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[ "When did English come to lead in published research?", "As any modern student knows, nearly all published research these days is in English. That's just the way of the world. But it didn't used to be that way. Many of the most pivotal pieces of scientific literature in the world, like the writings of Riemann, Cantor, Einstein, Galois, Schrödinger, (Gregor) Mandel, Linnaeus and many, many others were written in German, French or Latin. These days, publishing in a language other than English hurts your credibility, and is largely discouraged.\n\nWhen did English become necessary for publishing scientific literature?" ]

[ "writing", "language", "science", "academic-history" ]

[ "Is it unethical to not give feedback on final exams or assignments?", "In this question a person working as a TA was asking if and how he should try to persuade a lecturer to change her practice, in which she gave grades for final assignments but not detailed feedback. Many of the comments there expressed sentiments such as this being an \"injustice\", \"reprehensible\", \"unethical behavior\", \"moral duty\", \"refusing to do her job\", and \"worth firing for\". \n\nNow, I must admit that I was somewhat surprised by these reactions. My experience throughout my academic career is that this is usually infeasible for a number of reasons, e.g.:\n\n\nThe institution may collect and impound all final exams after a day or two. \nFinal exams may be given on an institutional computerized platform, for which no per-item feedback is available to either students or instructors. \nStudents don't usually have time to come back to campus after finals are given. \nI don't think I ever received final exams back throughout my undergraduate days. \nI didn't get comprehensive exams back or feedback from the end of my Master's. \n\n\nI think there's even an argument to be made vis-a-vis the formative vs. summative assessment distinction that final grades and feedback should not be overlapped, and that doing so is actually not helpful to students. (E.g.: \"Summative assessments happen too far down the learning path to provide information at the classroom level and to make instructional adjustments and interventions during the learning process.\" Link.) In that sense, one could conceivably give copious feedback early in the semester with no grade, and then a course grade only from a final assignment at the end, after one is done with all feedback cycles. \n\nPersonally, I try to find ways to give final feedback to students if they are in critical need of it (usually by email), but I actually have to wrestle against my institution's procedures to make that happen. (I'm at a large urban community college in the U.S.) But my intuition was that it's at least a judgement call, and most common to not expect to see feedback from a final. \n\nSo: Is there consensus that not giving feedback on final exams/assignments is obviously unethical? (Side question: Are there any statistics on how common it is one way or the other?)" ]

[ "ethics", "exams", "grades" ]

[ "Is it OK to contact conference chairs and volunteer to review (specific to Data Science Conferences)?", "I am a final year Ph.D. student. I work in the area of Applied Data Mining and Visualization. I have published at both KDD and IEEE VIS. I primarily work in the area of Natural Language Processing, Social Media Analysis, Information Extraction and Data Visualization. \n\nHowever, I have still not received any opportunity to review papers. \n\nAs per the suggestions on other questions on this forum (How to become a reviewer for an engineering journal?, How do you earn opportunites to review journals or conference papers?, How to show interest to serve as a TPC or reviewer in top conferences?, etc) there are two ways I could get an opportunity to review papers:\n\n\nPublish papers (I have published three papers at KDD, 1 as first author and 2 as co-author but have not yet received an invitation)\nContact the Chairs and volunteer to be a reviewer \n\n\nQuestion: Since I have still not received an invitation to review, is it OK to contact the chair or PC and volunteer to be a reviewer? Do you as a chair, frown upon such emails? \n\nNote: This question is specifically for people who has served as PC / Chair for one of the top Data Science and/or Data Visualization conferences (or workshop) like KDD, ICML, ICDM, PKDD, CIKM, WSDM, IEEE VIS, CHI, etc." ]

[ "peer-review", "conference", "program-committee" ]

[ "Does suggesting potential reviewers for one's submitted paper increase the likelihood of the paper being accepted?", "Some journals propose authors to suggest potential reviewers for their submitted papers. \n\nIs there any research/study/survey that tried to quantify to what extent suggesting potential reviewers for one's submitted paper impacts the likelihood of the paper being accepted?" ]

[ "publications", "peer-review", "reference-request" ]

[ "Is the journal \"The Winnower\" scientifically trustworthy?", "The Winnower is a journal that offers a post-publication peer review, meaning that reviews of people can be written after online publication. There is no classical peer-review by a scientific committee prior to publication. If there are reviews to an article posted, we cannot know whether it is a \"normal\" person with no scientific background or a prof. Only upvotes and downvotes can be made.\n\nAfter a long search in Google Scholar I found articles in this journal that were cited by other authors.\n\nIs this journal trustworthy?" ]

[ "journals", "peer-review" ]

[ "Scoring GRE analytical writing practice essays", "I took the GRE and my analytical writing score wasn't what I hoped for. During the exam, I thought my answer was good. Having read about argumentation and practiced writing, I wonder if there is a reputable service that will score essays and give feedback?" ]

[ "graduate-admissions", "writing", "gre" ]

