief, the paper is useful in that it groups together eloquently quite a bit of information, albeit, not in an informative way for the expert, but more so for a person starting their research in a similar domain. Hence, my dilemma; the paper would make a great article in a technical magazine, but not as a conference paper. Perhaps as a poster it would be stimulating and beneficial to the authors and for non-experts interested in the domain (possibly stimulating inter-field synergies etc.).

I have not seen something like this before, but I am not seasoned; hence, why I ask if this is acceptable, or even normal.

Note: The example given is fictional.


texts: Searching databases for scientific work/ articles

texts:
I've tried reading several guides on how to search in databases to get the relevant information that I'm seeking, either is my topic hard to find articles on or I guess it doesn't exist many.
Anyway I thought I'd give it a shot here to see if you guys could help me get relevant search-results for what I'm searching for.

Basically I have the idea of doing a bachelor degree work on the topic "How is data backups being handled at municipalities?" where I want to get in contact with IT-responsible people working at municipality offices around the region where I live to answer the research question.

The work requires me to find scientific work/ articles that relates to this subject to explore what has been done before me in the area which I wish to study.

How would I go on about finding scientific work/ articles about the subject that I wish to study.

Basically how do I search databases in the most efficient way to find earlier articles relating to my subject?

Any help and advice is appreciated.


texts: Does having an MSc in a UK university increase chances of being accepted for PhD programme at the same university?

texts:
I had a conversation with a professor who told me that getting into a PhD programme at some university (in the UK) is very difficult without also having an MSc from that same university. Is this true?

If it's relevant, we were specifically taking about Economics PHDs.


texts: Do EPSRC-like Centres for Doctoral Training exist outside the UK?

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I'm looking into starting a doctorate next Autumn and am currently exploring my options. I really like the program style of EPSRC Centres for Doctoral Training which started sprouting around British Universities a couple of years ago. I'm wondering if any other places in Europe (or outside) have programmes which a similar in structure.

Here's some key qualities of such a Centre:

the course is a four-year studentship
first year consists of taught electives and small project. It gives one the time to find their footing in an institution and the field and decide on the subject of their further research that would suit them the most.
years 2-4 are when the actual research + thesis writing happens
all throughout, the course is complemented by courses in general transferable skills (business, management, entrepreneurship, communication, public speaking etc.)

I know American Universities tend to have their grad programmes start with a bunch of requirements in taught courses followed by the actual research. Do I have any alternatives?

If it helps at all the field I'm interested in is robotics and their applications in environmental sciences / preservation.


texts: General Guidline in making a index for a textbook

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I am currently writing a textbook in some mathematical area and now I am at the point of creating an index of words.
Are there some general rules in academia on this, like there are for citing references?
For example, if I have some mathematical theorem, like "Theorem of BlaBla", should I then include it to "T" or to "B"? And also if there is some general definition, like a "norm" of a space and then there are some specific examples, like "p-norms", should I then order the latter separately in $p$ or together wth the general concept at "n"?
Thanks!


texts: Using photos obtained from academic homepages in a research seminar talk

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I am preparing a research seminar talk in an academic discipline which I'll give online (with Beamer) at University X.
I like to show images of the people whose ideas have gone into my work. Most of the time I can get images which have been clearly released under some form of Creative Commons License, allowing me to use it provided I attribute the copyright holder. However this is not always possible, and sometimes the only photo I can find of Person Y is on their personal homepage at University Z, where there is no mention of copyright on the image, or whether it may be used by others.

Is one allowed to use the photos found on the personal webpages of people working at academic institutions for non-commercial purposes such as in the slides of a research seminar talk, if there is no explicit mention of copyright or limitations on its use by others?


texts: Post-doc vs. Assistant Professor choice, but neither ideal

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I'll keep this question short to make it easy to read, but happy to supply details later if relevant.

I recently finished my Ph.D. - computer science, in the US. I have a choice between accepting a post-doc position and a tenure-track Assistant Professor (AP) position.

