texts: Colleague demanding to add additional participant to funded grant

texts:
Recently I had a moderate sized grant funded from a national agency.  The grant aim was to obtain data to combat a new disease causing significant issues in corn.  As you may guess, the new, high profile disease has resulted in many interested researchers, with very limited funding opportunities.  One of the reasons I wrote this grant was to pool expertise and resources between labs and states in an effort to more rapidly address this disease issue.  However, two of the individuals on the grant have been less than cooperative.  One has refused to follow the guidelines set in the grant and share results and progress with the group, and another blatantly made efforts to scoop research that was designated for my lab in the proposal. Recently, individual 1 contacted me, demanding I include his colleague at his institution on the grant.  However, this person is redundant,  and we already have an excellent individual leading this research area in the proposal.

How should I address these issues?  Part of me wants to be direct with these tenured colleagues, while another part is tempted to simply roll with the punches.  However, being an assistant professor, it is not necessarily beneficial for me to allow others to take advantage of my ideas,  efforts, etc.  we are told to be collaborative and write multi PI grants, yet come time for promotion, being middle author on a bunch of papers because I allowed others to roll over on me may be problematic.


texts: Changing affiliation after getting a position in another university

texts: I am PhD student and I started working with my advisor a year ago. We wrote a paper and submitted it a couple of months ago to a good journal. In the meantime, my advisor told me that he got a better position in an other university and he will be leaving without having the intention to take me with him. So I found a new advisor and started my research from scratch. After a couple of months the reviewers' results came back and it was very satisfactory.however, my first advisor changed his affiliation to the new university and removed the acknowledgement part (he payed me from the seed grant)What is bothering me is that He has't left yet and will be here for another semester. The paper is published now so  I didn't want to do anything about it. But recently he asked me to write another paper for him and he also offered to pay me for that. I have a feeling that he is taking advantage of me to get tenured faster in the new university. I was thinking to bring up this issue to the Dean or whoever that is in charge of dealing with unethical practices. What do you think?


texts: Should I appeal the F grade I received in my programming class?

texts:
I received a F grade in a class I was doing pretty well in throughout the semester. I had a B up until I got a C on the final which brought my overall grade to a C, not ideal but not horrendous either. On Christmas Eve when the semester was over I checked my grade and spit the cereal I was eating all over my laptop. I checked my grade through the class website and my last assignment still said "upcoming" with regards to my grade. I was so shocked by the F I received that I immediately shot off an email to the Prof, letting him know the grade he gave me was wrong... big mistake. The Prof told me I got a zero on the last assignment (even though it said upcoming not 0) which was worth about 20% of my grade because my project which was turned in 100% correct and on time was not configured correctly. My project was on GitLab and I had added him as a guest by accident not a developer to the project; thus making it impossible to grade.

I could tell he was angered by my unintentional accusation and he said we were done talking about it, and my grade was final. I failed at a 58% with an assignment worth 20% of my grade and took weeks to complete being worth nada. So I had a unbelievably bad Christmas to say the least. I waited a week and wrote an email to the professor apologizing for my rude behavior and to propose a compromise. Take as much points as you want off, (I could get a 10% on the assignment and still pass). This made sense to me, the Professor accepted late work for up to a week with 5% deducted per day. If I got a D at least I didn't have to retake the course. No response, I must've emailed at the worst possible time or really ticked him off.

Just some more background. This is by far my most disorganized, forgetful and laid back Professor I have ever taken in college. He's also the funniest, most caring and fair instructor I've met so far. He will personally tutor students outside office hours, clear and fair in grading and will bend over backwards to hear you out. I really think I just pissed him off at the worst possible time. The downside to his laid back attitude is that we didn't get out first program back for two months, it was due week 3. We didn't get program 2 back until week 9. And the last two assignments, due a month and a month and a half before the semester ended weren't graded until after our final. Which would explain why I spat cereal all over my lab top on Christmas Eve. There was no opportunity for recourse. No way for me to speak with him in person about why I shouldn't fail for selecting the wrong entry on a drop down menu.

Anyways before I embarrass myself any further with a grade appeal do I have any standing, any case to make? The instructions on adding the Professor as a developer is clear on the first assignment, not on any of the subsequent assignments. Not disputing that, I made that mistake he literally couldn't grade it because of that. All I'm saying is that it is in line with my computer science department policies to deduct points for silly mistakes regarding submitting code. I Will talk to the department chair first, funny story is I sat next to him all semester last year and didn't even realize it was the department chair sitting in observing some of the classes.


texts:
I have just received a decision letter for my submitted manuscript to an Elsevier journal. It was a revise and resubmit (R&R). Two reviewers comments were included in the decision letter. One of the reviewers suggested minor revisions. The other reviewer on the other hand recommended rejection and his comments were really unfair. Evidently, he hasn't bothered reading the manuscript completely.
I am really disappointed and don't really know how to even respond to his comments. what do you recommend me to do? I am really frustrated.


texts: How to learn about a department's culture?

texts: I recently interviewed for a teaching position, but I have concerns about the department's culture. First, I learned that the department adopted a different hiring process for me. They made me jump through some hoops, but then they fell off the face of the earth. I haven't heard anything for 20 days!  Second, I learned that the department is in desperate need of new lecturers since the newly-hired experienced faculty member (established scholar!)  who had moved across the continent to work in this department left. I want to contact the-above mentioned scholar and ask him why he left, but I don't know if that's professional. What do you suggest?


texts: How common is mandatory attendance-taking in college courses in US?

texts:
A recent SE Academia question asked about how best to implement a university's requirement that the instructor must keep attendance records for all students. The top-voted answer there was to simply refuse to follow the university's policy, specifically, "Allow all students in class and do not monitor attendance." The justification and comments indicate that this is such an unusual and egregious demand at a university that it should be refused on its face.

Coincidentally, around the same time this topic independently came up at my own institution (large college in northeast U.S.), where mandatory attendance records, recorded by instructors and collected by the college, have been the process for many years, since before I arrived.

When this discussion came up in my department I cited the SE question linked above and its top-voted answer. However, it seems that almost all of my colleagues (~40 faculty members) simply disbelieved what I was saying. Their sense was that mandatory attendance-record-keeping was standard and customary at any academic institution in their experience. At least one comment was made asserting that other institutions forgoing attendance records would be a sign of lowering academic standards.

So: What is an evidence-based estimate for the proportion of U.S. college classes that have a mandatory attendance-record-keeping policy? A proper answer for this would require some kind of reference for the evidence of the estimate. The estimate could be at the level of the university, college, division, department, course, or something else, depending on available data. Additional points if a historical profile can be given, i.e., confirmation on whether attendance requirements have been growing more or less common in recent decades.


texts: Thinking about leaving my PhD, thoughts?

texts:
I'm currently beginning my 2nd semester of a dual Msc/PhD in Physics in the top university of my home country, but lately I've been struggling with self-doubt and uncertainty about the job prospects and whether research is actually for me. Lately I don't feel the motivation to wake up early and work in my research 24 hours/day, and I know that if I keep like this I'll end up as a mediocre graduate student, so I've been really considering if research life is for me.

Some background

Since I was in high school wanted to do my undergraduate studies in high energy physics, but since the option wasn't available in my city and I didn't have the money to move to another place (student loans don't exist in my country) I enrolled in engineering physics at my state university. Being one of the top 5 students, I was invited to due a joint Bsc/MEng degree abroad in France, so I accepted since I was excited to try new things and get the chance to live in Europe for two years. I sucessfully completed my Master's courses abroad, came back to finish my Bsc, and graduated with the highest possible honors while publishing 3 scientific papers on the run (6.5 years). Therefore, doing a PhD in Physics seemed like the natural continuation of my career, and everyone was expecting me to go and become a renowned scientist in my discipline one day. I even got full support on recommendation letters to apply for studying abroad again.

While I got accepted to several joint Msc/PhD programs abroad (I discarded the US since I didn't have the money to pay for the GRE examinations at the time), due to delays from my university I wasn't able to apply for funding on time, thus instead of waiting another year I decided to enroll in one of the top programs in my country.

The doubts begin

However, over time I got more and more afraid of the potential job prospects of a career in Physics, after witnessing the vast amount talented PhD students and the lack of tenure positions (especially after the science budget took some cuts). I have met many PhD graduates who are still struggling to find a job in their late 30's, and even in an extreme case one who's literally homeless even after doing two post-docs abroad. Moreover, PhD graduates who go into the industry, at least in physics, had little to no advantage over those who have a Master's degree or a PhD in Engineering (in my country a PhD is rarely needed in the industry unless it's for the areas of Chemistry, Medicine, or Biology).

I do love Physics and do enjoy research, and I like to challenge myself with new ideas and engage in intellectual discussions with people here. Moreover, compared to entry-level jobs which are +60 hours/week here (which pay roughly the same as my scholarship), grad school is very flexible and allows me to take some time for my hobbies. Nevertheless, when I think that I'll finish my PhD when I'm 30 years old, plus 2-4 years of post-docs if I'm lucky, I'm afraid that if I don't manage to land an academic position I'll basically be applying for an entry-level job in the industry in my mid 30's, when I could apply now for an entry-level job (I've received several offers due to my MEng) and in 5 years move over the ladder or even find a job abroad back in Europe or the US. I'm not sure if my love for Physics is so strong as to sacrifice my 20's and early 30's in a career where there's no guarantee of success.

