texts: How to conduct research as a non-Latino in a Latino-studies research institute?

texts:
I will be conducting research in a Latino-studies research institute next summer. I will probably be the only non-Latino researcher in the institute that summer. I’m also approaching my research from a computational sociological point of view, which is vastly different from the qualitative orientation of my peers’ research. I do wish to explore the field of Latino studies more and possibly even conduct research in it (of course as a respectful student who is outside the culture).

How can I not only conduct research but move up more into this world of Latino studies research without being disrespectful and giving precedence to those who not only research Latino studies, but are part of the culture?


texts: Writing a master thesis in a totally new field?

texts:
One year ago I started an interdisciplinary master programme. It is now time to choose my master thesis topic and the one I have in mind is totally unrelated to my bachelor and quite distant from my current expertise.

I know, that if I were to choose this topic and write a good thesis I would have to acquire substantially new knowledge & skills.

Although I have 9 months to write my thesis, I am considering taking a year off to get caught up on the said topics, and then starting next year.

Is this advisable?

Would you take up the challenge to get acquainted while writing the thesis or only start researching after you've familiarised yourself with the basics?


texts: Do US universities use GPA according to transcript evaluation services or internal evaluation?

texts:
I would like to know, if given both options, which of the options, would officials at the american universities follow?

By internal evaluation, my GPA at some of the universities is translated/scored as 2.87/4.00. Disbarring me from all of their programs.

By WES evaluation, my GPA is translated/scored as 3.25/4.00. This option allows me to run/apply for all the programs at the said universities.

Which of these evaluations would the university use?

Does WES's evaluation hold any weight?

Wouldn't this be a problem for those who are not aware of such services?


texts: Should I hold the same writing standards for international students as I do for domestic students?

texts:
I teach courses in physics, astronomy and planetary science.

Often, but certainly not always, international students (and even some domestic students, for whom English is not their primary language), write worse than their domestic peers who have grown up with English.

For most assignments, I take up to a couple points off for negligence of spelling and grammar, depending on how bad their writing was. The point is to remind students that their writing should be professional. I never nit-pick about a typo here or there, but if there is a whole slew of them, I'll make a note and take off what would amount to be a few percentage points of the assignment's total score.

I'd like to give grace to those for whom English is not their primary language. At the same time, I need to be fair and grade equally. As it stands, I grade equally for everyone, but I try to give more feedback to those who need it.

Does anyone have any better ideas about how to do this?


texts: What is the best way to add the results of the Master thesis in the Latex report

texts:
I am writing my Master thesis report. My thesis was research and development of a test data generator for a particular domain in an organization. The developed application will generate test data in XML and JSON format according to user requirements and design. These data can be very large.
For the demonstration of my results in Thesis report, I have designed a simple model and generating the test data for that design but still, the test data generated is pretty large so I have included them in the Appendix chapter of the result. It's taking around 20-30 pages, I have modelled the simplest design so there is no way for me to reduce the generated test data by simplifying the model further.
My professor has told me that this is not a good way of displaying the results. So I wanted to know what are the better ways of showing/visualizing your results/test data in the Master thesis report?
As I am writing the report in LaTeX format I have included them as listings in the Appendix section. Please provide me with some solution.


texts: What should be the right format for dates in CV?

texts:
I saw that most of the formats for month & year is like "September 2017"; however it is kind of cluttered. I'm wondering if the following formats are OK:

Sept. 2017
09/2017
9/2017


texts: Responsibility/ethics of startups during graduate studies

texts:
It's a common meme that people often embark on and develop business projects while in graduate school. However, it's unclear how frequently this actually happens in "real life".

More importantly, how responsible/ethical a choice is it, in say, a funded PhD program? I know that typically there is a guideline for hours worked for such a position, but that's almost a joke in comparison to implicit requirements like standards of research quality and publication rate.

Assume that you are a student earnestly engaged in both the PhD topic and an unrelated side project, and you want both the PhD and the business to succeed (i.e., graduate, publish, launch side project as successful startup). To me it seems like the worst-case scenario in that situation would be running into a tough problem in research, while still putting in occasional hours on the side project, as that would look terrible.

I'd also like to hear about the details. How/when to disclose? How to maintain rapport with advisor? What are the ethical concerns? Is this feasible? How do these goofballs in the success stories get away with this? ;)


texts: Is it compulsory to have a master's degree in computer science for research jobs?

texts: I hold a bachelor's in computer applications. I have got my bachelor's degree from India. Now I want to get a job in research institutes or labs at Europe, USA or India. Will I need higher education like master's or PhD? Money does not matter to me.


texts: Accepting a PhD offer from my tutor's/adviser's "rival"?

texts:
Last year, when planning my academic future, I contacted a research group at my university, because I was interested in doing my Master's thesis in their field. One of the professors replied a couple of days later, and offered me a meeting. After said meeting, I accepted the proposed project, and have been working on it since. A few days after accepting the project I received another reply to my initial mail, from another professor in the group, which turned out to be one of my teachers in a course I had a few months after. I stayed with the first professor and project.

So fast-forward to present day: I am finishing up my Master's thesis, and interested in pursuing a PhD. I have not talked about it with my current adviser, and he hasn't offered me any projects (he is actually going to MIT in June, for a sabbatical, so he will be absent for a year). A couple of days ago, while talking with the second professor, he offered me a PhD scholarship/fellowship (I do not know the right word). The precise field of research has not yet been decided, because it depends heavily on government funding (but the general area of research is of interest to me). I have recently learned that said professor is actually a sort of "rival" to my current adviser (they have had projects from rival companies, and had a "competition" over an academic position).
I do not know whether to accept or not. I like the offer and the professor, but I would be interested in staying in the research group after completing my PhD, and I think it might offend my current adviser and cause tension.

Is it OK to accept said offer right now (telling my adviser, of course)?


texts: Feasibility of using blockchain to avoid researcher bias

texts:
Would it be feasible, presently or in the future, to use computers with blockchain technology to help avoid researcher bias?

For instance, in a medical experiment, when an experimenter uses blockchain to store data gathered by interviewers about a patient's condition after a new medication, he/she would be able to guarantee that it would be literally impossible to change the results to fit the expected outcome.


texts: How to learn advanced math and statistics at my own pace?

texts:
I have not a very strong mathematical nor statistical background. This fact has not prevented me to work in a data analysis department because of my programming skills. I know the basics of important subjects such as calculus and linear algebra and I have implemented statistical analysis like logistic regression, support vector machines and many others, but always under the supervision of an statistics expert.
I would like to learn advanced math and statistics in order to have a better understanding of the mechanics of what I am doing and most important WHY decisions are taken. Since I have time constraints, I have followed some MOOC's in Machine learning and statistics. But after completing the courses I had a bitter taste. I wasn't able to understand scientific papers because most of the authors assume advanced knowledge of real analysis, numerical methods, etc.

Clarification: Since this question has been put on hold I will try to give more details about this specific problem. I work from Monday to Friday. So I can only study on weekends. In the city where I live, there are no universities offering advanced math courses on weekends. So, firstly I bought some e-books on the subject but quickly realized two things: My progress was very slow and it was hard to tie up different subjects in an comprehensive way. I thought I could do better following online courses so I followed some MOOC's whose results I explained before.
I'm convinced that the solution implies using Internet resources but by now I've not found a complete and satisfactory solution.


texts: "scholarly activities" vs. "research activities" in Australia for the purpose of applying to a lecturer position

texts: For the purpose of applying for a lecturer position in Australia in computer science (CS), what are "research activities" and "scholarly activies", and how do they differ? The applicant is asked to provide "scholarly and research activities" according to the selection criteria stated in a particular job description on the website of the CS department to which I am applying to.  However, both terms seem to me way too vague or broad from a purely linguistic viewpoint.  The discussion in What does "research activities" mean? touches only the "research activity" term, but even this discussion is incomplete and contradictory.


texts: I've found what appears to be a fake paper in a non predatory journal

texts:
I received a paper for review from MathReviews (so, not an actual peer review).

It is from a journal with Q2 classification according to Scimago, so I expect it to not be a predatory journal, although the statistics show a decline over time of the journal.

The title of the paper caught my attention, as it talks about a result on a well-known operator R in my community, but once inside the paper, the author goes on and defines R with the definition of another well-known operator H. The author even gives references for such a definition (citing previous classical work) and these references clearly state that the operator is named as H, not R.

Ok, I thought it could be just a naming mistake, that shouldn't change the actual results (it would just make the paper uncitable, as no one looking for results for H would find this one that calls it R).

Afterward, I checked the next definition, but it is written in a mathematically wrong fashion (basically, it makes no sense).

Then I go to the first paragraph in the introduction and check the first 3 references, typically these are to justify why it is relevant to study the subject of the paper. These 3 references are completely unrelated neither to operator H or R and don't correspond to what the author describes them to be.

So for me, it is clear this is a fake paper (I think I would call it like that, I don't have a proper name for this).

What to do now?

I first thought to just review accordingly in MathReviews (i.e. estate that the paper is a fake one), but now I'm wondering if I should go straight to the Journal's chief editor to denounce this. I cannot even fathom how such a paper even passed through peer review.