However:

The AP position is at a satellite campus of a state university. This is a masters-granting campus (i.e. no PhD students). The teaching load is 3+3, though there is expectation of decent research output, especially (but not exclusively) during the summers.
The post-doc is at an R1 research university (though not highly ranked or especially prestigious). It appears (to me) to be less-than-ideal for the following reason: the PI applies techniques from my field (CS, AI) to another field (let's call it F2). He publishes (and presumably, I would publish) exclusively in conferences and journals of F2. After 2-years of this, I fear being stuck between two fields, departments of neither seriously considering me for tenure-track positions.

So, both positions appear sub-optimal, which is the source of my dilemma. Eventually, I hope for a tenure-track position at a R1 university. Which of these will best help me meet this goal?

ADDITION:

Thanks for the responses. It's helpful that the responses clearly categorize the AP institution as a teaching-focussed university. When I went to interview, they harped on their focus on research, show-casing the research activities and publications of professors and MS students. Since it is a masters-granting university and not an undergraduate teaching college, I was uncertain of what to make of all this. I suppose, in the end, the 3+3 load is telling.

One reason I'm swayed toward the AP is that, as a foreign national, a tenure-track position is a firm step toward US permanent residency, which a post-doc position is not.


texts: Bachelors thesis on my desired topic already written by previous years students

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There really is only one topic that I find interesting, useful and that I have alot of knowledge of. However students of previous years had already chosen this topic and written Bachelors thesis on it.

How bad would it be if at least half of my thesis was already researched in previous years thesis?


texts: I see many Indian researchers going to the USA as postdocs. But I see very few Indian faculty leaving India. Why?

texts: As you may agree that most departments of most US university will have a number of Indian postdocs. But why very few Indian professors leave India to join US universities. I wonder why?


texts: "Editor invited" to "Decision in Process"

texts: I submitted my paper to World Scientific journal for a week ago. The "Editor invited" status stayed since the submission, and then it changed to "Decision in Process" directly. It seems strange. Normally “editor invited” comes after manuscript screening. Why was there no "with editor" status and why did it change to "Decision in Process"?


texts: Is a Polish PhD degree in engineering equally respected in North America?

texts: Is a Polish PhD degree in engineering equally revered as a North American degree (i.e., from Canada or USA) in the area of academia and job-market?


texts:
I'm doing MSc in one of the TU9 (TU9) in Germany where the grading systems work as defined below:

The grades I have got are as follows:

I'm wondering how the GPA was calculated as different subjects as different credits and lower the final grade better it is. What mathematical formula is being used to calculate GPA


texts: Generally speaking, when are the deadlines applying for PHD's in Europe?

texts:
29 year old male, considering applying for PHD programs that begin 2021 or else 2022.
Have I left it too late to apply for a PHD that begins in 2021? I know this question is fairly general, but it seems that in the U.S, deadlines for most PHD programs have passed. I'm curious if it's the same in Europe.


texts: Publishing a tech report or other non-peer reviewed paper as an independent researcher

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I have got a paper in the queue which I would like to publish outside the realm of peer reviewed journals. The main reasons:

Money. I'm currently not affiliated to any academic institution which would reimburse my conference fees and publication costs. I would also like to provide open access, so other non-affiliated researchers can actually read my paper. This can be very costly.
The topic. It's an interdisciplinary thing I write about, which  doesn't really fall into the field of interest of the usual journals and their peer reviewers. It's a bit of an in-between-the-chairs thing.

It is a very technical paper with a focus on "open science" - akin to what is sometimes classified as a Technical Report.
So I thought about releasing it as a technical report on Zenodo. This way  it gets a DOI, gets archived, becomes publicly accessible and gets a clear citable form.

But there's a catch: a technical report usually needs an institution (at least in the latex/bibtex world). Are there any recommended alternatives? Are there any known "best practices" for my case?


texts: Is it okay to put up a submitted paper and a paper which is about to be submitted on Academia.edu?

texts:
I'm applying to graduate school (CS MS/PhD) this year and I wanted to put up a copy of my papers online so that admission committees would be able to see them. The problem is one of the papers is currently under submission at a conference and notification for the same is only on Jan 22nd. Another one is still in preparation and I will be submitting it soon to a journal/conference. So I was just wondering if it is okay if I put up these papers in my Academia.edu page?
Actually one of my friends' told me that since Academia.edu submissions are searchable on Google, the conference I have submitted to and the journal or conference I would be submitting the other paper will have a problem. Is he right? How else can I provide a way for others to view these papers?


texts: Are there any publications that explain the origin of conventions of authorship order by field?

texts:
The conventions of authorship order vary considerably from one field to the next. In some fields, such as pure math, authorship order is typically alphabetical irrespective of the authors' roles. In other areas, including most biomedical fields, the first and last author positions are the most prestigious: the first author is presumed to have done the bulk of the work, and the last author is presumed to be the PI who obtained the funding for the project. There may even be a convention to place the statistician in the second author position. In yet other fields, such as paleontology, the first author carries prestige, but the last author has no special meaning. More examples are available in
What does first authorship really mean?