Could you give me your advice or opinions? It would be nice also to hear opinions of PhD students in Latin American countries.

My backup plan if I continue on my PhD would be to develop skills in Machine Learning and Data Science and eventually have my own startup by the time I finish my PhD, but again I won't be working on the field I originally aimed for, so I don't know if it would be worth it. My true vision for a PhD is to have the chance to work in the academia.


texts:
is it possible to reference a citation directly?

Example:

"the expected values considering the gain and the cost of each behavior as in [9]"

or should one instead explicitly mention the authors?

Example:

"the expected values considering the gain and the cost of each behavior as detailed by Gürcan et al.[9]"


texts: Get a second master to have better references?

texts:
I obtained my M. Sc. in mathematics from a decent European university about a year ago (when I was 27). Due to various reasons of personal nature, my marks were the equivalent of a 3.0 GPA, or something like that, and it took me quite a while to finish. I wanted to drop out at some point, also because of the same issues, which led to a change in my thesis' topic, arguments and a not-so-good relationship with my advisor, who agreed to keep me until graduation anyway.

Right after obtaining the degree, my problems gradually subsided and I got a reasonably good job in the consulting industry, which of course I am not interested in, but I accepted because I had to. However, my interest for math and physics recently rekindled, to the point that in the little time I can spare from my job I find myself picking up my old books, and reading new ones and it's getting harder and harder to do something I dislike on a daily basis.

I realized I wasted a good chance and now I wish to apply to a Phd program (anywhere, really, with the condition that it be a reasonably good one) as I feel I am a bit too young to accept how things have played out, but all I have right now is a mediocre GPA and no way to obtain strong recommendation letters to compensate. Therefore I think my chances to get into a good program are very slim (feel free to correct me though, if you think otherwise).

I feel my only chance would be to get into another (1 or 2 years long) M. Sc., perhaps in applied math this time and enter an environment where I can:

improve my record
get in contact with people who could help me with recommendation letters in the future.

Here come my questions: is this plan sensible? Does a candidate with 2 M. Sc. in similar subjects raise eyebrows?
Feel free to offer further advice on what my options are if you have any.


texts:
I am about to finish my masters in stats and in order to graduate I was told that I need to sign a document stating that any patents that I filed while enrolled at the university, belonged to the university. My first question is, is this normal? My second question is, I did file a patent during my enrollment, however, it was with my employer and had nothing to do with my school work, will this cause some sort of conflict of interest?

EDIT: I am in the US. Also, the patent was filed by my employer with me as the inventor.


texts: Time to read student evals again (shudder)

texts: Why do the negative ones hurt so much more than the positive ones feel good?  Should I even read them this time?  If so, please give me the courage.


texts: Changing interests after joining grad school

texts:
I joined graduate school in the US with interests in theoretical chemistry/chemical physics. Though I was enrolled for a PhD in chemistry, I was taking classes in physics for an entire year. This made me realize that I was more interested in physics related research than my current work in theoretical chemistry. While I was still in a dilemma, I convinced myself that I should continue in chemistry and joined my current advisor's group. Things were going fine for a while until I ended up having a minor confrontation with my advisor that made me feel sick about myself. I didn't know some of the basic things he was asking me and I was left stupefied by him. This made me think if I really wanted to pursue research in this direction. As a reaction to the flashpoint I had hit, I approached another professor in the physics department. While he rejected my request, he also notified my current advisor about my intentions. I really didn't mean to hurt my current advisors' feelings about this but, I was dumbstruck when he confronted me about my emails to another professor and accused me of unethical behavior. I am really confused about what to do with my situation. There have been a few students who have had similar issues of feeling disconnected from their research in my current research group, in a case even one of them switched to another group abruptly.

What should I do if my current advisor decides to step down?

Edit

How do I really find out what I am passionate about and is there a way to separate the reality from noise?


texts: Is there any scholarship or fellowship award for part-time PhD students in Deep Learning?

texts:
Is there any fellowship awards for part-time Ph.D. Students?

I have a full-time job in the relevant field. While searching for options, I have seen a few from Facebook, Nvidia and Microsoft but these are mostly for full-time Ph.D. students.

Facebook: https://research.fb.com/fellowship/
MSFT: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/academic-program/phd-fellowship/

Any advice is appreciated. Thank you


texts: Is a letter of recommendation from undergraduate professor different from the major I am applying to OK?

texts: I am a recent electrical and electronics engineering graduate. Although an engineering graduate, the major I am applying to is International Studies. Is it okay to get a recommendation letter from your engineering professor as that is my last place of study? I haven't worked anywhere so a recommendation letter from an employee is also out of question.


texts: Ethics: donation link on github repository for an academic side project

texts:
I'm a grad student in the United States with a strong programming background in a field where most people have very little programming experience. A while ago a faculty member I know requested my help; they were working on a manuscript for an analytical framework with major applications, but needed someone to implement it in software because it addresses very computationally difficult problems. By creating a somewhat performant proof-of-concept to go with the manuscript, and contributing to the manuscript in other ways, I got to be a coauthor, and it was published in a very high-tier journal. I then developed a complete software package that has been published under my account on Github, and then we published it as a software note with me as the first author in another pretty decent journal.
Currently, I'm the sole developer of the software. It's fairly complex and unlikely I'll be able to find someone that could pick it up. I still like to maintain it and add features to it because it has cool applications and I want to see it be used and be successful. The problem is, writing and maintaining good software (which my field desperately needs, and is what I would like to do career-wise) is very time consuming, and it's harder to justify taking time away from other things to keep it going now that the manuscripts (e.g., more tangible rewards) have been attained. I was thinking of adding a donation link to the bottom of the main page on github for the project as a way for people to show their support for the project. As a grad student, even a little bit of extra income (and I know enough about funding in the open-source community to not set my expectations high) would be a huge help, and would make it easier for me to justify spending my personal time on it.
The question is, are there any ethical concerns with doing so? I mainly did it as a favor and a way to get my name on some good publications, so it is an academic project in that sense. With that said, it was done in my personal time without university resources.


texts: My hardware can't run the code I need for my research

texts:
I have started doing a project and I promised to report my results every week to my professor. At the beginning, he told me you should have a reasonably good laptop.
I thought my laptop could support the project.

Yesterday,  I realized that my laptop has a 2G graphic card and the project needs a laptop with the at least 3G graphic card. I have written the code but my laptop can't run the code to see the results.

What should I tell my professor?
If I buy a new laptop it will take about 1-2 weeks, however my financial support from my family is poor.


texts: What should you do if you learn after posting a paper to Arxiv that it is not a novel idea?

texts:
Consider the following scenario:

Assume you try to  publish a paper in a journal, but before sending the paper, you place the paper on Arxiv.
Then, the journal rejects the paper because of it lacks novelty due to an improper literature survey.
Furthermore, Arxiv does not permit permanently deleting papers.

What can you do?
Leaving the paper on Arxiv will haunt you for all time.

Should you replace the pdf with a dummy pdf?
The previous versions will be intact and the people searching for her papers comes to know all those flaws.  Is there any way to remove the paper from Arxiv?


texts: How to avoid letters while searching pubmed portal?

texts:
I am retrieving disease related articles from pPMC. Some of the articles contain letters starting with "Dear friends" , "Dear Editor", etc. Can these be considered valid articles? How to filter the search results so as to avoid letters while searching for research articles?

PS: I have tried filtering by publication type. Options include 'letter' and 'comment' etc. but they don't seem to be working.


texts: What is the percentage of Latino/Hispanic females with a Ph.D. degree?

texts:
I am curious to know the percentage of Female Latino/Hispanic with Ph.D. degrees in the USA.
Does anyone know? What is the percentage of male/female out of the approx. 6% of Latino/Hispanic population with a Ph. D. (out of the of the 1.6% of all Americans with Ph. D. degrees)?

Thank you


texts: Final Exam: Proficiency Needed for Guaranteed Pass

texts:
Is it common to guarantee students a passing course grade if they demonstrate proficiency in some subset of topics/skills on a final exam?

Note that this is in contrast to setting an upper bound on a final exam score that would guarantee a failing grade for a student, as in this question.

If this is a process you have experience with, it would be helpful to hear about the following:

Is it common for students to disregard all other assignments, choosing to gamble the whole course on just the final exam?
What and when do you let students know about this required set of skills?
How were these qualifying skills chosen, and who wrote the final exam?
What set of conditions is required to earn a "B" or an "A" in the course?
How did students do in the following course?
What other issues (good or bad) come with this model?

And, of course, do you know of research on such a grading scheme?

In particular, I am imagining an undergraduate mathematics course in the United States, where a cumulative final exam is given at the end of a semester, typically figuring heavily into the overall course grade. Exams may be written by individual instructors for their courses, or created by committee and given to all sections of the same course. Here, "passing" refers to the minimum course grade required to enroll in the subsequent course (e.g. from Algebra 1 to Algebra 2).


texts: Which are the criteria I have to follow to choose a citation style for my book?

texts: Suppose I have to write a book, how can I decide which citation style choose? I know that the most used are APA, MLA, ISO 690 but I don't understand what is the difference and which one is most used for what...


texts: Contacting A Professor for Master of Science (Thesis)

texts:
I want to know whether or not the professors are generally interested to supervise students in their M.Sc. (Thesis) program.

