Am I obliged to tell students that there are different versions of the exam? This past term, I was teaching in a collaborative classroom where students sit together at round tables. This works well for in-class activities and peer learning, but is the not exactly the best configuration on the day of a midterm or final.

Concerned that some students might have wandering eyes – either inadvertently, or perhaps even intentionally – I came up with something that might help. Several of the exam questions required some basic arithmetic, so I made three different copies of the exam, where the numbers in the word problems varied a little bit. (Each version's problem was solved the same way, but the end result would be different.)

Later, I was talking with my daughter about what I had done. She asked me if I told the students that not everyone was getting the exact same test. (I had not.) She told me about some classes she had taken where the instructor had done this same thing, but announced it ahead of time (saying something like, "There's no sense trying to copy an answer from a neighbor, because the problems vary.") She also said that one instructor had gone so far as to print the exams on different colored sheets of paper. (My daughter assumed that all the orange tests were the same, all the blue tests were the same, etc., but that was just conjecture.)

If this makes any difference, there was already one cheating incident (or a class project) earlier in the term.

Also, I realize that it's often the "Show your work" part of an exam question that is the most important part, but that's not the case for this particular course. It's an introductory programming course, and I give small snippets of code, asking, "What does the output of this program look like?" So, for some of these questions, it would be very easy to copy an answer from another student's exam.

This made me wonder:

Am I under any obligation to share with my students the fact that there are multiple versions of the exam? Or is it okay to remain silent about the issue?
Is there any good reason for doing it one way or the other?

Making different versions of the exam is standard practice in a lot universities when physical barriers against cheating are not available, when students take the test in different moments or with take away exams or homework.

Provided that difference of versions is not noticeable at first sight, not telling the students in advance won't harm honest students, but it will make dishonest students to unsuccessfully cheat in a way that will be easily noticeable - probably some students will produce the answer to their neighbours'questions. Therefore, I don't see an ethical problem in not telling them.

In the end it depends on what is your goal: If you want to catch dishonest students cheating, don't tell them, but if you prefer discouraging dishonest students from trying to cheat, tell them. When faced with that dilemma I usually choose the later.

Of course, by telling them you will give cheaters some useful information on how to cheat, but that should be addressed in another way.


Would it be acceptable to occasionally sleep at the lab? I'm currently an undergrad, and work as a researcher in an EECS lab. Recently, I discovered a novel application to work on, and so for the last few weeks I've been staying at the lab late almost every day, leaving at midnight or later. Since I live in a dorm on the opposite end of campus, I usually don't get to sleep until around 2-3 AM. In the morning I need to be up and in class by 8-9 AM (depending on the day), in a building that happens to be right next to the lab.

Would it be acceptable to set up a foldable cot at night (leave it under my desk during the day) and sleep at the lab occasionally? I'm usually the last person at the lab at night. If it cultural context matters, I work at a research university in California (US).

EDIT

The lab is mostly composed of graduate students and professors, so they usually maintain a regular 9-5/5:30 schedule at the lab (minus office hours and lectures). As one of a small handful of undergrads, I'm usually there between 4 (when class ends) and well after everyone else leaves. In some cases, graduate students will sleep in the graduate student lounge just outside the lab proper (still part of the lab IIRC).

Ask your supervisor. If your PI supervisor controls the space and gives you permission, there shouldn't be any problem for you.

I've seen situations where there are experiments that need to be babysat over long periods and researchers bring cots into the lab so that they can devote more time and provide more frequent checkups than would be possible otherwise.

Of course, if you are homeless and living in the lab for some longer period of time to avoid paying rent somewhere else, that seems like a much bigger problem. Honestly though, I've seen that done as well. The OK-ness and consequences of sleeping your lab will depend on the local culture, rules, and laws. If you ask a supervisor, it will be their responsibility to make that call.


What to mention as funding source as a graduate student funded by the school? I am a PhD student in mathematics, and I will be submitting my first paper soon. Part of the guideline is to denote whether I’m being funded (“supported”) and by whom. I know that papers acknowledge NSF grants and fellowships and such, but in my case I do not personally have a grant or fellowship. I’m simply being funded by the school, and I guess that money comes from my advisor’s research grant. In this case, do I acknowledge the support from my advisor’s grant, or do I not need to mention it since I am not the primary recipient of the grant?

You should ask your advisor.  They will be able to tell you if your funding comes from a grant, and if so, they can give you the details you need to report (e.g. oftentimes a grant ID number is required).
If indeed your funding is coming from a research grant, then it may very well be important to disclose this.  Not only for the journal, but it may also be required under the terms of the grant, and failing to do so may in principle jeopardize your advisor's funding.
In general, the obligation to acknowledge grant funding extends to everyone who receives support from the grant, not just the PI or "primary recipient".  Ideally your advisor would have told you about this when you first started to receive funding from the grant, but this often gets overlooked.


How do STEM professors become so hyper-efficient with their research? When I compare myself to my advisor, I don’t compare our level of expertise, as I don’t think that’s so meaningful; he’s obviously years ahead of me in the field, and so any time I talk about research with him, I accept that I know less than him and am prepared to feel ignorant / make mistakes / ask silly questions.

But I do compare myself to him regarding things such as efficiency, organization, motivation, curiosity ... some other things perhaps.
And I would say it is the efficiency that stands out the most – and where he completely leaves me in the dust.

Does this mean that the writing is on the wall, and that I should drop out of the race for academia now? Is it more of an innate skill that is so significant that it separates the best researchers from the rest? Or, is that extremely high level of efficiency something that is learned throughout many years of training?

Efficiency tends to rise with demand - the more demand for a resource exceeds supply, the more efficient with it you quickly learn to be. Time in the lab/office tends to follow a similar process. When you have 10 hours to write that abstract, it often takes 10 hours. When it's gotta get done in the next 45 minutes because that's the only time you have, you just write it in 45 minutes and be done with it.

The other main issue is experience - having done this thing before - completely changes how long it takes to get something done. When you are doing something the first few times, everything is new and requires a lot of cognitive load. Nothing is automatic yet - everything is not only deliberate, but you may need to take time thinking out all the options, then going through each of a dozen possibilities trying to explore what you should try next, then wondering what you will do if that doesn't work out quite right, are you really sure that's going to work, etc. Hours (or days, or weeks, or months) of wondering and exploring can be cut down into minutes of doing. But you kind of need learn how to do it in the first place to move on to that point.

It's valuable to look up to highly effective, proficient, efficient people and try to learn from them, but there is the constant danger of discouragement if you compare where they are now - after possibly a decade or more of experience, hundreds of papers, and who knows how many collaborators and mentors they've learned from in this time - to where you are now, comparatively just starting off. And when they were just starting out, they were not so efficient as they are now (don't believe all the legends that tend to grow with time on their own, either).

I don't know how efficient you can become, and the funny thing about human growth and development is you don't really know either. No one really knows the future, or the extent of any individual's potential. It's up to you to decide if you want to find out how efficient you can become, if you can improve your organization skills, if you can cultivate greater creativity - then you can give it you all in finding out what you can accomplish, as a sort of experiment, or you can decide if you'd really rather do something else instead. But you haven't indicated anything that signifies you are doomed from the start, so long as you are willing to accept that it takes much time and sustained effort to achieve such growth in anything that you choose to do.


What to do as a grad student about an adverse grader? I'm a grad student and one course I'm taking is graded by another grad student. Today, nearly halfway through the term, we finally got feedback on all our previously submitted homework dating back to the beginning of the term. I've done everything correctly, but the grader has frequently marked me down for not including steps in my work which are so obvious I would never, as a grader myself, consider marking sophomores down for passing over them without comment, much less fellow grad students. And on a couple of occasions he's marked me down for reasons which are plainly factually incorrect.

I can see statistics for each assignment's grades and it looks like I may be the only one getting dinged like this; other students are generally getting either perfect scores or scores low enough that it should indicate they've actually gotten things wrong. I begin to wonder whether the grader has it out for me. At the present rate I could end up with a B+ or A- on my transcript for this relatively easy course where I'm turning in practically perfect work.

The fact that I'm only finding this out halfway through the term does make things worse, but even if I'd known beforehand that he'd grade this way, honestly I don't think I could possibly have predicted the particular trivialities he's insisting on. So the only way I can imagine ruling those out is by turning straightforward single-page TeX'd assignments into ten-page exercises in stating the obvious. And then there are the problems where his stated reason is simply wrong.

During the pandemic, courses are being held remotely, and the site we use for submitting homework and viewing feedback includes a way to request a regrade. But it appears that request goes to the grader, and if this is a pattern of unfair treatment I'm not sure about confronting him about it. Yet I don't want to disproportionately hassle the professor, who I've never met before this class but who has commented positively on my comments in class.

How should I address this in a way that doesn't escalate things/burn bridges/whatever but does address the problem?