Are there any bibliometric publications that catalog and/or attempt to explain the origin of authorship conventions by discipline?


texts: how to finish incomplete master's degree from UCI?

texts: I am an international student. I almost finished masters in CS @ University of California, Irvine with 2 courses as incomplete. Due to health reasons, I had to drop the school and come back to my home country. Currently my student status is lapsed at University of California, Irvine . is there any way I can finish master degree from an another university??


texts: How to write a Cover Letter for applying to a PhD program in the USA

texts:
I have completed my BS and MS in physics and I want to apply at different US universities for graduate program. What I have heard from my seniors that, I should mail the program coordinator to confirm if my profile is good enough to get admitted. For that I need to write a cover letter.

Am I in the right direction?
Who should I contact, my potential adviser or the graduate
coordinator, to know if my profile is strong enough for getting
admitted?


texts: Is there an ethical obligation to make author order reflect conventions in your field?

texts:
In some fields, authors of a paper are not ordered alphabetically; rather, their order carries some meaning related to the authors' contributions to the work. See What does first authorship really mean? for more details. In these fields, readers of a paper make certain assumptions about the role of each author, depending on their placement in the author list.

For example, in my field, the first author is typically the person who was the "main" contributor, and the last author is typically the person with the greatest supervisory role or the head of the research group where the research was carried out. The middle authors are the least important. Thus if my name is first in the author list, readers of my paper who are familiar with conventions in the field will assume that I was the main contributor to the work.

Under these circumstances, is it ethically problematic to use a different author order, assuming this is acceptable to the authors? (Putting aside issues of who does and doesn't deserve to be an author; let's assume all of the authors have sufficient contribution to be considered authors, and we are only concerned with order.) Do I have an ethical responsibility to protest if this happens on a paper where I am a co-author?

For example, suppose I co-author a paper with an undergraduate research assistant, and I do most of the work. According to conventions in my field, I should be listed as the first author. But maybe I don't really need this first-author paper, and my undergraduate student does (it would really help him get into graduate school), and I'd happily give up first authorship so that he can have it. Is this ethically problematic?

Or, suppose a senior author, Prof. Z, wants to be last on the author list. If Prof. Z is listed as the last author, the paper will be thought of as having "come from Prof. Z's group". The author who really should be last (based on having been the main supervisor contributor), Prof. Y, is OK with this arrangement (as a favor to Prof. Z, or to avoid an argument). Is it problematic to give last authorship to someone who doesn't really deserve it in this case, and should other co-authors insist on the conventional ordering?

The potential ethical issue is that readers may be misled about the role of the authors, if the order doesn't reflect the contributions that will be assumed based on conventions in the field. I'm not sure if this is a real problem, or if I'm overthinking it, though.


texts: Evaluating potential supervisors on the basis of past graduate student results

texts:
I am lucky CS senior undergrad who has received offers from a number of good departments in the USA. I am currently going through the usual factors for evaluating departments and supervisors. In the process, I've noticed a common trend in advice: most of the advice that I've gotten has not mentioned looking at where most of the students end up (e.g. quality of the thesis, do they get post-docs, coding jobs, industry research jobs, etc). Most advice (that I have read) emphasizes, not unproductively, the adviser-student relationship and the supervisor's research interests. This observation has led me to several questions:

Is it appropriate to ask potential supervisors what most of their students end up doing and why? Is there some other way to talk about this with potential supervisors?
How much should this factor into one's decision? Obviously, a lot of what happens to me is up to me and luck, but also obviously my supervisor plays some role in this beyond helping directly with my research.
Is there an easy way to figure out this information? Anything better than googling lots of names?
Are there more qualitative ways of looking at this question besides just looking at bare results? (Given the relative scarcity of positions over time and the amount of luck involved, I am amenable to the argument that simple stats are useless here.)


texts:
Is it possible to submit two papers to the same conference which are citing each other?