[ "Do I have to request permission from a website to use an image that they use to promote their product on their site?", "I am currently checking proofs for a Springer article. The editor has asked us to provide permission details for all figures.\n\nOne of the figures is a screenshot from a software product, as found in the front page of the product's website. We use it to exemplify typical interfaces found in these types of products, and cite the site that it was taken from. With a bit of work we could re-generate the same image by downloading the product (its free, but supported by a for-profit company) and adding in sample data.\n\nSince the screenshot is promotional material by the company, must I contact the company to request permission to use it in our paper, given that attribution is already correct, or can I already claim fair use due to its status as \"promotional\"? Re-creating the screenshot would also rely on fair use, according to this answer." ]

[ "citations", "copyright", "graphics" ]

[ "How many on-campus interviews (for a tenure track math position) do you typically need to get one offer?", "I was wondering, on average, how many on-campus interviews one needs to get one offer? For those who landed a tenure-tack job, could you please share your information?" ]

[ "mathematics", "job-search", "tenure-track", "interview" ]

[ "How do I reconcile with a vindictive professor, or at least protect my grade?", "I (foolishly) corrected my physics professor as he was about to teach fifty students a blatantly wrong simplification, and since then he's been out to get me. I get grades of 20% or lower on tests where I get all the answers right, but don't solve the problems in precisely the way he wants.\n\nHe answers all my questions with banal truisms (\"Just use the provided equations and pick a decent reference frame and you'll get the right answer\"), and even makes an effort to leave before collecting my assignments.\n\nI'm afraid to complain, because he has a lot of political connections on campus, but I'm terrified that he's going to blemish my perfect GPA. Also, I can't withdraw from the class without falling behind in my coursework and needing to stay an extra semester.\n\nWhat course of action would best protect my grades, and my future, from a vindictive professor?" ]

[ "ethics", "teaching", "united-states", "professors", "university" ]

[ "Writing a function name in a normal paragraph in my dissertation", "I want to mention the name of an specific function (or method) that I used in a experiment in a normal paragraph in my dissertation. What is the best way to do it? Considering that the official dissertation format that my teachers gave me doesn't mention how to do it.\n\nFor example: \n\n\n \"... with the Java programming language we can use System.nanoTime ...\"" ]

[ "writing-style", "code" ]

[ "How to mention a course that you haven't taken yet in an application", "I am preparing to apply for an internship that strongly favors people with CUDA-programming skills. There is a course in exactly this that I won't have taken by the time I apply for the internship, but that I will have taken before the internship starts. I don't have any experience with CUDA-programming at this point.\n\nWhat are the best ways, if any, of bringing up courses that haven't yet been completed?\n\nNote: There is a similar question on how detrimental this is, but I am seeking advice on how to handle this problem. Hope this constitutes a different question." ]

[ "application", "coursework" ]

[ "Will I be too old to apply for Ph.D. at the age of 30", "I have completed my master's degree year ago and took a gap of 2-3 years before committing to the Ph.D. Right now my financial condition is worse and I don't want to make any decision in any urgency. My peers are getting enrolled for Ph.D. and I am getting worried by watching them. I am 27 right now and planning to collect enough money and build my resume strong to get into a decent Ph.D. program in Europe or Asia. Is my decision wrong? I need some advice from experienced peoples. \n\nThank you." ]

[ "phd", "graduate-admissions" ]

[ "Consequences of applying to both research and staff positions at the same school simultaneously", "There are some well-known universities, which I considered applying for several positions at each school (as a recent Ph.D. graduate). The potential problem is that, at each school, some of the positions of my interest are true research positions (either postdoctoral, or research associate), but some are staff positions, despite being closely related to teaching and/or research, i.e., teaching and research assistant (or manager) for education technology platforms (course development), graduate program institutional research (which includes data analysis) and some others.\n\nWhile I certainly would strongly prefer a true research position, today's tight competitive environment forces me to approach the situation pragmatically, rather than with cautious optimism (my circumstances additionally push me in that direction - I don't have time to apply first to research ones and wait for response, before applying to the staff ones). Therefore, I am thinking about applying to all positions that I see fit, regardless of whether they are true research of staff ones.\n\nQuestions:\n\n1) are there any significant reasons against applying to both types of positions simultaneously;\n\n2) will simultaneous applications hurt my chances to be hired on pure research positions?" ]

[ "application", "job-search", "postdocs" ]

[ "Is it appropriate to buy a “thank you” gift for a MSc supervisor?", "I'm about to finish my Master of Science and I was just wondering around this forum and the question \"Is it appropriate to buy a “thank you” gift for a PhD supervisor?\" inspired me for this question.\n\nIs a gift appropriate for a MSc thesis supervisor? If so, what gift is more appropriate?\n\nNote: PhD != MSc, avoid marking as duplicate please" ]

[ "masters", "advisor", "gifts" ]