Edit: a couple people are misunderstanding. This isn't about me looking for 'leniency' on 'harsh grading.' I've done the work correctly, and the grader has taken exception to my style or something; he apparently hasn't been dinging other students similarly. I didn't intend to adduce examples, but perhaps given the misunderstandings it's necessary, so here are two. I showed a particular vector space was n-dimensional and exhibited n linearly independent vectors, and concluded they were a basis; I was marked down for not explaining why. I wouldn't expect sophomore linear algebra students to tediously reiterate every single time that any set of n linearly independent vectors in an n-dimensional space form a basis, much less grad students. In another instance I was marked down for saying the singular value matrix is diagonal, with the grader complaining that it's only diagonal if it's square. That's simply an overly restrictive use of the term; what I said was correct and clear.

Of course, you are perfectly entitled to get graded fairly. Talk to the prof, and when you do, concentrate on the factually wrong grades if they are the substantial part of your complaint, because that's where you can provably address the factual incorrectness of the marking. Make absolutely sure this is really the case; if you get that wrong, people won't listen to you on the other things.

If the professor looks at that, you could add as an afterthought that you generally feel that the grader is overmeticulous, and whether you are really supposed to submit at that level of detail?

Generally, much will depend upon how well you do on other courses.

I would completely put aside the thought whether the grader has it in for you, as you have no way to prove it, unless you have hard evidence for that (e.g. some proof of a conflict of interest or something else). I would avoid going down that route, though.


Should I do anything when I see several references that are not used in the text? In a linguistics paper I read, I noticed that several references in the bibliography are not actually used in the text. This is for about 10-15% of the references the case. Should I do anything with this?
I always thought that all references must be used in the text, because even if they are just suggestions for further reading you would want some explanation why it is relevant and what you can find where.

I only know the author through their work and do not know the editors. The paper is from 2011. The references are rather general. They are relevant to the paper, but you would want page numbers with them unless you are familiar with them. They are all from different authors and different institutes. It is likely that the references were used in previous versions of the text.

There's nothing inherently wrong with this.  It's sometimes done to mention sources that provided general background information, or that the author suggests for further reading, but which weren't needed to support any specific claim within the paper.  Some journals don't allow this, but it's a matter of style.

Even if the journal didn't want this, or if those references were included by mistake, it's a harmless error which just wastes a little bit of space.

If you have good reason to suspect that references were given in bad faith purely for padding, or to increase citation counts of other articles, then that would be misconduct - whether they were cited in text or not.  But otherwise I don't see that this represents anything improper, and there is nothing you should do about it.


How to deal with results that are given as exercises I'm currently writing my thesis in mathematics and in the introductory part I want to give a brief overview over a field I'm not very familiar with. There are some results in the book I'm reading which are stated as exercises for the reader, which I'd like to include as theorems in my thesis. I don't want to prove them, since this part is only meant to give the reader an overview of some basic concepts and to show him the importance of some constructions which I will generalize later (which is the actual bread and butter of the thesis). So how do I deal with this:

Don't give any citation at all and assume these concepts are well known to anyone working in the field? - I wouldn't give the definition of a vector space in my thesis, so this might be justifiable. However, I wouldn't consider those theorems as basic as the definition of vector spaces...
Do a heavy amount of googling to find sone sources which prove those theorems? - This might take a considerable amount of time, so I'd like to avoid it. It might also turn out to be impossible, since the phrasing might be different enough in the original sources so that I just won't find them
Cite the Problem from the book I'm working with? - I don't think I can do this, since the results aren't proved in the reference I would give

Note that none of my results rely on any of these theorems.

In mathematics, if you cite a result, you should really be able provide the proof if somebody asks for it. So I would strongly recommend against option 3.

One thing you might consider is writing the author of the textbook, explaining your situation, and asking if he's willing to send you a proof. Then you can cite it as

  problem 8.35 in textbook, proof provided by private communication with [author]

even if he would rather not have a proof of the exercise published.

Of course, if he replies "I think I had a proof when I wrote the textbook, but I've forgotten it now," you might need to come up with a proof in some other way.

There is at least one exercise in a textbook whose proof is highly non-trivial, and was an open problem for several years before a journal paper giving the proof was published (and the only indication in the textbook of this is that part (b) of the problem is "optional").


Student missing exam for “medical reasons” I have a student who failed an exam I gave three months ago and was supposed to show up for a remediation exam this week. The date was announced long in advance, and the student neither showed (all the others did show up) nor warned me. Now, she is asking for a new exam date, saying she was absent due to “medical reasons”. She produced a certificate that she was seeing a doctor at the time, but nothing indicates that it was an urgent need (rather than, say, a scheduled appointment).

How would you handle such a case? I asked the administrative staff at my institution, and they told me to proceed as I saw fit. Should I ask a more specific justification? In what form?

In my experience dealing with these types of things correctly takes more time and effort then letting them slide. Continue scheduling exam times for her until she takes the exam or the incomplete automatically converts to a fail. I would even reuse the last remediation exam instead of making a new exam. I would only schedule the exam at times that are convenient for me.


Does the usage of Facebook and Twitter harm a professor's career? Should they instead protect their tweets and Facebook posts and keep them private / Friends-only in their account settings?

Some profs' tweets / Facebook posts are great and inform the public of their new research, especially stuff in machine learning / data science, while other profs I have seen use much of their tweets and Facebook posts to rant about politics, e.g. rants about Donald Trump.  It seems dangerous for a professor to have all of his political feelings posted publicly on Twitter / Facebook.

Unless someone has done some quantitative or qualitative research, I think this will be very hard to verify either way. There are certainly professors that are famous and have very vocal political opinions, such as Noam Chomsky, and many philosophers. However, it is hard to verify whether: their opinions help their career, their career helps people accept their opinions more readily, or whether their career could have gone even further without their opinions.

One thing to note, however, is that it used to be many philosophers seemed to take it as a duty to give public talks and so on, on politics (e.g., Bertrand Russell), and perhaps other academics did too. So although we probably cannot give an empirical answer right now, it does seem that in many cases social media is merely an extension of professor's work, even if they are giving thoughts on areas they do not research, as thinkers they may have a duty to contribute informed opinions based on their training.


Can co-authoring a paper as a new grad harm my reputation/career? To be specific, I just graduated with a Bachelor's degree, and my final project supervisor has asked me to co-author a paper with him about the subject of the project I did with his supervision.

I'd love to join the research community, and I guess this would a be good starting point, but there are two issues I'm concerned about:

The first is related to the subject itself: (a) I'm not convinced of the quality of the suggested solution. (b) The project tries to solve two different problems.
The second issue is that I'm not interested in the field of the project. My interest is in a different field. Though, both are related to computer science.

So, would participating in this paper do any harm to my reputation or my chances of getting into a good graduate program in the field I'm interested in?

Update:

Thank you so much for the kind answers. Almost all of you agree that the second issue is harmless, but there are different opinions regarding the first one.

So I said that my supervisor knows better, and I decided to go on and started planning the outline of the paper with his help. When I got to the writing part, I noticed that the main body doesn't relate to or even mention the main problem that we've specified. This is when I decided to decline the offer. It just doesn't feel right.

I somewhat disagree with the previous answers. I think it is largely improbable that publishing a paper would harm your career, but it could if, for example, it is really poor and someone happens to read it.

Eykanal in a comment to Dave Clarke said that "no one would consider holding you accountable for the content of the paper"; I recall that there is a important trend to insist that all authors of a paper should be accountable for its content.

The fact that you do not want to pursue in the direction of the paper is completely harmless, though. There is really no problem working in different areas, the only thing to be careful about is not to spread oneself efforts too much, but this does not apply here.

So the main issue is (a); here I would say that it can be difficult to judge the quality of a result, especially for an undergraduate, and I would advise to trust your advisor. So it is really, really unlikely that co-authoring this paper could do any kind of harm to your career; in fact it could do more harm to decline this opportunity, since your advisor would probably not understand and you will probably need his or her recommendation.

At the end, I do not disagree that much with other answerers; but I would be less general in my statements.


What is a "distributed paper" and is it worth the effort? Looking for interesting conferences I stumbled upon some remarks that there were presented papers and distributed papers at a conference session. This distinction was new to me, so I did some web searches: It turns out that this is pretty common among the International Sociological Association and the European Sociological Association. According to one of their Conference FAQs a "distributed paper is a written paper which the author(s) brings along to the session to distribute to those attending" in contrast to an actually presented paper.

Of course, it is an individual cost–benefit analysis whether that kind of a conference contribution is worth the effort (and fees), but it is hard to do the math withouth any experiences what I could expect from such a conference contribution.

Do you have experience with this format? I am especially interested in:

What kind of feedback (quantity and quality) can I expect from a distributed paper?
In comparison to a poster or a normal presentation, what could be advantages of a distributed paper for the "distributor"?
Do you have suggestions how I could optimize a "distributed paper" to get better feedback (or feedback at all)?