How many students they may supervise?

Do professors insist that we know everything about their research work?
Do they provide us some time in case we don't satisfy the knowledge of their research work completely or do they deny to supervise us right away?

If a professor is ready to supervise, then does that guarantee the admission (assuming we meet all admission requirements)?


texts: Formal letter to an academic person holding Master's degree

texts:
Usually it is simple: "Dear Prof. Berret...", Dear Dr. Jones...". But this time I have to write a formal letter to a person with a Masters Degree (MSc). I never met the person, can not be sure about their gender (Tracy Smith could be both man/woman). The person is active in academia, publishing frequently and their job title is "Director". What are my options?
Dear Director of... (with no name)?
Dear Principal Investigator ...?
Dear Mr Smith?
Dear Mrs Smith?
Anyone?


texts: Does "submitted to Thomson Reuters" mean that a publication will actually be indexed?

texts:
I have seen a few conferences that state on the call for submissions that the conference will be "submitted for indexing in Thomson Reuters Conference Proceedings Citation Index (ISI Web of Science)."

Does submission mean they will 'apply' and could be rejected, or are all submissions accepted?


texts: How to self study effectively post graduation?

texts:
I would like to know details about how one self studies entire courses or new areas of research post graduation? For example, I am an experimentalist with little exposure to numerical analysis (finite volume or element methods) and would like to develop sound understanding of the subject so as to expand my research area. I intend to start with variational calculus, matrix algebra, numerical methods for integration/differentiation from textbooks.

However, I am curious, how does one self study effectively without assignments/exams which is typical of any structured coursework in academic setting? Do you solve all the problems in a book? Solve selected once? Search for online courses and attempt their assignments and questions? Do you also cover the entire books or just the topics you are interested in pursuing during future research?

Also, am curious, as an academic, how often do you have to learn a new course or subject through self-study to progress your research skills or career?

Any suggestions or advice would be most helpful!


texts: What does it mean if a professor does not answer your email in time?

texts:
I recently joined a research group as a postdoc. I wrote the professor an email to ask quick but important questions including asking him when when he wanted me to start. It's been over a week and I haven't received get an answer. Other emails I've sent previously have also gone unanswered for long periods as well.

With that background, my question is: do professors sometimes (intentionally or otherwise) not respond to emails in a timely manner?


texts: Using a source and being unable to cite it

texts:
I am writing my thesis, and during my work, my advisor supplied me with some confidential documents that he still has from his previous work. Part of my work is based on these documents and I am unable to cite them because they are confidential. My advisor says that I can use them without citation because they are not available to public, but I am afraid using them without citation might be considered plagiarism and may come to hunt me me in the future.

What to do in this case ?


texts: Sharing with research team about being affected by a natural disaster

texts:
Is it professional enough to share personal worries with your research team and your supervisor where you are pursuing doctoral studies away from home and your hometown has been affected by a natural disaster like a tornado or a super cyclone in the context of your reduced productivity and lesser focus? What would be the recommended mode of sharing such information - in person or over emails?
If they do not react to your statement, does that mean that they see such a case as an excuse only and fail to understand the effect it has had on the doctoral student?


texts:
I am in a very frustrating situation. My article is under review for almost 8 months and I didn't hear any response. The average review time for the journal is 3 months. The journal is highly reputed journal, and based on the average time one can expect a response within 2.5 to 4.5 months.
I sent several emails to Editor in Chief (EiC) but I receive same answer, a kind of auto response. Moreover, according to journal policy I can not know the name or contact information of Associate Editor (AE).
The EiC is with me on various social media plateforms like Linkedin and facebook. We had few conversations on various topics, but I never told him about my article. The question is can I discuss status of my article with EiC on social media in informal text messaging?  Is it ethical and fair? I want to expatiate the review process to same level as journal average time shows. I don't want to get an unfair advantage.


texts: Does it look bad if none of my recommendation letters for grad school are from past professors?

texts:
I want two of my letters to come from individuals I did research with (at different times) but neither has taught me or has a full professor title - one is adjunct and the other is a scientist at a university-affiliated lab. I think my academic advisor (the schoolwide kind not the department-specific kind) would write the best third letter and it might provide a different perspective from the other two.

Is it better to forego one of these recommendations from people who know me really well in favor of a professor who doesn't know me as well?


texts:
If you are been accepted into a Master's program which grants a scholarship to its participants, they just send you a letter outlining the scholarship in a brief manner. Is this common in academia?

Question:

Is it common in academia to not have any written "contract" when you get a scholarship?

Edit:

I am mostly interested in Europe (in particular Germany if it makes a difference)


texts: I am about to submit a paper, and I'm asked whether I want anybody to be excluded from consideration as a reviewer. I also need to state a reason. I briefly considered listing someone who - I have reasons to believe - once reviewed a paper of mine by listing criticisms that were unspecific enough that I spent a very large amount of time just trying to figure out what they meant. Of course my guess could be wrong, and it seems unfair to label someone as a suboptimal reviewer based on a hunch. Which led me to wonder - what are some good reasons for asking for exclusion of a reviewer? And additionally, what would polite wordings be for each of these reasons?


texts: Is it possible to get a researcher position in a prestigious institute with a degree from a not very well-ranked university?

texts:
I'm currently in the 2nd year of my Ph.D. and I'm really interested in my future career options. I'm attending a double-degree study programme in two European universities, none of them being among the top ones. But, I'm employed as a researcher (not only a Ph.D. student) in a supercomputing center in one of them (member of PRACE, 3 years ago in top 40 from TOP500 list) since the beginning of my Master's degree, thanks to Dean's award for my Bachelor's thesis. Five years ago it was a top university in my country (slightly under 300 in QS WU rankings), but then the directorship changed and the ranking dropped drastically (to my shock completely out of QS WU rankings). The second university shares a pretty similar fate - from about 300th place to 520+ in the last 7 years (I have no idea, what happened), but still maintains at least 151-200 position in my field. In general, I feel, that while both of the labs I'm working in are good and productive, the problem lies in some other faculties who do not focus on research enough.

Is it possible to hope for admission into a researcher position in some well-ranked university in the future? I'm not talking only about post-doc now, but also in a long-time horizon. This situation makes me feel really inferior, so I'd like to now, if my researcher career direction is tightly bounded by this situation or if there is a possibility to overcome rankings with good research results over the years after Ph.D.


texts: Is it always necessary to include a research question in the introduction of a paper?

texts:
A question purely out of interest (and a bit of importance, since I'm enrolling in a research master program next month):

I wondered whether it is always necessary to include a research question in the introduction of a paper. For example, an introduction can also contain a description related to the purpose of writing the paper, right?

To give my question more context: suppose that you had to carry out a literature study on a specific subject in the field of software engineering for school, where you have to investigate a few methods (how they work and how they are related to one another). In this case, an introduction that explains why the paper will be written and an outline of what methods will be described would be sufficient, right? Or am I wrong? I mean, I don't really see the need to set up a research question, since the paper is more descriptive by its nature in this situation.


texts: Developing meta-cognitive and emotional skills during PhD?

texts:
I am convinced that I possess sufficient "cognitive skills" to succeed doing my PhD. Reflection on myself, however, confronts me with the fact that my "meta-cognitive" (time management, mental discipline, focus) and "emotional" skills (motivation, patience, work-life balance, monitoring own health) are underdeveloped.

I feel that I am always making the same mistakes. I am often working hard for days. Stress and coffee distort my sleep pattern, making my mind empty for days. I recognize clear patterns. I also have trouble maintaining a healthy life-style. Instead of taking a little bit more time to eat healthy or sport, I am captivated in "the illusion that there is always more work to do." As a consequence, I am (on average) physically sick two days in the week -- eventually, losing more time. Finally, though I was happy living my introvert life before, the long days of no social interaction and just staring at my computer screen are becoming more dreadful.
My meta-cognitive skills also seem to be weak. I have trouble focusing on one subject for a very long time. I often get bored after some weeks, wanting to jump immediately to something else. As a result, it appears that the first phase of my research (almost 9 months) is very fragmented. I don't see any linear progress. I often doubt that the time I am investing in some subject will be useful later. I feel that I am not really spending my time the best I can. I keep track of my work hours in Excel files to be sure that I accomplish my weekly goal of 45 hours. In order to accomplish this goal I mostly have to push many hours to the weekend. I am aware that this bad time-organization will affect the quality of my relationships in the long term; and damages my work-life balance in general. I feel that I am working 24/7 at half capacity, whereas I would prefer to work 5 or 6 days in the week at full capacity.

I am starting to have less and less satisfaction from my work. The butterfly feeling of wonder and passion for science are disappearing. I am feeling more like an input-output machine which needs to be managed. The work I am doing also seems to be driven and conditioned by external factors (deadlines, presentations, publications, expectations promoter) instead of internal factors (pleasure, interest).

More concrete questions:

(1) Is it possible to improve one's meta-cognitive and emotional skills? How would one do this in practice? Can a person really change?

(2) How can one restore those feelings of wonder and true passion, and step out of the "routine" where one feels like an input-output machine which needs to be managed?


texts: Why do educators use curve to adjust the performance?

texts:
It bothers me when I tries to remember how many highschools or universities use curve to adjust the final grade for their student based on the class average.

