texts: Pre-tenure strategies to spend less time on bureaucracy, and more on research

texts:
In the past year, as faculty, I have spent 33% of my time on paperwork and bureaucratic activities. This does not include service (committees,department meetings, etc), and is after hiring a full time laboratory manager! It is simply the filling out of forms, arguing to retain and expand my space, a wide variety of mandatory training, and being asked to justify and verify a wide variety of things.

I would like to spend less time interacting with the vast number of middle management at my school, and focus on what I enjoy: research and teaching.  However, there always seems to be another 'mandatory' thing.  I do not have tenure, so I cannot yet simply tell them to go away. Any suggestions on how to spend less time on bureaucracy?


texts:
What To Do When The Trisector Comes claims that most cranks (for lack of a better word) are old men (trisector refers to a specific type of crank):

  One obvious characteristic of trisectors is that they are old. The typical trisector heard of the trisection in his geometry class, but did not succeed with his construction until many years later, usually after retirement. "His" in the last sentence is not sexist because almost all trisectors are male. From the two female trisectors I know of, it follows by an invalid statistical calculation that we can be 95% sure that the proportion of female trisectors is less than .04. Women have too much sense to waste time on such things. Trisectors are old men.

(Can't tell if "invalid statistical calculation" is a typo in the source)

I'm looking for:

A more detailed explanation for why cranks tend to be male (more detailed than "Women have too much sense to waste time on such things"). References would be even better.
An explanation for why cranks tend to be old.


texts: Is being socially reclusive okay for a graduate student?

texts:
I am Ph.D student in computer science and mathematics. I have published a few research papers and working on some papers. I am an after mid-stage student and I spend almost 90 percent of my time in my study place. I do exercise for half an hour per day. Before joining the Ph.D I was shy and now I am not shy, but my collegues around me now find me a strange person. This  is due to the following reasons:

Many times I don't talk to the people whom I meet while going back to my room or some other place. This is because I am in a thinking mode, thinking about a research problem.
I don't participate in group activities as the feedback given by my collegues.
I don't congratulate (much) or wish people around me like on occasion like new year, birthday etc., but I congratulate people around me on their research or academic achievements. Let me elaborate more, I do congratulate my friends and family outside academia.

Although I know my behavior, when working I try to avoid distractions. Many people find my avoidance weird. I can't be perfect as I spend most of the time on research problems. How to tell them I am not avoiding them?

Note that I have many friends, but not like hundreds, but some. I usually talk with them every day.

Question: Is being weird okay for a graduate student?


texts: Preparing an IEEE conference accepted manuscript for arxiving

texts:
What exactly do I need to do when arxiving a accepted manuscript to an IEEE conference? Which license to select on arxiv? Do I need to add the reference/doi not only to the arxiv metadata but also the document itself?

Background.

I've a paper that has been accepted at an IEEE conference. After I've received the reviews and acceptance notice, I was asked to incorporate changes and include a copyright notice that was provided to me, something like

  123-1-1234-5678-0/12/$31.00 c 2015 IEEE

I assume this last pdf then is the so-called postprint or accepted manuscript.

I want to post this on arxiv and wondered what I need to do. It seems the accepted answer to the following question does not really match my case:
Conditions for uploading IEEE publications to ArXiv.
Also it somewhat doesn't match
An FAQ on IEEE Policy Regarding
Authors Rights to Post Accepted Versions of Their Articles:

  Does the policy affect how authors post their articles on preprint
  servers such as ArXiv? Yes. The IEEE recognizes that many authors
  share their unpublished articles on public sites. Once articles have
  been accepted for publication by IEEE, authors are required to post an
  IEEE copyright notice on their preprints. Upon publication, authors
  must replace the preprints with either 1) the full citation to the
  IEEE works with Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) or 2) the accepted
  versions only (not the IEEE-published versions) with the DOI. IEEE
  journals will make available to each author the accepted version of
  the article that the author can post that includes the DOI, IEEE
  copyright notice, and a notice indicating the article has been
  accepted for publication by IEEE. IEEE conference authors are free to
  post their own version of their articles, as accepted by an IEEE
  conference.

Which in turn is somewhat different from the information provided in
An FAQ on Intellectual Property Rights for IEEE Authors:

  Can an author post his manuscript on a preprint server such as ArXiv?
  Yes. The IEEE recognizes that many authors share their unpublished
  manuscripts on public sites. Once manuscripts have been accepted for
  publication by IEEE, an author is required to post an IEEE copyright
  notice on his preprint. Upon publication, the author must replace the
  preprint with either 1) the full citation to the IEEE work with
  Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) or a link to the paper’s abstract in
  IEEE Xplore, or 2) the accepted version only (not the IEEEpublished
  version), including the IEEE copyright notice and full citation, with
  a link to the final, published paper in IEEE Xplore.


texts: How do I best position myself to get an NIH R01 grant?

texts: From what it sounds like, you need to be in the inner circle of key labs in order to be able to be even considered to be able to apply and get a National Institutes of Health R01 grant. How does a lab position itself to get into that inner circle and then how do you merit a score that will merit review and approval? Should we be focusing on getting several publications out or collecting all of it as preliminary data.


texts: How to mention a completely rewritten article in PhD thesis?

texts:
First of all, I am from Europe. At my university are hardly any regulations of the form of my PhD thesis, especially nothing that concerns the following question:

I published a paper as a first author together with my supervisor. I have rewritten my work of the paper, the structure, each sentence, and all images, because I didn't want to give a Journal the copyright of a part of my PhD thesis. However, the original methods and ideas are still the same. Currently, this rewritten paper is one chapter of my dissertation and I have not cited the paper.

Would you recommend to let the reader know that the ideas of this chapter have been published in a journal?

Edit: Thank you for the answer, here are some remarks that didn't fit in the comment section:

I asked the journal, they responded:

  Permission is granted for you to use the material requested for your
  thesis/dissertation subject to the usual acknowledgements and on the
  understanding that you will reapply for permission if you wish to
  distribute or publish your thesis/dissertation commercially. You must
  also duplicate the copyright notice that appears in the Wiley
  publication in your use of the Material.

However, I didn't want to duplicate the copyright notice of the journal in my thesis.
I will now mention that the chapter is based on the publication. I thought its fine to not cite yourself, because it was mentioned in the first comment of the question How to reuse complete paper for my thesis? that it is common in UK to rewrite the article so heavily that citation is not needed anymore.


texts: Should sources helping me understand concepts but not crucial to reconstruct my work be cited?

texts:
For example, to calculate a specific exponent E, I need to read book A on summation, book B on multiplication, book C on exponent. After that I can do E.

C is surely cited, but is it required A and B to be cited too? If not, should they be cited?
If both A and A' are excellent resources to understand what's summation is, is it fine to cite both of them?
C' is also about exponent, but C is the one actually makes me understand what the exponent is. Should C' be cited?


texts: Graduate school admission advantage if offering instrument time

texts: Would you have an advantage when applying for some graduate school if you write in your forms that you own some useful equipment already from your independent research and you would offer free time to the institute to use it or for undergraduate teaching purposes. Something in the price range of 90'000$, like a bioluminescence microscope or a large telescope?


texts: What to do with a likely collaborator who is not answering mails?

texts:
A few months ago, I contacted a person who conducted research in a topic that could easily be combined with my own work.
For this reason, I sent him an e-mail exposing my research and why it could be interesting to collaborate, taking into account his results.
He answered me and showing interest in the work (that is what I read between lines). Furthermore, he recommended me some literature.

When I read about half of the documentation, I sent him a mail with the insights I got and several of my publications, justifying my points.
He answered me again, discussing some points and glad to have my work pending to read.

I finished his readings and I sent back my impressions. He continued the discussion and excused himself because of not having read my papers.

After two months, I have no reply from him. What should be my next step towards the collaboration?


texts: How to explain a physics mechanism that I study from other paper in my report while avoiding plagiarism?

texts:
As I understand about writing a research project report or master thesis report, it must be complete, self-sufficient. The readers can understand the report/book by reading it thoroughly without the need to consult other sources.
I can think these two ways:

just stated that "the complete mechanism is discussed in [1]."
But this options make the report not self-sufficient.

paraphrase and cite the original source
This is what I am doing.
But I worry that the paraphrase is so similar to the original writing because what I am trying to explain is a physics mechanism which I think it is hard to explain it in another way, especially the structure of the explanation.

I really appreciate any suggestion.


texts: Do PhD programs care about the personalities of applicants?

texts: Can a very extroverted person, for example, be more favored than a very quiet person? Or is this not ethical? Can someone who is psychopathic be barred from admission?


texts: How to present in lecture a paper that students have read (or should I not have them read it)?

texts:
I would like to present some classic computer science papers in a class I am teaching.  I know teachers usually assign papers before the lecture, but I can't figure out how to present material they've already read and likely understood.  In the case of a highly technical paper, I'd go over the more technical portions, perhaps letting them know beforehand not to struggle with the proofs, programming examples, etc., but I'm thinking of less technical papers, such as:

Reflections on Trusting Trust by Ken Thompson
The Cathedral and the Bazaar by Eric S. Raymond
No Silver Bullet by Fred Brooks

While I don't need to use pure lecture format, I am not sure that discussion would work well, since some of the papers (such as "Reflections on Trusting Trust") aren't really discussable, and my students lack the experience to discuss others (such as "No Silver Bullet").