[ "Deferred admission but funding not guaranteed", "I received an offer from a top US school for PhD this March and accepted their offer. Due to some family circumstances, I would not be able to join the program this year. I am an international student, and I have to remain in my country due to some personal and family reasons.\n\nI asked the program about possibility of deferring admission. After hearing my reason, they have decided to defer my admission, but I am not guaranteed funding. Basically, I need to compete with the next batch of applicants for funding (fellowship, TA, RA, or none). I agreed to the same, and I would be getting an offer sometime before April of next year along with funding allotment (if any).\n\nIn this context, my questions is: Can I apply to more programs to make sure I have a funded PhD offer for next year?\n\nI realize that there is a certain commitment when deferring an offer, however does the same hold true even when funding is not guaranteed. When I asked the program about my chances of funding, they replied that it is \"likely\" but \"not guaranteed\". I am not sure if I can take a \"likely\" and live with that. What if I don't get any funding (which is basically a rejection) and don't have any other offers? That will be a very sad scenario. \n\nI would like some advice, IMO it is shrewd to apply to more programs, but is it ethical? I don't want to explicitly ask the program this question, since there is a likelihood that they may ask me to simply reapply, which I don't want to. I got off a wait-list, hence not very confident of my chances! Also, since funding is not guaranteed, do I even need to ask permission for applying to more programs? I mean, do they honestly expect a student to commit to a program without the program committing to financial support? I think that is asking a bit too much, and gives the program a complete hold over the student.\n\nAlso note that there is one other program (call Y) that I was admitted to this year, which I really liked. I had a very hard time choosing between the two offers, and had I not got into the program that I have accepted and deferred (call X), I would have gone to Y. I think I can get into Y again next year if I apply, since they tried hard to recruit me, but in the end I chose X because of better location (both were equally strong in research). So if X doesn't give me funding next year (effectively reject), I would like to go to Y.\n\nPlease share your thoughts. Thank you." ]

[ "phd", "graduate-admissions", "graduate-school", "career-path", "funding" ]

[ "What to do with what I've learned when writing my research proposal?", "During the time to prepare for my application to applying to grad school, I have learned a lot of new knowledge. They are from various sources: scientific papers from insiders in the field, blog posts from them or other individuals, articles explaining the ideas for popular audience, Wikipedia, YouTube, etc. While they help me a lot to understand what the field is so that I can write a good research proposal, after having one I have basically nothing to do with them, except to answer my friends' question: \"So, what do you do?\", which I can only provide a small fraction of what I really know and want to say.\n\nI think the knowledge has a better potential to help me go further in my career, so I am thinking to turn it into a real article/paper. There will be an international conference in my country in which my field is one topic of it and my furthest goal is to write the article good enough so that I can submit a poster in there. The deadline to submit is before I starting grad school so I guess that I will have to write it by myself. Although I always want to put my best effort to every product I make, I don't want to spend more than one month on writing this in order to move on to my next project. Popular readers will be my audience of course.\n\nQ: The first and foremost question is: is this worth? Are there other alternative ways to do with what I've learned? If making it as an article is indeed worth to do, I still don't know how to maximize the benefit that it will bring to me. I have some more things to consider:\n\n\nLanguage: What language should I use? If I write it in English, I can reach more readers and hope that I will find grant easier. However if I write in my native language, I would be the first one to write detailly about this and therefore having an advantage of being the first one, though I admit I don't know what to do next with this advantage in this stage of my career.\nPlace to publish: Where should I publish this article? Of course I can always post it in my blog, but can it be published elsewhere? If I should write in English, can you suggest some journals/magazines that will accept my work? If it's in my native language, I have two options of where to submit and I don't know which one is better. The first one is an old reputable magazine among researchers in my country. It's a kind of dicussion board where topic can range from introducing new discovery or science news to critics about government policy in science. The other one is a new young but promising science journal that available in both languages, founded by a young researcher. Its focus is narrower, only introduction of actual research of my country researchers in hard science/technology.\n\n\nThank you so much for your time to reading this far." ]

[ "publications", "journals", "statement-of-purpose", "early-career" ]

[ "What is the most common way to change fields in academia?", "If you are a young scientist, how can you change fields? Is it better to make one big leap and apply directly to a new job or postdoc or trying to make small consecutive steps during your current job? What should be those small steps?\n\nJust for explanation - in this case it is not like a change from literature to rocket science. The change would be in one broader field and some theoretical and statistical background would remain the same. What would be the best strategy, if you have some good papers in top journals in your field, but you do not have any papers from a field where you would like to move? And there is no such laboratory in your country, so there is no personal contact." ]

[ "changing-fields" ]

[ "Should I include impact factors / number of citations in publication list?", "I am writing a grant application for a post-doctoral fellowship, and I need to provide a publication list. In the list of papers published in peer-reviewed journals, I wonder if I should include the following information:\n\n\nImpact factors of the journal?\nNumber of citations the paper actually raised?\n\n\nOne of the papers raised a pretty large number of citations (several hundreds) despite being published in a low IF, so I wonder how to carry this information..." ]

[ "publications", "citations", "cv", "impact-factor" ]

[ "What is a good way to proofread for a journal article?", "What is a good way to proofread a journal article before you submit it? I would like to do more than just spellcheck." ]

[ "journals", "writing", "proofreading" ]