I know failing the entire class would be unacceptable for the faculty that taught the class but watering down the materials or curving the grades to fit the standard was it necessary? What if there are few outstanding students that are ahead of the curve? wouldn't it be unfair to them if the curve was adjusted to the class average?

Sometimes, I started to question education standard for grading.
What are the standard?

Knowing the materials and able to apply them?

Putting all relevant summary on one test paper?

Giving homework that count towards grade?

Quizzes to remind student how well they do for that subject?

If above are all taken into consideration. Why are instructors still applying the curve to adjust the class average.


texts: Is the ETH Zurich part of the University of Zurich?

texts: I'm wondering if the ETH Zurich is part of the University of Zurich. Not only are they build close together, according to Google there are famous graduates of the ETH that are also listed as graduates of the University of Zurich(for example Einstein). I couldn't find an answer on neither of their websites.


texts: What are the main reasons postdoc applicants get rejected?

texts:
I'm applying for postdoc jobs right now (math). I was put on the short-list for one position and had an interview but the PI for that postdoc made the offer to someone else. I'm starting to get discouraged and wondering what I'm doing wrong. I showed my research statement to a few faculty members and they said it was fine. I also got a letter from one very well-known mathematician. Maybe I didn't make enough faculty contacts? Was I supposed to have a contact at each place I applied to? Maybe what I am doing is not trendy enough.

Question 1: What do I have to do to get noticed by the hiring committees?

Question 2: What are people getting postdocs doing that people who don't get postdocs aren't doing?


texts: Interview for masters program including two minute scientific presentation

texts: Yesterday I received an email that I have to give a two minute scientific presentation as part of an interview for a masters program on this coming Monday. Now I am really struggling whether I have to include scientific data in my presentation or that I can explain a concept. My time is very limited. The email just states: "You are requested to give a 2 minutes (max. 7 slides) scientific presentation about a topic of your own choice". What do you advise me to do?


texts: What are the rules for applying for the same fellowship (scholarship) after being rejected?

texts: I have been applying for scholarships and fellowships for a few years, sometimes I have been successful, other times not. Last year I worked a lot to prepare the project and invested all of my time and efforts in it, however the competition was strong and I got rejected after the interview. This year I am planning to apply again but I have found little information or tips for repeat applications. For example, how am I supposed to show personal or professional growth, should the recommenders be the same, how different should the proposal be and so on. Are there any rules when it comes to applying for the same fellowship (grant) for a second time? What is the success rate? Is is reasonable to hope I can get funding when I was rejected once. Could someone maybe share their experience.


texts:
Which math departments in the U.S. have people known for their contributions to Lie-admissible algebras?

(I asked this question on Math SE, but it was voted off-topic there. I hope it's not too specialized of a question here.)


texts: How to apply for a research funding for companies?

texts:
I recently graduated from PhD and right now I am working in a consulting company. My manager asked me to write a proposal to get public funding to do research. The topic is computer science and semiconductor industry. Since the company is located in Germany, I can apply for funding institutes in Germany and Europe. However, I have difficulty in finding funding institutes to support research in the industrial section.
So, I am looking forward for your suggestions and help.


texts: At American colleges, are student evaluations of teaching subject to code of conduct?

texts:
It is well-known that student evaluations of teaching tend to be spiced with language that is insulting, sexually harassing, sexist, or racist.

Most American colleges have a code of conduct that is would disprove such remarks if they were face-to-face or anonymous writings on the wall.

Does that code of conduct apply to student evaluations of teaching at American colleges, or are they considered exceptions? These course evaluations are largely anonymous, which is why students feel enabled to engage in speech they usually wouldn't utter. But this occurs via university media, not somewhere out in the streets or the dark web.


texts:
I'm in the second half of my Phd in a technical field in Germany. As it is common in Germany, it is not a structured PhD program but an independent PhD without any course work/mentors etc. I am not very satisfied with my supervisor because he cannot help me at all, since my topic is not his primary interest and he is very busy since he is not yet a professor. I do everything alone from choosing the specialisation of my topic to writing (my first) papers, and I got used to that.
I like my topic and I get the money and besides the bad supervision, my supervisor so I decided not to change the PhD. However, I would really like to find a second supervisor who could give me advise and has a better reputation in my field.

How should I approach potential professors with my request? I would not need too much help or any money, just the name of someone who is at least a little known in this field and I would be willing to do some work for them. Is it very uncommon and unlikely to find a professor who is willing to do that?

I tried once at a summer school to ask another professor and it would have worked out but I experienced afterwards that my supervisor was not at all happy about that so I have to make sure beforehand that he agrees with my choice.


texts: Can you get into a top grad school coming from UT Knox?

texts:
I went to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where I got a BA in Philosophy and graduated with a 3.4 GPA. During my senior year, I discovered an incessant love of physics. However, I’ve had to start over practically from the beginning, such as learning pre-calc.

I am now attending UT Knox for an undergrad physics degree. UT Knox is a public school ranked #83 in physics. My question is, how well do I need to do to come from a school like UT Knox, at my age, to be accepted into a top 10 graduate school? I know the odds are stacked against me, but I plan on overcoming them.


texts:
I’m working in the area of adversarial examples against neural networks. A standard research paper generally starts off an introduction with something along the lines of the below, but probably with a bit more guff:

  Neural networks are increasingly used in safety and security critical applications, such as medical image recognition or facial recognition in surveillance footage. However, the networks are vulnerable to malicious attacks through the manipulation of input data. With adversarial examples...... etc.

Considering there are hundreds of papers which start with the same introduction, would it be acceptable to skip over writing my own guff? Possibly just reference existing papers and mention “existing uses and problems” (or something like that).

The scene has already been set by hundreds of existing papers, so why would I need to set the scene again in any of the papers that I create?

Or would something like this generally fail to pass peer review? Obviously there’s many different criteria for different journals/confs etc.


texts:
I am a freshman at a university and so I am a little confused on to what type of courses should I be taking since there is a limit on the number of courses I can take.

I have three options

Double Major in physics and maths and take 3,4 extra physics or maths electives
Major in Physics, minor in maths and take extra 5,6 physics electives
Major in maths, minor in physics and take extra 5,6 maths electives

Which option is better in terms of career and applying to a good graduate school?
Let me know if more clarification is required in this question.

Edit: Reading the comments I have altered my options a little

Double Major in physics and maths and take 1 extra physics, 2 maths electives and 5 Programming/ Computer science electives
Major in Physics, minor in maths and take extra 10 physics/ CS/ Programming/ Maths electives
Major in maths, minor in physics and 10 physics/ CS/ Programming/ Maths electives


texts: What are some examples of negative effects on a career for boycotting Elsevier journals?

texts:
I fully support the Elsevier boycott, and came from mathematics (BS and MS) into my current PhD program in an engineering subdiscipline. I'm finishing up my PhD now and starting a post-doc soon.

I've already refused to review an article a few years ago for an Elsevier journal, and the editor seemed quite angry about it.

Once again I have been asked to review an article for an Elsevier journal, only this time the journal editorial board has a prominent researcher who I have had personal contact with, is a recently retired Emeritus Professor from my department, and if he became angry about my refusal he could potentially harm my career.

Does anyone have any specific examples of, or even better statistical data showing that boycotts of Elsevier journals had negative career impacts on early career/junior scientists?


texts: Can I implement and share implementations of papers on say, GitHub? Can I licence those implementations such that if people are using my implementations they have to cite?


texts: I begin researching in three weeks and I have no idea where to begin. What should I say in my email to my advisor?

texts:
I have been accepted to a funded master’s program under an advisor. I already came up with a research proposal months ago with the advisor’s help as I needed one in order to apply. The last time I spoke to my advisor was about two months ago when we discussed courses to sign up for and anything that I should review over the summer. I have since signed up for the courses.

However, I have no idea where to begin with the research and how any of that works. I am thinking of emailing my advisor on Monday to ask her where to begin because I am so lost at the moment. So, in my email, what should I say to my advisor to help clarify my confusion about where to begin with the research?


texts: Maximum allowed time for PhD (Doktor) in Germany

texts: I am a physics PhD student in Germany. During my PhD I got two children, and as a mother, I had to give major part of my time to my children. I started in April 2012, and I will finish in spring 2018. Is this too long time to get a postdoc position afterwards?


texts: The archive with all the LaTeX material as a camera ready version

texts:
This happened to me for the first time. The organizers of the conference asked everyone to send them the archive with all the LaTeX material as a camera ready version of an accepted paper.

Is this a legitimate request?


texts: Should I report a 48th percentile math GRE subject exam score for programs where it's optional?

texts:
I recently received my Mathematics GRE subject test score of 650 ( 48%). I know this score is miserable but in my country, I have the option to retake the GRE next year October only.

Assuming otherwise I have a strong profile (with achievements in other examinations in my country and some research experience ) Should I be reporting this score to universities where it is not mandatory (but highly encouraged) to submit Math subject GRE scores? I mean will this score weaken my application?

Before this score, I was thinking of applying to universities like Upenn, Penn State etc but feel really nervous about my admission prospects now..


texts: Should my citation style exactly match the original title?

texts:
In my field a number of different styles are used in titles.