I was at the European Sociological Association conference this year and only in one session did I encounter a distributed paper. The paper was duly given out at the start of the regular session and the (experienced) chair asked the author without any warning to present it. Although the author hadn't specifically prepared a presentation for his distributed paper, he did talk us through the paper and the audience asked a couple of questions based on superficially skim-reading it.

To answer your specific queries, the level of feedback would probably depend on how much time the Chair decided to give your paper. You might be able to negotiate this with the chair by email or in person just before the session, especially if the session is generously timed or somebody has dropped out, both of which are quite common at the ESA. It might even be possible to give a short Powerpoint presentation based on the paper as well. The advantage of a distributed paper could be that your paper ends up in people's hands and they might read it if they suffer a bad talk later on that day.


Is it OK to use the content of my own paper which is not yet submitted, in my other paper? I have finished writing one paper, but have not submitted it yet to a journal. I am working on a related but not identical subject, though many of the definitions and theorems are same (but they are true in a very different context compared to the first paper). Now, is it okay to use the same figures that I had used for illustrations in my first paper? What about the theorems and definitions? I feel like changing the theorem statements is not worth spending time on, but is this correct?

Most journals require that the submitted manuscript has not been submitted total or partially to any other journal. Of course different policies apply to open access journals. If I were you I would check the journal's policy regarding this issue and contact the editors if necessary to get their opinion (probably they will require details on what will be duplicated). To the very least discuss this with your supervisor. You can find yourself in a very unpleasant position if you are not careful (not to mention having your papers rejected), as indicated by @Enthusiastic Student


A professor has offered to send me a hard copy of his new book. Would it be rude to ask for a PDF file instead? While working my way through one textbook, I spotted several errors, TeXed them up and emailed to the author of the textbook. He thanked me and asked for my physical address so he could send me a copy of his new textbook (a more advanced one). I was planning to work though his new textbook anyway, since it matches my interests. Yet I'd much prefer a PDF file and not a hard copy. Would it be rude to ask if he could send me a PDF file instead? I don't want to come over as ungrateful, yet I'd make much more use of it if I had a PDF file.

Definitely of relevance here:

He certainly does have a PDF file of the new book since the publisher offers PDF as one of the options (hardcover, softcover, and PDF file),
The PDF file in question can not be 'freely' found on the Internet (although its previous edition can).

It is a question of framing. Frame it as something that is good for him, not just for you. I'd write something along the lines of:

  Thank you very much for your kind offer. I'm indeed  very interested in the subject of book X. It probably is easier and cheaper for you if you just send me a PDF, and as I am someone who reads mostly on a screen anyway, I would be equally happy with an electronic version.

(And then you might or might not mention your postal address anyway, but in any case stress again that it is up to him to decide.)

In fact, I have had such situations before (people asking me for a copy of my dissertation [which I would have send them for free in print], but who also mailed that they preferred a PDF).


Do most major math journals not care about a piece of research unless it proves an established result or problem? And by established, I mean something that of course already exists be it in a textbook or another research text. I ask because I am developing/researching a what could be said to be quite original concept on my personal time but I feel that it is too idiosyncratic to be even given a thought, and the fact is perhaps offer no value most major journals will not accept it due to its concepts not being attached much to something already existing. Of course, there are other papers I am referencing and citing in the paper but the concept overall is not something I think is of much interest. If it helps, the concept is developing vector spaces over the field of surreal numbers to provide a basis for studying algebro-geometric concepts in a surreal analytic framework. The journals I considered are Compositio Mathematica and AMS.

Based on the papers I've read submitted to the aforesaid journals, they seem to prove fairly substantial results dealing with well established existing concepts. This doesn't seem to come near what I am doing since my concept is infant.

Also, I am still in high school and am afraid of publishing. Will being a high schooler be put against me? Since I always hear if you are a high schooler your concepts be it whatever have no relevance. I am not trying to prove a major result or anything; just get my concepts out there. I've considered arXiv as an initial step to getting whatever research I have noticed but it requires sponsorship which I don't think will make its way to me.

Congratulations on developing your own research program!!

I think your observation is correct, that you may be unable to have your results published (so far). In general, papers that provide a basis for further study don't tend attract a lot of attention by themselves.

It's not necessary need to prove an established result or problem, though. For example, if you discovered some interesting phenomena concerning algebraic varieties over the surreal numbers, for which known analogues do not exist over other fields, these could perhaps "sell" a paper.

That said, let me strongly encourage you to continue developing your theory, without worrying too much about whether other people will take interest or whether you can publish it. Intellectual inquiry, undertaken for its own sake, is valuable in and of itself; moreover, your experience will prove quite valuable if you pursue a research career in mathematics.

Good luck!


Correcting professors' lecture notes One of my profs in college has (after years of students asking him to do so) put forth a syllabus with all the material for the class he is teaching.

With the help of 3 students from previous years (who did most of the writing), he made a neat 90 page syllabus covering what is taught during lectures.

My year is the first year that'll benefit from this as it was finished early September 2017 (currently in October 2017). However, as is to be expected, some typos still exist, and some little mistakes in formulas do too. I read through it and compiled a Word doc containing all the typos and mistakes I could find and was wondering if it would be badly received if I sent him an email with those. He has asked his students to tell him if they found mistakes, so I know I should probably let him know about those, but I'm not sure as to whether fixing typos will be seen as arrogant or even remotely relevant, since I'm probably the only one getting triggered by them because of my OCD.

Thanks !

I can only speak for myself, and I'm just a postdoc.

I would be indifferent if someone pointed out one or two typos; on the one hand that's helpful, on the other a bit pedantic.

However, if I received a "Word doc containing all the typos and mistakes [you] could find" in a 90 page document, I would be delighted and grateful.

As an aside, I'm currently working through a textbook to brush up my statistics skills. I'm trying to collect the mistakes that I stumble upon in order to send them to the author once I've finished the book, so he can correct them in the next edition.


Use of verbatim quotes in reporting findings in qualitative research (semi-structured interviews) In qualitative research (semi- structured interviews) do we have to use verbatim quotes in reporting the findings?

There is no prescription.

However, it is always nice and useful to convey through your report the 'voices' of the interviewees through carefully selected quotes, i.e. the most significant, revealing or unique.

Hope that's useful.


How to judge a potential graduate student based on a short interview? In my department, we typically have many more applications for MS/PhD students than we have open positions, so it is a "buyer's market" from the professor's point of view. Each student submits a relatively standard application package of grades, a resume, any awards or trophies from various academic contests, papers or patents they've published, and recommendation letters. Based on this, a short list of students are invited for short (<20 minutes) face-to-face interviews either in person or via teleconference.
My typical questions include:

what kind of career do you see for yourself after graduation?
what about my research interests you most?
explain your particular contribution to your undergrad research project

My problem is that many students look superficially the same, and in the interviews it is difficult to move them beyond standard responses that they know I want to hear. My belief is that this is my fault because I am not asking the right questions. While most of the students I have eventually accepted ended up working out just fine in my group, my error rate is still well above 0%, both in terms of gems I let go and those who were admitted but didn't excel.
In my perfect world I would be able to probe just that one level deeper to separate the wheat from the chaff. Are there any good tips for how, in a 10-20 minute interview, to get a deeper sense of a student beyond their "on paper" appearance?

When interviewing candidates for industry jobs, I concentrated on two issues:

Is the resume accurate, or if inflated how much? A resume is a sales document, and candidates do try to present themselves as favorably as possible, but it should be fundamentally truthful.

Can the candidate discuss technical issues in the relevant field?

Everything else is covered by the paperwork.
Fortunately, there is one form of question that can help resolve both issues. Pick a topic, such a research project they claim to have done or a course they did well on, and ask about it. Do they know as much about the topic as the resume indicates, and can they discuss it?
As Buffy suggests in a comment, zero error rate may not be possible. Ultimately, you just have to do your best and accept you will make mistakes.


Creating paper on software tool In my master thesis I developed a software tool that improves a common workflow used in a certain industry. Currently, no such tool exists, and this workflow is conducted manually all around the globe. I am currently in the finalization phase of my thesis and my supervisor told me to write a paper on the tool and the worflow improvement.

Now here is my Problem:

I have the tool and I can show that the workflow is performed better with it (our industry partner puts almost no limits on use cases, interviews, etc)
I have no idea how properly package this into a paper (also, what to objectively measure to "proof" the improvement)

Could someone please point out a few "good" papers, where a software tool was created for a problem domain (where no such tool existed before) and evaluated so that I can learn from it's structure, the approach and the proper "packaging" of the entire paper?

Although I don't have any specific tips on structuring this type of paper, you might be interested in this list of journals that focus on publishing scientific software. You should be able to find lots of examples of "software" papers there. Those papers that I have read in Methods in Ecology and Evolution have been particularly high quality, and you might try starting there.