EDIT: I was hoping not to task the students with extra prep, since they already have a lot of assignments to do, but, as some of you suggest, that may be the best way.


texts: How likely is it that PhD application is not reviewed by professors if TOEFL minimum isn't met?

texts:
I am applying to doctoral programs and I have a worry about the application.

Since I found that my TOEFL score does not meet the minimal requirement set by a school that I am applying to, I am wondering if it is likely for me to be screened out before my whole application is reviewed by the professors?


texts:
I think I understand the general difference between US and European PhD.

US

GRE is compulsory to get admitted to any PhD programs.
First we get admitted to the institution.
Need to do extensive course work though if one has masters.
Will decide about the area of PhD only after completing the course
    work.

Europe & Australia

GRE is not compulsory, but might help to improve the chance of
getting an admission.
We will know the research area in the beginning.
Most seems to have no course work or little course work.

If I am right it seems both have its own advantages and disadvantages.

I want to apply for a PhD with extensive course work (in the beginning of PhD) but I must know which area I'll be doing my PhD when i get admitted and the PhD duration must be more than ones without any course work (i expect around 1+4 years of funding).

What are my best options considering the above concerns ?

Note: I am looking for PhD in Theoretical Physics


texts: Phd at same uni as MSc, possible offer but would like to change topic/group if possible

texts:
I need some advice on how to diplomatically handle this situation:

I will submit my master's thesis in a few weeks, and I am pretty sure that I want to do a PhD afterwards. Research is what I want to do.

I have gotten a "maybe" from my current advisor (Prof. "A"), as in stay for a few months as an intern to extend/publish the work (minimally paid) and we'll talk again about a PhD (this is not specific to me, he did this with all his PhDs). However, there is a different Prof. "B" that does research on some other, more interesting topics, and if I could choose I would probably want to do my PhD in his research area. Although Prof. "B" knows me (positively) from a previous project, he'd probably also want me to intern at their group for a few months before making an offer. It is only during the course of writing my thesis that I realized that long-term the topics in Prof. "B"'s group actually interest me more.

The question now is:

How do I handle this situation, and maximize my chances of getting a PhD offer without upsetting anyone? I really don't know how to approach this situation, and I don't want to seem uninterested before I have something official. Do I talk to Prof. "B" in secret? What would I ask him? What do I do if Prof. "A" asks me to sign a contract for these next few months? Should I wait and apply for US unis anyways, regardless of my average GPA (see below)?

Some more info:

I am at a top-tier European university. PhD candidates are handled as employees and usually hired by the respective professors themselves. Candidates usually finish their MSc first, it's not possible to apply for a PhD position without having an MSc. Often, students working on their master's thesis will stay on with their advisor if the thesis is good enough. I'd say about 50% of PhDs get hired this way.
My grades are OK, but not stellar. Depending on the conversion, I'm at around 3.3/4.0, which is pretty much exactly the average of all graduating MSc students here. The university is known for not inflating grades, but this number still doesn't look too good.
I'm not too keen on applying to other universities: Most of the higher ranked universities are in the US, and I'd have to wait until December in order to apply for next year. Also, that would cost quite a bit of money, take more time, and most of the top unis have GPA minimums that are above mine (e.g. MIT has a 3.6 minimum).


texts: Questions regarding PhD in Linguistics or Applied Linguistics at US universities

texts:
I have a few questions regarding admission into a PhD program in Applied Linguistics or Linguistics at US universities. I could not find any other valuable online sources regarding Linguistics for the answers I seek. Let me start with my qualification. I am an international student with a Masters in English Linguistics and Literature with a percentage of 65.9. Although it's the best language university in my country but it is not that famous anywhere else. My grade average was B with no A or C in any of the individual modules. We don't have GPA system for language studies.

This percentage is regarded with high value in my country and I was one of the top four in my class. However, there is no set grading scale used by the examiners in my country and it is very rare, in fact, almost impossible to score above 70% in any language related field. And that is the case for the most perfect performance.

My Bachelor's scores are mediocre (59.9%). I was disappointed in myself for not being able to get admission into a medical school (marginally) like the rest of my siblings and ending up doing Bachelors in law and English Literature was a major shock for my planned future career (I had been a brilliant student before). I, however, slowly developed interest in Linguistics and did well in Masters.

My first question is, as most good Universities require a GPA of 3 or above with successful candidates usually having more than 3.6, what are my chances of admission? How can I go about explaining my situation as the % of students pursuing Linguistics doctorate at US from my country is very low. Are my scores too horrible?
My only research was Masters thesis in a literature related field, titled, 'Autobiographical element in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude"' of almost 40,000 words. Will it hinder my chance for admission into Linguistics?
What else can I do to improve my application and up my chances specifically for Linguistics? How should I lay out my SOP? My ultimate preference would be Berkeley, UCLA and MIT. Should I even think about these universities with such scores?

Any help would be highly appreciated.


texts: PhD in Machine Learning from CS Department or from EE Department?

texts: I am from electrical engineering background and I want to do PhD in machine learning. But machine learning is a multi-disciplinary field and available in many departments. So I am bit confused that from which department I should pursue PhD and what is the difference in PhD programs in different departments. Should I pursue PhD in machine learning in computer science department or from electrical departments. Thanks.


texts: Is it good reputation for a researcher to publish an article belonging to different research field?

texts: I have a BA in International Relations and  MA in Water Management which is the field I want to do research. However recently one of my former professors in my current workplace asking me for colloboration in research related to international relations. Now I am in a difficult position as I do not know what to do. Do you think it is okay to have this kind of publication?


texts: Can I get into a top school C.S. Ph.D. program with a Master's from a lower ranking university?

texts:
Is it possible, and what are the chances of doing so, to get into a Computer Science Ph.D. program at a top school like e.g. the U of Toronto with a Master's degree (say, with excellent academic record) from a lower-tier school?

My situation is as follows:

I am about to complete my Master's degree in math (GPA will be between 3.7 and 4.0) in a program with a high reputation (acceptance rate 40 out of 170). I have done mainly (functional) analysis and mathematical physics, and some differential geometry and probability theory. No computer science-related stuff. Also, no statistics (so far at least).
However, I am increasingly unhappy with my field, and I would like to go into machine learning. I know how to program and I have won some competitions as a high school student at federal state level (Germany), but I haven't taken any university courses in computer science so far.
This term I'm taking courses in databases, operating systems and machine learning. That will be enough to get admitted into the Applied Computer Science Master's degree at the University of Heidelberg (note that Master programs in Germany are two-years programs). Certainly not itself a bad university, but the computer science program doesn't really have a very high reputation (after all, there's a reason the admission requirements are so low). With virtually no formal education in computer science, I just don't have a lot of options at the moment.
Assuming that I will complete that Master's program with a very good GPA (and also additionally take the one and the other undergrad course like e.g. algorithm design to catch up), what would be my chances to be admitted e.g. into the Computer Science Ph.D. program at the University of Toronto or a similarly good school? At the moment, I would certainly have no chances to be admitted into their Master's program.

I have also considered doing a one-year computer science conversion Master at a better school, but I found the curricula of those programs rather basic and concluded that doing a 'real' Master's at a not-so-good school would be the better option. But maybe that's just my German way of thinking... Here in Germany the name of your schools means relatively little, but my impression is that things are somewhat different in the anglophone world (in particular the U.S. and the UK).

Would it increase my chances if I combine this degree with edX MOOCs from top-tier schools like MIT?


texts: Is it rude to visit a professor's office during office hours after he/she doesn't respond to my email?

texts:
I'm currently about to enter my final semester of undergraduate life and plan on continuing graduate studies (master's) at the same institution.

Applications for the fall semester this year open in April. I recently (around a week ago) emailed a professor whose lab I want to enter and expressed my interest in his research and that if he would spare me a few minutes to meet in person or a phone call that would be great. I sent my resume as well. I had fairly high hopes because I have spoken to a former student in that lab and she happened to say he has a very nice reputation of communicating well and will reply to my email even if it's a rejection.

However, he hasn't. I'm wondering what I should do. I've confided with my parents who are also professors, and they told me that once semester starts next week to just visit the professor's office during his office hours. My question is, wouldn't showing up unannounced and bringing up the topic of my email come off as a bit rude? My parents say that professors get paid to deal with students and so I should think of it as my right, and also that "office hours" are meant for professors to keep their doors open and answer questions. I'm curious as to what other people believe, though.

It was either visit his office, email him again, call the student lab via phone and ask them what I should do.

Thank you.

UPDATE

I just thought I'd share the result of taking @Buffy and others' advice in case anyone's curious.

I was planning on visiting the professor in question's office today. I was planning to just visit, but yesterday I decided to send one last email out of courtesy saying that I'd love to visit his office during his scheduled office hours. If that didn't work then I would just show up "unannounced." He did reply to that and asked if tomorrow is okay.

I sent him my resume with the first email, but I wasn't sure if he had read it or not so I decided to print it out and bring a hard copy with me. Plus, I myself always prefer having a hard copy in my hands to flip through rather than looking at a computer screen. Sure enough, when I asked him if he would like a copy of my resume he said that it would be great and that "students normally send them by email but I prefer hard copies" and that likes my sense of preparation.