Many publications present scientific names in italics, such as this one. Others do not italicise scientific names, such as this one.

Some publications are in uppercase, such as these, while most others are in lowercase.

When citing, should I follow the original style exactly, i.e., use capitals and italics whereever they were used in the original? Or should I adapt citations to my own consistent style?


texts: What to put on my CV while I'm waiting to hear thesis committee's decision?

texts:
I just handed in my Msc thesis, but it hasn't been accepted yet.  I expect it will be.  I've since started my PhD.

What should I put on my CV?


texts: What steps would an amateur scientist have to take in order to get a scientific breakthrough published?

texts:
I would like to know from an academic standpoint on what steps that an amateur scientist would have to take in order to get his/her scientific breakthrough published in a major academic journal/scientific magazine.

Say that this person is outside of academia, he/she has no college degrees, and he/she has stumbled upon a scientific breakthrough by chance after years of doing self-study, research, and experiments with a particular scientific area of study.  Also, say that this person has a job with a modest salary so if they will need to raise a lot of money to get it published, they will have to get it from an angel investor or from crowdfunding.

Although I understand that the odds of such a person coming up with a scientific breakthrough is very slim to none, I still would like to know the process that this person will likely have to follow if he/she wants to get it published.

For example, would the first step be that this person should take be making an appointment with a college professor in order to get a professional opinion on their scientific breakthrough?  If so, what guarantee does the amateur scientist have that this college professor will not try to steal this scientific breakthrough?  Should the amateur scientist insist that the college professor first sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement?

Would the second step be that the amateur scientist meet with another college professor to in order get a second opinion and again have that professor sign a NDA?  What would be the 3rd step, 4th step, etc., etc.

Although there are probably many steps in the process of getting it published, I'm interested in just the major steps that will likely have to be taken.


texts:
I have co-authored some publications with an author who has a Google Scholar profile, but I see no way of adding him to my profile as a co-author.

How I add a co-author to my Google Scholar profile?


texts: How should one cite the entirety of a journal?

texts:
I want to cite a journal itself, not an article in it, the publication. I think the same would hold for a magazine, not an issue of that magazine. The specific citation information will be enough.

Bonus points for showing how to set this citation information with biber and biblatex, so it displays properly formatted.


texts: Are there any reasons or benefits for the very long process of reviewing grant proposal?

texts:
I talked with some colleagues and it seems that the review process for most grants proposals (NSF, NIH,etc) are taking months (~6). This is probably not helpful for science and innovation. I understand that reviewers are busy people but papers submitted for a conference would usually not take more than 2 months to be reviewed. And some reviews that I read for conferences are even much better than grant proposal reviews.

Are there any reasons or benefits that grant proposals are taking long time?


texts: Doing a research paper / poster without much available data?

texts:
I know, why would somebody choose a topic for a research paper or a poster that doesn't really have much data or literature available? But here it goes...

Without much consideration, I chose a topic for a presentation at a Geographu scientific conference that doesn't have a lot of digitised data available. When I think of it, there are no existing databases on which a digital / computer approaches and methodologies could be applied.

My question is, how do you manage this kind of situation? Do you just write a theoretical paper that just gives similar case studies from other geographic regions where this methods were applied, or?

Also, I think it is now a bit late to change topics.


texts: Switch from Civil Engineering to experimental Physics?

texts:
A couple of years ago, I grew an interest in natural sciences. I then started some hardcore reading and investigation of many physics disciplines that I wasn't familiar with.
I have 9 years experience in civil and structural engineering, having graduated with a Masters in Construction engineering in 2019 from CNAM-Paris. As you might guess, I have been considering a career change for some time, having become indifferent about this industry. I've studied really hard to try and catch up with undergraduates in physics, and I've been tutoring Physics subjects for IB and A-level students (Honestly, I'm falling for this teaching gig).
I am aware that there is a large amount of Physics pre-requisites involved (topics I haven't covered in engineering, like astrophysics, some quantum mechanics etc...) On the other hand, I am still "functional" :P in most mathematics skills like Multi-variable calculus, linear algebra, some topology, I need to brush up on Tensor calculus though. And I have minor research experience because of my masters' thesis.
Despite my intense curiosity and interest in physics and academia, It seems that I might need to start over with an undergrad in Physics.
Some questions:
1- Is undergrad my only option?
2- If I can leverage my Engineering background, another question arises. What area of physics would my background allow me to pursue?
3- I most likely need some guidance or mentorship, any help?
4- I've been studying in "University Physics with Modern Physics 13th Ed (2012)", the Feynman lectures on physics, and I've been going through the lectures of Leonard Susskind, and lately, I started reading John Townsend's "A Modern Approach to Quantum Mechanics". Could you suggest any other books that might be specifically useful for academia?
PS: My main interests in physics focus on experimental physics. lie I said I am loving my teaching experience and I've seen some programs where students get to work as assistant teachers. Another thing that might be helpful in answering my questions: I'm moving to Canada within the year as a permanent resident.
I am terribly sorry if my questions are too broad, I'm trying to get a better understanding of how to proceed following this path. I hope to find some help here. Thanks in advance.


texts: How to find a practical part for a master thesis in IT (Blockchain)

texts:
I am writing my master thesis in Computer Science. My topic will be related to the Blockchain. I have no problem finding theoretical research questions, that I am really interested in. But the thesis should include a small practical project, where I actually write code. It should be something that I can work on alone over the course of half a year and have at least a prototype finished by then.

I have difficulties getting help in this area from my professor and supervisor as they allow maximum liberty to choose what ever I want to do.

How do I go about to find a suitable project that relates to one of my theoretical research questions?


texts: Why do some journals have anonymous editors?

texts:
By way of background, there are journals in which the editor - as in, the person who contacts referees, guides the review process, and makes a decision is unknown to the corresponding author. Communication with the author is solely through a named, administrative editor who does not have any decision making authority, and is merely a conduit for the editor's decisions.

What could be the rationale for such a system? Of course, one can understand the importance of referee anonymity so they can comment freely on the merits of a submission. However why should editors remain behind a veil of anonymity?

Thanks.


texts: Is there any ethical issue which prevents me from paying high quality authors monetary compensation, to agree to write papers with me?

texts:
I've recently started a PhD.  I'm having trouble getting high impact authors to agree to write papers with me.  Is there any ethical issue which prevents me from paying high impact authors monetary compensation, to agree to write papers with me?  I of course will obey any and all paper writing requirements, such as both must substantially contribute, etc...

Also, my original intention is that the monetary payments would be fully disclosed before the transactions, to all relevant parties, including my University, supervisors, opposing side in the final PhD, etc...

I kind of do the same thing with my daughter.  I hire a tutor, but ask them to help provide her with the required knowledge, but require her to do any and all actual work.


texts: Does EBSCO's "Peer Review" search filter filter out junk journals?

texts: My school's library e-journal search tool uses EBSCO. In EBSCO, one can select "Peer Review" to only show articles from peer reviewed journals. Does this filter have a system for removing junk journals (i.e. journals that receive money to publish work) from the search results or will many junk journals calling themselves peer-reviewed journals still manage to get through the filter?


texts: does pursuing a research career in artificial intelligence requires deep understanding of higher mathematics?

texts:
I'm currently enrolled in an undergrad computer science program. so far a Ph.D. in computer science is what I'm interested in doing in the future.
my question is.
 since there is applied math that includes calculus, linear algebra(without proofs), differential equations, intro probability...
and higher-level math such as abstract algebra, topology, differential geometry, linear algebra(with proofs), real analysis.
does being a successful AI researcher requires fluency with applied mathematics or a deep understanding of the more rigorous proof oriented abstract mathematics.


texts: How can a researcher from a third-world country publish or otherwise disseminate an interesting result?

texts:
Given I am from a third world country,

Can you tell me please what to do if i get an interesting result or develop a promising theory .

Do you think that contacting a mathematics professor and asking to be admitted to a seminar in order to present the result is a good idea?

If yes, can you recommend me a region in the world where there are lots of chances of an affirmative answer?


texts: Are professional body certificates any helpful in getting into academia (if I don't have any undergraduate education)?

texts:
Sometimes professional bodies issue diplomas and postgraduate diplomas which, for example in the UK, are recognized at a very high training level.

What I am not sure about is whether these, even though not issued by universities, can help enter university at academia or research level?


texts: How to find "original papers" on some topic?

texts:
Anyone know how to find an "original paper" (the first one or the few first ones where something appears)?
Is there some particular search methodology for this?
I saw some search engines have tags such as "follow-up study". Does this imply that some search engine might know how to find the original papers?


texts:
In my academic career, I have found that it is pretty difficult to assess the quality of a degree before enrolling. Usually only during the course of your study do you learn what the actual quality of the degree is, which are the best schools, and what your chances in the job market are going to be like.

Getting in touch with students studying at the university is usually pretty difficult if you're not enrolled, and i don't really trust the responses of the professors (who have a vested interest).

What would be a good way to judge the usefulness of a degree? And how can you reliably assess the chances of getting a job with that degree?


texts: Justifying a two year gap after Master's degree in Statement of Purpose

texts:
There is a two year gap after finishing my Master's degree and I am applying to graduate schools in the same field. This time has spent on immigration and then unemployment, tutoring physics, and a job not directly related to my field. But I have been following new research on the topics that I was interested in, without being supervised or any serious research.