This question is related to the one in here
What should I do when images in a publication appear to have been faked?
Albeit, I feel that in this case there is nothing to discuss with the author. Furthermore, given the (possibly intentional) operator naming mistake, this paper most likely won't ever be cited by anyone... not at least someone writing real work;  therefore, it wouldn't have the negative impact of a scientific paper from some reputable institution or scientists that employs fake data.

Just as an addition:

I skimmed through some of the cited papers, and they give me also the impression to be rambling nonsense (and they are published in the same journal). I have not actually deeply scrutinized them (takes time), but I'm starting to get the impression this could be something "bigger". I've tried to google this author and I cannot find him, similarly, I tried to look for one of the sketchy authors that was cited several times and I also cannot find him; my best guess is that probably they have a personal webpage in a foreign language.

(Update 11.04.19) 3 Months ago, I sent an email to Math reviews detailing the issue. They put me in contact with an associate editor, that apologized for sending me this paper, and that stated that s/he will take care of it.

So far, I have not received any news about it. The paper is still up and there is no review at Mathscinet. Most likely this process takes a while, I'll update if anything changes.


texts: Is it unethical or illegal to grade a proof exam without reading all of the proofs? Someone I know would give students 0 points if they do not use theorems presented in lectures, or if they have one solution that solves multiple problems at once will ignore it. Also would make up criteria to fit his/her own agenda for punishing students. Then he/she would leave it up to the students to possibly argue for changes in office hours. Is there some standard criteria for grading proofs, either on a legal or professional level?


texts: Where to submit an incomplete work just for the sake of record

texts:
I am an undergraduate student. One day an idea popped up in my mind about some theory. I started working on that and then I have to stop due to my very limited knowledge. I shared my incomplete work with my brother and he said that what I have is rubbish. May be it is rubbish and I cannot see what is wrong with it at present. If my work is useless, it doesn't matter but if it is of some use and somebody else found about it(independently without my incomplete work). In this case  I get no credit and it is fair too because I have not contributed to the final result.

The problem is, when I tell somebody that I have also worked on the same idea then no one would believe me.

So is there any way that I can submit my incomplete work online, so that it gets recorded. And maybe if my work is not rubbish then it may be of some help to others.


texts: Is it possible to obtain a PhD in Canada without having to attend courses for a master degree?

texts:
I am used to European university system and I don't know much about how things are working overseas.

I already hold a Bachelor degree and a Master degree. I will soon be looking for a PhD. If I am not mistaken, in the USA, someone directly jumps from a Bachelor degree to graduates studies which include a Master degree + a PhD, is it correct? Is it also the way it works in Canada (Vancouver, UBC)? Is it possible to make a PhD in Canada without having to take time for the Master degree?

I read somewhere that a Canadian PhD last between 4 and 7 years. Does it include the Master degree? If yes, how much time does the PhD only represents?


texts: Using a paper under review as writing sample for PhD application

texts:
I am submitting a PhD application, for which I am required to include a writing sample; either a publication or a class report. I don’t have publications but I have a submitted paper authored by me and my advisor which I already submitted to a conference but was not yet accepted (results are due in 2 months).

I was thinking of submitting this paper for admissions as a writing sample because I think that it is well written. I know that I have to get my advisor’s permission.

In case my advisor agrees, is doing that appropriate? My yet to be accepted paper will be reviewed by professors in the department I am applying to.


texts: When should private tutors communicate with course professors?

texts:
Students often seek help from a variety of sources, including private tutors, who can be found either locally or remotely on websites such as Wyzant, Chegg, Tutor.com, Varsity Tutors, etc.
As a relative newcomer to the world of online tutoring I am gradually coming to realize that protection of academic integrity, while somewhat fundamental to the entire enterprise, is somewhat of a challenge; this is especially true when tutoring remotely.  Academic integrity is a potentially sensitive subject, in the sense that it is easy to impose an unintended policy (or one with unintended side effects) on others by accident, either actively or passively.
I am wondering if it is appropriate for tutors to be in communication with their students' teachers in order to ensure that their lessons are not somehow incompatible with school or class academic honesty policies or integrity frameworks.  On the one hand, teachers and Professors could benefit from knowing if a large number of their students are seeking outside help to understand lessons, and from having transcripts of one-on-one tutoring sessions as well.  On the other, there is a small possibility that, for any number of what would amount to legitimate reasons, they (individual teachers and/or Professors) might regret this knowledge, and that the set of appropriate stewards of tutoring sessions (or the "relevant data" thereof) does not include them, but rather consists of a comparably* sparse network of educators and administrators that is nonetheless robust.  Would it be generally acceptable to leave this decision in the hands of the student?  Or is there a more appropriate (more graceful or less awkward) way to maintain academic integrity for tutoring sessions?
*That is, with respect to a "radically open" network that includes everyone who might have any interest whatsoever, including the course professor.


texts: Sample Profiles of people who got into top PhD programs

texts:
When I was applying for undergrad, I could find a lot of profiles of people (with their educational backgrounds, grades, etc) who had got into top universities (like Harvard, Princeton, etc) and that gave me a good idea of what it took to get into an institution of that caliber.

I'm interested in applying for a PhD in economics, and while chances of getting in are extremely slim, I'm still curious to know more about what it takes to be a PhD student in a place like Princeton, Harvard, Chicago, Berkeley, etc. Can I find profiles of people who have got into these places somewhere, or has anyone here got into such a place for grad school?


texts: The review of one of the reviewers is basically a copy and paste from my paper. Should I care?

texts: I just received the reviews of a paper I submitted. The paper was reviewed by three anonymous reviewers, two of the reviews provided valuable insight suggestions and comments. However, the third reviewer just copied text from the paper. Should I care about what the third reviewer did?


texts: What are the process and practices of requesting for pre-submission peer review from field experts?

texts:
I am an undergraduate student in the field of computer science, researching on my own. I have completed writing a paper for my recent research project and all set to submit it to a relevant conference. Since I worked on the paper and project by myself, I am a bit unsure about some parts of the paper, technical as well as presentational.

In my faculty, no one works on this topic so I am left a bit alone on the entire process, including reviewing the paper before sending it to peer review. Is there a practice in academia where I can send some other professor, not affiliated with my work asking help with the paper and some feedbacks on it, sort of a pre-submission peer review?

Is it a good practice? And what would be a good way to do so, if it is done?


texts: Is it OK to get external help during your PhD if it is acknowledged?

texts:
I am starting a PhD, and an interested in getting technical skills I will need over the next few years.

Are there any ethical issues with paying for people to help you to get these skills, assuming they are fully acknowledged?

From what I have read, I am working with the assumption that it is OK, as long as they are not "contributing to the research". However, this seems a bit fuzzy to me. Where does the boundary between the acceptable and unacceptable input lie?


texts: Why do computer science students working in computational biology domain need to give biological validation for their prediction?

texts: I am in my 3rd year of PhD. I am doing my PhD on Computational Biology, with a background of purely Computer Science. Since I am under pressure to publish 4 more journal papers, apart from my review, I am always in a hurry to do the same. What I have noticed for this field is that if I predict something, I need to provide biological validation for my result. Why so? Is biological validation not the work of biologists? How can a computer science student provide biological validation for his/her prediction? Isn't our job just to predict? Why do the journals want biological validation for the results? I did a prediction job, where I predicted some proteins to do a particular function. I communicated it to the Molecular BioSystems Journal. They rejected it saying I have no biological validation. If biologists are the one with the final say, then what point do we have in working in this domain? Whatever we predict would be questioned.


texts: What's a proper title when I started a post-doc position but not received my PhD degree yet?

texts:
I finished my Ph.D. research in computer science a few months ago and started writing my dissertation. Meanwhile, I applied for a postdoc position before my Ph.D. fund could run out. So, I found and started a postdoc position around a month ago in another University in Germany, and I'm going to have my disputation in 3-4 months from now (that's the usual waiting period in CS in Germany).

However, I'm not sure what title I should use regarding my position in the new institute until I do my Ph.D. disputation, especially in email correspondences and when I introduce myself or other similar situations?

Of course, I do not use the "Dr." title until I do the disputation, but should I declare myself still as a "Ph.D. researcher" or a "Post-doctoral researcher" or something else regarding my position here?

BTW, my contract just says a research employee.


texts: How to list a published reply to editor in publication list

texts:
I recently had a reply which myself and my coauthors wrote in response to a question from a reader of our published article be sent as a letter to the editor which was published after my initial article in the journal. The reply has its own DOI number. I am wondering what the best way is to list this in my publication list. Should it be a sub-bullet point to the main article, its own bullet points, or something else?
Thanks for the help!


texts: Dissertation proposal before admission: Is it possible?

texts:
It seems that most universities in Europe require an outline of the planned dissertation at the application stage. I think even choosing the title of a dissertation needs a lot of dialogue between the student and his supervisor. It also requires a thorough investigation on the state of art in the targeted area.

Is such proposal the definite proposal or it may totally be changed after the admission? Can you provide some tips for writing such proposal draft? How much time you think I should devote for such plan (at least)?


texts: Best practice in versioning / backing up work?

texts:
When I work on a paper I end up with folders paperXYZ, paperXYZ_R1, paperXYZ_R2, etc. Same thing happens with my code, project material, etc. This creates clattering and confusion. In addition, I need to backup things very often, to make sure nothing gets lost. Finally, once a paper / project is done, I need to archive it somewhere with easy access and searchable.