[ "Losing focus in an exam, how does it affect my goal - grad school", "So I'll explain my self briefly, I've just finished my first semester in my undergrad program and my goal is to move on to masters in the US in Stanford or near that area.\n\nSo obviously grades are very important and here's the problem, I'm putting the hours in throughout all the semester (easily 10 hours a day, sometimes longer) and I don't have issues with understanding nor with executing what was learned but come the day of the exam and I do TERRIBLY and I can't explain why, I don't know whether it's because of stress or something else and I feel lost as everyone I score a B instead of an A I feel like my grad school goal is only getting further away from me.\n\nI'd appreciate any tips or ideas with how to deal with this.\nI'm currently retaking all the tests to improve my grades but it's exhausting because the material is not the problem...\n\nIn case it matters, I'm talking about computer science.\n\nif the title is inappropriate please let me know how to change it \n\nThank you\n\nEdit: my topic is different from the one mwhombat linked to because where I live you don't get to pick your courses I can't focus on project based courses some have then but most don't so I HAVE to get better at test taking" ]

[ "graduate-admissions", "computer-science", "exams" ]

[ "What author affiliation to put when you work for one university and study at another?", "I am an author on a poster, but I am unsure of what to put for my affiliation. I am a graduate student, but the poster and corresponding project is in no way connected with my university. I work for another university and the project relates to materials from that university, however they are not sponsoring the project. Any suggestions?" ]

[ "affiliation" ]

[ "What are the guidelines for minimum \"implementation/proof-of-concept\" requirements in computer science research?", "Some aspects of computer science research requires some form of implementation and an according evaluation. I have not yet seen where the minimum level of implementation expected for an academic paper is defined. For example, if a \"novel\" work requires a persistence layer and a researcher uses a file based method e.g. csv. Will that be wrong? Will his architecture point to a database or a file system ?" ]

[ "research-process", "ethics" ]

[ "How helpful is a Latin honors designation (cum laude, magna cum laude) for admission to PhD programs?", "I have the option of graduating from my university (U.S.) a semester early, and if I do so, I would receive the lowest honors designation of cum laude. However, if I do not graduate early, I will be able to receive the highest honors designation of summa cum laude. How important is this designation for graduate school admissions, and is there a major difference between these two? My GPA would remain unchanged, the only difference is completion of other honors program requirements." ]

[ "graduate-admissions" ]

[ "How should I interpret advisor overly positive feedbacks?", "I am currently in the writing phase of my master thesis in a US-based university. Almost all of the feedback I am receiving from my advisor is either linguistic suggestions or just positive supportive kinda of a language. I am the primary investigator from my thesis. \n\nHow should I interpret this positive feedback and lack of critical comments? Could it indicate that the work is so weak and not even worth corrections? How can I direct their responses to be more critical?" ]

[ "thesis", "advisor", "academic-life" ]

[ "When to Allow Makeup Exams", "I have a classroom (as opposed to online) course for which I set the date of the first exam about a week before the last date a student can withdraw without penalty, such that I can have grades returned before the withdrawal date. The date was in the syllabus, released on the first day of classes. A student has asked to take a makeup exam at a later date or to take the exam remotely. I generally allow makeup exams when there exigent reasons, and in the United States some conditions, such as military deployment, impose a legal obligation to accommodate the student. So, I asked why.\n\nThe student replied that he would be \"on vacation\" in connection with a later work-related trip. In other words, his job is sending him someplace nice and he wants to go early to allow some play time with the travel paid by the job.\n\nMy students, who think I am Darth Vader, would never believe it, but I am torn about this request. The university's rules tell me when I must allow a make-up exam, not when I may. I have decided that if I do allow such an exam, it will be before, not after the scheduled time. Allowing a makeup exam will, as usual I think, be modestly inconvenient for me. I believe I need to consider the appearance of fairness to the other students, and a precedent I may set that would affect other faculty.\n\nAre there general rules or best practices about when professors should/would allow makeup exams? What should one do in the case where a student's absence is clearly voluntary, but which is a \"nice\" opportunity for the student?" ]

[ "exams" ]

[ "How to inform a student about my appreciation of his/her original solutions", "In the final exam of a course, a student has solved some problems in a really ingenious way.\nHe gets perfect score anyway.\nWhat is the appropriate way to inform him about my appreciation of his solutions?\n(Also what if I don't have the occasion to meet him again?)" ]

[ "etiquette", "professors", "students", "exams" ]

[ "Does timing of emails matter?", "I wonder: everyone in academia handles a lot of email, on all aspects of their work. I mean, emails about conferences, emails about journals and papers, emails about research, teaching, supervized students, and so on. So if you have a big announcement to send to many people (eg seminar or conference) does it matter WHEN you send it? I mean, is it better to send it on Wednesday afternoon (middle of the week) rather than Saturday evening (middle of week end)? I imagine if people receive the email at time they are busy they possibly will overlook it." ]

[ "email" ]