My questions is, what should I mostly emphasize on in order to explain the gap most effectively: My teaching experience (indicating interest in teaching the field), Having a job and paying for my family expenses (indicating maturity), or that I was following the current research on topics of interest (indicating persistence)?


texts: Recommendation letter by significant other if you worked with them professionally?

texts:
My significant other (SO) and I are in five years of relationship. We met working in a lab and she already earned her PhD at that time. I was a graduate student. She was the main person I went after my adviser if I had logical questions about my project and helped me the process throughout. We now have two publications together. We worked professionally together for almost three years. She knows my potential both personally and professionally.

I am wondering if it is okay to use a letter of recommendation from her to apply for a PhD program.
Updated: I edited the word "supervisor" as suggested by a commenter. She wasn't an official supervisor but, provided tremendous help with analytical issues. We also stay collaborating on other research projects until today even after we both were out of the lab.


texts: How to remove my name from submitted paper

texts:
I am a co-author for a manuscript. The corresponding author submitted that to a journal which I do not consider that as a good journal, therefore, I would like to ask him to remove my name as a co-author.
How can I ask him to remove my name ?


texts: How can I make up for weak grades while applying for a masters?

texts:
I feel I've received poor grades in my bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering - Second Class Second Division as per UK grading system. Having finished my bachelors in the UK I wish to enroll into a masters program in Systems or Mechanical Engineering in the US. I am currently employed by a logistics company in Dubai.

How can I improve my chances of getting into a grad school in the US with what I consider as poor grades? What other factors can strengthen my application?


texts: If you no longer have your university email address does your Google Scholar Profile become invalid?

texts: Google Scholar requires a university email address for verification. I have not signed up for the service yet. If I leave the university, does my Google Scholar profile become invalid? Or can I still use/update my Google Scholar profile? Can someone post their personal experience about this?


texts: Impact of Masters thesis on PhD application

texts:
I am a final year masters student and I will be defending in Fall 2020. I will be applying for PhD in Fall 2021. At the start of my Masters thesis, me and my PI had a specific goal in mind (lets call it Goal A). But unfortunately, we got stuck at a particular problem along the way for nearly three months before we could figure it out. Consequently, we made the decision to cut short the thesis to a smaller chunk (lets call it Goal A'). Now here are the couple of questions I have.

The schools that I am targeting work in A, is it a bad thing to have not achieved A in my masters thesis?
Is cutting short the thesis a bad thing? Does it give the application committee a bad impression on the candidate?
I will be working on the original goal (the goal A) in the 7 month period after I graduate my masters. Should I mention this in my Statement of Purpose? Does it balance out the fact that I was not able to work on it in my masters?

Thank you for your time.


texts: Whether to mention contributions on Stack exchange in Statement of purpose (SOP) for MS/Phd application in US?

texts:
Assume that a student has a continuous involvement in any community of Stack Exchange.(consider 1,000+ reputation).

Does It has a positive impact to mention this involvement in order to show you are passionate about that field? I am asking this because the Statement of purpose has a great impact on your MS/Phd application.


texts: Is it recommended to have a free-standing background chapter to avoid cluttering the main text with different topics?

texts:
Some general recommendations on master theses are:

a master thesis should be readable without looking up external references
a master thesis should present the topic in a way a someone with a bachelor can understand it

Based on these, I want to have a background chapter which explains particular concepts individually, out of context of the thesis problem. The reader would skip any topic they feel knowledgeable about in this chapter with the confidence that parts of the thesis problem was not skipped when they did so, because the chapter was free-standing.
I feel operating-system internals and malware analysis are not common knowledge, but I don't want to talk about them more than necessary, only the relevant parts. I could weave this into the main text, but I feel it would make it harder to read for both the inexperienced reader and also the experienced reader if at every turn I have to explain other concepts.
My advisor has allowed me to make such a chapter, but I haven’t seen any free-standing background chapters like this in any other papers. What is the consensus?


texts: How to address an Oxford/Cambridge full-time lecurer who is not a Ph.D.?

texts:
I am currently writing an e-mail to a member of Oxbridge staff. He is a "lecturer," full-time staff, who co-ordinates a well-known program, but does not hold a PhD, only an MA.

I can't call him "Dr. ," or even "Professor ," so is "Mr." sufficient? It seems too informal for someone in such a high-ranking position.


texts: Will past medschool failure history affect Graduate admission in Literature/Linguistic major?

texts:
14 years ago, I attended med school. After 6 years and chronic depression issue, I decided to withdraw from that program. This means I have an official transcript, but of course did not earn a degree. (In my country, you can start med school right after graduating high school, and I enrolled when I was 17 years old)

I am currently taking a bachelor's degree in Literature, and so far I have gotten straight As, and my GPA is 4.00 (The maximum grade I can get in my country). Since I feel very passionate about my current major, I plan to do a graduate degree (MA&PhD) in Literature/Linguistics in Europe or the US. After seeing the application requirements, I have noticed that most institutions require all college level transcripts to be submitted. That would mean, I have to submit my med school transcript as well.

My poor performance in med school experience and the transcript are haunting me. The med school grades certainly look terrible compared to my Literature grades.

Will this affect my chance to be admitted to good graduate school in Literature/Linguistics? I start to worry that they will see my past failure as inability to work in PhD research.


texts: Were predatory journals widespread before publishers of reputable journals introduced the "author pays" model?

texts:
After reading yet another news article about predatory journals/conferences and how they weigh on the finances of labs in some countries, I started to wonder the following. Were they widespread before publishers of reputable journals started introducing the model where the author pays to have their paper open-access, the so-called "gold open access" (a name I dislike very much, but that's not the point)?

Indeed, I would expect that before that (which seems to be a relatively recent development, maybe less than 10-15 years ago...?), labs would have been much more reluctant to pay for the publication in a predatory journal, because that would have been a surefire way of telling that the journal was junk. And if a researcher had to pay from their own pocket, then I would expect the practice to be much less common, simply because fewer people could afford it.


texts: Can I correct a mistake that the reviewers didn't spot in a paper that has not been accepted yet?

texts:
Recently my paper was accepted pending major revisions (i.e., not yet accepted), and while following the reviewers' comments and revising my paper, I realized that both reviewers missed a mistake that I made in a function block diagram. What should I do?

Correct it and let them know in the joined point-by-point response?
Wait until they tell me about it?
Ask them to double check that diagram?

I'm afraid it may send the wrong message and I'd look disrespectful by showing them that they missed the mistake.


texts: Is the title Ph.D. or Dr. meaningless in the sense that anyone can use it?

texts: I know a businessman who has received a LOT of mileage off of using "Dr." and "Ph.D." with his name - in fact he puts it front and center.   However, it turns out that he never had more than two years of undergraduate work.  Is there any teeth behind either of these titles, or is it just a matter of how many you can deceive for how long?


texts: Is there anything I can do about shockingly poor quality course materials?

texts:
I'm currently 2/3 of the way through a degree program, and am continually shocked and dismayed for what my school is passing off as higher learning.

The books, which are almost all made in house, are full of typos and basic factual errors.
Professors are late to chats and routinely do not respond to emails, requiring calls to advising and involving people in the chain above them to get basic information such as new class times, or asking that a paper I turned in on time be graded.
Poor IT infrastructure leading to bad grades (submitted assignments disappearing after the cut-off time, making it appear as if I never submitted anything, leading to me getting a zero grade), recorded lectures having no audio, and e-readers returning license errors
An automated testing system which is full of factual errors and ambiguous language leading to it being impossible to answer some questions by anything other than luck. Gods help you trying to determine the exact wording they want in the fill-in-the-blank answers. Humans are not involved in this system, it's all automated string matching.
Generally nonchallenging and inappropriate for level material, including a 202-level math course covering grade school word problems, and a computer security engineering course covering basic computer literacy.

I've reported all of these issues as far up the chain as I know how to do, yet nothing is getting done. Given the quantity of money I'm paying these clowns, I'd imagine that I have some kind of rights.

Is there anything I can do other than grin, deal with it, and come out with a degree I'm not going to be proud to have? At this point, I just want my money back and the opportunity to go to a school where I'm actually learning things, rather than repeating pre-HS.


texts: Recalling standard results in a master's thesis appendix for reader's convenience and/or self-containedness

texts:
Currently working on my master's thesis, I know that I have to consider that I am writing for an appropriate audience, that is, I write for people who have at least a bachelor's degree in my field (mathematics).

However, I need to use standard results that one learns in third year (in my institution, at least). In particular, these results can be found in any "basic" textbook in the field my work is lying in.

I face a particular dilemma: either just citing the name of the theorem when I use it in the main work without giving any reference, or rewriting the theorem in the Appendix for the reader's convenience (with appropriate reference to a "basic" textbook).

Of course, my supervisors will know these results, but my peers may not remember them and a master's thesis is often expected to be self-contained. I don't expect many people to read my work, of course, but still, I want it to be as "perfect" as possible.

This question is related but it seems the OP is speaking about a basic theoretical concept they would briefly discuss in the main work. Precisely, it would not belong in the appendix, which makes the question different as I am not discussing these basic results: I just use them.