Chicago Manual of Style chapter and section title capitalization Ploughing through Chicago Manual of Style Online, I can't seem to find any concrete reference to whether chapter and section/subsection titles are capitalized in headline style or sentence style.

It seems, given some examples that claim to follow CMoS that at least Chapter and first level Section headings are headline style, however, I'd love to find an authoritative statement from the Manual itself, but I can't find it (I'm referring to the actual manuscript, not to citations of book chapters, which should definitely be headline style).

If your publisher has its own guidelines, follow them. Otherwise this is described rather clearly in the "Manuscript preparation, editing, and proofreading" chapter of the Chicago Manual of Style. Their definition of 'manuscript' includes both books and journal articles; and 'subhead' means title or heading of any subdivision of the text below the chapter level.

CMoS 16th ed., sec. 2.55 on Editing part titles and chapter or article titles.:

  Chicago recommends that all titles be in headline style unless a work is part of a series or journal that follows some other capitalization style (see 8.157).

CMoS 16th ed., sec. 2.56 on Editing subheads:

  Chicago recommends that all subheads be in headline style unless a work is part of a series or journal that follows some other capitalization style (see 8.157). But if an author has consistently used sentence style for subheads (see 8.156), that style should not be altered without consultation with the author and publisher, since it may be more appropriate in a particular work. Where subheads consist of full sentences, sentence-style capitalization is preferable.


Emerging science citation index (ESCI) listed vs SCI listed journals - worthyness to publish As I know 'Emerging science citation index (ESCI) listed journals' will not receive an impact factor from 'Thompson Reuters'. Further, Science citation indexed (SCI) and Science citation index expanded (SCIE) journals receive impact factors.

Suppose I'm gonna apply for a scholarship for a PhD and that scholarship requires me to have some contribution to the world as a researcher, is there a probability that they will ever consider a research published in a 'SCI' or 'SCIE' listed journal than 'ESCI' listed journal? provided those journals are from reputed publishers.

And is it worth to publish in a 'ESCI' journal? or am I just wasting my precious paper in a non-worthy journal? any other factors to be considered when publishing papers?

P.S: Suppose, my study area as 'Construction Management and Economics'

There is no one generally applicable strategy to select a journal to publish in. Metrics such as Impact Factor and Citations help but they vary a lot between fields. It also depends a lot on the content, quality, and scope of your work for whether you will get into a prestigious journal. Note that some smaller specialised journals are not necessarily easier to get in to, they may even have higher standards in technical skills even if they will accept work that is not so groundbreaking or novel.

There are many reasons that a journal could be "emerging" and they're not all necessarily for dubious reasons. Many subfields have emerged recently and of course new journals must be formed for the purpose of publishing this work. Similarly, there is a trend towards more interdisciplinary research and more demand for Open Access journals. You should still be careful with unknown journals as they can be "predatory". Some will publish almost anything to get your precious open access fees. If you are unsure and have not heard of the journal, it is probably not a good idea to submit there. However, there can be many valid reasons that a new journal has been formed that does not yet have an impact factor (it takes years to accrue citations so the IF is uncertain until the journal has been established). You can still assess the quality of the journal based on other factors: the quality of the existing publications, whether editors are well-known members of your field, or whether it is affiliated with an established academic society or publisher (publishers such as Springer-Nature and Elsevier start new journals quite often).

If you are unsure, you should consult with other researchers in your field. If you are a student, this should be one of the roles of your supervisor(s) and advisory committee. They are experts in your field and have more experience with this than you. Prospective supervisors will often also give advice on how to apply if you ask them. If you are a postdoc or above, you can still consult with your colleagues and get their advice. Generally, what matters is the reputation of the journal and publisher. If members of your department think the journal is okay, so too should your thesis examiners and future prospective employers. Impact Factor is just one of the considerations for the quality of a publication and a journal. Of course, they will also read your work and assess it on its own merits as well (as will your reviewers).


How can we differentiate a "completed working paper" from "incomplete working paper"? There are many governmental or non-profit or for-profit research institutes in economics or finance. I see working papers and discussion papers which were cited many times. Although 3-4 years passed, the authors probably did not consider publishing it in a journal. So, what makes a "working paper" a "completed paper" ? Without publishing it in a journal how can we know that it is really an incomplete piece of work or actually complete work but has to be named as "working paper" because of the "environment that paper available"
Is it possible to have a "final draft of working paper" without publishing it in a journal?

In practice it is very hard to determine when a paper is done. So there is no easy answer other than read the paper, and make up your own mind whether you consider it complete.


Can I bring a spouse along for a conference? Is it possible to bring my spouse along for overseas academic conference? (My spouse will not be attending the conference. Airfare and accommodation for my spouse will be paid by us.)

The intention is for my spouse to visit the country and for us to do some sightseeing together during weekends/ off days.

Are there any things to look out for? Has anyone tried this before?

Thanks for any feedback.

Yes, it is perfectly normal and accepted, at least in all fields I have heard about. Many conferences also allow one to purchase extra tickets for the social program (conference dinner, excursions) for spouses and accompanying persons.

The only possible source of trouble is how to split the hotel bill, since you will (most likely) be sharing a room. Make sure to inquire in advance with the institution that pays for your trip, or at least ask a colleague what the norm is.


How to properly withdraw an application for a faculty position? I applied for an assisstant professor position in Germany, and was invited to an interview. However, I have since come to the conclusion that I would most likely would not accept the position even if I should get an offer. In a nutshell, this is due to various factors that have come to light and make the position much less attractive than it did seem originally, including

The primary location of the position is not very attractive and would require frequent travel for teaching to a different location
There is no compensation for costs of travelling and accommodation for the interview. This is very usual compared to all previous invitations for interviews I received. While in itself it may be a relatively negligible amount of money if I should get an offer (and take the position), I perceive the chance of the latter fairly low
In contrast to the job announcement, the area of research expected by the candidate is in a rather specific subfield where I have no previous experience, and would have a hard time to write a research concept
It is relatively likely that I will receive an offer by a different institution within the next weeks which I would prefer over that position.

Some weeks after my application, I received in informal email expressing the intent to invite me for an interview. At that time, I accepted the invitation, but was not aware of the factors summarized above.

I have now received the official invitation, and am almost certain that attending the interview would be a waste of time and money for me and the committee.

Is there a good/polite way to withdraw my application, or should I just "bite the bullet" and go anyway (at least this would be some additional job interview experience)? What are possible negative consequences for future applications (e.g. regarding the impression that a withdrawal will make to the committee members)?

The most helpful thing that you can do is to send them an email withdrawing your application as soon as possible.  They will move on to other candidates.


Is regional accreditation important for a masters degree? My understanding is that a regionally accredited school is important for getting into other schools, such as when applying for a masters program. But considering a masters program is typically the end of the road, is the type of accreditation important when looking at schools for a masters degree?

If choosing between two schools:

A. Regionally accredited, but less desired degree
B. Nationally
accredited, but more desired degree

(desired = more desired degree type by the industry)

For example:

A. Regionally accredited; MS in Game Design and Development
B. Nationally accredited; MS in Computer Science with heavy emphasis on Game design and development

To gain entry into the game industry as a programmer, a computer science degree probably goes further than a game design and development degree. Both schools would provide the networking.

Do employers care about accreditation type?

The field of game design and development is relatively new and specialized.  The best potential employers are quite likely to know the reputations of institutions that offer suitable degrees.  Therefore, I would say that the reputation of the institution is probably more important than either the exact degree title or the accrediting agency.

You probably have a small number of target employers in mind.  Try to find out where their employees went to school.


Should I send a letter of recommendation directly to a student? I teach at a U.S. community college, and commonly write letters of recommendation for students applying subsequently to either bachelor's programs or graduate school. I am accustomed to sending such letters directly to the school/program in question. Looking at other Academia SE questions, this seems to be the general practice.

However, once in a while I get a student who says something like, "No, this school requires that I include the recommendation with my application packet; give it directly to me." I may or may not be informed as to the school or program in question. Should I comply with such a request, or decline?

In general, this is a generous thing to do, if you are comfortable with the student.  I would make sure to ask what school/program it is being sent to, and then you can double check (and decline if it's fishy). You can ask this question without acting suspicious, just say you want to tailor the letter for the position.

I have had to include my letters for a few postdoctoral positions I applied for (in Italy and Croatia), and I cannot be more grateful for the fact that I had some senior researchers who were willing to send the letter directly to me so I could include it with my application materials.


PhD without Enrolling in Formal Program I am in the USA. Did a BS and MS in Computer Science years ago.

Is it possible to do a PhD without enrolling in a formal program?

Currently I get small breaks of free time (between work and helping an elderly parent), and I'm using it to do self-directed programming projects to determine what I am truly interested in researching.

Any guidance is most appreciated.

I think this is very unlikely, but it would depend on the educational resources that you have access to. If you have a local university you should talk to them and maybe to one or two faculty members there as well as the department head. I assume that your relocation options are currently limited, so that is where to start. If you have a lot to contribute they may make something possible, but expect it to take a long time. But it will likely require a formal relationship.