Both papers were accepted and they are both very related, so I think to cite the papers in each other, when submitting the camera ready version. Is this allowed or is it not a good idea?


texts: When do you consider the writing of a theoretical framework to be complete?

texts:
As I am writing the proposal for my thesis, I am finding a lot of works to include in my theoretical framework with some items that take the spotlight because they are tied into my methodology. I'm doing an exploratory case study so many options are open and my topic potentially intersects a few fields. I am wondering, when does it become too much? When is it sufficient?

How should I decide what to include and what to skip when writing my theoretical framework? (in an exploratory study)


texts: Referee access to a not-yet-public URL cited in a paper?

texts:
I am reviewing a publication, in which the authors give the URL of an online tool (data analysis and sharing) they have developed. This URL has apparently not yet been publicized, as searching for it in Google didn't bring any result. Because of that, I'm worried that the paper's authors may identify me as a referee when I go check their website (after all, the logs must be clear). That probably wouldn't be very ethical, but I have no way of being sure they won't do it.

What I am supposed to do about it? I thought of contacting the editor asking for guidance, using a private proxy[1], or logging from an internet café somewhere. Do you have any other suggestions? Or am I just worrying too much?

I don't know which anonymizing proxy service to use, and I welcome suggestions in comments, but that probably isn't particularly relevant to this site.


texts:
I am currently trying to change careers after doing postdoc physics research for many years and not being able to obtain a research faculty position. I really enjoyed my university teaching experiences and want to focus on teaching as a career.  But I haven't been successful in finding a nonresearch teaching position with an EECS PhD.

My goal now is to teach Mathematics at either the community college or liberal arts college level. Is it impossible to achieve this goal with only a BS in Mathematics plus EECS PhD? It seems like I need at a minimum a MS in Mathematics.

There was a related question here. There was a suggestion for that person to look into getting a DA degree in Mathematics as a way to get a doctorate with an emphasis on teaching. I've never heard of it, but based on descriptions of the DA program I've found online, it seems to match my teaching goals perfectly. (There were also suggestions to consider the PhD in Mathematics Education, but I don't think it would be a good fit for me.)

My questions:

Am I wasting my time applying to college-level math teaching jobs with only a BS Math + grad engineering degrees?
Is a Master's degree good enough or even preferable to a DA if I only want to teach?
I am interested in the DA, but I'm worried that the commenter in the link above says "It's a bad idea".  Is it true that most Math departments don't even know what a DA degree is? Will having a DA put me at a disadvantage compared to others having a PhD if I apply for a teaching position requiring a doctorate degree?
Since it's been a long time since my BS Math degree, would getting a MS Math degree first be a good idea before thinking about getting a doctoral degree?
I'm not sure if getting another degree is a reasonable way of planning my second career. It's been 10 years since my PhD and if I decide to do this I will be over 40 by the time I finish another degree. Is it a bad idea to go back to school as an older student just so I can teach college math?


texts: How to thank a potential supervisor's email?

texts:
I have recently interviewed by a professor in US after sending him my CV. A few days after the interview he mailed me and told me to do the formal application process and mention him as the professor I want to work with.
Now, I want to thank him for considering me as a choice of his future PhD student. What should I write?


texts:
I'm considering graduating a year early and I'm having a bit of a hard time making the decision. I'm going to be as specific as possible so that I can get the best advice possible, so sorry if this becomes a bit lengthy.

I'm going into my third year as an undergraduate, majoring in mathematics. Here is a list of courses I have taken:

Calculus III, Intro to Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Modern Algebra I, Advanced Linear Algebra, Modern Algebra II, Discrete Math, General Topology, Real Analysis I, Real Analysis II, Algebraic Topology, Complex Variables, Abstract Algebra I (a graduate course in Group Theory).

I am currently participating in an REU, and I am attending Math in Moscow in the Fall, where I will (most likely) be taking Algebraic Number Theory, Commutative & Homological Algebra, Riemann Surfaces, and possibly one other course.