For a long time I was using the old fashion copy and rename the folder and every week backup everything to an external hard drive. Then, I moved to keeping everything on Dropbox, this lived shortly because I ran out of space. Now, I am slowly migrating my code to git repositories (bitbucket.org) and I still copy and rename the folders for my papers.

My questions are:

How do you keep the versions of your work, mainly concerning publications? But also other projects and code.
Where do you backup your final versions (the editable material, not the final pdf)?

Points like easiness of use, safety of material, easiness to search, etc. are welcome.

I know this is a subjective question (i.e. I know I'm pushing my luck), but I would like to see what people actually use and maybe get some ideas on what is considered best practice.


texts: Best search engines for scientific books

texts:
I'm wondering which are the best search engines for scientific books. I know google book, but here I'm not able to find books which contain the specified key words and published by a specific editor. E.g. key word "real-time system", editor "wiley".
Could you suggest me which are the best search engines to reach this goal please?


texts:
I can't help but notice that even in CS, professors' websites are almost always difficult to navigate, poorly-organized, and just generally hard to look at (poorly-tiled backgrounds, inconsistent fonts, etc.).

Why is this? Is it expected of academics? I'll be applying to graduate programs in the Fall and took a few hours to update my personal website, and was outright told by a professor that it was "too much". If I have a "fancy-looking" website, will this reflect negatively on me as an applicant?


texts: Should I provide specific acknowledgments in addition to a general acknowledgment?

texts: As a student I wrote a paper for a course. I am now preparing the paper for submission to a journal. My teacher will get a general acknowledgment for the discussions we had on the topic as a footnote on the paper's title (as is the custom in my field). There are a couple (~3) very specific pointers the teacher gave me, such as a relevant piece of literature. These are not vital for the flow of the paper but are useful pointers for the reader; they appear in footnotes. Should I add a sentence to such a footnote such as "I am grateful to John Doe for this reference"? Or is it kind of implicit in the general acknowledgment at the start of the article that the acknowledged persons have contributed such details?


texts: How to select a Master's thesis topic if your advisor won't suggest one?

texts:
If a master's degree candidate needs to select a thesis topic, but their advisor is unwilling to offer suggestions on the matter, how should one go about selecting a thesis?

How might one select an area to study?
How can one evaluate if if is a suitable topic?
Does the thesis need to focus on an area which is relatively unexplored by prior research?


texts: In citations, how to find out if it's a compound name?

texts:
I have a paper that I want to cite in my own work, in the form
"J. Wayne" (for John Wayne) in the bibliography part of the paper and Wayne in the body of the paper.

The full name of the author appears on the paper as Aaaa Bbbb Cccc, and is typically a non-western name.
Say, consider something like John Fitzgerald Kennedy, but let's assume you never heard of them, and they obviously are from a different culture, and you don't know if their last-name is Kennedy or Fitzgerald Kennedy.

Should I note it in my Bibtex file as Kennedy, John Fitzgerald or
Fitzgerald Kennedy, John ? This will change things when printed with last-name only, it will appear either as Kennedy or Fitzgerald Kennedy.

So, more generally, is there an academic naming convention for this kind of situation ?
Edit: To be more precise, what I want to know is if there is a standardized way for an author with such a name to sign his paper, for example Aaaa Bbbb-Cccc, so no ambiguity is left for the reader. Or for the reader, if one has a guaranteed way to know this (seems not).

I must add that I have seen the considered author cited as Bbbb or as Cccc, one of these being obviously incorrect (even both could be).


texts: Who should I ask for references when applying for PhD, after a 4 year break since graduation?

texts:
I am a life sciences graduate from 2015.
After a career in the corporate world, I am preparing to apply to PhD programs in universities abroad.
As part of the application process, I am required to provide a certain number of references (usually 2 or 3).

Is it appropriate to approach my old college professors for references after a gap of 4 years? What things should I take into account if I am contacting them?


texts: Can a paper be rejected because another paper (by someone else) based on its arXiv preprint extends the result?

texts: Suppose that I put a paper to Arxiv and submit to a journal at the same time. Someone extends my result and clearly cites my paper. This is totally fine. They submit it to a journal. For whatever reason in the review process, their paper is published before mine is accepted. Do I now have to worry that the referee will reject my paper on the grounds that a better result exists, even though they acknowledge that they get the idea from my result?


texts: Edited volumes in bibliography: (eds) or (eds.)?

texts: I was recently informed that (eds) NOT (eds.) was the 'correct' way (i.e not simply down to journal style guidelines) to describe volumes with multiple editors. Conversely, according to this same source, (ed.) should be used rather than (ed). Surely both (ed.) and (eds.) are abbreviations and therefore both require the full stop to indicate this?


texts:
I am dressing up my CV for graduate school admissions (Asian studies). I have included my merit-based scholarships in "Awards." However, is it also appropriate to list scholarships that I have been awarded that are judged based on financial need? Most of those also judge academic merit as a factor (though it is given less weight based on financial aid), and some of the need-based ones are considered competitive due to the ratio of awards to applicants.

I guess what I'm worried about is, does it disclose too much information about my financial situation--information which could bias an admissions committee against me?


texts:
What are the best practices for writing a research paper title? I am looking for some general guidelines.

Does one go with short and sweet?
Or a bit longer and informative?
Should one phrase it as a question or rather as a statement?
Should one use humour and play on words?
What should one avoid?
Are titles written different for different areas of research? (i.e. Computer Science, Maths, Neuroscience etc.)


texts: When mentioning a source in my literature review, how much detail should I add?

texts:
After reading several literature reviews, I noticed how quick to the point authors were when they mentioned a study. By that I mean they only discussed the results found within that study and didn't spend time going over how the study was conducted, where the data was obtained, etc.

Back to my own literature review, I decided to edit it based on the aforementioned pattern I noticed. My question is which example is more fitting for a literature review. I'm guessing the second one is more appropriate.

Ex. 1
"In addition to Ruist, and Alden and Hammarstedt, Storesletten (2000) further suggest that migrants impose a substantial fiscal burden. Storesletten uses an overlapping generations model, parallel to Alden and Hammarstedt’s framework, to measure the fiscal impact for Sweden. This method allows for a dynamic approach, accounting for changes in government revenues and expenditures. Storesletten makes use of a large sample size containing 52,000 natives and 6,000 immigrants aged 16-64 for the years 1990-1995, thus ensuring replication is possible. Although the analysis suggests young migrants who are 20-30 years old at the time of acceptance into asylum offer large potential gains over the course of a lifetime: more than SEK 200,000 (19,428€) per individual, migrants older than 50 and younger than 10 drastically diminished the possibility for potential gains or just breaking even. With substantial net costs for migrants of these age groups, averaging about SEK 1.1 million (106,857€) per migrant, the net government loss per new immigrant is SEK 175,000 (17,000€)."

Ex. 2
"The economic impact of migration has been extensively studied in Sweden. Storesletten (2003), using a dynamic model, estimates that the average immigrant in Sweden represents a net burden of 175,000 SEK (USD 20,500) for the public sector, although contributions varied significantly across different cohorts. Young immigrants produced a net gain of 200,000 SEK (USD 22,200), whereas immigrants older than 50 and younger than 10 drew in substantial net costs. These findings are attributable to the fact that the pension system, healthcare, and schooling are costly programs."


texts: Submitting two related manuscripts at the same time to two journals

texts:
I have two ideas (manuscripts) that I am working on, both in the field of physics.

The first is theoretical, mathy and generalized. It is steered toward computer vision. Probably if finished, would be published in a multidisciplinary journal for physics and computer science.

The second is a mix between theoretical physics and experimental physics. It is steered toward astronomical physics only. It applies one of the results found in the first manuscript.

Is it ethical to submit these two papers separately? How can I cite the papers if they are both under peer review?

Note: The two manuscripts do not hold the same goal and do not have identical results. If I am going to put a percentage on how much 2# uses from 1#, I would put 20%. Further, if I would put a percentage on how much different 2# from 1#, I would put 90%.


texts: Reasonable number of person-months for a full time academic?

texts:
I am currently applying for an Italian grant (a PRIN, precisely, in case someone is familiar with them), and in the application we have to indicate a number of person-months also for the PI and the other participating academics that are already employed full-time by their own universities.

What is a reasonable number of person-months to include in this case? How much of his/her time can a professor/academic (so someone who already has a full time teaching and research job in a university) contribute to a big research grant?

There is no explicit guideline in the call.


texts:
A model lesson is a usual element in interviews for the faculty level positions. Normally this is not a full lesson but a 15-minute version which is performed in absence of actual students for just a few professors from a hiring committee. It is supposed to demonstrate "your teaching style", but by design this is clearly a different enterprise: you should "act normal" doing "the same" things

in a different time-frame,
for a different audience,
with completely different motivation and
under exorbitant cost of failure.

Having said this, I also acknowledge the model lesson as indeed a much needed element of the interview, which helps to assess a candidate's set of relevant skills.

The question is how one can ideally prepare to give such a model lesson. Putting aside obvious things like "structure of the talk," "clear slides," "projection of the voice," and "body language", which normally should be already trained by experience, are there specific things that should be taken into account for the model lesson only? What about techniques like jokes, questions to the audience (e.g. how many of you are familiar with the definition of the derivative), work in pairs, which you probably use in a real classroom — is it a good idea to demonstrate them in a room full of senior professors? I am a little confused.


texts: Background section for research statement

texts:
It is my understanding that the main sections in a research statement should address the following three main points: 1) research interests and skills; 2) past (and present, if any) research; 3) agenda for the future research. However, when I sat to write my research statement today, I started with a background section, where I briefly (half of a page) described how I have developed an interest for research and science from my high school years till Ph.D. program period. I think that it is a natural way to set the stage for the further discussion, which also allows for a smooth transition to my "Past Research" section, where I describe my dissertation research.