He was impressed at me taking the initiative and offered me an undergraduate research position on the spot - despite them lacking openings - and showed me around the lab introducing me to everyone and advising a PhD student who shares interests with me to give me a more in-depth explanation. He said that if I do decide to pursue graduate studies ("since people change their minds all the time" as he added) that it would be better if I naturally transitioned from an undergraduate research intern to a full time graduate student at the lab.

So yes, lesson learned. Also thanks for the advice from the community.


texts: If you make changes to paper after initial conference submission, should you present updated version at conference?

texts:
I am a PhD student in computer science and have submitted a paper to a conference which details my proposed architecture. However in the month or so since this paper has been submitted my architecture has undergone changes (relatively major), how is this normally dealt with?

If the paper is accepted do I present the work as it was at the time of submission or do I openly state that changes have been made and present the updated version of the architecture?


texts: what is peer review journal, are they paid by authors

texts: To publish a research paper in peer review journal is good, are they ask charges to get a paper published


texts: How can teachers reduce student suspicions in discrepancies and irregularities of grading?

texts:
From experience, many teachers dislike it when students compare grades, but that often shows the discrepancies and irregularities in the grading system. What other methods should teachers implement in order to keep grading transparent and fair?

Consider the following situations in your answer:

Curved Grades
The possibility of an error in grading, which leads to an imbalance in the grade distribution.

Some teachers immediately assume that just because a student wants to compare papers that he/she is just interested in increasing their grade. This is not the case! Some teachers make mistakes so instead of brushing it off, by assuming that students want to "grade-lawyer" or the like, they should consider the possibility that an error has been made. The goal of this question is to reduce such responses.


texts: How to make sense of a 2019 paper published in 2016 journal issue?

texts:
I submitted a paper to a social sciences journal and it has been accepted. However, the publisher tells me it is going to be printed in the next weeks in the 2016 issue. How to make sense of this? Apparently the issue has been delayed a few years. However it will not mention the year 2019 and it is officially a 2016 paper issue. No digital copy since the journal doesn't have a webpage.  Can I still put 2019 in my CV? and if I want to present it in an upcoming conference?

It is an old journal in French that might had issues with their timeframe, collecting papers, printing, and moreover getting the editing work done on ambitious projects. Is it really an issue when the work was done? If this is part of PhD research, want difference does it make if it is possible to indicate in bibliography that the work was submitted and printed in 2019?


texts: Can I be successful as a lone wolf researcher in mathematics?

texts:
I am not a people person, and therefore I usually work alone.  I'm quite content with this, and I have actually been able to achieve some wonderful results (to me, anyway) working this way. However I worry that nobody else will really care about my research.

Are there examples of modern day mathematicians who have been successful (as recognized by the mathematical community) working alone?

How can I get more people to be interested in the problems I'm interested in, without being able to connect on a personal level?  Even if I'm not able to collaborate with anyone, I'd like to create some level of dialogue between other mathematicians and my publications. That is, I'd like for them to perhaps answer some of my questions, and for them to pose new ones that I could possibly answer.  So far, I have failed to achieve this.


texts: Is it advisable to apply to graduate programs after the deadline has passed?

texts:
I committed to a decision to attend graduate school starting the semester of Fall 2017. I made this decision around mid-December. I started applications 2 days ago and to my surprise, many of my schools had deadlines of December 15th or January 5th.

I don't feel I badly managed my time. This was just when I felt comfortable committing to this direction in my life. I took the GRE about 5 months ago so that 'future me' wouldn't have to worry about it if I decided to attend. I also saw that some schools had an admission deadline of March 1st, so I figured most universities would follow this pattern it would be ok if I stopped focusing so hard on work and side projects to enjoy the holidays with my loved ones. I'd rather not wait an additional year to attend grad school.

Is it (generally speaking) worth my time and money to apply to these programs so far after the deadlines? Fall 2017 is 8 months away after all. I feel I should still have enough time to get my name into the figurative hat.


texts: How relevant are non-top conference papers to a PhD CS admit panel? (USA)

texts:
Background:
While I am not sure about other fields, Computer science has several conferences an year for multiple of its domain. (there are around 150+ conferences for artificial intelligence alone). Out of all of these conferences, only 15-25 are actually highly regarded and considered as A to A* category.
The other conferences while good, are not really known. They have good proceedings like springer LNCS, ieee explore, etc. They also hold sessions conducted by profs from top schools and people from top private RnD labs. Few even allow the extension of the paper to be accepted into transactions.
Apart from these, there are always the top journals which are SCI indexed.
Question:

Do accepted papers from the non-top conferences add any value to an undergrad CV applying for PhD schools?

Additional motivation for the question:
The alternative to not publishing is keeping it as a pre-print or just a softcopy to link in the CV. But I am told in another question that some form of peer review always adds some weightage. Hence the question.


texts: Should I explain my "NP" grade in my statement of purpose?

texts:
Here's my situation. I am struggling with it for weeks. I am a math major applying to Ph.D. programs (pure math). I have a 3.94 major GPA, but in my sophomore year, I got an NP (no pass) in a math course of differential geometry. This is because I didn't make the final for personal reasons. I retook the course (in my junior year, because there is only one such course a year) and got an A, and actually I got full marks in all quizzes and exams.
Here is the thing. Do I need to explain in my "NP" grade in my statement of purpose? Since I am applying to good Ph.D. programs, my statement of purpose is like a research statement, and it shows my math background, research experience, and dedication - all good things. I feel it is very weird to write anything about my "NP" in such a statement. I also feel like professors don't like such things showing up in a statement of purpose.
If I don't write any explanation, I believe that professors will know the "NP" cannot reflect my academic ability. After all, I retook it and nearly all my math courses are "A". However, I am worried that they make some guesses about the "NP" like academic dishonesty (definitely not true), or I don't have the ability to handle the crisis (which is true). Besides, I think (only my guess) professors will be curious about it, so maybe they are expecting an explanation?
All in all, should I explain my "NP" grade in my statement of purpose?


texts: How can I judge reputation of a publisher? Any rankings?

texts:
Correct me if I'm wrong: identity of publishers affects quality of a publication. E.g., OUP and CUP feels like the most reputable and trustworthy in the UK, as Oxbridge are globally renowned.

But how can unknown publishers be judged, like those unconnected with any top universities?


texts: How can multiple people grade assignments online so that different graders don't see each others' grades?

texts:
this question is related to how you do your double blind marking for assignments, we are looking at the coursework plugin for moodle but are interested in how other other institutions do this. a specialist piece of software? paper? excel spreadsheets?

To clarify this would be two markers not being able to see the grades the other marker has assigned to the student, unless the grade is within a percentage.
This would be passed to a third marker if grades cannot be agreed upon.


texts: Procedure for having multiple advisors for a PhD thesis

texts:
Assume that one has begun a PhD program at a university which allows a student to choose an advisor after his/her first year in the program and the student has narrowed down to a couple of potential advisors and that he/she wishes to do his thesis under multiple advisors.

What is the procedure for suggesting multiple advisors? Whom do you speak to first? What if the advisors don't go so well together?


texts: Do online students deserve video content?

texts:
I teach different courses online and in person and expect all my students to read textbooks and web pages. The online students get an extra explanatory text every week that is meant to replace the content that would be discussed in a lecture or seminar course.

A few students are surprised or disappointed that I haven't made and posted videos as well. I don't personally learn well from video content, but it seems some of them prefer, or even expect, to do so. Other than the several that have said as much, I don't know how many students feel this way.

Scripting, staging, performing, recording, captioning, and publishing quality videos is harder (at least for me) than editing a document. Still, has video instruction become so normative that I should take on this project?


texts: How to make your small ideas into a research paper?

texts:
I am a computer science PhD student who works mostly in theory. I always have multiple ideas in my mind about the research problem I am working on and also on problems which are related to my research. Many times my ideas were vague and not important, and many of my ideas have led to algorithms which are not in themselves enough for a paper. In the last couple of years I have given many ideas to my labmates and others. My colleagues say that some of these were very good, but so far, I have not able to find anything so big that it becomes a paper. Is there any way to makes my ideas more valuable and more significant?

Question: How to make your small ideas into research paper?


texts: Efficiency techniques for recording screencast lectures

texts:
I use notetaking software on my tablet to write lecture notes, and then I record myself reading and explaining my lecture notes. I use those recordings as teaching.

However, I find it very time consuming to produce good videos that way. I do not enter the same 'engaging' mode as when standing between an audience and a huge black board. I frequently get muddled, forget what I want to say, and falter.

I usually edit those videos but I believe it must be possible to deliver videos with a presentable performance right from the get go.


texts: Should I cite a paper that I haven't read if I use a theorem in it?

texts: In my Master's thesis I use a theorem that is recent enough that I could find the article where it is proved, but I've actually learned the theorem and its proof in two books by other authors. Is it necessary to cite the original article, knowing that I haven't actually read it?


texts:
I am currently an undergraduate student in Turkey. I will graduate from genetics department and I would like to do a PhD without MSc in abroad. However my GPA sucks ( probably it will be 2.5 or 2.6 out of 4 ).