Question: is it acceptable to rewrite classical, basic results in the appendix section of a master's thesis and citing basic reference works about these results for the reader's convenience and/or for the work to be as self-contained as possible?

I shall of course ask this question to my advisor but I wanted to have different advices from professionals on this.


texts: Is there any provision to provide reference to the paper which is in process to get published in journal at the time of graduate applications?

texts:
I will be presenting my paper to a conference this month. The papers presented in the conference will usually take 3-6 months to get published and indexed in the journal.
While applying for admissions in next 2 months, I will not have any online reference to submit to the admission committee, because the paper might not have published until then.
So, is there any provision or any way using which I will be able to share the paper/publication with the admission committee?


texts: If a mistake was made when grading exams, does the prof have to fix it for every student?

texts:
I took a university course where the final exam was a multiple-choice type with the answers going into a "scantron" sheet that gets fed into a machine. This is reasonable, since there were about 600 students taking it.

My final grade for the exam was such that I was about 1% short of the next letter grade for the course overall. After all the marks were posted, the exams were made available for pickup to students. I picked mine up and found two questions that I was sure were right but were marked wrong, so I went to see my professor to review the exam and ask about them.

He gave me two answer keys to check - one was the master scantron that was fed into the machine to tell it the correct answers. The other was the master paper exam with the questions (same thing the students got on the exam), where the correct answer was circled. I checked the two questions I was interested in and sure enough the paper exam agreed with my answers, but they were marked incorrectly on the master scantron that was used to grade every student. In other words, whoever filled out the answer key scantron made an error on at least 2 questions and filled in the wrong bubble.

I showed the prof the error and he seemed completely unfazed and not surprised and simply said that yes, he agrees that I picked the right answer and since this actually bumps me up a letter grade he'll fill out the form for the university to adjust my already-posted course grade. He then simply put away the two answer keys and bid me good day.

While I have no concrete proof, I feel like he already knew about the errors and me finding them was not a surprise. However, it seems that he does not intend to regrade all 600 students and is only dealing with the ones that actually come in and spot the error. Is this an acceptable approach? So far he has sent no communication out to the class regarding this and to my knowledge most of the students are unaware of the error.


texts: Appropriateness of dedicating my thesis to a Jewish mathematician who died in a concentration camp

texts: I am a Muslim student in a non-Arab country. Would it be unwanted/inappropriate for me to dedicate my thesis on Tauber theory to Alfred Tauber, and more generally to all those Jewish mathematicians who died in Nazi concentration camps during WW2? I thought it would form a nice opportunity for some remembrance of the fact that so many people whose work we value today were affected. I was greatly saddened to learn about the fate of A. Tauber and wanted to do something with that. On the other hand, a mathematics thesis might not be the place to "confront" like this.


texts: Is it possible/convenient to reply to the conference PCs regarding the meta-review result of a paper?

texts:
I received the reviews related to my recently submitted conference paper and it is selected as a poster, and there is no rebuttal phase provided. So they do not expect the authors to reply the PCs regarding the results.

However, after reading the reviewers comments clearly (4-5 times) and considering all of them i noticed the following:

1- One of them totally didn't get the main purpose and the domain of the paper and held a strong opposition against it.

2- The 2 Others were happy about the novelty and the results, but one of them asked for comparing to other methods (which i believe they are not applicable to my studied problem), and more analysis (which i already did in the paper and he may have missed it)

So if i had the chance to send a rebuttal letter i definitely would have taken that to send a sound, well-reasoned counterargument (but polite) regarding the above points.

But i'm afraid doing so could be considered inconvenient and even be harmful (leading to a rejection)!


texts: Is it possible to do PhD in pure mathematics after engineering

texts: I have an MTech in Industrial Drives and Control (Electrical Eng). After that could not go for any work... After giving some tuition, I came to the conclusion that I am genuinely interested in mathematics... be it to study or to teach. Is it possible for me to do a PhD in mathematics? Or, are there any PhD options in Electrical Eng that are related to mathematics? I am even ready to take time and get a bachelors and masters in mathematics by distance education.


texts: What to do with an unfinished research project you previously worked on?

texts:
The situation is as follows: I am a third year PhD student in theoretical biophysics and recently had my first jointly-authored journal paper published. My advisor thinks that I am on track, though to be fair a lot of the credit goes to another student who did a substantial part of the work for the paper. In any case, before working on this paper I was working on a completely different project, which my advisor asked me to abandon in order to work on this paper. We never talked about the previous project again.

Now I am wondering what I should do with the previous project. I have quite a fair amount of results and put several months of work into it. However, it is hard for me to put the results into context and even convince myself that they are interesting enough for a publication. My advisor is not an expert on this particular topic, and I think that to convince him to revive the project I would have to come up with a brilliant idea of what to do next (which I also don't know at the moment).

So I am torn about whether I should put more effort into trying to revive an old project my advisor told me to stop working on or to give up the project altogether. The last option would be a difficult decision, because of all the work I put into it, but if I can do better research instead and it does not hurt my chances of finishing my PhD on time, I would be able to accept it.


texts: Should I apologize to my coauthors for being slow to finish a paper draft?

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I am first author on a paper about my research from last summer.  Due to a busy school year and a bout of severe depression, I have taken FAR longer to finish this paper than originally planned.

When I send the draft to my coauthors, should I apologize?  Thank them for their patience?  Promise to be better in the future?

As a very young researcher, my primary concern is seeming professional and reliable to my coauthors.


texts: My professor is rigging data and plagiarizing. What can I do?

texts:
My department head is manipulating data in his research papers and skillfully alters plagiarized text to avoid detection. I found this out while working with him on a journal article. I politely confronted him but he did not concede and I backed off from that paper. Later other professors confirmed that most of his papers are bogus and results are fabricated.

He mentioned once that the reason for choosing nanotechnology (which he is not familiar with) is that there is very little literature available and few experts to review the paper. He gets through the review process by using a plethora of statistical analysis results (with fabricated data) to support his claim and gets through (some) editors by using fancy terms like neural network and fuzzy logic. The irony is that he does not even know the underlying theory of whatever analysis he is doing. How do I know this? I uttered a few doubts and the responses were extremely poor. He uses Minitab and Matlab tools to get things done. He once jokingly told me that he gets a paper ready overnight. Maybe it was not a joke after all.

Reporting to the management is useless as they won’t listen to me. I cannot challenge his paper, because I barely know anything in nanotechnology (neither does he). Editors won’t take me seriously since he has considerable reputation due to articles in high impact journals. So what should I do? I could not tolerate his insanity and literature pollution.

[Edit 1] More info: I am about to graduate and leave the department for good. The paper in which I was involved was shelved because sometime later I pointed out to him that the hypothesis is fundamentally wrong. I still have the original manuscript he mailed to me from his unofficial mail id. Institutional routes are closed, I tried complaining about his poor lecture quality once (anonymously) and it backfired for the entire class. He has 15 years of experience, 20+ journal article and numerous conference papers. I don't stand a chance against him.

Update I will try to report this issue to retraction watch or through any other means possible. Still it is not possible to disprove his claims without repeating the experiment. Will update here, if there is any progress on this issue.


texts: Is it unethical to edit the text of my undergraduate thesis prior to sharing online?

texts: My undergraduate thesis was completed almost a decade ago and is not available online, nor was any publication made from the findings. I would like to share it online, but looking back on it I notice many grammatical errors and conclusions that make less sense to me after gaining research experience. Is it unethical to make considerable changes to the text, or should I produce the document as it is to provide an honest representation of my early work?


texts: Redundancy of letters of recommendation for scientific and mathematical majors

texts:
I have recently finished my master’s in pure mathematics, and I wish to apply for PhD positions.

I had got the top grades of my classes (with a gpa of around 19.5 out of 20). Moreover, I am going to take a toefl test soon, and I think I will get a high grade.

However, the only issue in my doctoral applications is apparently the loathness of almost all of the university teachers who know me to write a letter of recommendation for me. On the other hand, every doctoral institution seems to require letters of recommendation.

Hence, my question specially to mathematics professors is, why do they require letters of recommendation when the level of mathematics (or a scientific discipline) of the applicant can be fairly determined by an interview?


texts:
I am 39 and I have a good position in a European university, on my way to tenure (in the Economics Department). I am miserable in Academia, and I have been saying for many years that I want to do something else. I hate teaching, and I feel my research is totally useless. Still, I manage to publish quite well. I avoid conferences by all means, and I minimize the time I spend at university. The only positive side is the extreme freedom I have, which I have been taking advantage of by travelling a lot, for instance.

I am desperate to leave, but I am terrified. I have no idea what else to do, I feel I don't have much to propose to this world. And I am scared to lose my freedom. And what if I hate my new job, while having lost the freedom? I have been sending out my CV to private companies, and I am learning data science online, but I have no answers so far. I am really not a junior profile, but I am definitely not a senior profile as I have no experience.

I am completely depressed, feeling like I should have made the move earlier, that it is too late, and that I will never find something else. Hence I will be doomed to stay in academia forever.

Is it common for one to leave academia around during their late 40s? What factors should I consider when deciding whether to leave considering the conditions I described above? Please answer based on the fact that I need to hear happy stories, since I am currently struggling.


texts: Is it tacky to note awards on a conference poster?

texts:
I'm scheduled to present a poster at a conference whose material is from my recently published paper.