[ "Emphasis on new terminology in technical paper: title, abstract and body", "I have two new terms that I introduce in my paper: resource security and CerberOS (the second is the name of the system). I use these terms in the title, abstract and body. How and where is emphasis best placed?\n\n\nFor the title, I use title case:\n\n\n CerberOS: Resource Security and Sharing for IoT Devices\n\nFor the abstract, at the moment, I’m italicizing but not capitalizing resource security at first usage, i.e.:\n\n\n bla bla bla ... resource security.\n\n\nI am italicizing CerberOS on first usage, i.e.:\n\n\n We made CerberOS.\n\nI was thinking of doing the same for the body.\n\n\nIs this too aggressive with the emphasis for the abstract? I was also thinking of capitalizing, but that is even more emphasis. Perhaps only capitalize resource security in the body?" ]

[ "writing", "writing-style" ]

[ "Attendance recording software", "Possible Duplicate:\n What systems are most effective for monitoring student attendance? \n\n\n\n\nI'm looking for a simple software package, or online service, whereby teachers can record any students that are late/absent for any of their classes throughout the day. I'm not after a daily attendance system, I need a system that can be easy and quick for teachers to log attendance of students to their classes. Is there any such thing? If not, what do you recommend? a wiki? or something else?" ]

[ "attendance" ]

[ "What makes papers publishable in top-tier journals?", "What are some factors that enable some papers to be published in top-tier journals while others (apparently similar) cannot?\n\nFor example, in the field of control theory, there are so many papers with complicated mathematics. Some paper is related to a very similar topic, but some get published in a top-tier journal while others not. \n\nThis question is important because knowing this, then I know which journal my paper might be submitted to that is possible to be accepted in the end." ]

[ "publications", "journals", "peer-review" ]

[ "What are good platforms for collaborative writing with multiple senior authors with limited technical background?", "I am taking part in a project that involves several authors with so many back and forth in writing. I am curious to know what usually are digital platforms or role of thumbs in term of managing writing, edits, and comments by several authors who do not have a vast technical background and do not have time to learn new things such as GIT or LateX?\n\nDo you prefer google documents for example or what?" ]

[ "writing", "collaboration" ]

[ "How to reject an advisor for master's thessis?", "(I could not find the same question. If this has been asked before please let me know.)\nI wrote an e-mail to a professor to be his student and he responded with his area of interests. Then I wrote for further information but he did not respond for couple of days. So I contacted another advisor and we agreed to work together.\nFew hours later the first advisor replied saying he could give me something to work.\nHow can I let him know that I agreed to work with another professor? Did I do a mistake by not waiting more for his response and contacting other advisor?\nThank you." ]

[ "masters", "advisor", "interpersonal-issues" ]

[ "How to find out if I will really like academia?", "To start I love learning and I love my field I am working in. I also have enjoyed the limited number of times I have been able to teach.\n\nI have an MS in Computer Science and I have been working full time now for 10+ years. I am considering a future career in Academia as a teacher and/or research. Does anyone have suggestions of things I could do on my own to help decide on whether or not this route really is for me?\n\nAlso, I have looked through questions, but I have not seen this particular question answered well.\n\nIs it possible to pursue a PHD while working full time? \n\nI completed my MS online through Drexel University, so I believe I have the personal motivation." ]

[ "phd", "computer-science" ]

[ "How does someone who holds two doctoral degrees sign their name?", "If just received second doctoral degree, how does one sign their name at the end of an email or other correspondence. Would it just stay Dr. So and So or be Dr. Dr. So and So?" ]

[ "etiquette", "titles", "second-degree" ]

[ "Are NSF RUI proposals evaluated separately or are they evaluated against the general pool for that program/division/directorate?", "I am preparing to write and submit a grant proposal to the US National Science Foundation (NSF) through the Research at Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) program. This will be my first submission to this program. \n\nFrom my understanding, proposals submitted through RUI are sent to the appropriate program in the appropriate division and directorate. Since my project involves synthetic chemistry in alternative reaction media, my proposal would probably go to the Chemical Synthesis (SYN) program in the Division of Chemistry under the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences. \n\nMy colleagues, both in chemistry and in other disciplines, have shared conflicting reports about how RUI proposals are evaluated. Will my proposal be evaluated against the entire pool of proposals in the SYN program from all institutions? Or, are RUI proposals evaluated separately? \n\nI am hoping that RUI proposals are evaluated separately, since I do not have access to the same research infrastructure that someone at a research institution does." ]

[ "funding", "research-undergraduate", "nsf" ]

[ "When is it appropriate to ask whether relocation costs would be covered?", "For one who has accepted a faculty position overseas, when is it appropriate to ask whether relocation costs would be reimbursed?" ]

[ "negotiation" ]

[ "What is the best way to deal with cranks?", "Imagine you are minding your own business when you receive an email from someone who claims to have discovered the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. He provides some "details" about his theory, then says he wants to meet you and / or arrange a time for a phone conservation to discuss it. What should you do?\nThe only thing I've seen is this 1983 article by Underwood Dudley about what to do when the trisector comes. Dudley says not to examine the trisector's proof, and also not to direct the trisector to the proof that trisection is impossible. Instead one should send computer-generated results showing that the trisection is imperfect. Problem with this is that it only works for questions that can be attacked by computers - there was a recent question here on Academia SE challenging conservation of angular momentum which this won't work for.\nWhat are some general guidelines for dealing with these situations?\nEdit: ignoring an email is easy, but what if the crank calls or visits in person?" ]