On the other hand, there are places at which the on-site requirements are short term. You might have to spend weekends (or one or two a month, at least) at a university remote from you. Such programs aren't part-time, however. It is just that most of the work, even team work, is done remotely. This might be a better option for you, though the travel costs (time and money) might not be small. They can also be just as intense as a residential program.

Some of these programs, while they are doctorates, may not be PhD programs, though. They may require the same level of research or not. They may or may not be suitable as the basis of an Academic career. They may be intended as more practical/applications based than theory based.

An online search might turn up something that interests you.

However, if you seek a career in Academia in the US, you almost certainly need a doctorate that the NSF recognizes as a Research Doctorate. Anything that isn't may get you a job initially, depending on the market, but you will very possibly run in to trouble when it comes time to apply for tenure.


Emailing a professor in another country for a feedback on a project that I'm working on? I am a telecommunication graduate (Bachelors holder) and currently getting my master degree"completed one semester" .

I am working on a project and developed a new  original idea and constructed multiple algorithms based on it, however my professors could not provide me with a feedback about this new idea since they are not specialists in the field of my work, So I need a feedback from a specialist.

How can send a decent email to professors in another country for getting an answer on whatever my idea is valid and can be published.

First, assuming that you are in the US, learn to use professional grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and fonts.  Starting off with "i m a" will not get any professor's attention.  Try using "I am a".

If English is not your primary language, and you must communicate in English, then find someone to help you.

Next, just write up what you need, in detail.  Spell it out, like this.

Dear Doctor ______,
I am a student in _________ and I am working on an idea regarding algorithms.  Specifically, ___________.

I would like to get your feedback as you are an expert in algorithms.  May I stop by your office during office hours?

Thanks in advance,
_________.


Switching into Math/Physics This is going to be long as I believe that the context is important.

I have always been fairly good at maths and physics (won state wide prizes in the math contests and even won a gold medal in the national physics olympiad.) I live in USA/UK/AUS (trying to hide my identity).

However, after going through grade 12 I got a spot in medicine and happily went along with it because most of my friends were high achievers and I thought why not? I got a fair bit of recognition for getting into medicine (I admit I enjoyed the ego stroking) but luckily medical school is a graduate course (M.D), so I still had undergrad to go. I initially enrolled as a double major - math and physics but within the first week switched to a pre-med track as I thought that it would ease the transition into medicine.

Here's where things take a turn for the worse.
By the end of second year I absolutely hate medicine and I realise that I truly do love maths and physics. I had luckily taken a couple of the first year mathematics modules  - multivariate calculus and intro to linear algebra and two 2nd year course as well - intro to DEs and intro to probability.

So I talk to my course office and beg them to let me transfer into a mathematics track, but I am only able to do courses where I have the prerequisites satisfied  and hence now (end of 3rd year) - have done, in addition to the courses mentioned above, courses on:
nonlinear dynamics, intro to stochastic processes, a modelling course and a course on systems of coupled dynamical systems.

However, my true passion had always been physics and not only have I not done any meaningful university physics, but also haven't learnt a lot of mathematics - analysis, algebra and geometry.

I am thinking of going on to do a masters and try as hard as possible to steer myself back onto the path of physics and mathematics, but I haven't done a lot of the necessary coursework. Furthermore, my family is low income (another factor pushing me into medicine (no parental pressure) but the thought of a good income was tempting) and so I don't think I can afford to take a couple years to essentially redo a bachelor's degree.

My question is: am I screwed? I am more than willing, and passionate, to learn these subjects by myself - through books. In fact that's how I've learnt most of the things I have to date. But I realise that universities want to see another university giving a student their stamp of approval saying - this student has successfully learnt (insert subject.) I truly believe most of the time these stamps are meaningless, but in the case of admissions it truly is everything.

Please help, any advice is much appreciated.

Maybe you could head for something a little in between like chemical physics or biophysics or chem engineering where some of the courses to date are useful?
My advice is to push for getting your 4 year degree (assuming US) on time.  Just see bad things when people delay too much from the switching.  If you can switch majors while still getting done on time, fine.  Otherwise, do some masters or the like.  Perhaps after working.
You have the wrong idea about the math needed for physics. Analysis (as opposed to "calculus"), algebra (of the abstract sort), and advanced geometry are all really pretty marginal for someone working on undergrad 'zoics.  Read up on Feynman or just talk to physicists (not math types).  You need to be very strong at calculus, high school algebra, and ODEs/PDES.  That's probably your biggest gap right now--diffyQs.  NOT the more theoretical math courses that people talk about on the Internetz.
Getting through a "math methods" book would be good.  If you learn this book from start to finish, that will put you in great stead:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005G14K86/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0 (get a used earlier editions, don't spend $100, I have the 5th.)  Many physicists like Mary Boas (little easier but similar).  The traditional math methods for physics is Arfken Weber, but while it has a few harder topics, it's really a miserable grabbag and doesn't teach well.  I like Kryezing better for self study.)
Finally, I would caution you on the income aspect of physics (or math).  Unless you are a real superstar (which can be rare), you will face huge competition for academic jobs.  These forums are littered with people struggling to find jobs or unhappy with their advisor situation (and the relative subservience required in Ph.D. relationship).  Getting a certified job like a physician is a great move financially and in terms of societal prestige.


What tense to use in arts and humanities papers? How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper advises writers to use the past tense when they write about unpublished research (including the research their paper reports), and to use the present tense to write about research previously published in a primary journal. So, presumably, writers should use the past tense to refer within their paper.

However, in a reply to this question, a user commented that he uses the present tense when he references within his paper.

What tense should writers use when they refer within their paper?
Do arts and humanities papers use tense differently than science papers do?

Verb tense often distinguishes a paper in the humanities from one in the
natural and social sciences.

Generally you would write in the present tense in the humanities (e.g. John Doe explains) and you would use the past tense in a humanities paper only for reporting historical events.

The UNC Writing Centre have a good webpage with examples that explain the three types of verb tenses (present simple, past simple, and present perfect) that they say account for approximately 80% of the verb tense use in academic writing.


How can I ask an unacquainted professor to collaborate with me? I have read several papers written by the professor and want to ask for him to collaborate with me, that is, to help revise my paper and finally make it publish.

I'm concerning with:

1) is it okay to do this?

2) how to effectively ask for help?

3) is it safe to deliver an unpublished work to others?
If not appropriate, what can I do?

Any suggestions and help will be appreciated. Thanks!

There is no single answer to such a question as you deal with people. Regarding whether they will collaborate or not, it really depends on the professor, their style, their current available time to get involved in your work.

But it is very unlikely that collaboration can happen without prior introduction in a venue, or through another third party who knows both of you. You can target a venue where they speak there, and approach them and chat with them to get some sense whether they are interested or not. Follow your heart in these matters. If you do not feel comfortable to the person or get a feeling they are not taking you seriously, forget about them and do not waste your time and ideas with them.

From your post, it seems you are almost done with your work and you want someone to revise it. This can be achieved by submitting your paper to a reputable conference, where experts in the fields are reviewers. You can check some venues where this professor you are interested in is reviewing (not guaranteed though, but if they are an active researcher in the field, they can be in the committee of some conferences.

Is it safe to deliver unpublished work to others? Again, depends on the person. It is better to deliver it for official review where there are some rules governing the process and other parties involved.


How does the college course 101 numbering system work? I'm not an American, but I know that the number 101, often used postpositively, is used to mean fundamentals/rudiments of a particular scholarly subject. I know (partially as a hunch but I also looked it up) this is because introductory courses in American, or maybe North American college are given the number 101.

But now I want to know a bit more about this numbering system, because I was watching a video called: Chemistry 107. Inorganic Chemistry, and I wondered exactly how far along or advanced this is? Is it guaranteed that there are 5 other courses between 101 and 107 that are intermediate between these?

The only information I got from Wikipedia was that:

  This common numbering system was designed to make transfer between
  colleges easier.

So if anyone has gone through an education of this numbering system, could you explain roughly how this is arranged? Is Chemistry 107 really far ahead, and does it mean that there are 5 previous courses before it?

And here is the video in case it helps in answering my question.

A common system works roughly as Najib Idrissi describes: courses numbered 100-199 are first-year courses, which either have no prerequisites or only high school-level prerequisites.  Courses numbered 200-299 are second-year courses, which have 100-level prerequisites, and so on.

But this system is by no means universal in the US, nor does the rough description above capture all aspects of it accurately.  The "and so on"
 above would lead you to guess that 400-499 are the most advanced undergraduate courses, and 500+ are graduate courses.  And that's the case at some universities.  But at my current institution, 300-399 designate the most advanced courses intended primarily for undergraduates (including those in their fourth year), and courses starting at 400 are graduate classes.  At another institution I've been at, "lower-level" undergraduate courses are 1-99, "upper-level" graduate courses are 100-199, "lower-level" graduate courses are 200-299, and "upper-level" graduate courses are 300-399.  And in any of those systems, you can't always guess from the number alone the relationship between Basket Weaving 125 and Basket Weaving 147.