Question: does the background section make sense and is it beneficial to use such structure?

Note. In addition to "Background" and "Past Research", my research statement also contains "Present Research" and "Future Research" sections. Since currently (after recent graduation) I am busy performing a job search for postdoctoral and junior faculty positions, I just noted that in the "Present Research" section, adding that I am also doing preliminary planning of converting my dissertation into several research papers or book chapter as well as converting corresponding software into R packages. The total length of my research statement as of now is 2.5 pages (without references).


texts: Are there universities/institutions which offers free (or almost) recognized degrees through online coursework?

texts:
I heard that using online resources, some of the top universities like MIT (Micromasters) and Harvard are offering free online courses and specializations.
 I wonder if there are institutions that offer graduate and post-graduate degrees totally free of charge(or almost).


texts: Google Scholar vs other academic search engines

texts:
How is Google Scholar compared to other academic search engines and catalogues such as ScienceDirect, Scopus, and universities' own online catalogues--in terms of the following?

comprehensiveness of search (i.e. can fetch all the ever published relevant titles, whether the user have access to full-texts or not)
accuracy and precision of results
advanced search features
usability

Are there good reasons for (or against) using Google Scholar as the only literature search tool for PhD research?
Does the answer of (2) depend on the research discipline?


texts: Do graduate schools have more courses & less of a student-teacher ratio than undergraduate?

texts:
On average do grad schools offer more distinct courses than undergraduate schools?

If that is the case, then it must mean there are more professors teaching in graduate schools. And common sense tells me that there are less students in grad school than undergraduate.

Does that mean there a disparity in the student-teacher ratio in grad and undergrad schools?


texts: Is It OK for an academic to have broad research interests?

texts:
First of all I am a second year M.Sc. Student in Computer science, working on information networks and enjoy my research a lot. In my B.Sc. final Project I had worked on intrusion detection systems, which was actually a computer network protocol related area and irrelevant to my current field.

I should mention that actually I am not frustrated with my current research or topics that I was working during B.Sc. But the problem is that I am also so excited about other nearly irrelevant topics.

For example I have passed about two courses in signal processing and now sometimes I am thinking about continue my PhD in that field. I am also interested in algorithms and CS theory, etc.

I want to know is It OK to have such broad activity in your resume or this can flag me as picky person regard that I finished successfully every project that I had been started and it can be verified in Recommendation Letters and so on.


texts: How to organize my papers and notes from the beginning of my PhD?

texts:
I'm a first year PhD student.

I'm in my first stage (doing a literature review) but I face problem in organizing the papers I read and the notes I take for all papers. Should I put all that in one MS Word file for example, or different MS word files, or maybe use a different software?

I don't want to come after month from now and get confused about the way I organize my papers and notes in.

So, any helpful ideas?


texts: In U.S., why do many engineering departments care about professional engineer registration?

texts: I have seen many engineering departments want professional engineer registration. Why do they care?


texts: Are online exam proctoring services efficient and trustworthy?

texts: Several universities are providing online degrees using a service "Online Exam Proctoring". Have these online proctoring services reached to a level of efficiency and trustworthy that even a complete MS degree from a top university  is being awarded based on them?


texts: When does "copying" a math diagram become plagiarism?

texts:
If you copy paste a diagram from a paper/book onto your own work, without permission or attribution, that's plagiarism.
What happens if you see a beautiful diagram about what you want to explain and you replicate it identically without copy pasting?
What if you don't copy it identically but it's still similar (say the colors are different, and the vertices/edges/boxes) have slightly different shapes? For example the original used a 3D blob to explain what a local chart is, and your diagram uses an ellipsoid.
What if you transfer mediums? For example a chalkboard diagram turned into a metafont diagram?
Since there are only so many ways to convey certain mathematical ideas, such as what a bivector is, or how to compute a spline. When do you know where your source of inspiration is too close to your own work that you walked over into plagiarism?


texts: Business card for Ph.D. student - what should be included?

texts:
I'm a Ph.D. student considering getting business cards printed to facilitate follow-ups after conferences, etc. I am barely in touch with industry but I'm in a field where business cards are common.

My university has a set layout, but we have quite some freedom on what to include. There are some questions on whether we actually need a business card as a graduate student, but here I'm more interested on what to include on them.

I'm thinking at least:

Name
Title
E-mail (as it is the primary form of communication for academics)
Post address of university

And maybe:

LinkedIn
Personal page

I'm hesitant to include:

Room number (we occasionally switch; updated room number is found on personal page)
Telephone (same as above; could include cell number)

Not including telephone may be a bit harsh, but I'm curious whether you have some input in these matters. What should be included and what is less important?


texts: Is it okay to digitize/modify figures "reproduced from reference" in a thesis?

texts:
I am a student starting preparations for a masters thesis in a U.S. research university (on a physics/materials science topic).  I have seen digital versions of past MS theses and PhD dissertations from my university, and many use figures from textbooks and/or journal articles with a line "reproduced from reference[##]" and the reference given in their bibliography.  I believe that they're counting on "fair use" rather than actually contacting the original copyright holders according to the ideas given from this MIT page and this Ac.SE page.  When reproduced this way all the figures I have seen are copied exactly as from the original document (or as close to exactly as a print-screen button will get you), but pixelation issues (from enlarging raster images) as well as inconsistent plot styles can make this appear rather sloppy, hence my more specific question:

Would digitizing a figure rather than photocopying it still constitute "fair use"?

By digitizing I mean converting a raster-image plot to x,y data and then using software to make a vector-image from that data.
Assume the data is being reproduced faithfully (i.e. data points are not being altered to sway the interpretation of the data one way or another.)
Assume the phrase "reproduced from reference[##]" is still used, or even a more descriptive phrase such as "reproduced from reference[##] and digitized for clarity".

I feel like this is still in the spirit of fair use, but still unsure whether the whole digitization process might change the legality beyond the scope of the "four-factor test" from the MIT link.


texts: Email etiquette for requesting a meeting with a professor who one won't do research with or take a class from?

texts:
What is the proper etiquette for requesting a meeting with a professor who you don't do research with or take a course from?

Say, the professor is doing something you're interested in, and you just want to talk to them just to learn more about their research (you might be interested in their research out of pure curiosity, or might be wanting to find a possible connection between their research and your potential research). How should one phrase the email?

In particular, I'm interested in trying to find a way to set a particular time for a meeting. Sometimes I ask "are you available next week?" and they say they are, but it's possible that they could be away for most of the week (for unexpected meetings and the like). Should I request a time of my own in a reply? (especially if they don't give a time).


texts: Should one take a 2:1 Bsc or a 2:2 MSci?

texts:
I know someone doing an MSci in Computer Science—an MSci being an integrated (undergraduate) Master's degree, so equivalent in the UK to an MSc—and as such achieved all the credits required for a BSc but did not graduate last year. All the way through this year, they have had the option to drop out of the MSci course and graduate with their BSc qualification, which they got a 2:1 in.

Note: I am referring to the UK system: in this case, a 2:1 refers to upper second-class honours and 2:2 refers to lower second-class honours.

Now, with less than two weeks to go, they are concerned about their exams and dissertation and so on, and are worried that they will get a 2:2 at the Master's level. As a result, they are considering dropping out last minute and just taking the BSc 2:1.

Now I am advising against this, as for one thing it just makes this whole last year a waste of time and I reckon they're quite solidly in the 2:1 bracket for MSci anyway, but I also think that a 2:2 Master's is still considered better than a 2:1 BSc.

I'm also thinking that within 5 years or so of industry work (this person has already secured a long-term position based on an internship) the degree, and much less the classification, become less significant compared with the person's industry record. In 5 years time, I expect a future employer to be looking at the employment and project record and possibly be interested the degree achieved, but not the degree classification, in which case an MSci is better than a BSc. This is just anecdotal though, I am by no means an expert on how people look at CVs in later stages of employment in industry.

So I already have quite a clear opinion on this, but I'd like to hear what professionals think about it. Thinking objectively, which is likely to be better: a 2:1 BSc in Computer Science, or a 2:2 MSci in Computer Science?


texts: How important is the availability of funding of a professor as a factor to determine one's thesis advisor?

texts: I'm a first-year PhD student in Machine Learning, and I've often heard that some students end up having to be a TA because his/her advisor does not have a sufficient funding for them to have a research assistantship. Generally, how important is the availability of funding of a professor as a factor to determine one's advisor? I understand the most important factor is the relevance of the professor to one's research, but then there are multiple choices left, so I'd like to know the answer.


texts: Why is it bad practice to write "In [1], it is shown that..."

texts:
I don't remember where, but I read that it is not recommended to write, in a article, something like

  [...], as detailed in [1].

Instead, we should write

  [...], as detailed by Someone [1].