I have done my summer internships in Germany and America. I am very good in laboratory and I think I have got enough knowledge to do a PhD in genetics. My English level is upper-intermediate and I definitely have good references ( I have talked with 4 people, they are all Prof. and they all said that they would give very good references ).

But I am still concerned about my GPA. What do you think, can I be accepted to a PhD program?

Also, can I apply for both MSc and PhD or will they think that I am a fickle person and don't accept me for neither of them?


texts: I submitted my abstract at MISG-2015 conference at Malaysia. I got a mail stating that it was accepted. Does this mean that my abstract will be published?


texts: Should your PhD students call you by your first name?

texts:
I've read at least one career advice essay that calls out asking your PhD students to call you by your first name as unprofessional.

My coworkers and I always called our PhD advisor by his first name, and a graduate student calling any professor by their last name, much less their own advisor, strikes my sensibilities as quaint and old-fashioned (undergraduates are a different story, of course).

What is the standard practice for this?


texts: Do people need to have their PhDs at Harvard to get tenure at MIT (and vice versa) in STEM fields?

texts:
My friends and I were just discussing about this question: do people need to have their PhDs at Harvard to get tenure at MIT (and vice versa) in STEM fields?  I know theoretically, the answer is supposed to be "No", and "It depends on many other factors". But I just skimmed through MIT's Biology and Harvard's Biophysics department; it appears that those two giants only want to marry each other.

I wonder if there are are any detailed statistics of where faculty from H&M did their PhD and postdoc.


texts:
I and two other student, did a course project and it has been accepted for publication in an international conference. I am confused now that whether I should add his name as a co-author or acknowledge him in acknowledgements ?
I would like to share that though, the entire implementation and writing the paper was done by us, we were student of his class and the work was produced as a part of course project.

My field is Computer Science.

Edit: As F'x suggests, that I should ask the instructor. What would be an appropriate way to do so given that his name was not added as co-author before acceptance.(We were confident about the work but were not sure about the acceptance. The conference management software was EDAS and it spams email of all co-authors which we wanted to avoid in his case)


texts: Changing mind after rejecting a job offer

texts:
I recently finished my Ph.D., and joined a private company in the industry.

A few months before defending my thesis, I received an offer for a post-doc position; the offer was very interesting, but I declined it because I wanted to move to the industry (I have always been in academia).

Now, after some months in the industry, I realized that this is not what I want to do, and I am back on my search for a postdoc.

Question: how bad is it to contact the professor that made me the rejected postdoc offer, asking if the position is still open?


texts: Presenting a survey/review paper at a conference

texts:
I have noticed that senior members of the community often present survey-like work at conferences, especially if they are giving a plenary lecture or have an extended time slot in a mini-symposium.

I am currently working on a survey/review paper, but a senior mentor advised me that it is not good to present such work at this stage in my career.  (I'm currently a postdoc, only about a year since I got my Ph.D.)

Why is this the case, and when would it be appropriate to present such work?


texts: Due to COVID-19, I'm working from home, and I'm going to give a presentation from home. I wonder if some of good practices when giving presentation directly are still good? For example: do not put too many words in the slides => but now the audiences only have the slides to stare at, should I put more words?


texts:
I have never been to grad school, but I have several publications, in good journals, as well as planned future projects. Some very prominent experts know me and think well of my work. In this case, should I apply for postdoc or just go to grad school?

If it matters, I am working in a subfield of mathematics.


texts: How to find out salary for faculty positions in private universities?

texts:
Public university salary information is usually available online.  What about private universities?  Can average salary by field and rank be found at least?

Context: US/North America, mathematics


texts: Online Computer Science Masters as PhD Prep

texts:
I have recently completed my undergraduate degree, and am interested in pursuing a master's and potentially an eventual doctorate.

I have been looking at affordable online degrees such as the following:

Georgia Tech | M.S Computer Science
U of I | Master of Computer Science
University of Texas at Austin | M.S. Computer Science
ASU | Master of Computer Science

Are these types of degrees (all of which are purely coursework and do not require a thesis) considered to be more "professional" masters programs that cannot lead to a PhD or could one get a PhD after the completion of one of these programs?


texts: Is it plagiarism/OK if I use big parts of someones literature review for the introduction section of my paper?

texts: The questions says it all. I have an report I want to write. The level expected is slightly lower than that of a master thesis. I do need to write an introduction to the topic and there is a very recent literature review online. It covers some things that I want to use in my introduction. I do not have the possibility to access all the papers in the review as they are behind a paywall. How should I cite the review or the papers in the review? What is common practice in psychology?


texts: Why are the German professors addressed as Prof. Dr. XXX?

texts:
I notice that in Germany, basically all the professors are addressed as Prof. Dr. XXX, say Prof. Dr. Mueller.

However, in other parts of the world, only Prof. would be sufficient,  since a non-doctor can never be a University professor.

So why are the German professors addressed this way? Isn't it kind of redundant?


texts: Is it alright not to include my previous supervisors as co-authors, when publishing PhD work, now that I graduated?

texts: I completed my PhD almost a year ago. I had 3 advisers for my PhD research and I could say that all the three hardly had any idea what I was doing. During my PhD days, I used to write papers and include them as co-authors of the work. It was frustrating indeed. Much part of the work is still not published. I am looking forward to publish the same in reputed journals. I really do not want to include them as the co-authors of the work as they are no way involved in the work. Now that I am done with the PhD studies, will it be alright to send the papers with single author?


texts: Professor asks me if I have other options (to apply). How should I answer?

texts:
A professor who agreed to advise me asked, "Have you found any other options?" I interpreted this as him asking if I have applied to other schools. I think he knows that I should spread my application to a range of schools, so telling the truth would do no harm. However, since we have had some trouble in the application process* and I need him to help me, I don't want to take a risk. I'm worried that he will lost a little interest in helping me.

How should I react to this?

*The problem may be off-topic, but I will put it here in case it's important. His school doesn't have a PhD program, and he has to advise me through another school. However, when I emailed the other school, they said that I could not have an advisor from the outside. I think this is a mistake and he thinks that too. He has sent an email to them and we are waiting for them to reply.


texts: How to correctly cite a retracted paper?

texts:
I would like to cite a particular paper that has been retracted, due to a specific error the authors have initially overseen in their analysis.
Because this specific error is the subject of my discussion, I want to include it as an example.
Now, how do I cite it correctly? For example, ...

Should the citation appear in my list of references?
Am I supposed to use the general citation format; e.g. Smith et al. (2000)?
Should I or am I actually allowed to mention the author's names?
Can I be brief and simply write: Smith et al. (2000, Nature, retracted)?


texts: What does it indicate if a professor from other departments is included in applied math department?

texts:
Currently I am preparing for postgraduate application. My research interest is fluid mechanics. There are several professors whose research interests are similar to mine and all of them are included in both applied math department and some non-math departments, such as geophysics department. Most of their papers are published in Journal of Fluid Mechanics, which is one of the leading journals in that field. However, it seems that those papers do not involve advanced math knowledge, such as abstract algebra or analysis. Even epsilon-delta terminology seldom appears in those papers.

This slightly contradicts to my previous understanding. In the math department where I finished my undergraduate study, real analysis is a basic requirement for every postgraduate student. Does this mean the field of applied fluid mechanism does not require students with solid math background? What does it imply if a professor is included in applied math department? Does this indicate he/she will supervise a student with only math background? Or does this mean he/she has an intention to publish papers in math journals?


texts: Put a half-baked paper in arXiv for the purpose of documentation

texts:
I'm sure this has been asked before, but I didn't find it.

I have been working on a side project for some time, but I don't have the time to make the final evaluations to make it into a peer-reviewed-worthy paper. However, I do think it has merit and I wouldn't want it going to waste.

Is publishing in arXiv for this purpose considered acceptable?

Thank you.


texts: Computer Related Discipline for Economist

texts:
I've always wanted to study abroad simply because I believe knowledge expands a person's world view. However, I've not been able to find a program that I can fit into.

I had my undergraduate degree in Economics, which I really didn't find interesting, I enjoyed and can still recall after five year topics from my Psychology electives simply because they were more practical. Although I found Game theory quite interesting.

I've been programming for over a decade now and work full time as a software developer and despite living in a low wage country, am quite comfortable.

However, I would like to pursue an advanced degree. I tried reaching out to Computer Science departments in the US, Canada and Europe but most keep referring to my first degree. I would like to find out if there are fields that combine my interest.


texts: How to avoid plagiarism when you come up with an argument for a class paper and later discover that another author has the same argument?

texts: I am a graduate student in English working on my final paper for a class. I was assigned a particular author to write on, but about halfway through the semester another student wanted to write on that author so I agreed to write on a different author. I had already read some articles on this second author so I thought I would be able to come up with a good paper topic. I thought I had come up with a good idea for a thesis, but as I did my research, I found that my thesis contained essentially the same idea as a supporting argument expressed in one of the articles I had read. I expressed my concern to my professor as I began working on my paper; he read the first few pages and said he did not see a problem. I have cited the author's statements and ideas that I feel coincide with mine, but I still have a troubled conscience -- I feel that my ideas are not sufficiently my own and that my thesis is far too similar to the arguments in this article. It is too late for me to start on another paper, but I'm not sure that I can in good conscience turn in this paper. If anyone has any advice, I would appreciate it.


texts: What to do when no one speaks English around you?

texts:
Often when I attend conferences and meetings, there are some social activities sometimes specifically for graduate students to mix with each other and get to know other students and build possible future collaborations and contacts. Once in a while I end up with a group of let's say all Chinese foreign students. I am not Chinese and I don't know any Mandarin/Cantonese. But it is a little frustrating and in my opinion quite rude when everyone carries on their conversation in Mandarin sometimes bypassing me directly and I have no clue what's going on and I stand there looking like a complete idiot.