To address your question about the online chemistry course, you can't even assume that Chemistry 101-106 even exist at the institution in question; if they do, they may or may not have any clear relation with 107.  When I was an undergraduate, there were two distinct introductory chemistry sequences for different audiences: 105-106 and 107-108.  So there was no 101, and 106 was a more advanced course than 107.

So if you want to know the place of a specific course in the curriculum, you have to consult the course offerings of the specific institution.

tl;dr (summarizing this and other answers, and many more details in comments): There is no one system for course numbers, even at a given institution.  At best you can make a rough guess about a course number's meaning.  If you really want to know, you need to find information from the specific department.


How do I request that previously taken classes be counted toward my current program? I'm in need of some advice. I am a nontraditional student coming back to school for a degree in nursing. Before I initially left school I only had 2 prerequisites that I still needed to fill. Now I'm being told that I have 4 because I have to retake A&P 1 and 2 with cadavers.

I previously obtained B's in both sections. Is there a proper way to approach the chair or coordinator to a program and respectfully ask for the two classes I've already taken to be reconsidered as fulfillment for the A&P they want me to take now? The material is basically the same and quite frankly I would like to avoid repeating something I've already done well in so that I can move on faster and spend my money taking classes I have not had yet. This feels like a step back.

Now I'm being told that I have 4 because I have to retake A&P 1 and 2 with cadavers.

While I find blanket condemnations of the passive voice to be misguided, this is a case where such an objection is well-founded. Who told you you have to retake them?

There are two main options. One is to go the professor in charge of the course. Go to office hours, and tell them about the courses you previously took. If you took the courses. Ask them what sort of discretion they have as far as granting course credit. For instance, Sometimes a professor can grant credit based on a course challenge exam. If they don't have discretion, ask them who does.

The other option is to talk with the chair of the department. Seeing them in person would probably be be best, but if they don't have office hours or other opportunities to see them, you can email them. As far as how to "respectfully" ask: really, the main thing is just to present it as inquiry rather than a request, and definitely try to avoid giving the impression that you feel entitled to an affirmative response. Showing a willingness for a compromise, such as taking the final exam for the course in lieu of taking the whole course, rather than expecting to have the requirement completely waived, also helps.


The Curious Case of Disappearing Funds I am a Marie Curie early stage researcher in a H2020 funded project (early training network, for those aware of the terminology), that's spread between several universities in Europe (including where I am now, London /snark). I'm approaching the end of my contract.

This project is, according to the published figures, rather lavishly funded (€4 mil in total). Just in the "Research, Networking and Training Costs" there's approx €200k for three researchers for three years (that comes to 1800/mo per researcher!). This excludes salary costs, management costs, etc.

This project has been plagued from the beginning by a serious lack of transparency and mismanagement, which has been slowly revealed throughout the duration of the project.

Some examples:

We, as researchers, were not consulted as to what training we need, and were "forced" to go to courses & workshops organised by the consortium partners, which half of the time were useless (completely off topic).
Even if we didn't attend said workshops (out of desperation to get work done, in my case), the host university would still pay the organising partner a set "participation" fee.
I was told there's no budget to go to conferences, even if I had a paper in. Some of us had to pay up front for our secondment related travel costs (at our industry partners).
We were told secondments were mandatory 8 months, whereas actually they were maximum 8 months.
My host university slotted me in at the wrong pay grade for two years (was being underpaid - this issue is sorted, but just goes to show). They're still using the wrong conversion rate, instead of the ECB rate (£0.7 for €1), but apparently that's going to get sorted at the end of the contract.

My conundrum is simple: I've just been told that my host university has overspent, and there's no more money for me to go to an important industry board meeting where I was invited due to the research I've been doing so far, and supposed to talk about it in front of a couple of important industry actors in my field.

I'm a bit fed up. I have never seen a single excel sheet of sorts on what the money has been spent so far, by whom and on what. It has been consistently denied to us. From my own book-keeping, I've spent, so far, somewhere in the range of 1/5th of my total budget.

I'm afraid to push too hard on my supervisors for details, as I  still need to (write and) submit a dissertation with them, and maybe get a PhD degree - and they might easily get offended.

I also believe this should be "sorted out" at one point or the other. I've been previously working in practice (Architecture & Engineering) for 4 years where such behaviour would have spelled instant trouble and litigations. How would one report/flag serious concern/blow a whistle on such a project, in the rather sensitive British cultural context?

Disclaimer: I do realise I am in a very lucky position, and life can be much worse in academia & research than I'm having it... it's just that I might have a too developed sense of justice or need for clarity for my own good.

I am not detailedly aware of European Training Networks, but it sounds like you are grossly misunderstanding some things here.
1. €200k for three researchers for three years are absolutely certainly not only for your travel and consumables.
As you correctly assessed, this would be very lavish and no EU project that I have ever seen gives you that level of funding. European Training Networks in particular are, as far as I have seen, generally underfunded when it comes to travel, and assume that the host institutions also chip in. Assume that there are costs calculated in here that you are not seeing, for instance institutional overheads or the costs for organizing trainings.
2. I understand that the "lack of transparency" is disappointing, but this is not your project, it's your supervisor's.
Quite frankly, PhD students generally have no detailed insights into the finances of the projects that they work on because they are also not formally responsible for them (i.e., you are probably not formally responsible for signing expenses).
Your supervisors report to their administration and to the European Union, not to you. They do not owe you an Excel file of where the project finances go. But do not worry - there is a formal audit at the end of the project which will look very carefully into where the different funds went. If it was actually grossly misspent (as opposed to spent on things that you or the other PhD students didn't want), legal issues will come up. However, I presume this will not be the case, as your supervisors are almost certainly aware of the mandatory end-of-project audit.
3. Project politics are a thing.
Your university presumably commited to sending you to certain trainings when they signed up for the network. Yes, it sucks if they are unrelated to your work, but sometimes you'll have to do things for your project that are not key to your personal research agenda. In a Training Network those are a few trainings here and there - in an IP project it could have easily been as much as 50% of your work time. Without knowing the details, I would still guess that you are complaining on a fairly high level here.
That said, your institution still screwed up.
There should be money for you to go to conferences and present your research. If the project funds do not suffice for that, they should have made sure that the university can co-finance from other sources. If they are unable to do that, they should not have hired a PhD student.


How to cite a database from R or another source I use data() from R, i get the following info from the sunspot dataset:

  Yearly numbers of sunspots from 1700 to 1988 (rounded to one digit).
   Source: H. Tong (1996) Non-Linear Time Series. Clarendon Press, Oxford, p. 471.

But in the way I need to reference it, It seems that it is not enough information. The data I need:

@misc{anudc:4896
author = {Claire O'Brien},
title = {{Impact of Colonoscopy Bowel Preparation on Intestinal Microbiota},
doi = {10.4225/13/511C71F8612C3},
howpublished= {\url{http://dx.doi.org/10.4225/13/511C71F8612C3}}

Im not sure about how to reference properly a data set, in terms of which info is enough, not the style of references.

What about this?

@article{tong1990non,
title={Non-linear time series},
author={Tong, Howell},
journal={A Dynamical System Approach},
year={1990},
publisher={Oxford Univ. Press}
}

I used google scholar to find the right citation. Took less than a minute :)


Dead author ethical guidelines One of my close collaborators passed away last year and since then I have become curious about the question of attributing work to deceased authors. Each journal has its rules but there doesn't seem to be any consensus what the ethical ground of these decisions is. Recently a different collaborator of mine published a paper with a co-author who passed away 3-4 years ago, which struck me as strange.

On the one hand, work should always be attributed. If someone contributed ideas, funding, manual labor, or wrote the manuscript, they should be mentioned somehow. On the other hand, most journals ask to confirm that all authors have seen the final version of the paper.

Of course, in reality contributors are often over- or underrepresented. For instance, should someone who edited the manuscript be a co-author or appear in an acknowledgement? Does it depend on whether their edits change the content of the paper or just the presentation? On the other hand, if a deceased author contributed the main ideas of a paper but was not around to edit the manuscript, who can decide whether they would not object to the content of the paper?

As there are different reasons for citing a deceased collaborator, I think there are (at least) two questions here: (1) what should an honest person do to honor their collaborators, without adding to their name papers they may have disagreed with; (2) what should a dishonest person be prevented from doing in terms of citing deceased collaborators as a form of name dropping (even if there is some justification for adding them).

(My personal take on this matter - which is only based on intuition/opinion rather than experience):

When you're about to publish such a paper, ask yourself: "How certain am I that the deceased would have put their name on the paper?"