I've done a fair bit of reading outside my courses as well: Group Representation Theory, some classical Algebraic Geometry (Fulton's Algebraic Curves, so I haven't been exposed to schemes yet), and Category Theory just to name a few.

Here are the upsides I see to graduating early:

opportunity to take more advanced coursework earlier (my university doesn't have an overly active graduate department, and it's likely that most of my learning would come from independent reading courses if I were to stay)
being in an environment with stronger students will probably force me to develop better as a student

and here are upsides I see to taking a fourth year:

more time to figure out what subject I want to pursue research in
opportunity to have more coursework under my belt before I apply
it might be difficult to apply from Moscow, so I wouldn't have to worry about that

I'd like to hear other people's opinions. I've of course asked my professors first. One is adamant that I should graduate early, he's actually the one who suggested it to me. Another says he thinks I'll be fine either way, it's just a matter of if I want that extra year to prepare.

So according to them, I should be okay. But I can't get the idea out of my mind that I might not get into as good of a graduate program if I graduate early, so I wanted to hear other opinions. Am I just being paranoid?


texts: How important are review articles to secure a tenure-track position?

texts:
My field is chemistry and I have had successful postdoc experiences for four years. Next year I want to apply for a tenure-track assistant professor position.

My supervisor says review articles are very very important (if not mandatory) for a full professor position. Therefore, they can be impressive for an assistant professor application. He advises me to focus on writing 2 review articles in the next months instead of research works because this can increase my chance. He says 1 review article is more important than 5 research articles in a job application.

Considering the fact that writing review articles is very time-consuming. Is it worth of my time to focus on 2 strong review articles?


texts: Does job experience matter for graduate school admission?

texts: I was planning on applying to US colleges for masters and recently I got shortlisted for this job at an Indian startup (I don't think they have anything major out in the market). They are working on some Machine Learning (ML) product and I wish to pursue a masters in ML. Will this job experience help me with the admission process or should I just directly apply? My plan in life is to do a PhD and then join the industry.


texts:
I visited the campus for an in-person interview 2 weeks ago.
They supported my flight and hotel.
I thought I was good at the interview and the director stated that she will be in touch after several weeks.
Is it okay if I send follow-up email?
I am so nervous and cannot focus on my work.
Any comments will be appreciated.


texts: How should I stay in professional contact with former supervisors and/or colleagues?

texts:
I want to ask if anyone still keeps in touch with former supervisors and/or colleagues from previous universities and how to do it in a professional way.

I want to keep in touch with them for not only future reference letters but also potential research collaboration.


texts: How can I withdraw a publication from a predatory (fake) journal and resubmit to a legitimate journal?

texts:
I have published a paper in a fake journal. I want to withdraw the paper from that journal.

After successful withdrawal from the fake journal, can I can submit the same paper to a legitimate journal?


texts: Do manuscripts sent for submission in Word format need to be already in two column or a specific font?

texts:
I am reading the guidelines for authors on a research journal which is part of Wiley. In the guidelines for authors it is only mentioned it should be submitted in Word format but nothing about font, font size, and if it should be already in two-column format.

Also it says figures should go at the end of the Word file, but I want to insert two figures in the same page to avoid paying twice the color page charge.

How is this supposed to be done?


texts:
ResearchGate offers to add a DOI on any file upload, if it doesn't already have one. I have in the past cited a few PhD-Theses that contain more information than potential papers, or were available before said papers made it out.

So I'm thinking assigning a DOI to a thesis that is published on the university repository can be helpful in making it more citeable.

Are there any downsides to this that I'm forgetting? Or further advantages?


texts: Seeking career advice on transitioning to work/postdoc in a new country after a PhD

texts:
Hello Academia community,

I am a soon-to-be holder (next week) of a PhD in zoology (mammalian biomechanics). Following my graduation, I would like to move to the UK. Ideally, I would like to continue my research in a postdoc position. However, I would not mind taking up non-academic work, in a relevant field, if possible.