The paper has been recognized in a few interesting ways that would be nice to note somehow on the poster. Specifically, Science Magazine selected it as Editor's Choice, and the paper has also gotten press coverage in major national outlets. My reason for wanting to list these things is to entice passersby toward the poster.

Would it be tacky to list either or both of these forms of recognition? If not, what would be a good way to do this: perhaps a few icons in the top corner?


texts: What is this 'tenure track' thing really about?

texts:
I'm planning to apply for PhD programs in Engineering in the US this fall. If I get in then, following the PhD program, I will most likely end up going back into Industry (hopefully landing a higher-level, more research-oriented position). However, I am keeping an open mind to staying in academia, although reading articles like this one is somewhat off-putting.

So, to my question: what is this 'tenure track' thing all about, really?

I mean, why should there be this distinction (which is apparently being set right at the start of someone's academic career) that some people will be eligible for 'promotion' and others won't, regardless of how good they are and the level of the work they do? Why can't everyone who is doing academic research/teaching post-PhD be eligible for a tenure position, if they work hard and publish enough high-quality papers?

This question probably seems a bit naive coming from someone that hasn't done a PhD and has more experience in Industry, but the situation seems somewhat unjust. Is it basically equivalent to the situation in Industry between those that are full-time employees and those that are contractors/gig workers? (although, of course, contractors working in Industry tend to earn higher salaries than permanent staff, to offset their reduced benefits and lower job security)

Are there any examples of universities that are moving away from this model of tenure-track vs. non-tenure-track (particularly in the US)?


texts: The Pros and Cons of Volunteering in Organizing Workshop in High Prestigious Conference

texts:
The last year, I have been granted a fund from a workshop in High Prestigious Conference, from a couple of days I have received from the organizer if I would like to volunteer in organizing the next workshop and help in bringing funding and contacts. For sure, I do like volunteering and there are many important profiles volunteering, and I am the lowest one. I don't have so many contacts in my field likely organizations. I am afraid that I think I am not going being able to contribute massively compared to other members. It is the first time to receive this volunteering opportunity and I don't know what could be the possible pros and cons behind my participation?

I don't know whether I should focus only on research in the recent moment or participate in organizing the workshop.


texts: Thematic synthesis in a systematic review paper

texts:
I have been currently conducting a systematic review. I used the classification framework approach, and I organized the articles in my field into three main categories (e.g. A, B, C). However, I am struggling to properly analyze the findings by summarizing the main ideas instead of separately/individually analyzing each article.

Can you give me some practical advice on how to better group the ideas? I tried with a systematic matrix.


texts: I worked in a specific direction without communicating it to master's thesis advisor, problem?

texts:
I am currently waiting for a meeting with my master's thesis supervisor and two people from a research institution i am associated with. The plan is to for me to talk about my literature review, and suggest possible directions for my thesis.
In a previous meeting with my supervisor only, we have already decided on a topic, but the method or framework are subject to the outcome of the next meeting. Since the research institution has a closely related industry project, it is to be expected that the decision process will be in some way influenced by the applicability to the project. To some people, this might be a limitation, but I would be glad to see parts of my work actually being useful.
I have prepared slides to give an overview of my literature search, along with suggestions on what to do next. Because I have not been too busy with other stuff, I have also implemented some methods already. In addition, I am currently working on deriving the extension of another method to our specific problem, which may or may not work. While it could be nice to have this kind of progression, I'm not sure whether it is appropriate of me to work in a direction without having checked with my supervisor first. This is especially since we might decide to do something entirely different.
I expect the supervisor to be in favor of methods that are similar to recent publications, and the research institute people to be biased towards methods that fit their project. I think the methods I have been looking at are rather geared towards the latter.
My questions are:

Should I bring up me working on selected methods in the meeting? This could be interpreted as going against our agreement to decide on a method together.
Should I update my supervisor on my progress prior to the meeting (via e-mail)?
Would it be a bad idea to steer the meeting into the direction of the methods I have  been working on, without mentioning it?

My concerns are not only having worked on the wrong things in vain, but also upsetting my supervisor for not checking in and not abiding the agreement (at least kind of).
I would rather not embarrass him in front of the other people, in case he would feel that way about me working without having communicated with him.

Additional Information: my relationship to my supervisor is somewhat formal since we haven't had too much contact up until now, but I already know both people from the research institution where I have been a research assistant for over two years.


texts: I made a mistake of staying with my PhD even when I had lost interest in it. Should I continue with my academic dream?

texts:
I had lost interest in my PhD topic during second year of my PhD. However, I continued. I thought, I shouldn't leave something halfway. My topic is "numerical modeling of shot peening process". Example publication (: paper)
I was involved in simulations only and not experimental work.
In my naivety, I thought, I shouldn't leave my PhD after 2.5 years and I should focus on getting published and return back to my home country for academia.
It took me 5 years to submit my thesis and now I just have 3 papers and no postdoc job offers. My PhD is not rigorous and though I can publish many more Q1 papers on the topic, I don't enjoy the topic. I love doing research though.
I want to try for academia. For that, one needs at least two years of postdoctoral experience. Should I continue with a postdoc in a similar topic as my advisor has offered me one? Is it common to not enjoy one's own PhD topic?
I am just frustrated with myself for not leaving the PhD earlier and now I am stuck with a poor CV. I don't know what I am doing with my life.


texts:
in order to apply for a research grant, they ask me to provide a permanent identifier for my publications.
I have looked at such publications, but only the ISSN of such publications are provided.

Question 1: is an ISSN a permanent identifier?

Question 2: How can I get a DOI for those publications?


texts: Applying PhD during the last year of master studies

texts:
I am a final year master student and currently I am working in my thesis (I have done about 70% of my work).  My graduation will be expected to be latest in this August.
I have published several publications during my bachelor degree.  However, I have not published any single publication during my master studies (my supervisor has a plan to publish a paper based on my thesis works).
Is it possible for me to apply for a PhD studies with stated condition above (I haven't get master degree and lack of publication in my master degree.
In addition  I do my bachelor and master thesis in different subfield. I will plan to take a PhD in the same subfield as my master studies. So I can say I dont have any publications directly related to my planned PhD studies.


texts: Are GRE scores useful in making some graduate admissions decisions?

texts:
Background: There is some recent research indicating that, among students admitted to the Ph.D. program, their GRE scores are not very useful for predicting success in the Ph.D. program.  This appears to provide a cautionary note against relying on GRE scores in Ph.D. admissions.

Predictors of Student Productivity in Biomedical Graduate School Applications. Joshua D. Hall, Anna B. O’Connell, Jeanette G. Cook. PLOS One, Jan 11, 2017.

The Limitations of the GRE in Predicting Success in Biomedical Graduate School.   Liane Moneta-Koehler, Abigail M. Brown, Kimberly A. Petrie, Brent J. Evans, Roger Chalkley.  PLOS One, Jan 11, 2017.

However, this was limited to studying a population of students who had already been admitted to the Ph.D. program, so they are presumably all above a certain bar.

My question: Is there any evidence about whether GRE scores are useful as an initial filter for Ph.D. admissions?  For instance, if an applicant's GRE scores are significantly below the norm, does this contain useful information?  For instance, see this answer to GRE: how important is it to get it in time?, where mention is made of using GRE as a low-bar filter to prune the non-serious applications.  If there is evidence about whether this is effective or not, it would be useful to know, to guide the design of the Ph.D. admissions process.


texts: Is positive discrimination in faculty hiring really efficient at promoting diversity in an academic department?

texts:
I have questions about affirmative action as described in this answer to another question (also called positive discrimination) in the context of US universities, more specifically departments recruiting assistant professors.

What is the evidence that using positive discrimination to select assistant-professor candidates is efficient at promoting diversity?

How does it compare to granting scholarships to (or waiving tuition fees for) minority undergraduate students as an attempt to promote diversity at the very beginning of the academic curriculum and hoping this diversity will propagate to the pool of applicants to assistant professor positions when these students arrive on the job market?

I would like to learn about real examples and facts and figures suggesting why these policies worked or didn’t work.


texts: Appropriate to write to the head of a department to ask about potential openings?

texts:
I am a tenure-track Assistant Professor, coming up for tenure next year (no concerns about getting tenure). There is another university I would like to move to. Their department is of similar strength to my own, but is a better fit for my research, and is in a city I would rather live in. However I don't have any personal connections with any of their faculty members.

Is it appropriate to write to the department head, express my interest, and ask if there are any anticipated openings? Would there be any point in doing this? Thanks for any insights.


texts: Found a mistake in my paper after submitting the final version. What should I do?

texts:
Recently my paper got accepted in a journal. After that we submitted the final version with all corrections. Now I found an error in the way I calculated some type of numerical error. I don’t think correcting the numerical errors will change any of the conclusions of the paper.

What should I do in such a situation? Is it necessary to submit an erratum to the journal?


texts: PhD with a supervisor who has not published anymore since 2014

texts:
I'm finishing my master's degree in physics and I'm searching for a PhD position. A potential professor for PhD is almost 60 years old and he has not published any paper since 2014!

What do you think about this?


texts: What should I do if my admission letter doesn't say anything about funding?

texts: I have received my admission letter for a graduate program. But there isn't any information about funding. I have talked to my professor about the availability of funding. what should I say to my professor?