In other words, reference numbers should not be treated as nouns. Why is it so? I see nothing disturbing with the first form.


texts: What can I do after publication with double affiliation in an open access journal?

texts:
I published an article last year. The work was done at my previous university, but I submitted when I was studying at my new university.
When I submitted, the journal took my current affiliation along with my past affiliation because I used the current institution's IP address,  even though I put only the previous affiliation. This was an open access journal and my current university has a subscription policy. But when I asked one of the editors about the fees, he told me that it was free for me being the first time. But they took the current university address for the funding.
Is there any problem with that?
Do the university check the article's details during payment?
If this matters, what can I do now?


texts: Can a single bad letter of recommendation ruin my chances of getting admitted to grad school?

texts:
I am dealing with one very mercurial professor and I had a bit of an incident with him. I think I might have offended him slightly (I told him about the deadline to submit a letter of recommendation (LOR) in the nicest possible way and yet he flared up on me). My seniors tell me that he has the habit of extracting revenge on people who ask him for a LOR if they irritate him. I am afraid I might have offended him; he kinda scares me. But he is a very good researcher in computer networks and I performed well in his class. I don't want to drop him and choose another faculty.

Now I know very well that the other two lecturers are going to rate me well, but if this lecturer gives me a bad rating will it harm my chances of getting admitted?


texts: Conference abstract: AutoCorrect underline not removed

texts:
I started my PhD last August, and recently I submitted an abstract to a major conference. After submitting it I noticed that on one of my figures, which contain multiple subfigures, I have forgotten to remove some of the red AutoCorrect squiggly underlines in the figure headings. As the abstract deadline has been reached, it is not possible for me to correct this and submit a new version. I really don't know how I could have missed this considering how carefully I worked on the abstract, but somehow this just slipped by both me and my supervisor who reviewed the abstract. I feel that the research itself is of high enough quality to warrant a presentation, but now I'm worried that this stupid mistake may affect my overall score under the review process.

My question is therefore: how serious is such a "cosmetic" error when the abstract is reviewed? If anyone familiar with the review process can inform me how much emphasis is put on this, then I would greatly appreciate it!


texts: Where do math grads, who don't code, land up in industry?

texts:
Do they go into investment banking? Consulting? Start their own bar and restaurants? Are there any statistics known about what percentage of industry jobs for people with math degrees require coding? About what types of jobs don't require coding?

math grads = math undergrads, masters, PhDs who don't write code and have no desire to join the data science craze.


texts: Getting a PhD in Classics/Ancient History with an MA in Modern Lit

texts:
I'm getting an MA in Italian Literature but, writing my thesis on contemporary fiction, I realized that it's not really what I want to specialize in.
I would like to switch to Classics/Ancient History. Do you think it is possible to get a PhD with my background? Or should I get a second MA in the new field?
One third of my undergraduate studies were in Classics (both Latin and Greek), but it's been a couple of years since I looked at that stuff from an academic point of view, and my Greek is a little rusty. I know what my broad area of interest is, but I still need to check the academic literature in the field. It's hard to ask advice to my current professors, since none of them is a classicist.
Thank you in advance.
(PS. I'm from Italy: we start studying Latin and Greek when we're in high school. I'm getting a degree here but I'd love to move to the US for the PhD.)


texts: Are there any research databases that accept submission of published articles?

texts:
My organisation is a research institute that publishes peer-reviewed research articles via its website. Further social media and digital communication channels are also utilised to extend the reach of the published research, and the researchers are individually able to further promote their researchers via networks such as ResearchGate or Academia.edu.  In the latter case, these networks require the individual researcher to be authenticated, and so this cannot be done by my organisation on their behalf.  That is my assumption and the basis for the problem that I wish to address.

The question is: Are there any research databases that my organisation can submit research articles on behalf of the research authors? The fields covered are in the social sciences such as economics and geography, and the number of articles published is approaching 1,000.  The submission method could be manual or via an API or other indexing methodology.

So far, we have been unsuccessful in achieving indexing of the website content by Google Scholar (see related question).
Some possible leads are the Bielefeld Academic Search Engine, DataCite, and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).  I would be interested in any feedback on the potential suitability of these options for our situation.

By research database, I am referring to search engine or index containing listings or full PDF content of published research articles.  The objective of this activity is to further extend the reach of the published research content to the wider community and also to the specific subject communities relevant to the research.


texts:
I have an adviser who wants to know every minor details of my work and spend countless amount of time arguing with me over insignificant things. Basically, she tries to control everything I do, from number of hours I spend on homework, what books/papers I read, what font/color I use in my presentations, to whom I talk to with regards to research. Is this considered normal? If not, is this a good reason to change the adviser?

Edit: Sorry for the lack of details.
Status I'm an MS/PHD student in my second year of MS. Probably 3 more years of PHD.

Communication I've tried to communicate my concerns; but she usually has the "my way or the highway" attitude". If I insist on something, she ends up sarcastically saying, "if I don't like it, I should consider finding another research adviser". Unfortunately, I'm not the only one in this situation; she seems to be having the same problems with her other students as well. I once mentioned to her that I might leave her group, but she told me "she's the one who's admitted me and no one else would work with me." Indeed, she's a very big name in her field, and it seems to me almost impossible to leave her influence if I choose to continue the same line of research/department/school.


texts: What does satisfactory completion of Master's degree mean?

texts:
I received a conditional offer with following condition from a university in London, UK with following condition.

  Subject to satisfactory completion of Master's to be confirmed by an official original document from your current university's registration department.

What does satisfactory completion of Master's mean? I haven't found a clear definition of "satisfactory" degree. Is there a chance that they use this term as an accuse to decline my offer? No matter what degree I will achieve, they can classify as "unsatisfactory" and reject me.


texts: Strategy for using a Virtual Learning Environment (aka Blackboad/WebCT/Moodle)

texts: My university is switching its Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Specifically, we are moving from WebCT to Moodle, but I don't think this matters. This means I need to spend some time learning how to use the new software, but it also presents me the opportunity to think about how I use a VLE to supplement my traditional teaching. Are there any references of how to best leverage the use of VLEs?


texts: What is a 3 Year (Indian) Engg. Diploma equivalent to UK education standards(HNC, HND or other)?

texts:
Can anybody assist me in knowing what is a 3 year engg. diploma is equivalent according to UK education system or ECTS?

or

Is it equivalent to HND or HNC?


texts: Struggling with Lab Dynamics and Mental Health

texts:
I am currently pursuing a master's degree and I am one of two students working on one project. This project takes a team science approach to answering a question, which normally one would find invaluable. However, this dynamic has proven to be more of a strain than a benefit. Rather than a healthy partnership, this feels like a competition and I am constantly walking on eggshells around this other person. In theory, we have two separate theses with differing questions and paths, but it is not turning out that way in practice at all. Sometimes she asks questions about topics related to my thesis in her committee meetings (without asking me about it) and she has creative input over parts of the project I am working on while I am excluded from other facets of the work. It is to the point where the faculty see us as a unit. Presentations I have made for class have been skipped over because this other person did a similar things and work I do is often dismissed by partners. It makes me feel like I am not worth the time, to be honest.
Furthermore, due to unfortunate circumstances beyond anyone's control, I was the only out of the two of us capable of doing field work and other tasks this past summer (during a pandemic to boot). This put a huge strain on me in general. I am starting to feel like this other student is getting a free pass (is this feeling even justified?!) They present the work others have done at meetings and get acknowledgements for it. It seems highly inequitable, but all of this is disguised under 'team science'.
Trying to accomodate this other person is putting a huge strain on my mental health. I feel like I can't do anything right, have no creative liberty or ownership, but also no guidance at the same time.
I have not brought up all of these things with my advisor. I don't want to be the one to cause drama, but I am at the end of my rope. I have thought about leaving the program multiple times over the last few months. So with that in mind, some questions:

Am I being overly sensitive? Is this a normal part of graduate studies?

Should I just let this all go and move on enough to get that diploma in hand and call this a wash? How can I deal with the mental load?

Are there any helpful resources for dealing with this kind of thing?

Thank you so much!


texts: Are professors paid during sabbatical? I'm mainly concerned about schools in the US. Answers about other countries are also welcome.


texts: PhD supervisor is taking really long to read my thesis

texts:
I am at the final point of my pretty satisfying PhD. I like working alone and I did not need constant supervision, and I had a pretty good relationship with my supervisor until now. I noticed in the past that when it was time to proof-read papers, it took EXTREMELY LONG TIME to do it, and almost always waited until the day of the deadline (however, it was always corrected at the end).

Now that it is time for my thesis, though, things are getting difficult. I sent  the first experimental chapter more than one month ago, and it still hasn't been read, every time saying that there has some other deadline. I have been asking three times a week, and every time the the same thing is said. Of course, I don't find any pleasure in keep pressuring my supervisor, and I wish it was understood that it HAS to be done. I am afraid that it he takes 1+ month to check a chapter, it will take a year to read the whole stuff!
In the meantime I have kept working on the thesis and I will finish writing the first draft soon, but it hasn't been corrected yet. I am not sure about the course of action here. How to deal with this situation?

Should I talk with the director of studies? Should I keep pressuring my supervisor? Should I give a deadline?
If I decide to talk with the director of studies, should I tell my supervisor first?

The main point is that until now I have had a good relationship and I don't want to ruin it just now. However, I need to find a way to push to get the supervisor to complete the job.