If the gathering is something like a cocktail party, I would move on pretty quickly. But if it happens to be a formal dinner then I am stuck at that table and the entire evening might go by with me hardly talking to anyone. My question is, what can I do or say which will make them realize this and to consider other people around who may not know Mandarin?

Just to clarify, this is in the USA and the students I am talking about are all foreign students attending American universities so it isn't a question of them not knowing English. Sometimes I know a friend or two and I would jokingly tell them only English which works for a couple of minutes and then everyone reverts to Mandarin again.

Any ideas?


texts: Is there any preference given based on how far in advance of the deadline a graduate application is submitted?

texts:
During graduate studies online application submission period, is there any preference given for an applicant if he/she submits his application at the beginning of that period compared with someone who submits his/her application couple of hours before the deadline?

Or as long as the applications are complete there is absolutely no difference!


texts: Researcher with Startup Company - Conflicts of Interest?

texts:
Looking for your advice on best practices on how to avoid conflicts of research.

The facts:

Researcher is a director of a research institute on campus.
Researcher has a start-up company involved in same research as his    university research.
Researcher uses this company as a way to get Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) grants to fund    his lab under subcontracts.
Researcher has company located on campus in university sponsored    incubator.
Researcher employs a post-doc and shares this post doc with his    company – funding of post-doc is 50/50 between the company and his research center.
Researcher's lab members go between his lab and the company lab space freely.
Researcher is interested in submitting closely related grants through his research center and through his company as SBIR/STTR.

What are best practices or rules to put in place to minimize conflicts of interest in such a scenario?


texts:
I'm a math postdoc at a research university, and I have 1-1 teaching for the next two years. What would be the ideal mix of courses to (1) prepare me for a higher teaching load in the future (hopefully as TT faculty), (2) demonstrate my teaching ability to hiring committees (if it matters), and (3) still allow me to concentrate on research?

I'm considering requesting Abstract Algebra II and Linear Algebra next year. My only teaching experience so far was one semester of Linear Algebra in graduate school. It went well and I enjoyed it, but it was a while ago so I think I'll have to spend some time getting used to teaching again.


texts: What actually changed in MLA 8th edition?

texts: I cannot find enough information on what is different about MLA 8th except for citations. There is no MS Word template for the 8th edition, just the 7th edition. Is all that changed citations? Thank you!


texts: Presenting on a conference as a Master Student... common or unusual?

texts:
I am a master's student of Linguistics and am just finishing my first year of the master's programme. For one of my term papers I am currently doing an empirical study, on a topic I think is really important and with striking results. While browsing on the Internet I found a CfP for a conference on a field of research into which my study would fit perfectly.

Now my question is: Is it weird to submit an abstract in hopes of presenting on that conference, even though I am only a master's student?
Do I have any chance at all to present there or do most conference-organizers immediately dismiss master students because they are not experienced enough? (It is not a student's conference or anything similar)

I just don't know anyone who is experienced enough with these sorts of things to ask them...


texts: What are evaluation criteria for NSF postdoctoral fellowships?

texts:
I am currently working on applying for an NSF postdoctoral fellowship and I was wondering if anyone had insight into the following questions:

Is it practical to have a proposed research project that is not directly in line with the applicant's previous research (I'm thinking of a research project that in some way falls within the same subspeciality but none of the work I've done before naturally segues into this work)
Is it disadvantageous to apply to work under someone who already has numerous postdocs (say around 4)? The worry would be that a panel would think that this would reduce the sponsor's ability to be an involved mentor
When it comes to Broader impacts, in particular things like educational outreach, is it all right if this occurs in another country if I am applying to be supported by the NSF while at a foreign institution.


texts: How to ensure that putting a product's photo in a paper does not violate copyright?

texts:
I have put into my paper a photo (available here) that I have collected from the company's website available for free. There is no copyright note, except the one at the bottom of the website and product is available for sale (probably patented). I have contacted the company seeking permission, but they did not reply after a week and I cannot wait anymore.

The paper will be published in an IEEE magazine.

So here are my questions:

How to make sure an online photo carries copyright?
Is citing to their website sufficient to avoid copyright violation?
If received copyright permission, how to use the permission in the paper? (I received permission from another company for another photo). Write it on the image or write "courtesy of ..." (I have seen this phrase quite a lot).

UPDATE 1: Thanks all of you, referring to your answers, I decided to stay in the safe side by removing the photo from the paper. I did not criticize anything and did not admire it either (but it could be a free publicity for them which is ignored despite second email to the company). I just discussed its functionality as an encouraging innovation for particular domain.

However, almost NO ONE yet commented on 3rd question. Can any one help in this regard?


texts: What to do when on-line instructor is ignoring questions?

texts:
I am enrolled in an on-line graduate course. The course is not available in the classroom format.

For the past few weeks, the instructor has ignored every question I sent him. I've asked for:

help in understanding specific course content.
clarification on upcoming assignment instructions.
clarification on the problems in my papers.

I used the recommended contact method described in the syllabus and all other tools on the course Web site, but he sent no replies to these.


texts: Is it normal to have a hard time comprehending academic papers?

texts:
I am starting my PhD in statistics program next year, and I have some concerns.
In my institution, there is a mandatory course that every PhD student has to take in lieu of taking one qualifying examination.
The course requires students to read five academic papers and write a report, which will be graded by faculty members.

I was browsing through the reading list for this course, and I often find myself pondering over one twenty-page paper for days and weeks because I want to make sure that I understand all the  math, concepts, and other details of the paper.
I am supposed to make a report for one paper/month, and I am now quite worried about what I am expected to do as a PhD student because it feels like it takes me forever to comprehend a single paper.
I feel discouraged because I have done very well in my bachelor’s and master’s programs in statistics, but I am having such a hard time comprehending these academic papers.

Is it normal for beginning PhD students to have a hard time comprehending academic papers?


texts: Is it OK to call a professor by his first name when he/she signs emails by only first name?

texts: If a professor in a North American country presents his- or herself by his/her first name in email messages, does this mean that students can refer to him/her by his/her first name? Or is this generally not a good idea, unless the professor has explicitly mentioned that he/she can be referred to by first name? I've noticed that most professors, who prefer to be referred to more formally, do not sign their emails with just their first names, but usually initials or first and last name.


texts: Telling a former supervisor you don't want to publish

texts:
I graduated from my PhD in the middle of last year and have since landed a full time job in industry. Currently I'm pretty ran off my feet with work, but I'm also enjoying having free time at weekends to spend with my Husband.
My supervisor has been in touch pretty relentlessly about publishing some of my last results from the thesis (also saying that I "owe her" and it would destroy my future if I don't see it through). Now I'm happy with never going back to academia, and career promotion isn't my focus if I'm honest.
I've tried to cobble together a draft but it keeps getting ripped apart (she was pretty notorious when I was doing my PhD for brutal feedback) and I'm looking at it and realising I don't care about seeing this through... I don't appreciate the pressure from her, it's not truly beneficial to me, it's taking up my personal time and I have a lot of things going on with family difficulties lately.
I've always been a bit of a wimp with confrontation. So given all I've said about this how would you advise for me to tell my old boss I don't want to publish (preferably without triggering an intense vendetta)?


texts: Is it OK to upload thesis including published work to personal website?

texts:
I think the question is simple, but answers may be quite different - I fear.

I have recently written my Thesis, which also includes some peer-reviewed published papers. As a general rule, is it ok to post the .pdf of my Thesis on my personal website?

If it depends on the journal and University where the papers have been sent to, what right should I be looking for on the journals website?


texts:
Would it be possible for researchers back-assign a DOI to an existing dataset they have rights to - where there is no permission to share it publically (privacy, organization proprietary, personnel to clean data...etc)?

This would at least allow tracking the same dataset usage across multiple papers (+ - stages of).

To clarify (30 Jan 2019): What I mean is for example there are many papers already published that use the same dataset. In some cases it is not possible to get rights to the dataset. However, at the very least I believe it is useful to back-assign a DOI to these datasets that would allow for people to track datasets across multiple papers, particularly in this age when we may inadvertently commit the sin of deriving effect sizes from the same population if the dataset being the same is not clear, as we sometimes may surmise where people who collected the data get authorship rights directly grandfathered in -  but in cases where they are not we may not be able to tell that we are using repeat datasets!

One way to get around the fact that these datasets are not available on open access is to have, under their DOI, descriptions of items that are included, waves of collection, and sample size - these can generally be derived and gradually pieced together from past studies. It then becomes clearer for replication or es. estimation whether the re-analysis actually used the same parts of the dataset. For example using only wave-2 instead of both waves, and using depression from Beck's inventory rather than depression based on interview.


texts: Can I hire someone to write code for my dissertation (if I've designed the algorithm)?

texts:
Barring any extremely unfortunate disaster, I am five weeks away from a final defense and a Ph.D.