[ "etiquette", "academic-life" ]

[ "Display well-roundedness in letters for Grad school applications", "Many students have asked for a letter of recommendation to support their grad school applications at US universities. Most of them aim for business schools, but many also go for science.\n\nNow, admission committees to American undergraduate programs consider not only the prospective student's school performance but also their \"well-roundedness\". But how does that matter for graduate programs? Should I appeal to that in a letter of recommendation and if yes, how should I do that? One student actually asked to write a letter that makes him appear more well-rounded.\n\nHow much does this weigh in for grad school admissions? Are there differences between scientific disciplines to consider?" ]

[ "recommendation-letter" ]

[ "How to respond to a citation request which is not relevant?", "Often, as soon as I submit a pre-submission paper on the arxiv, I receive a couple of emails from other researchers pointing out their previous relevant work, which in their words is connected with mine and deserve citations. \n\nSometimes, it happens that their work is really connected with my work, and perhaps even anticipating it. For some reason I was not aware of that, my fault. In these cases, I usually add the citation and even refer to the work in a more extensive way. \n\nHowever, most of the emails just point to works that are indeed on the same topic, perhaps also very important works in the field, but which are not even similar nor related to my work. In this cases, I really don't know what to do. \nI could inflate the reference of the paper, giving credits to papers which really did not contribute in any way to my work. Or I could just ignore it, with the hope that one of the authors of that papers will not end up to be one of my referees...\n\nWhat is the common practice in this cases?\n\n(see also this question for another point of view)" ]

[ "citations", "arxiv", "colleagues" ]

[ "how to quote text in IEEE Access Journal", "Suppose we are supposed to follow the following MS Word template for IEEE Access Journal: https://typeset.io/formats/ieee/ieee-access/b8ddcc27ee434f391d0df476a8e17ffd\n\nMagnetic encoders use a combination of permanent magnets and magnetic\nsensors to detect movement and position. A typical construction uses\nmagnets placed around the edge of a rotor disc attached to a shaft and\npositioned so the sensor detects changes in the magnetic field as the\nalternating poles of the magnet pass over it.\nThe simplest configuration would have a single magnet, with its north\nand south poles on opposite edges of the rotor, and a single sensor.\nSuch a device would produce a sine wave output with a frequency equal\nto the rotational speed of the shaft.\nSource: https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/components/article/21798142/understanding-resolution-in-optical-and-magnetic-encoders\n\nSuppose I want to quote the above information in a paper. How do I do it? Is the way I've done it below correct? I couldn't find the answer in the template. Please note that I've added the phrase "[Hall effect or]" at the beginning. Thanks in advance!\n"[Hall effect or] Magnetic encoders use a combination of permanent magnets and magnetic sensors to detect movement and position. A typical construction uses magnets placed around the edge of a rotor disc attached to a shaft and positioned so the sensor detects changes in the magnetic field as the alternating poles of the magnet pass over it.\nThe simplest configuration would have a single magnet, with its north and south poles on opposite edges of the rotor, and a single sensor. Such a device would produce a sine wave output with a frequency equal to the rotational speed of the shaft." [1]\nREFERENCES\n[1] G. Monari, "Understanding Resolution In Optical And Magnetic Encoders," [Online]. Available: https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/components/article/21798142/understanding-resolution-in-optical-and-magnetic-encoders.\n[Accessed 18 11 2020]." ]

[ "ieee" ]

[ "How to deal with an academic 'stalker'?", "Several years ago, my colleagues and I attempted to get a small paper published, it was rejected and we ran out of time - and as it was a 'side-project' type of paper, we left it at that. We thought that was the end of it - this was not the case.\n\nOne of the reviewers who made themselves known to us wrote some pretty terse messages to us about his disagreement with what was a relatively minor point. We graciously took his feedback as he is an established (published) researcher in that field. We moved on to different fields - which this reviewer has no published work in.\n\nWhat has been happening since is that he will write an email questioning every single paper that I get published, not deliberately being insulting - but not offering anything constructive nor asking for clarification of the content etc. He has admitted that what I research is beyond his area of expertise - examples of his questions are (remember, these papers are collaborative and peer reviewed):\n\n\"Are you sure you know how to use (equipment)?\" - when the paper stated a previously published (by a separate author) protocol has been followed.\n\n\"Are you sure you did enough trials?\" - this would be fine as criticism, except the next email stated \"That many trials seems like overkill\" referring to the same paper.\n\nOne particularly unhelpful comment from him was \"Did you actually pass high school English?\"\n\nCriticism is fine, and is sought for any and all work that we do, but when the statements do not offer anything substantial, are contradictory or just rude - this is not criticism, it is unhelpful noise -especially when it is posted publicly where we display links to the work (he deletes his comments soon after most of the time)\n\nHow do I deal with this persistent 'academic stalking' while at the same time, not make a 'fuss'?" ]

[ "interpersonal-issues" ]