If the answer is "certain", go ahead and name them a co-author. But - explain that the attribution is posthumous, both in a footnote from the person's name (the same kind of footnote used for affiliation) and in one of the opening lines (perhaps a note as the first line.)
If the answer is "not certain", but the deceased's contribution was significant, don't make them a coauthor, but devote a few sentences to emphasize the significance of their contribution or their involvement, and clarify that the work had progressed or diverged beyond what you had worked on with the deceased (or some such explanation).
If the answer is "would probably not", and the deceased's contribution was not significant enough for co-authorship, then you just mention them in a thank-you note somewhere in the paper, same as if they were alive.

As for "preventing dishonesty" - if you're an editor or non-blind reviewer, and notice the name of a deceased person on a paper, without an explanation of the deceased's contribution within the paper - reach out and ask the corresponding author for a side-note (outside the paper) explaining the deceased's involvement with the submitted work.


Hostile interview process feedback-- what should I have done? I applied to a TT faculty job and got interviewed for a joint position between Computer Science and Education departments. The on campus interview started off well, with the CS people being very welcoming. However, when I went to meet with the Education department, everyone was too busy to meet and I waited in an empty room. Afterwards, I went to talk to the Dean, who was very nice but wanted to ask if I'd teach introductory CS classes and talk about course load. I said I'd teach that, but I'd prefer to teach CS design classes.  In any case, that seemed to go okay.

When I got home, I got 3 emails that said I was out of the running (from the search committee head and through his assistant). However, when I sent an email saying thank you for the consideration, I got an email back from him that said I was still in the running and that the consolation email was sent in error.  It just sounded like the Education department didn't want me, and they had some rogue person who was sabotaging my candidacy.  I bowed out of the running-- it seemed hostile.

Should I have tried to stay in the running, despite feeling like half of the hiring department did not want me?

You said it was a joint appointment. Not because of the email but because of the lack of people at the Education department meeting-- I don't think you would have gotten the job no matter what you did.

In future, you could have waited it out, but I don't think you harmed anything by leaving the process early.  It sounds like half the hiring people wanted you, but the other half didn't. The email was probably just a mistake.

To sum up, you couldn't have done anything to change the people not showing up or the email mistake.  Sending nice emails to people you did meet with might improve your chances for a future appointment.


Are there "restart" mechanisms for candidates seeking a graduate admission with a mediocre undergraduate record? To take one example, the University of Pittsburgh offers certificate programs equivalent to a minor to non-degree students, and also offers a chance at a "second" bachelor's degree.

Suppose there was an undergraduate in say Mathematics, who got at best mediocre grades, no more than a 3.0 GPA in math, and a 3.0 for the degree. I would imagine that this person would not a be a good graduate school candidate for a program in say, Computer Science.

Suppose some years later, the same person "woke up," enrolled in a certificate program in Computer Science, equivalent to a minor, or better yet, took a whole second degree (equivalent to a major), and got (mostly) A's, say a 3.8 or better GPA. The new program includes As in one or more graduate courses. The person's GRE scores have also climbed, to over 700 in each category. This person then wants to do graduate work in Computer Science.

Would this cause some graduate school programs to take a "fresh look" and him or her graduate student credentials? Perhaps this is most likely to take placein the same school where s/he successfully completed the certificate or second degree program?  That is to say, is the strength in the certificate program or second major program enough to call into question the mediocre undergraduate record? (The person's letters of recommendation would come from professors in the later program.) Put another way, is there a point where a strong enough "post graduate" record will make up for a mediocre undergraduate record?

I don't think it is possible to give a general answer to this question. There are too many variables. On one hand people do recognize growth in a student and that new work may be more important than old. However, it also depends on what you mean by a "certificate program". There is a lot of variability in that. Some have good reputations, others not. How does a grade in a given certificate program translate to a grade in a university course? How much skill was gained in the course.

Yet another variable is which courses were taken. Is it more or less the equivalent of an undergraduate major, including all of the usual courses.

Given all of these variables, the only answer that is valid will come from a particular institution evaluating the candidates complete record and their statements about themselves and their goals. For some, the answer would be no, for others, possibly yes. The only way to know is to ask and the best way to ask is to actually apply and supply all of the needed information, including reasons why the record is a bit "unusual."


What should I do if my former advisor wants to use my research project data (including dissertation) for the current PhD student's dissertation? I finished my dissertation about 2 years ago and currently continue for a clinical program in the same department. I collected the data from many subjects for my research project including dissertation while doing my PhD and all subjects and experimental supplies were paid from my own pocket. I am now preparing for publications. Because I am now taking a pretty demanding professional program, the writing process is pretty slow and all manuscripts are still in progress. I think that it will probably take some time to publish all of them. For this reason, I am a little bit cautious about sharing the data with someone who wants to write their dissertation using my data.
My former advisor and their current PhD student decided to use the pre-existing data for the dissertation and the student asked me for my research data including the dissertation. Even though the research question will be different and some survey data will be added (the subjects who participated in my research may need to be contacted), basically my data would work as the main data for the new dissertation in consideration of research in this field.
Additionally, my former advisor does not know about my data and whenever the PhD student has questions and needs some help with data interpretation, I am pretty sure that they will ask me for help. I will leave the school next summer and it is not easy to work with them in a remote location especially because I will be working full time. I am not sure if this is conventional and a general case. I like to get some advice so I can figure out how to deal with this.

It would be good if you can find a way for this to work to everyone's benefit.
I'd suggest that you start with your advisor and express your concerns and get some assurance that the other student won't be stepping on your research. You should be able to get a great acknowledgement in work of the other student. And your own work might well be eligible for citation under these circumstances.
But also express your need for the time for your own work and that  you can't prioritize helping the other student at this time.
Once you have some agreement from  your advisor, initiate a three way conversation in which everything is made clear. You'll help when can, but have other priorities that must come first. But from your description, it sounds like it is possible for everyone to win as long as the others respect your limits.


What are strategies for minimizing student questions during exams? Context: I am an assistant professor of mathematics at a small liberal arts college in the US.

I generally find student questions during tests and quizzes to be somewhat annoying.  I disliked them when I was a student, and they're even worse as an instructor.

To elaborate on my dislike:

As a student I found such questioning very distracting.  I'd be in the midst of trying to solve a difficult problem when suddenly people around me are talking in hushed voices about a problem I had already done.  As one can imagine, it was challenging to pull my attention back to what I was doing.

As an instructor, I want to do my best to provide a good test environment, so I would like to minimize questions that I see mostly as a distraction.  In addition, most courses contain a student or two who I don't entirely trust, so I like to be able to watch the students during the exam to ensure test security, and answering questions can hinder that.  I also don't want students getting up during a test to ask questions, for obvious security-related reasons.  (This problem is easily solved by telling them to raise their hand.)

Most questions fall into the following categories:

Legitimate questions aiming to clarify vague instructions or a typo.
Questions fishing for a hint.
Questions seeking support of a solution method.
Questions asking for confirmation about answer format.

Type 1 questions are not a problem. Type 2 and 3 questions are foolish, because I hardly ever tell students anything remotely useful. Type 4 questions are irritating, because my questions specifically say what format to use (i.e. "show two decimal places," "you do not need to simplify," etc.).

What are some strategies for eliminating questions of type 2, 3, and 4 while not discouraging type 1 questions?

Of course, I can just straight-up tell them that they're not to ask questions unless they believe them to be very legitimate, but I'd like to use a less "adversarial" approach, if possible.

I explain at the start of the first test that, "Questions clarifying what you're reading are okay (raise your hand, I'll come over). I cannot tell you how to solve a problem. My response may be, 'I can't tell you that during the test.'"

If Question #1 comes up, I do as stated. Questions #2-3 get a fairly loud (but polite) repetition of, "I can't tell you that during the test." (Or, "That's what you're being tested on."). Question #4 may get, "Just read the direction carefully" (which itself is a repetition of something I need to say during almost every single class meeting).

I find this public act tamps down on questions as much as I can hope for. The main thing is to be solidly consistent. Counterexample: I was co-proctoring with another professor in their class. That professor got a question, shook his head in disgust, muttered "You should know that", and walked away. Then turned around, walked back, and actually did talk the student through how to solve the problem. This can only encourage more fishing questions like that.

Due diligence: In liberal-arts math courses I have occasionally had students express disbelief and/or outrage that I wouldn't help them during a test. "But you're the teacher, that's your job" kind of thing.


How much can you trust a reference of a paper that is not available It recently occurred to me that probably more often than it should happen, while reading someones paper, they see a reference to a different paper, and just use the reference without looking.  In my area, a common example is in referencing data, such as average human height, etc.

I came across this as I was looking for data on human dimensions from a somewhat smaller country that does not use English.  I found 9 papers that all referenced the same data sheet.  I then contacted the author of that data sheet and was informed that there is no online version (never has been), and the only print copy exists in that country.  The author herself does not have this book.  I'm guessing the only reason the other authors referenced the data was because the author of the referenced data wrote a paper that referenced her own data.