At this point, we are in the re-write stage ("of my unforgivably horrible and weak thesis") but it is expected to work and be ready for my final defense in a month.

Prior to the thesis, my advisor REALLY wants me to program the algorithm I give as part of my dissertation. Though I have the algorithm pseudocoded, I have no idea anymore about basic commands, data structures, counters, declaring local and global variables, and just general grammar and structure for what he REALLY wants me to program on (though I don't HAVE to): Mathematica.

Worse, every time I try to get a dry, discrete checklist of what he wants for the program, it varies, often leading him to talk about ill about computer scientists and lament about how traditional languages just don't do the job PASCAL used to do (dead serious). Hence, the last piece of progress required of me by his say so - a piece not really contributing to my original work and that could represent time better spent revising my writing and preparing for my final defense instead of learning how to print "LEOOH WHIORLD" on MATHEMATICA - is setting up, after two years of back-cracking dissertation work, to be what ultimately "does me in."

When (or even if) I get standards for this program he wants to see, would it be unethical of me to hire a tutor to help me code the program, or even hire a programmer to help me write the program, even given that I pseudocode the program myself? Skipping the hours and hours of manual searching to learn how to read in files (and files with gigantic matrices at that) and how to look up code corresponding to pseudocode, keep up with counters etc. really seems like a good investment for me, but my moral bells are a ringing on this one, even if I pseudocode the project myself.


texts: Recommendation letter for a good student that you don't know?

texts: Let say you a professor and there are lots of students, say 100 in your course. After the exam, a student whose final mark is, say 85/100, sends you an email to ask you for a recommendation letter. Assuming that you don't know him, or just remember that he went to your lecture some times (of course you can check his mark). Will you write a recommendation letter for him?


texts: Quitting a job after spending ahead on a grant

texts:
Let's say that I take a position at a university, and the university gives me a grant of $X for 2 years. I use the grant to buy a bunch of equipment and make some international trips, which costs me three quarters of $X. After one year, I decide to quit to take another job elsewhere, and I cannot take the grant with me as it was from the university.

What typically happens in this situation? Is it possible for the grant to get prorated ($X/2 per year), in which case I would have overspent my budget by a quarter of $X? If not, are there any other repercussions?


texts: How to highlight my Master's thesis grade in CV

texts:
My Master's thesis was granted 9/10. It was the highest score even given for a thesis since the progam was founded (8 years sonner). How can I highlight it in my resume without looking ostentatious?
Thanks!


texts: Corrigendum to correct formatting/aesthetic errors previously brought up during proofing process

texts:
After a lengthy review process, I finally published my first paper. Unfortunately, upon seeing it in print, I was immediately dismayed.

During the proofing process, formatting errors appeared on the table, presumably as a result of the conversion to the journal's table template. The table in question was supposed to have three 'sub-headings' but was formatted such that two sub-headings appeared different from the other two (bold vs framed between two horizontal lines and capitalized). Amongst other corrections, I brought this up during the proofing process by highlighting that the three sub-headings were formatted differently and to correct it so they were all stylized in the same way. When I was notified of my article being published online, however, I found that the changes to the table were ignored. I sent an email asking what could be done and was informed that although they understood I had certain corrections, that no changes could be made now it was online and instead was offered to publish a corrigendum.

Since these changes are aesthetic and not related to the content, a corrigendum (at least to my understanding) would not change anything to the appearance of the figure as corrigenda are published as a separate note, making a corrigendum not really worth it. At the same time, I'm frustrated that after having put so much time into proofreading the article to ensure no mistakes appeared, that one appeared anyway that had nothing to do with me. I wish I could say it's a minor aesthetic point that only I would notice, but after sending out my article to colleagues and friends I received numerous comments about this particular formatting error.

I suppose I have two questions. First, how cut and dry is the rule of not being able to correct articles once they are published? Or is it simply indicative of a lack of willingness or goodwill on the publisher's part that could, perhaps with some more insistence on my part, give way? And if there really is nothing that can be done, is it worth publishing a corrigendum?

Thanks for any insight you can offer.

EDIT: Looking everything over for the n-th time, I now see a couple other errors (eg. inconsistent capitalization in the legends). The thing is these mistakes were not present in the proofing stage (I have the proof file as proof); they were tacked on after the fact, when it was too late to do anything about it. Is this something I should contact the editor-in-chief about?

EDIT 2: Thanks to all for the feedback and suggestions. I ended up contacting the journal manager, informing her that I would not be requesting a corrigendum but that I would be placing a complaint to the editor-in-chief. I was contacted the next day and informed they would fix all the errors in the article.

EDIT 3: So all the original errors were fixed, however I noticed yet another error was introduced that was absent in the previous version. I'm giving up my crusade for now, and will simply not publish in this journal in the future. Thanks again for all the advice.


texts: Collaboration with a private company involving a confidential technology

texts:
Our group has been invited to participate in a bid for a European funding. The project will be about bringing a particular technology to the next level. The project coordinator is a private company, and due to confidentiality, they cannot disclose details of the technology without us signing a letter of intent, but which also means a commitment in our part to contribute to the proposal and project if it gets funded.

With limited information, however, it is difficult for us to understand how novel the technology is compared to the state of the art, and this has made us reluctant to sign the letter of intent. We have asked them to refer us to their patent and whether we can sign a non disclosure agreement first instead of a letter of intent, but they seem reluctant to provide us with those.

What is the normal procedure in this situation? Have we done the right thing?


texts: I believe many US universities have a 7-year cycle for sabbatical leave.  For example, at my university a full-time tenure-track faculty is eligible for sabbatical leave after 7 years of continuous service (so technically every 8 years).  The term "sabbatical" has its roots in "sabbath," so I wonder if this (roughly) 7-year cycle has its roots there, or is just a coincidence.


texts: Guiding a mentee towards greater independence

texts:
I am a Master's student who is mentoring a recent graduate through a research project in the same field (of astronomy). He is a very good student, but struggles with one of the realities of being an astronomer - coding. Right now, he is just running code others have written, but despite my strong suggestion that he start learning the language, still asks for my help on even the most elementary of problems. His confidence in using computers is lacking, and if he continues in the field it will become a serious hindrance.

I did provide a very high level of assistance early on, but this was mostly due to a couple of bugs in setting my own code up on his computer. In later stages of this research project, he is going to need to write some basic code of his own, so I feel we're getting to the stage where we need to establish a greater level of independence.

One of the key points of difference between a student and a researcher is that a researcher solves their own problems. It is the job of a mentor and supervisor to assist in that, but I feel that my mentee still feels entitled that I should solve his problems for him (I only solved "his" problems before because a bug in code that I wrote is my responsibility). It's time to start taking a more hands-off approach: I'm happy to give advice on how he might solve a problem, but it's his responsibility to sit down and implement that idea.

How should I approach this problem -  (a) with my mentee, and (b) with our supervising professor (we have the same supervisor)?


texts: Want to get back in touch with professor so he won't forget me but don't know what to say

texts: I want to get back in touch with professor so he won't forget me but don't know what to say! I took a class with him, but that's about it. I would like to keep in touch, so that he will remember me in the future but it's already been a few months, I just have no idea what to say, as I do not have anything to say really (Haven't been able to catch up with any research or so due to work). Any advice?


texts: Do academic publishers advertise new publications by mailing science associations?

texts:
I am writing my first book proposal. Most publishers require a section on "market considerations". For example, OUP wants to know

  If the market is scholarly/professional, reference, or trade, how may it best be reached? (Direct mail, relevant journals, professional associations, libraries, book or music stores?)

I am not sure whether or not to list any relevant science associations from my (sub)discipline, which is political science, European studies in particular. Do academic publishers advertise their latest publications to these associations at all, or would it come across as unprofessional to recite them in this section?


texts: Tenure and tenure denial rates by universities

texts: Is there a way or website to find the tenure and tenure denial rates by universities and departments? I heard from some faculty that the tenure rate at X university is Y%, so I wonder if there is a way to find the statistics for all universities.


texts: Major Career Change --> Grad School Help?

texts: I received a B.A degree in political science with a minor in natural resource conservation & management last year but after an internship in Washington D.C. and looking through job postings I have decided that I studied the wrong thing and would like to make a career change already. Ultimately i would like to do research in a lab with plants in regards to nutrition (which my internship opened me up to the possibility of) but since I got a B.A and not a B.S I am lacking in a strong science foundation that would help me get into a science graduate program. I would study Food Science and Nutrition now instead but ever school has such different course offerings I'm not sure what classes to take to help me get in to grad school. My GPA was average when I graduated but I am now really passionate about this new career field and need to go back to school I think I order to make this shift. Do I take a lot of random science prerequisites at a community college and then transfer them to the university I apply to to show I have taken the necessary steps? Too bad there is not a post-bacc program for non-medical majors. Any advice on what I need to do?? Thanks


texts: Have I 'spent' my negotiating power on higher salary, or can I further negotiate the TT startup offer?

texts:
I have an R1 offer in Engineering. The department and Dean, per my request, have offered me a very good salary competitive with my competing industry offers, as well as excellent lab space.  However, the startup package is lacking. Equipment is 50% what I hoped for, travel budget is 25%, and they fund only one grad student for 2 years.  This will slow my lab-building.