Probably, I need to clear some things up:

Why move? I currently live in Greece. Working conditions are terrible, and funding is scarce. As a postdoc researcher, if I successfully get a position, I can expect a salary of ~600 euros a month (it is hard to live on this budget, and impossible to live relatively comfortably). There are incredible limitations in research expenses as well, and my work requires some high-tech equipment. Plus, huge uncertainty for my future.
Why the UK? I will be making the move with my girlfriend. This is very important to me - perhaps more important than my work. She works in education, and is fluent in English, therefore the limitation. I have had suggestions to apply in other European countries, but I am not seriously considering.
What actions have I taken so far? I have been invited to apply for a Newton fellowship by a lab I have contacted. However, getting the fellowship is highly uncertain. I have also applied to some openings for Lecturers in zoology in various universities, but I think it is highly unlikely I will get one without a postdoc. Other than this, nothing.
What are my qualifications? My PhD project has gone quite well. I have 8 (soon to be 9, hopefully) papers published or accepted for publication in some of the best journals in zoology. I have a Masters in biological anthropology, from a very prestigious university in the UK, and a Bachelors in biology from a university in Greece. Apart from this, I only have limited work experience in conservation research (<6 months).

I am in a very stressful place right now, due to the uncertainty and the lack of current employment - I expect to be unemployed in the near future, unless I get a job in the tourist industry for this spring/summer season. This might seem strange to some, but my qualifications mean next to nothing due to the high unemployment rates here.

Thus, the question.

What should my next step be?
How should I approach the move?

I was considering writing to relevant departments in universities, zoos, natural history museums, etc.

Should I do this, even if they do not advertise positions
Should I ask for postdoctoral employment or let them now I am fine with working in other, less specialised positions as well?
What outcome should I expect from this?

Anyway, I am open to any suggestions, and hope to learn from your experience. Please ask me for more information, if you need any.


texts: Does copyright restrict how I can adapt papers when compiling them into a thesis?

texts:
I am starting to put together my PhD thesis. The bulk of the thesis will be reprints of papers I have published during my PhD. I am wondering about presentation style.

My personal preference would be to reformat all of my papers into a single LaTeX document so as to have consistent style throughout. It's a bit of extra work, but I would prefer this approach. In several cases my papers have supplementary info which would not fit in the constraints of the main manuscript in the published version, but which could (and probably should) be coherently woven into the main text.

Are these acceptable options? Assuming I get reprint permission from the publishers, is it acceptable to change or partially reorganize the text for the sake of a coherent narrative within the context of the larger thesis? Or do copyright laws require that my reprints be exact reproductions of both content and style as compared to published versions?


texts: When would be a good time to ask a professor if he will consider being my PhD advisor?

texts: I just started working with this professor, I am beginning to really like the work they are doing in his lab. When do you  think I should ask him if I can do a PhD under his tutelage?


texts: Asking about a colleagues post-grad work?

texts:
This may not be the best place to ask this question, if so please inform me.

I am approaching the end of my program and will be applying for jobs soon. But some of my colleagues (some of which I'd even go as far as to call friends) have already decided their industry, company and even signed offer letters.

But when I ask details about the company, the salary, the benefits or scope of work. Some people get really defensive.

I don't understand why this is. Is this an academica thing, a culture thing, or am I just a bit more socially inept than I thought?

From my perspective as someone who is also soon graduating asking for insight on such things seems perfectly normal.


texts:
I have a question regarding the deadline for submitting a revised paper. Does "due date by" mean the day before or that very day?
I know it's better to not put myself in such situation in the first place, but for the worst case scenario, has anyone ever experienced a situation in which submitting the paper on the due date was unsuccessful? And the submission system has already closed on the due date?
I should add thet in the email sent by the editior, there was no specification of time, time zone or anything else. Just A simple "due date by"


texts: Time out of Academic Environment (Mathematics)

texts:
Earlier in the year, I applied to some graduate school master's programme in the US and have received a few offers last week.

My goal is to obtain a PhD. Ultimately, I have two options.

Take the graduate school offer. It is a top 15 programme for mathematics and after completing 1~2 years there, reapply for PhD programmes probably in the US or other places.
Try to wait two years when I qualify as a teacher. Work with a local professor to try and reapply again.

Bit of Background:
I spent many years outside of my country during secondary education and also during my undergraduate. After graduation, I had worked as a teacher to try and get my diploma to be a fully-certified teacher. Note, I worked in a country which is not my home country so to speak but I have relatives there and many family connections. This year was supposed to be my contract renewal year and after failing to get into a teacher training programme in the first two years of my teaching job, I had planned on other pathways which was to get back into academia. I had intentions of doing a master's and had made applications before to my home country and UK which is where I did my undergraduate. On those occasions, it didn't work out.