I am not interested in how to format these citations. I would like to know if it is appropriate to cite this information at all, or cite that someone else cited it.  I am curious as I am not sure about the accuracy of the information.  If I do cite someone else's citation (which i am 99% confident they never saw the data), it seems like I can just make something up myself.  Is there a way to express that maybe this data is accurate, but that I'm not sure, since it is the only available source about that data?  Or should I ignore it all together and pretend as if there is no data?

Is there a way to express this (not as a citation format), that maybe this data is accurate, but not sure, since it is the only available source about that data.

How about something like: "X, measured by Jones in 1950, is commonly given as the value for Y (as cited in Smith, 1989 and Cutler, 1995). However, the original manuscript by Jones describing this result is not generally available."

  Or should I ignore it all together and pretend as if there is no data.

Don't do this. If X is cited often in the field, then by pretending as if there is no data, you give the appearance of not knowing your field.

Whether or not you should use X (knowing that it is unreliable) depends on your purposes.

If your work hinges on having an accurate value for X, then you definitely should not use X if you cannot track down a reliable source for it. (Nor should you make something up.)

If you are using X just as a "sane" value for something, and it isn't central to your work, on the other hand:

If you think you have a better value than X, and can justify why you are using a different value than everyone else in your field, go ahead.

Otherwise, if you need a value, you should just use X (unreliable as it is). A bit of unreliable data that is accepted in your field is still better than a bit of unreliable data that you just made up with no justification.


Am I required to return sabbatical payment if I do not return afterward? I am about to go on sabbatical. I do not know if I want to return to the institution afterward. Our faculty handbook says that sabbaticals are granted with the expectation that faculty return for at least one year.

Does that mean I am legally required to pay back the money if I don't return, or only morally required to return it? This is in the United States.

You will probably have a contractual obligation for one year. You may even need to sign a document affirming it before you can be paid. Talk to someone at your institution to learn the rules and the consequences of not returning. You might want to find someone outside your department if you don't want to signal your ambivalence.

You might also consider that any new institution might not be pleased if you step away from an obligation at the old one. No way to be sure, of course.


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

The appropriate time is after you get the other (better) offer in writing.  You don't want to turn something known down for something else that hasn't come yet, formally.

Yes, it is unfortunate to have said you will take the position and turn it down, but these things happen.  Certainly in business, there are lots of times when agreed to deals still fail when the time comes to put pen to paper.  It is not the end of the world. Just be matter of fact (not penitent, not rebellious) and move forward with whatever is the best fit for you.

P.s.  This is why I emphasize to interview widely and job search arduously, all the way up to having gotten a written offer and accepted it.  You're not off the market until then.  The same thing applies in reverse as verbal offers may not always materialize (check out lots of questions/complaints about this on this site).  I'm not advocating being deceptive or fickle.  But you certainly want to look for your best situation and control the options as much and as long as you can.  Employers do the same in reverse.  It is a bit of a mating dance.


What to do when professor denies authoring an extremely negative letter of recommendation? I asked a professor for letters of recommendation for 7 universities. I was able to view his review for one particular university and it was extremely, unnecessarily negative.

When I confronted him, he denied submitting this review. However, on comparing the negative letter and the actual letter that he forwarded, I found that the first paragraph of the letters are the same except that the adjectives are all negative. I have no way of knowing if it was him who submitted this. If so, there is a possibility all the universities received this negative letter.

What do I do?

I think the question is unclear, so I'll try to cover all the scenarios.

If the professor is claiming that he submitted the positive letter and someone sabotaged it, then he should be very concerned that someone is falsifying letters. He should take the lead in helping you get to the bottom of this. If he says "oh well, someone sabotaged my letter but I don't care", then I would question his honesty.
If the professor is claiming that he did not author the letter at all, then it would seem that you've caught him in a lie. (This doesn't really make sense to me; doesn't the letter have his name on it?) Best to find another referee; if possible, you could even try to switch out the letters on your in-progress applications.
If you're not sure which of these is the case, you could express your concern that a letter was incorrectly submitted on their behalf, and ask for their help in fixing it. Or, if you have another referee, you could just try to swap them out without involving this person.


Low ranked master's before PhD Is it a bad idea to do a Master's at a low ranked university before doing a PhD, if my undergraduate record is not strong enough for me to be admitted into a good PhD program out of undergrad?
The university I am considering is low ranked in my subject field of interest (70-80). However, the university itself has a strong overall reputation and would be considered a household name (top 30 undergrad USNWR).
I know that I would have some decent research opportunities in the master's, as well as the chance to write a two-semester thesis. However, I am not sure about the prestige of the faculty, and the program is somewhat small.

I'll guess that the university in question is still an R1 university (and in the US) and is about mid way through the rankings of those. From that I assume that the standards are high and that you should get a fine education.
And, from comments, you probably need a solid grounding in the new field, so I don't really see any down-side.
A small program can be a bit of a problem, however, if it gives you fewer options. Alternatively, it might also give you the opportunity to work more closely with a faculty member or two rather than being part of the "mob".
However, don't make assumptions about what is required for admission to a US doctoral program. People frequently choose a different field than their undergraduate major. The typical program is heavy on coursework at the start and often not a lot different from what you do in a masters. So, I'd suggest that you get a solid understanding of the real requirements.


Is it worth submitting papers to "graduate" peer-reviewed journals? I am a first year PhD student in the social sciences at a Canadian institution, and I'm wondering whether it's worth submitting a paper to a "graduate" peer-reviewed journal. This would be my first experience in publication.
There are a few different types of graduate journals. However, I'm referring here to those journals written and produced by PhD and post-doc students.
To my mind, the advantages would include: more chances of getting published, and this would be a great advantage in the first years of a PhD project; a smoother review process and, hence, more time to concentrate on courses and/or other projects.
The quality of the work that these journals publish is very good. However, is it better, to wait, re-read and try to improve my paper in order to submit it to higher ranked journals?

You want to publish papers in the best journal or conference you can. If your Masters thesis can be published in a serious journal, you should attempt to send it there. Publications are the currency of academia and a publication in a better journal often translates to higher value.

However, there are lots of reasons to send it to a "graduate" or lower-tier journal.

The journals in your field might consider a thesis to be previously published and they might not accept previously published work.
Your Masters work might be unrelated to your PhD work and you'd rather spend your time working on new more important work.
Your thesis would require a lot of work that would take away your new work. It might be better in the long run to work on new ideas as opposed to spending time trying to clean up or improve your previous work.

Without knowing your exact situation, it's hard for random strangers on the Internet to make an exact call. You should talk to your adviser or a professor in your department to get more informed and personalized advice.

EDIT: I should point out that my experience have all been in computer science. Things may differ in the social sciences.


A student answered exam question with a method she's working on her thesis. What should she do to keep the authorship her own? My friend, a graduate student answered an exam question (in Data Mining field) with a method she's going to propose in her thesis, which has not been published yet as it is still unfinished. The (soon-to-be) thesis itself propose a single new method.

What caused her anxiety:

Her lecturer is currently on a research in data mining too and they are not in the same research group.
The exam question itself contained a statement like this, "Use whatever method you know of".

The point is that my friend is afraid that her lecturer may pick that method to incorporate or develop in his research while he wouldn't know that it is actually a part of his student's research. If that happened her thesis would be in jeopardy.

From my previous question in SE, I get that lecturers really rarely mine ideas from students' exams, but my friend is still worried because her thesis is basically proposing that one method.

What could my friend possibly do in this complicated situation and state of mind?

Your friend's concern is pretty far-fetched.  Researchers aren't usually in the habit of mining student exams for research ideas.  Even if the professor was inspired by it, it's quite likely he would want to discuss it with the student anyway, and the thesis issue could be brought up at that time.

But if she is still worried, there's an extremely simple solution: just tell him about it.  Send a short email mentioning that the exam question turned out to be related to her thesis work, and that her answer is based on her research work so far; and that if it's something that interests him, she would be happy to meet and tell him more.  (But it would be a good idea to check with her advisor before that meeting, in case there is some information which is proprietary or confidential or otherwise should not be shared at all.)

Now he knows that it is part of her research, and the feared scenario is averted.


What are the most frequently cited textbooks in the physics literature? What are the most frequently cited textbooks in the physics literature?

Note: I am not looking for guesses, but answers supported by citations data. What are some good physics citations databases?

The answer you might be looking for lies in this recent Nature News article on the most cited scholarly works of all time.

Specifically, for evidence supported by real data I'd look at the Google Scholar top 100 spreadsheet file

In this, you'll find Google Scholar citation data for physics-related books like:

Principles of optics: electromagnetic theory of propagation, interference and diffraction of light (1959) with 49132 citations
Classical electrodynamics (1962) with 36945 citations
Physics of semiconductor devices (1981) with 33789 citations

It depends what you define as a 'textbook' though, I suppose...