As a note, I was asked to apply, but was planning to move to an industry position. The result was an early assurance that a competitive salary offer could be made.  The offer just arrived. I have, technically, not yet begun negotiating.

The question: have I spent my capital on this higher salary, or is the salary a reason to think I should be able to negotiate further?  Any suggestions on how to approach this in terms of tone/strategy?

Update: because salary was a precondition of agreeing to apply, negotiating was indeed expected, and successful. My tone in negotiating was all about thanking them while identifying what more I needed to succeed.

UPDATE: I negotiated beyond salary, successfully. The high salary was brought up in that process, and I nonetheless substantially increased my non-salary offer.


texts: How do I cite / write about something someone has just said during a presentation?

texts:
I once attended a scientific conference with a few hundred participants. There, the CEO of Frobcorp, Inc.1 gave a keynote speech on what their product is about and how they accomplish certain things.

There is one piece of information that was mentioned during the keynote which is quite important to me. I would like to include it in a paper that I'm writing. (Or in my thesis at a later stage.)

Now, this being a keynote, there were just a few slides with stock photos on them, so I don't have a physical reference to what was said there. I do however know that hundreds of others have heard the same piece of information (unless they were just checking e-mails during the talk).

How should I include this?

Does a sentence like the following make sense, or could it be dismissed for lacking a reference?

  As explained by the CEO of Frobcorp, Inc., during a keynote speech at the ... conference, they do ... to improve their Frobber™ product.

I of course understand that this may depend on whatever field of science this is going to be published in, what the conference or journal is, and what my supervisor thinks.

1 Yes, this is completely made-up.


texts: How to create a hypothesis for a historical research?

texts:
When writing a dissertation or a thesis about history, students and researchers are asked to state a problem and a hypothesis for that problem. My question is how to state a problem and a hypothesis for a historical event where we all know that history never changes and that it is restricted to already given facts?
Supposing that someone is writing a thesis about the Battle of Waterloo ...All the info about the Battle of Waterloo are the same everywhere, what can this researcher add?? Nothing actually, he/she is going to end up summarizing a dozen of books about it without bringing anything new to the topic (not because he/she cannot but because it's history).
What kind of problem statement that one can write about a Battle, a king, a conflict, ...
I mean how can someone see problems in history and give hypotheses for them??
Please illustrate if you can


texts: Publishing on arXiv before submitting to an IEEE journal

texts: Since the review process for IEEE journals can take upto an year, I want to publish my paper on arXiv to make it available to the research community. I read that in order to have the paper on both arXiv and IEEE, I should submit to arXiv first and then to IEEE. But once the article is submitted to arXiv, it takes time to be announced and publicly available. So, should I submit to IEEE only after the article is announced on arXiv or can I submit to IEEE as soon as I've submitted to arXiv?


texts: Why do universities support faculty writing textbooks?

texts:
Textbooks take a lot of time and effort to write, so why would a university support their faculty to do so? The author can make a good profit from a textbook and I am guessing the institution doesn't get any of these profits.

What about the grad students that edit and also work on the textbook? It seems as if they are working to fill the faculty member's pocket while being [partially] supported by the department/university and expected to do research.

All of this seems odd to me since it seems like the author is just using the university's resources to generate personal revenue, so why do universities support/allow their faculty to write textbooks?

If you need context, I am talking about in the US and specifically a freshmen/sophomore CS course's textbook.


texts: Cite a book in general and then a chapter in particular

texts:
The question is in the context of a paper and a thesis in the area of computational science, computer science and chemistry. I manage my references with Mendeley, and import them into a LaTeX file using Bibtex.

In the introduction, I cite a book about the general approach used in that research project. Later on, in a section about methods and computer implementation, I'd like to refer to the specific chapter in that book from where some algorithms were taken. (Twice for two different chapters actually.)

What's the correct way to cite that book in general and then the chapter in particular?

(I also asked this question here, but it was recommended that I better ask in this community.)


texts: In computer science, which place should corresponding author be listed?

texts:
My supervisor, a master student and I just drafted and submitted a paper. My supervisor is the corresponding author and I want to put him as the last author. But he wants second place and the master student last.
I thought the last author is the default corresponding author. I am just curious how would people tell who is the corresponding author on the paper? Should I put some special mark on his name? And one of my friends was once put into the last author. Then he could sometimes receive emails who mistakenly recognize him as a professor. But he is just help run some experiments and contributed least to that paper.


texts: Is it appropriate for a professor to require students to sign a non-disclosure agreement before being taught?

texts:
There's a professor at my school that claims to be writing a book. He is requiring students to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before certain lectures because he wants to maintain certain ideas of teaching his content part of his intellectual property.

I think that part is reasonable (to an extent) since he is protecting his ideas.

What I think is unreasonable is the fact that he requires all students to sign these NDAs, and offers no alternative presentation of the subject matter. Thus if a student does not wish to sign, they end up missing out on lectures that they have already paid the university to receive, and they have a potential of missing out on graded content that is "covered" by the material that the professor is restricting.

Students have no notice that this will happen prior to entering the class and thus are forced to sign if the don't want to withdraw.


texts:
I don't want to use acronyms in my thesis. but i have table which i am showing some data. I have to put acronyms in the table to make it inside the width. So i am using acronyms only in the table area. Can i do it in the table if i want and not at any other place.
for example Let say

I am measuring speed(S) test(T) for instance .

and then in the table can i have  S , T ?

Note speed and test are not first occurrences. I only want to use acronyms in the table and not any other part of the thesis. Is is ok to do that in thesis ?


texts: France national research institutes hinder work by banning foreign online services

texts:
I recently started a postdoc in France. I am not French, do not speak any French yet, and I am new to the culture.

It turns out that all national research institutes in France have a rule against using any foreign online service. All research data and communication must always stay on secure government networks and on French territory.  In practice, this means that services like Skype, Dropbox, Gmail, etc. are banned, and we are sometimes reminded of this through the institute's mailing lists (in French only).  An article mentioning Skype: https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/France_banning_Skype_from_universities

I find that not being able to use such services seriously hinders my work. I cannot talk to collaborators while at work because they all use Skype, and talking from home is not always convenient (time zones, etc.) I cannot have a shared Dropbox folder with them. I cannot use my online backup service (Backblaze). I cannot forward my emails to a central mailbox (Gmail or other) that I will have access to even after I leave this institute.  The institute does not provide easy to use replacements for most of these services.  The ones that it does provide don't work well, are limited, inconvenient and unreliable.

The attitude of my colleagues spans a broad spectrum, from "I don't give a damn" to scolding me for wanting to use these services. The attitude of our PI is ambiguous (they aren't really a computer person).

Our work does not require stricter security than usual (i.e. we don't collect personal information, medical data, etc.)

How would you deal with this situation? Complying with the rules would be a hindrance for my work, and would waste time.  Not complying may be a risk for me.  I am looking for advice from other people who also work in France. I would like to have opinions form people who work in other labs, and also some "cultural advice", as "rule" doesn't mean the same thing in all countries.  Since this seems to be a national rule, others must have encountered the same problem.


texts: Has the DeWitt Clause, which prevents publication of named DBMS benchmarks, ever been successfully defended in court?

texts:
Several commercial database vendors include an end-user license agreement provision, known as the DeWitt Clause, that prohibits researchers and scientists from explicitly using the names of their systems in academic papers.

Has the DeWitt Clause ever been successfully defended in court?


texts: How to find published article from arxiv preprint

texts:
I just came from here and have a related but different question. My question is, is there an online tool that will allow me to definitively check if a published version of a preprint exists and locate the published version?
Take, for example, this paper. Perhaps it was never published in a journal. But is there a way to definitively know?


texts: Should I give a copy of my thesis to those professors that supported me?

texts: I have just received my master's degree. And I am wondering, is it academically conventional to give a copy of my thesis to those professors that directly or indirectly supported me?


texts: How to start writing my statement of purpose?

texts: I completed my undergraduate studies(B. Tech in Computer Science and Engineering) in 2012, and have been working in a tech start-up since then. I am planning to go for MS in Computer for fall 2015, I wanted to know what all material should I collect, before I start jolting down the initial draft(s) for my statement of purpose,


texts: Does reusing my own code from one project to an other count as plagiarism?

texts:
I am currently a under graduate and will be going into my final year of a Computer science course in October.

The final year consists of a large programming project. Over the last 6 months I have been working on ideas for the project. To the point where I have a nearly finished application.