[ "Pre-tenure strategies to spend less time on bureaucracy, and more on research", "In the past year, as faculty, I have spent 33% of my time on paperwork and bureaucratic activities. This does not include service (committees,department meetings, etc), and is after hiring a full time laboratory manager! It is simply the filling out of forms, arguing to retain and expand my space, a wide variety of mandatory training, and being asked to justify and verify a wide variety of things. \n\nI would like to spend less time interacting with the vast number of middle management at my school, and focus on what I enjoy: research and teaching. However, there always seems to be another 'mandatory' thing. I do not have tenure, so I cannot yet simply tell them to go away. Any suggestions on how to spend less time on bureaucracy?" ]

[ "tenure-track", "time-management" ]

[ "Why are most cranks old men?", "What To Do When The Trisector Comes claims that most cranks (for lack of a better word) are old men (trisector refers to a specific type of crank):\n\n\n One obvious characteristic of trisectors is that they are old. The typical trisector heard of the trisection in his geometry class, but did not succeed with his construction until many years later, usually after retirement. \"His\" in the last sentence is not sexist because almost all trisectors are male. From the two female trisectors I know of, it follows by an invalid statistical calculation that we can be 95% sure that the proportion of female trisectors is less than .04. Women have too much sense to waste time on such things. Trisectors are old men.\n\n\n(Can't tell if \"invalid statistical calculation\" is a typo in the source)\n\nI'm looking for:\n\n\nA more detailed explanation for why cranks tend to be male (more detailed than \"Women have too much sense to waste time on such things\"). References would be even better.\nAn explanation for why cranks tend to be old." ]

[ "independent-researcher", "gender", "age" ]

[ "Is being socially reclusive okay for a graduate student?", "I am Ph.D student in computer science and mathematics. I have published a few research papers and working on some papers. I am an after mid-stage student and I spend almost 90 percent of my time in my study place. I do exercise for half an hour per day. Before joining the Ph.D I was shy and now I am not shy, but my collegues around me now find me a strange person. This is due to the following reasons:\n\n\nMany times I don't talk to the people whom I meet while going back to my room or some other place. This is because I am in a thinking mode, thinking about a research problem.\nI don't participate in group activities as the feedback given by my collegues. \nI don't congratulate (much) or wish people around me like on occasion like new year, birthday etc., but I congratulate people around me on their research or academic achievements. Let me elaborate more, I do congratulate my friends and family outside academia.\n\n\nAlthough I know my behavior, when working I try to avoid distractions. Many people find my avoidance weird. I can't be perfect as I spend most of the time on research problems. How to tell them I am not avoiding them?\n\nNote that I have many friends, but not like hundreds, but some. I usually talk with them every day. \n\nQuestion: Is being weird okay for a graduate student?" ]

[ "students", "social-skills", "asia" ]

[ "Preparing an IEEE conference accepted manuscript for arxiving", "What exactly do I need to do when arxiving a accepted manuscript to an IEEE conference? Which license to select on arxiv? Do I need to add the reference/doi not only to the arxiv metadata but also the document itself?\n\n\n\nBackground.\n\nI've a paper that has been accepted at an IEEE conference. After I've received the reviews and acceptance notice, I was asked to incorporate changes and include a copyright notice that was provided to me, something like \n\n\n 123-1-1234-5678-0/12/$31.00 c 2015 IEEE\n\n\nI assume this last pdf then is the so-called postprint or accepted manuscript.\n\nI want to post this on arxiv and wondered what I need to do. It seems the accepted answer to the following question does not really match my case:\nConditions for uploading IEEE publications to ArXiv.\nAlso it somewhat doesn't match\nAn FAQ on IEEE Policy Regarding\nAuthors Rights to Post Accepted Versions of Their Articles:\n\n\n Does the policy affect how authors post their articles on preprint\n servers such as ArXiv? Yes. The IEEE recognizes that many authors\n share their unpublished articles on public sites. Once articles have\n been accepted for publication by IEEE, authors are required to post an\n IEEE copyright notice on their preprints. Upon publication, authors\n must replace the preprints with either 1) the full citation to the\n IEEE works with Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) or 2) the accepted\n versions only (not the IEEE-published versions) with the DOI. IEEE\n journals will make available to each author the accepted version of\n the article that the author can post that includes the DOI, IEEE\n copyright notice, and a notice indicating the article has been\n accepted for publication by IEEE. IEEE conference authors are free to\n post their own version of their articles, as accepted by an IEEE\n conference.\n\n\nWhich in turn is somewhat different from the information provided in\nAn FAQ on Intellectual Property Rights for IEEE Authors:\n\n\n Can an author post his manuscript on a preprint server such as ArXiv?\n Yes. The IEEE recognizes that many authors share their unpublished\n manuscripts on public sites. Once manuscripts have been accepted for\n publication by IEEE, an author is required to post an IEEE copyright\n notice on his preprint. Upon publication, the author must replace the\n preprint with either 1) the full citation to the IEEE work with\n Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) or a link to the paper’s abstract in\n IEEE Xplore, or 2) the accepted version only (not the IEEEpublished\n version), including the IEEE copyright notice and full citation, with\n a link to the final, published paper in IEEE Xplore." ]

[ "copyright", "arxiv", "open-access", "ieee" ]