This time round, I applied to a dozen schools in the US with a good score in my subject GRE. As mentioned before, the school that I am considering is a top 15 school.

Personally, I want to take option 1, go to the graduate school programme and reapply for PhD but if I quit my job, I have no back-up options should I not be able to complete my master's or PhD. This is a real concern as I have been out of academic studies for three years and despite trying to do some mathematics when I have the time, there is no denying that I will be rusty.

The second option is to wait for two years. If I fully qualify as a teacher, I can always return back should I have to quit. I personally feel that five years out of academic study is quite long but this is something that some people have suggested. Is returning to academic studies really possible after such a long break?

TLDR: Got into a decent master's programme, want to accept it but worried about back-up options since I have been out of study for so long. Can I wait two more years to consolidate a back-up plan in teaching and try to re-enter?


texts: How to organize a work-in-progress workshop for PhD students in the field of law and related social sciences?

texts: I would like to organize a work-in-progress workshop for PhD students at my university. How can I make sure that the participants really profit from the workshop and receive valuable feedback?


texts: Are extra classes and extra research worth it?

texts:
I am currently a senior finishing up my bachelor's degree in Psychology through online classes offered at Washington State University.  I intend to apply to grad schools (2 PhD programs and 1 MS as a plan B) thereafter. I will be engaging in Independent Study during the Fall, 2018 and Spring 2019 semesters (a literature review project). I will then be eligible to graduate in May, 2019.  However, I am wondering if an independent study literature review project is considered to be strong enough "research experience" for grad school apps. Recently, I have been considering staying-on for an extra semester to participate in more research.  I have the opportunity to engage in a Hypothesis Testing option where I can run my own experiment (with mentoring, of course!).

I'm just wondering whether staying an extra semester to do research is worth it (the trade-off is I will have less time to study for GREs and write applications because I will start school again in August, versus totally being done and having a few extra months to prepare). Can anyone provide input on this?  Basically, my choices are: 1) graduate in May, 2019 with 1 Independent Study project under my belt and have time to study/take GREs and write applications; or 2) graduate in December, 2019 with 2 research projects under my belt, but less time for GRE prep and applications.

I have also read on some of these posts that grad schools may not like applicants who took classes online, so any input here is welcome as well. How do grad schools view courses taken online through major universities? Although my junior and senior year classes have been solely online, I have been able to gain TA experience and I have a good relationship with our program director, so I will be able to get good letters of recommendation.  I also have a 4.0 GPA, so I'm hoping that helps my case a bit.

Any input is much appreciated - I'm really torn on this decision.  Thanks!


texts: why does google scholar find a paper I wrote for a course?

texts:
I just found a [citation] result on google scholar listing a paper I wrote for a seminar as an undergrad. The result isn't a link, it just lists the title, author and year. This can't have been cited anywhere because I only turned it in for a grade and my professor didn't do anything with it afterwards.

Did scholar pull the data out of my email and count email discussions as "citations?" I might have mentioned the paper by email to two people besides the professor.

EDIT - this is a screenshot:


texts:
I am organizing a one day workshop as a part of a major conference in my field.
I would like to have a website to

introductory text (static html)
announce things (some content management)
keep everybody up to date (mailing list)
maintain a pre-workshop and post-workshop online discussion forum

Is there a web service that would implement these things easily?

Also, I don't want the visitors to register accounts. Perhaps a mailing list accessible via web would be sufficient, since I do not expect anybody to regularly visit just to check the forum (except for myself). Is there a mailing list/forum service suitable for such purpose?

Free would be best. I am capable of building such website myself, but I do not want to host it nor spend too much time setting it up. In the past, I used wordpress.com, google sites, google groups and such...


texts: I've been recently completing what I want to do after I obtain a Ph. D. since my Ph. D will be in math there will be choices for me to go into industry. However, I'm wondering it there's a timeline to go into being a postdoc and conducting further research. Can one postdoc at multiple places?  Especially if they have been in industry for a while (my end goal is to go into academia).