If I was to use large chunks of code that I have written over the last 6 months in the project would this count as Plagiarism? It doesn't feel right been able to just copy and past code to get a head start on the project even though I had written the code in the first place.


texts: Students not answering emails about plagiarism

texts:
I am a PhD student in the US and teaching a lab this semester. The labs have become online and students are provided with data and submit their reports. All communications take place through email. There is also online office hours but relatively few students attend.
Recently I found two groups submitting the exact same drawing in one of their lab reports (this was a significant part of their work for the report). So I emailed them separately and asked whether this report was completely their own work. Or was it created by one of them and shared for others, and if not, where was it taken from. One of them did not reply at all. The other did, offering apologies but saying that we did not plagiarize. But they also didn't reply to my next email in which I told them exactly which part has been found in another group's work. Basically, they didn't say anything in the face of clear evidence.
I should mention that I did have email communications with the same students before and I'm sure they have read my emails.
If it was an in-person class I could just talk to them in the next session to clarify things. But now, they're just ignoring my emails. This has left me with my own speculations. The most probable scenario is that both have used material from the previous semester, and since they neither denied, clarified, or apologized for this, I have lost confidence in their other reports too.
This is making it difficult for me to make an appropriate (proportionate) decision and honestly, I don't know what to make out of this. Are they too stressed/ashamed to reply or are they so relaxed about this that don't even bother to do so?
How should I proceed from here? Is it OK for students to ignore the instructor's emails on such an important issue? And should I continue grading their reports? As I said, I can't trust their works anymore even though I don't have evidence of further plagiarism elsewhere. Would it be appropriate or too much to give a failing grade because of a single verified incidence of plagiarism?


texts: Is it possible to re-open a withdrawn article on arXiv?

texts:
I would like to withdraw an article uploaded on arXiv because the proof contains a fatal mistake and, at the moment, I don't know whether it can be fixed or not. My question is:

Suppose that I withdraw it on arXiv. Is it possible to re-open it in the future, or should I start a new one?

Ps. I am aware that all uploaded versions (including the withdraw) will be always online. That is why I am waiting before doing it.


texts: Is it harder for academics to make fundamental discoveries than in the past?

texts:
In present day academia, it seems much harder to make foundational breakthroughs than it was in the past. Most work now synthesizes previously discovered results to study something extremely specific. Although this extremely specific thing may be valuable to know, it generally does not have the potential to rewrite the field.

For example, in physics, the beginning of the 20th century saw the revolutionary development of general relativity and quantum mechanics. While there is still much to be learned in modern physics research, it is much more difficult for someone to make large, fundamental contributions to the field, simply based on the fact that the large, fundamental contributions were already made. Now, even an extremely productive researcher may only become well-known in their immediate subfield. Similar notions can be applied to art and a variety of other academic disciplines, in which it is more difficult for one single artist's work to be foundational to the field.

Do academics worry much about the growing insignificance (for lack of a better word) of their work? Or is any knowledge gained worth the effort, simply because the academic enjoys studying the topic (no matter how esoteric)? Any sort of discussion about this concept would be enlightening.


texts:
How to know which journal is open access?

I have searched many journals homepage which give an option "Supports Open Access"

But I know open access journals after accepting papers charge huge amount of money from authors which I wont be able to give.

So can someone please help me to understand how to be sure that I dont fall into such traps and I submit in those journals which charge money after accepting my paper?

The following link is of Discrete Maths which is a top-journal.
Still it states open access.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/discrete-mathematics/articles-in-press

If someone helps me to know how to understand it,I will be really very grateful.


texts: Grad students/postdocs taking ideas with them, what's normal?

texts:
If a graduate student or postdoc develops or plays a large role in developing an idea (this could be anything from a new experimental method or new code for running simulations), what's supposed to happen when they move to a new institution?

Can they use these ideas on their own after the move, share them with their new PI/colleagues, use them to get their own funding? I assume the answer is generally yes, but

what if the idea is unpublished with the original group?
does it depend on the idea, code/scripts vs. less tangible ideas?

Just not sure what's the normal protocol or if I'm assuming incorrectly.


texts:
I am baffled by this question. Elsevier boycott aside, is one supposed to review a paper every time he/she is asked? And somebody will be upset if he/she declines the request to review? Or is this only maths thing?

Reviewing paper is unpaid, while it takes a lot of time and effort (at least for me). As such, I expect someone in editorial board to be thankful if one accepts to review a paper, and move on if his/her request for reviewing is declined.

To be angry with a (junior) researcher for not reviewing a paper is unacceptable behaviour for me. We are not slave.

Note: Until now, I am happy every time I am asked to review a paper.


texts: PhD position interview: How specific should my idea of the topic be?

texts:
I just finished my master in Geophysics with some help from here ;). Now I applied for several PhD positions in Natural Sciences and just got an invitation for a personal interview for one of them.

The topic of the position is described in the call but over all it seems very general to me (I really have no experience if that is common for PhD positions).
During the interview I’m supposed to give a 10-15 min oral talk about "specific research questions and methodologies" I suggest to focus on and about "results of a first paper".

I have some experience in one of the methods mentioned in the call and could probably come up with a quite elaborated idea for a paper (though I would have no idea if everything or anything would work the way I propose it, never having worked on a paper)

My understanding is hat even older scientists need time and work in a topic to figure out what exactly there paper will be about. So probably I should just kind of suggest a focus topic within the broad framework of the topics covered in the call?

I guess my main question is: How specific should I really be?
(because I should obviously try to avoid boring my interviewer by only repeating part oft he call)

I should probably also mention that I have only three days to prepare.


texts: Professor keeps students tests. No taking notes home when reviewing them.

texts:
A friend of mine has a professor that does not allow the students to take home their graded test. The process the teacher has is like this:

Students come to class and the professor has everyone put everything away except a pencil. The tests are handed back and the students are allowed to see what they got wrong, and make notes on the test itself and ask questions. At the end of class, all tests are given back to the professor, and the students are not allowed to keep any notes made. Students may go to office hours to "visit" their test again if they would like.

The online quizzes are also peculiar, as they only show if a student got a question right or wrong, leaving out both the correct answer and the answer the student gave.

The reason the professor is so secretive about the tests is she allegedly reuses the tests. As such, she doesn't want students to be able to get last semester's test and be able to cheat from it. The professor thus far has been rather terse/short with students when they ask about how she runs the class. As such, only a couple students have asked her about these things.

My questions are:

Given the circumstances, is there any point in trying to ask the teacher to do things differently so that students can better learn from their mistakes?

Would talking to the department head be beneficial or would that be pointless and possibly rude?


texts: Application deadlines for math phd program on a rolling basis

texts:
I am interested in math phd programs for Algebraic Topology.  Most of the programs that I am interested in have deadlines in December and January.  I was under the impression that one generally submitted the application earlier, and early enough that people who take the subject in October don't get to see their scores before they are sent to colleges.

Is this because the deadlines are on a rolling basis?


texts:
Data Collection is a primary objective in many academic fields and can be approached primarily through three different lenses - qualitative,quantitative and mixed methods.

With particular attention to computer science and HCI (human-computer interaction), what are some primary approaches to data collection? Specific references to primary, secondary and tertiary sources would be much appreciated.


texts: Is it appropriate to include a List/Summary of Theorems in a paper?

texts:
I am 16 years old at the time of writing (so I have no supervisors to seek advice from), and I'm working on a Mathematics paper at the moment, which I plan on submitting to a journal for publication. In the paper I have about 9 lemmas and theorems in total; they are all just formulaic (by formulaic, I mean that they are all just formulae rather than an idea or property about something, eg for argument's sake the quadratic or cubic formula).
Is it a good idea for me to include a list/summary of lemmas and theorems in the paper after my introduction, or should I simply include a couple of the main results in the introduction and not bother with a list of formulae I establish?
It just seems to me that to see all of the results without a summary near the beginning would be quite hard; you'd have to scroll down many pages.
Thank you for your advice.


texts: Bare bones undergrad coursework, lack of experience in highly competitive subfield

texts:
I finished my 3rd year at a US public research university; however, since I switched majors 2.5 years into my studies (engineering to physics), I still have 2 more years to go. Because of this, I will only have the core undergrad classes under my belt (classical, stat., and quantum mech., as well as E&M with some relativistic treatments).

I would like to apply to high energy theory groups, but I get the impression that successful applicants all have had multiple years of graduate coursework in physics and mathematics at their undergrad institutions. Of course, I understand that research experience is far more important (and I think I do well in that aspect), but there's no doubt that the other highly qualified applicants have stellar research experiences as well -- with work in topics relevant to hep-th, no less.

My question, then, is whether this impression is realistic, or if I'm totally off-base and misguided here. My biggest concern is that, from what I have been told, a PhD in HET is not worth it unless it comes from one of the top 10 programs (due to the scarcity of positions and lack of funding afterwards). Again, this may be a total misconception on my part, but the prospects do seem rough (more so than other academic positions, I should say).

P.S.: FWIW, my interest in HET and cosmology grew from going through Anthony Zee's books on QFT and gravity (having self-studied the prereqs through a mix of Shankar and Griffiths), so I believe I have some idea of the actual nature/mathematics of the topics. However, I'm sure that saying something along these lines in my application, or how I go through the arXiv looking for papers I don't understand, is nothing short of pettiness. It would certainly be strange for someone with no formal experience in the subjects to profess deep interests in doing research in said field.


texts: What would an inclusive curriculum look like in a computer science course?

texts:
There exists plenty of literature about how to be inclusive, both in the workplace and in the classroom.

I'm wondering how this might be done intentionally — specifically in the context of a computer science class — from a curricular standpoint. I'm thinking of generic intro-to-programming types of courses, which usually include algorithms and data structures.

I have attended several workshops and have read a few articles, but haven't really delved into the literature about inclusivity in the classroom. From these workshops, I am quite comfortable being inclusive in the classroom (lectures, interactions, etc.) -- but I'm looking for ways to have that reach to homework, projects, and so on -- and specifically for computer science as far as possible.