Edit to add some related details from the comments:

I'm in the UK, and my research is in a field related to psychology.
My second supervisor is not involved in my project, and it wouldn't be appropriate for me to contact them for this question.
My scholarship ended a few months back, and I'm now being paid as a research assistant with my supervisor for a few more months.
All research work has been completed, the analysis are done, and I'm almost finished with writing. Changing departments is not an option.

EDIT: Thank you to everybody for your help. This is the way I proceeded: without mentioning to my supervisor about this chapter again, I just discussed about the timing to complete my PhD, mentioning that I plan to finish writing in around one month. This requires me to complete some bureaucratic paperwork soon, which means that we have to set up some deadlines, find examiners etc., which also means that my thesis will be corrected before a deadline. Since my supervisor works better with deadlines, I think that this method will work. Therefore, I ignored the particular problem about correcting the single chapter, and I used the main topic (finishing my PhD) as a way to get things rolling. Not sure if this is the best solution, but I think it may work for me.
Thank you again, your support has been very appreciated.


texts: How to become well-known in the research community while being a PhD student

texts:
This question is mainly about building useful contacts during the course of the doctorate. How does one keep the relevant community in other universities informed about his/her research work? One way is obviously to publish the work in reputable journals, but the volume of work that people do these days means there is every chance that others miss out on your work.

So consider giving talks in other university departments about your work. What is the best way to approach this task? Who will take care of the travel and other expenses? This especially applies to departments which focus mainly on journal publications and do not spend time on conferences.

What are the other ways to popularise or create recognition for oneself in the relevant academic community (read prospective employers)?


texts: Where can I find hard data on students' reasons for being students?

texts:
Have any studies been done of students' motives for being students at universities?

At one extreme there are those who want to study at a university in disregard of the disapproval of their parents and friends and everyone else. At an opposite extreme are those who are there only because of the expectations of others. And there are those who regard study at a university only as a price of a job they hope to get later.

Do any hard data exist on the proportions in each of these groups or on whether some other motivations exist?


texts: How to write a paper where a chemical compound's name cannot be disclosed?

texts:
I am currently working with a certain chemical compound whose name its very well known and largely studied. However, due to my findings that relate this compound with an industrial procedure (that cannot be patented), I am not able to mention its name in a possible manuscript.

My question is if anybody knows about publications that somehow avoid to mention the name of a chemical compound due to industrial secrecy from which I could guide my thoughts towards writing such a manuscript.


texts: How to find a math conference accepting papers?

texts:
I have written a short math paper which may be suitable for a conference proceeding. However, I don't know how to find an appropriate (mathematical) conference  which accepting papers. Is there any suggestions?

Besides, do I have to actually attend the conference in order to make the paper accepted?

Thank you very much!


texts:
Many months ago I applied for a postdoc position in a university in Norway. About one month ago I got a letter from the university with an evaluation of all candidates. In this evaluation, I was deemed qualified for the position and classified fourth.

I thought that the game was lost, since only one position was announced. But last week I contacted one of the committee members to ask for more information and he said that the other three candidates had already found jobs elsewhere, either in the industry, or some other postdoc position, and that very likely I would get the position if I'm still interested.

I can believe this is the case, since this is one of the slowest hiring processes I have ever been involved, and surely the other applicants already had time to get other offers.

They explained me that even if they know informally that the other candidates are not anymore interested in the job, by law they are obliged to send a formal offer to the first classified, and if they refuse, they will send an offer to the second and so on. My question is:

Assuming none of the candidates accepts the job, how long will the
process still take until I'm offered the position?
How long is the minimum waiting time for the answer of each candidate?

ps: Please, I would like to have an answer from somebody experienced with the Norwegian hiring system. In Norway postdoc positions are considered government jobs and therefore are subject to a very strict (and peculiar) hiring process.


texts: How does LibGen/SciHub affect researchers' research and publishing process?

texts:
For those of you who don't know, LibGen is a database filled with scientific papers (and other documents) and many of them were downloaded from websites that require a paid-subscription. SciHub gives you access to these paid-subscription sites by using donated credentials.

How does this affect individual researchers' research & publishing process professionally?


texts: Grading criteria changed mid-semester. Not fully communicated. What can I do?

texts:
I'm in my final year of my bachelor degree (Netherlands). In fact, I am resitting this particular class since I did not submit the portfolio last time. I have agreed to start writing my thesis today in collaberation with a business on the condition that I would receive a pass grade on the portfolio for this class that was due two weeks ago. I submitted it, fully following grading criteria that I found in the syllabus. Last Friday I would receive my grade.

I received 43/100. I needed 55/100 to pass. The grading criteria were very different from the criteria mentioned in the syllabus. In particular not a single word was mentioned in the syllabus about a certain chapter required in the portfolio worth 20. I and various other students missed that part.

It turns out the syllabus change was communicated in an extra class that I was not aware of. This class was not visible in my agenda. It was not uploaded to the Blackboard environment nor communicated by e-mail. The extra class was recorded and a link to the video was posted in a Slack environment that is not official.

I would be allowed to resubmit the portfolio 8 weeks from now, be graded 2 weeks later and then start writing my thesis. The professor (who realized the communication on this was poor) allows me to resubmit the portfolio as soon as possible instead

Meanwhile, I had to communicate this change to the company I would be collaberating with. They are, understandably, not happy. Moreover, this change requires me to enroll an extra semester and as such is quite a big financial burden on me.

What can I do? Can I appeal? If so, to whom? Will appealing be able to change anything? Depending on when I can possibly start my thesis, I may not be able to finish before the two-yearly thesis defence.


texts: Does this statement seem arrogant? How do I put this humbly?

texts:
This is somewhere in my conclusion. I do not want to expand further; just state it without sounding boastful.

  My undergraduate result shows that I am diligent, intelligent and
  focused.

Does something like the following make me seem unsure?

  I like to believe I am diligent, intelligent and
  focused.


texts: When do I need permission from website owners before data mining their pages for research?

texts:
I want to use data mining to analyze some websites to understand the impact of the internet on health awareness and health concerns of people in my country. I hope to publish the results in a journal.

When do I need consent from websites owners? I may end up analyzing hundreds of websites.


texts: In what order should existing inter-related research be cited in a journal paper?

texts:
In a given field, the initial breakthroughs were made by A in 1951. This was developed by B in 1960, further developed by C in 1965. I am, in 2018, using equations from C's 1965 paper. In that paper, C cites A and B as having developed the method.

My question is, should I:

(a) Cite only C,

(b) Cite A,B,C in that order (historical order of finding),

or (c) Cite C,B,A in that order (decreasing relevance to present work)?

Would the answer change if these papers were newer or if there was a greater number of them?

Edit:
This pertains to the text of the body, not the reference list. The purpose is to use results from C, not to extend their work. The sentence would be something like:

'C [] tackled this problem by considering..., based on previous work by A[] and B[].


texts: Does Oxford ever waive the IELTS language requirement?

texts:
This question is quite specific but I believe it applies to other school of similar rank.

I have the following kind of IELTS English language test result:

  Speaking: 8, Listening: 7.5, Reading: 8.0, Writing: 6.0, average: 7.5.

According to Oxford's language requirements, they desire an average score of 7.0, which I do fulfill but also a score of 6.5 for each of the sub tests, which I do not.

With such very subtle mismatch, is it necessary to take the test again? According to the official guidelines, apparently, any offer is conditional until the requirement has been met.

I have four peer-reviewed publications in good venues; will it be of any help? I think the writing test result does not indicate my true level of proficiency.


texts: Can we use a technique (equations and approach) from a journal paper in one section of our paper if we cite it like this: "Method X has been adopted from [Y], modified, and used in this paper"?


texts: google scholar has not listed me as coauthor

texts: After finally getting an article listed on google scholar via preprints, Google Scholar has not listed me as an author on my paper on either preprint it has indexed. I was the one who uploaded them to the preprint sites and I am the second author but they have only listed the first and third author and have not listed me.  How do I change or have this edited. And how does something like this even happen in the first place


texts: Automatically building a database of forward and backward citations

texts:
My goal is to produce a graph showing the linkages (and lack there of) between several fields that share a common subproblem by showing who cites whom.  There are many databases that show citations between papers: ISI Web of Knowledge, Microsoft Academic Research, and Google Scholar.  However none allows me to download even part of their database.  Is there some database I have overlooked?  Has someone written a scrapper for one of these websites?

For reference, the fields I'm considering are Mechanics, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Signal Processing, Geophysics, and several others.


texts:
I started my PhD upon the acceptance to my current university because this got so many people excited about me, and I didn't want to disappoint them. I finished my PhD coursework with excellent marks, and I made speedy progress in my research which made my PhD supervisor very happy. However, my supervisor's research area is not something that I want to work in for the rest of my life and I got depressed because as a PhD student, I am working so hard, day and night, towards the outcome that I don't really want. I am currently in 2nd year of my PhD program.
I expressed this to my supervisor and he told me that he doesn't want me to make spontaneous decisions since I am doing so well in my PhD program and that I am making a speedy progress. My supervisor suggested me to take 4 month medical leave, and I took that offer.
However, more I think of my issue more I want to pursue my dream of working in Clinical Research Organization (CRO) as a statistician/statistical programmer. Over the break, I have successfully acquired industry professional certifications that CRO firms often look for, and I am ready to apply for entry-level jobs at CRO firm. I am still on the medical leave from my PhD program, although the leave is almost over (note: my medical leave is unpaid leave. All my TA/RA/Scholarship funding has been suspended during my medical leave).
When I resume my academic program in January (a new semester), I actually have no intention to continue in the PhD program. I will be applying for the job at CRO firms, and if I get a job I am intending to quit.
I am wondering whether I should just tell my PhD supervisor about my feelings/plans and quit the PhD program before I apply for any jobs? or should I remain as a PhD student even though I am not intending to stay in the program, until I get an actual job offer?
Thank you,


texts: Suspected a person had an affair with the professor

texts:
I was a TA for a summer course, and a student in the class somehow managed to get nearly perfect score on all the assignments/midterms/final exam.

I am suspecting that the person had an affair with the Professor, as given the persons capabilities they should be around average. Also, the professor would consistently look at that person in an awkward way.

What should I do? I don't have proof.

Initially I thought I should mind my own business, whatever, I mean there's no point in bringing it up..? it won't change anything for the better, just make two people miserable; though for some reason it's stuck in my head, I want to know what someone else would do in such circumstances


texts: Is it appropriate to compare students to other successful students in a letter of recomendation?

texts: Say you are writing a letter of recommendation for a freshman student of yours who is applying for an undergraduate research position in a field very different from yours. You can of course say some things about how well she did in your class. However, you had a student that this person reminds you of who went on to do great undergraduate research in the exact specialized field that she is applying for, getting two first author publications. Would it be inappropriate to spend a paragraph comparing the two students and how that in your class they shared all of these great qualities that you think were the driving force for the previous student doing well as a researcher. This seems like it may be a bit unorthodox, is it advantageous or perhaps utterly inappropriate to compare students like this? I'm split, ideally I should just be focused on her but the fact that she reminds me of this student is really the most compelling argument I think I can make.


texts: How to ask for approval letter from dean?

texts:
I've studied in this college for Diploma and have now proceeded to the Bachelor's Degree. I am facing some problem that may cause me to extend my course.

The system of the faculty is like this: When you want to take certain subject, you need to pass all the prerequisite subject for that subject in the previous semester. This is reasonable by far. The prerequisite subjects are listed on the booklet sent to us during the faculty briefing.

But up until recently (my second last semester), I was told by the faculty staff that I cannot take my FYP (Final Year Project) because I did not finish all my prerequisite subjects. I was shocked and I showed her that the booklet of faculty briefing didn't state that at anywhere. She told me that this information is stated on a separate website specially for FYP. The problem is, I didn't have a single clue about the website before I went to take it. How was I suppose to know this information in the past semester?

There is no post about this information in the college official bulletin board website, and I didn't even receive a single email about this. The staff told me that I should be alert with all that kind of information.

I tried to appeal to the dean, wanted to talk about my issue face to face. But the staff stopped me and didn't allow me to talk with the dean. The reason they give is that dean has no time for me. They suggested me to write a formal letter and wait for dean's reply.

I have submitted my formal letter, but the due date for the registration of FYP is few days later. If they do not reply me for this issue, I cannot take my FYP in this semester. If this happen, I will have to wait another year just to take the single subject for two semesters (FYP part 1 and 2), and my graduation will have to delayed for one whole year. I don't want to extend my course because of this reason.

They do have a course structure for us to follow, but it didn't force us to take exactly same as the course structure, so we can plan our course before every semester. I didn't follow it because I need to handle harder subject in the earlier semester so that I can focus on my FYP in the later semester.

What should I do and try, so that I will not have to extend my course? I have also tried emailing to the dean about this problem.


texts: For how many years does a university keep the thesis?

texts: For how many years do universities keep the thesis records. When do they destroy the old thesis reports? If there is some mistake in the thesis then in how many years can the university revoke the degree.


texts: How can I quickly prepare an application for a tenure-track assistant-professor position?

texts:
I am a postdoc applying for a research-level tenure-track assistant-professor position in 1st-world English-speaking or German-speaking countries. The area is Computer Science. The Web is full of recommendations on how to write an good job application of this type. Now, I'm spending about a week on a single application. I have my templates, which I adapt to the institution in question, but the adaptation process and the submission process takes really long, since the processes of the institutions differ. It ranges from different web sites for submission and ends with different names of documents (e.g., Reseach Plan vs. Reseach Statement vs. Research Objectives, ...) and their lengths. Sometimes, the references letters should satisfy particular requirements (such as on letterhead, signed, and scanned), and this should be  properly communicated, too. You know how bad it can get, even if the types of all institutions are the same (e.g., CS departments at R1 universities). I'm not the strongest person in my subfield, so, I have to apply a lot (200+ applications) and widely to get a chance of, say, 50%. Therefore, I'd like to reduce the time from 1 week to, say, 1 hour.

What strategy could you propose to reduce the time while maintaining the quality?
If you have gone through this process already, what was your personal way of reducing the application effort?

Partial answers specifying, e.g., the time you take for different stages of the process, are also accepted:

adapting the cover letter,
adapting the CV,
adapting the teaching statement,
adapting the research statement,
adapting the publication list,
filling the forms on the Web page of the prospective employer,
getting informed about the prospective employer,
asking questions via e-mail or phone and receiving answers regarding the advertised position,
requesting reference letters,
...


texts: Should all voluntary self-identification forms for faculty positions be filled?

texts: When applying for a faculty position, usually there will be an request to fill a self-identification form about things like race and disabilities. The request will mention that it is a “voluntary” form and will not affect the application. My question is whether applicants should spend some time and fill out all such requests or maybe just the ones for schools with which they have an interview?


texts: Website for scheduling and submitting homework

texts:
I'm looking for a website where I could publish homework at a scheduled time to a group of students and also allow them to submit their answers through it.

The homework is a single PDF file, and the answers should be a zipped set of files. It would be great if I could also be notified when someone submits their answer.


texts: What does it mean to write a "glowing" letter of recommendation?

texts:
I'm soon going to apply for admission into a masters program and I will be getting LORs from my place of employment.

I often hear the phrase glowing letter of recommendation. What does it mean for a LOR to "glow" and what are the components/features of glowing LOR?

If its possible, can you please share some samples/slices of a glowing LOR?


texts: How to ask other researchers to share their datasets?

texts:
For my Computer Science Master Thesis Research I need some large pre-processed datasets.

I know the names of researchers who have those sets (or at least can point me to the source).

My question is: do you have tips on how to approach those researchers to increase the chance of success to share data? What to do absolutely not?

Thanks


texts: How to address students who do not attend, yet want to keep up with the course?

texts:
Recently, some students skipped some lessons without note (within the drop policy limits). I post basic instructions to a course Web site where any student can check, but since these students missed classes, the instructions are insufficient, so they send me E-mails or call asking me "explain what to do". As the homework involves on-going projects, such requests is occupying much of my time. I can demonstrate aspects in the class that require extensive writing to explain in an E-mail.

Is it acceptable practice to turn students away?
Is it my responsibility to assist students who fall behind in this manner to catch up with the other students?


texts: Should equations be formatted in scientific notation?

texts: I have an equation that has very small coefficients (f(x) = -0.000014x4 + 0.000044x + 0.002782) should I put the whole thing in scientific notation, or can I leave it as-is in a paper? Thanks.


texts: What are the chances of getting an academic position year after completion of PhD?

texts:
My situation is as follows:

When I will have completed my PhD, I will not be able to immediately apply for a research position at a university, as my girlfriend will want to move to a certain city and she wants me to come with her. My chances of getting a job at the university in that city are very slim (since getting a job in academia in general is very slim). I'll leave out the details here, but I cannot really opt out of this plan anymore.

Another important piece of information might be that I am in the Humanities. So it's not like I could work in my field so easily and then later get back into academia. The type of work I would be doing would be quite different.

So I will have to work out of academia (and out of my field) for a few years. I could try to set myself up as a part time independent researcher - would that help? I would really like to work in academia, but it's quite difficult given the circumstances.

I am completing my PhD at a very strong university, if it helps.


texts: If a student graduates with a Bachelor majoring in IT, is it ok to continue with a Master and a PhD?

texts:
I am designing a bachelor's major in IT (Information Technology), and my director asked me to attract students who want to continue their academic track, with a Master and possibly a Doctorate.
Can you give some insights in this regards? Is IT mostly a type of study to get quickly in the job market?
What are the types of academic careers for an IT graduate?


texts: Regarding co-authorship for a research paper

texts: I have contributed significantly to the paper and I was not listed as co-author instead I am listed in acknowledgement section in the end saying that thanks to my preliminary studies. I had sent the data to my supervisor before I left the lab and I have all evidences of work reports and weekly meetings. They repeated my experiments with my optimized conditions and produced their results in the manuscript and included few new data. I could not find much difference between my results and results obtained from their repeated work. I am really disappointed with whole situation which I feel went against ethic science for a significant contributor to be dropped from the list of authors. There was no response to my e-mails from corresponding author that I asked for justification. Please suggest me accordingly, what can I do further, the manuscript is already in ASAP.


texts: Freedom of Information (FOI) requests: multiple questions or single question per request?

texts:
In England and Wales at least, Freedom of Information requests are a legitimate research technique to use for obtaining data on occasions when (a) they are applicable, and (b) other avenues have been exhausted.

If a researcher wishes to obtain answers to multiple questions, or to obtain multiple different datasets, should (s)he submit:

one FOI request providing a clear list of the requested items; or
one FOI request per item?

I would be especially grateful for links to relevant advice from trustworthy sources, and for advice from academia.stackexchange members who have either made or received FOI requests.


texts: How to convert Italian grades to American and U.K system?

texts:
I just graduated in aeronautical engineering (master of science) at the Polytechnic of Milan. In the Italian university system, students who finish their major get a final grade that that goes from 66 to 110 (plus honors). In my particular case, I got a 103/110.

Since I am writing my resume/CV in English, I would like to convert my Italian final grade to the American (GPA?) and U.K system.

Can anyone suggest me what conversion I should follow?


texts: I have asked a professor if he were available for being my graduate thesis advisor, now my bachelor thesis advisor is angry with me

texts:
A couple days ago I was asked by my former bachelor degree advisor (let's call him X for short) if I were interested in doing a MD thesis with him. I have replied him that I wasn't sure yet about what I would like to do for my MD thesis and I told him I would have asked some other professor before deciding. He said he was perfectly okay with that.

I have therefore talked to several professor and, among them, to an ex collaborator of X, let's call him Y, who works in a different country.
In the mail I wrote to Y, I did not put X in cc nor I have mentioned him.

Y replied to me, putting X in cc, and suggesting that I should ask him if he were available to be my internal advisor first.

Finally, X sent a mail to Y, with me and a friend of mine (who wrote the mail to Y with me, as he were interested too) where he said I was trying to "outmaneuver" him by writing directly to Y. He also reported a mail written before I wrote to Y where, among other personal opinions on me, he suggested I was a mental instable person and that I push around my girlfriend (X was the bachelor thesis advisor to my girlfriend as well).

Now, of course the reaction of my professor is beyond any acceptable boundary, but what I really want to know is whether I am wrong at all. Should I have asked him before writing to Y?

Also, how should I reply to X?

Beg your pardon for the Xs and Ys...


texts: Contacting a researcher for academic queries, but he/she may be a potential reviewer?

texts:
So I have a paper submitted in a conference which requires double-blind review.
But while this paper is under review, I had a query in a paper I was reading of the very same field. Now, the authors could be my potential reviewers.
Is it fine for me to contact them regarding the query ?
PS: My paper is on arxiv as well.


texts: What is a fast way to get the reference in a specific style?

texts: For example, if I want to get the reference in APA, what web resources provide this style? I found a way through Refworks, but it requires several steps. Is there a faster way?


texts: PhD Germany with British conversion MSc IT

texts:
I would like to relocate to Germany and obtain a PhD from a German University. I have a BSc(Hons) in Psychology, which is obtained from Edinburgh Napier University, and MSc in Information Technology from Aberdeen University. I really enjoy IT and I would like to stay in the field and combine it with academia and research. Specifically, I am interested in web development and human-computer interaction. My questions are:

where can I check if my qualifications meet German PhD admissions criteria?
are the PhD studies being paid in Germany? (I am married so I cannot afford lack of any salary)


texts: How to approach American English vs. British English spelling in a paper?

texts:
I am currently writing a paper, for which my title and core problem is spelled differently in American and British English.

I don't worry about my professor preferring one way of writing over the other, as I'm not residing in an English-speaking country, but:

After all, my paper is being written in English, even it won't be published. Thus I wonder:

Is there a "standard procedure" for such cases, at least in US Ivy League universities or in certain citation styles? (I am currently using APA, 6th (our prof. didn't prescribe any specific citation style) as it suits my personal preference of how a reference should be cited and displayed.)

I will definitely mention both words in the "keywords" area, but other than that I will go with one spelling, namely the American English one. The word is "harmonization", if that should be important.

Sorry for my lack of initial research, I found this SE question though.


texts: Is it an appropriate way for a student to ask for marks?

texts: A student requested to meet marker(me) to talk about midterm. He thought the mark was unfair. But we met, he just told me to point out why he was wrong. He got 0 for that question and I had no idea why he thought the mark was wrong. I was unable to give a very clear explanation. And the student just got angry, like I owed him. After this unhappy experience. I decided to let students state why they think the marks are wrong and attach snapshot in emails. If I think the reason is unjustified I will just point it out and refer them to the instructor. Is that a good policy?


texts: Percentage of the world population with subscription journal access?

texts:
Many scientists are under the impression that the majority of interested readers for their work have subscription journal access. I find this unlikely as a very small percentage of the global population has subscription journal access. To help illustrate the suicidal impact subscription publishing has on one's research, it would be helpful to have some estimates of the percent of individuals denied access to subscription works.

While such an estimate comes with many caveats, does anyone know of statistics or resources that could help answer this question? For example, how many people are affiliated with organizations that purchase institutional access? Even if the metrics are for a single journal, that could be a helpful starting point.

Note: this question was originally posted to the OpenCon Community Discussion Listserv.


texts: Work on a conditional accepted paper for a 4 stars journal not even mentioned on the acknowledgements

texts: A while ago I got involved in a project with my current PhD supervisor that consisted on coding about 120 papers for a Meta-Analysis that took a considerable amount of time. Due to the fact that the paper was conditionally accepted, I was told that I would appear in the acknowledgements as a contributor. However, when the paper got finally published, there were no acknowledgements mentioning my name. I raised this issue to my supervisor by email and answered with "I did not realize" but did not even add an apology for the lack of recognition. What can I do to get recognition for my work?


texts: Journal rejected my paper because contents of paper are in PhD thesis

texts:
I have submitted a journal paper to a journal four days ago and today I received an email informing me that it has been rejected. The only reason for this is: "About 70 % of the article is similar to other documents".
I know my paper and I know that I haven't copied it from anywhere else. There is a conference version of the paper, but it is different, plus it is 6 pages long, while the journal is 15 pages long, so since 6/15 = 40%, it doesn't add up to 70%, and this is not the reason for rejection.
The real reason is that my PhD thesis is available online (it is mandatory at my university to add it to an open repository if I want to graduate). I graduated 3 months ago, and in fact the last chapter of my thesis consists in the paper that was rejected now. However, I was always told both by my supervisor who is a full professor with 25 years of experience (and Associate Editor of top-notch journals) and by many other people that it is not a problem to submit a paper based on an already published PhD thesis, as journals should not consider the thesis as a paper. Therefore, I am very surprised by the decision made by the editor. What should one do? Wait to graduate until the paper is accepted? That is simply ridiculous.
Has this occurred to any of you? Do you know how journals behave in this case? I once reviewed a journal paper which was literally copy-pasted from a chapter of a PhD thesis of a student. I contacted the editor who had sent me that paper asking what to do and he mentioned that it is a standard and common practice and it shouldn't be considered self plagiarism. So, once again, I am very surprised by the decision made.
EDIT: as asked in the comments, here is the email I sent to the editor:
Dear Professor XYZ,
I am contacting you regarding the submission of my paper to the journal ABC123. As in the subject, the reference number of the manuscript is XXXYYYZZZ. Today I have received an email notifying me that my paper (submitted only 4 days ago) has been rejected. You may find the email attached to this email. The reason for this is: “About 70 % of the article is similar to other documents”.
The possible reason for this very high similarity is threefold:

I have published a related conference paper before, containing preliminary results and much less content in general. However, that conference paper is 6 pages long, while the paper submitted to ABC123 is 15 pages long. Therefore, it is mathematically impossible for the conference paper to be the reason of the > 70% similarity, since 6/15 = 40%;
The paper has been uploaded on arXiv. This was done the same day in which I sent the paper to your journal. However, this is allowed by Elsevier, as explained here;
The contents of the paper are part of my PhD thesis, in particular, of Chapter 5. This is what probably results in the highest similarity, as the article submitted to your journal is based on this chapter. However, Elsevier’s policy with respect to PhD thesis is the following: “Elsevier does not count publication of an academic thesis as prior publication”.

I have run a plagiarism check myself, you can find it attached to this email. This confirms what I have said so far: the similarity of my article is related to my PhD thesis, not to any other previously published works.
Given the above explanations, I would kindly ask you if you could reconsider your decision. The plagiarism check returned indeed a similarity higher than 70%, but, as explained above, this is most likely related to my PhD thesis. However, Elsevier does not count PhD thesis as prior publication. Therefore, my paper submitted to ABC123 respects Elsevier’s policies and should therefore be considered a new publication.
Thank you for your consideration.
Best regards,
cholo14


texts:
I am one month away from finishing my dissertation. I did not receive much guidance from my supervisor, so I asked a co-supervisor to join my project about two years after I started (with still two years left). In these two years I think I had 5 or 6 meetings with him, which is not too often, but his feedback in these moments was always very valuable. Moreover, when my relation with my supervisor deteriorated, he was there to 'protect' me. I am pretty sure I would not still be working as a graduate student otherwise.

He now points these things out to me in quite an angry way via email and argues that I have not provided him with enough output to justify the time he has spend on me. We currently have one paper together that is under review. I have no idea how to provide more output for him because we have no other papers together. I have only one month left in my current contract so I don't want to start a new paper. I can put his name on another paper that's currently under review but that doesn't feel right since he did not contribute to this paper.

Right now I feel very stressed about this and I have no idea what to do. I cannot afford to have a bad relationship with my co-supervisor right before I wish to submit my dissertation but I also feel this guilt trip is not fair. What do you think? Do you see a solution? Thanks for your advice!