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

[ "career-path", "funding" ]

[ "How to mention a completely rewritten article in PhD thesis?", "First of all, I am from Europe. At my university are hardly any regulations of the form of my PhD thesis, especially nothing that concerns the following question:\n\nI published a paper as a first author together with my supervisor. I have rewritten my work of the paper, the structure, each sentence, and all images, because I didn't want to give a Journal the copyright of a part of my PhD thesis. However, the original methods and ideas are still the same. Currently, this rewritten paper is one chapter of my dissertation and I have not cited the paper. \n\nWould you recommend to let the reader know that the ideas of this chapter have been published in a journal? \n\n\n\nEdit: Thank you for the answer, here are some remarks that didn't fit in the comment section:\n\n\nI asked the journal, they responded:\n\n\n Permission is granted for you to use the material requested for your\n thesis/dissertation subject to the usual acknowledgements and on the\n understanding that you will reapply for permission if you wish to\n distribute or publish your thesis/dissertation commercially. You must\n also duplicate the copyright notice that appears in the Wiley\n publication in your use of the Material.\n\n\nHowever, I didn't want to duplicate the copyright notice of the journal in my thesis.\nI will now mention that the chapter is based on the publication. I thought its fine to not cite yourself, because it was mentioned in the first comment of the question How to reuse complete paper for my thesis? that it is common in UK to rewrite the article so heavily that citation is not needed anymore." ]

[ "phd", "citations", "journals" ]

[ "Should sources helping me understand concepts but not crucial to reconstruct my work be cited?", "For example, to calculate a specific exponent E, I need to read book A on summation, book B on multiplication, book C on exponent. After that I can do E. \n\n\nC is surely cited, but is it required A and B to be cited too? If not, should they be cited?\nIf both A and A' are excellent resources to understand what's summation is, is it fine to cite both of them?\nC' is also about exponent, but C is the one actually makes me understand what the exponent is. Should C' be cited?" ]

[ "citations", "ethics" ]

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

[ "graduate-admissions", "research-undergraduate", "independent-researcher" ]

[ "What to do with a likely collaborator who is not answering mails?", "A few months ago, I contacted a person who conducted research in a topic that could easily be combined with my own work. \nFor this reason, I sent him an e-mail exposing my research and why it could be interesting to collaborate, taking into account his results.\nHe answered me and showing interest in the work (that is what I read between lines). Furthermore, he recommended me some literature.\n\nWhen I read about half of the documentation, I sent him a mail with the insights I got and several of my publications, justifying my points.\nHe answered me again, discussing some points and glad to have my work pending to read.\n\nI finished his readings and I sent back my impressions. He continued the discussion and excused himself because of not having read my papers.\n\nAfter two months, I have no reply from him. What should be my next step towards the collaboration?" ]

[ "email", "collaboration", "communication" ]

[ "How to explain a physics mechanism that I study from other paper in my report while avoiding plagiarism?", "As I understand about writing a research project report or master thesis report, it must be complete, self-sufficient. The readers can understand the report/book by reading it thoroughly without the need to consult other sources.\nI can think these two ways:\n\njust stated that "the complete mechanism is discussed in [1]."\nBut this options make the report not self-sufficient.\n\nparaphrase and cite the original source\nThis is what I am doing.\nBut I worry that the paraphrase is so similar to the original writing because what I am trying to explain is a physics mechanism which I think it is hard to explain it in another way, especially the structure of the explanation.\n\n\nI really appreciate any suggestion." ]

[ "publications", "citations", "plagiarism" ]

[ "Do PhD programs care about the personalities of applicants?", "Can a very extroverted person, for example, be more favored than a very quiet person? Or is this not ethical? Can someone who is psychopathic be barred from admission?" ]

[ "graduate-admissions", "application", "ethics" ]

[ "How to present in lecture a paper that students have read (or should I not have them read it)?", "I would like to present some classic computer science papers in a class I am teaching. I know teachers usually assign papers before the lecture, but I can't figure out how to present material they've already read and likely understood. In the case of a highly technical paper, I'd go over the more technical portions, perhaps letting them know beforehand not to struggle with the proofs, programming examples, etc., but I'm thinking of less technical papers, such as:\n\n\nReflections on Trusting Trust by Ken Thompson\nThe Cathedral and the Bazaar by Eric S. Raymond\nNo Silver Bullet by Fred Brooks\n\n\nWhile I don't need to use pure lecture format, I am not sure that discussion would work well, since some of the papers (such as \"Reflections on Trusting Trust\") aren't really discussable, and my students lack the experience to discuss others (such as \"No Silver Bullet\").\n\nEDIT: I was hoping not to task the students with extra prep, since they already have a lot of assignments to do, but, as some of you suggest, that may be the best way." ]

[ "teaching" ]

[ "How likely is it that PhD application is not reviewed by professors if TOEFL minimum isn't met?", "I am applying to doctoral programs and I have a worry about the application.\n\nSince I found that my TOEFL score does not meet the minimal requirement set by a school that I am applying to, I am wondering if it is likely for me to be screened out before my whole application is reviewed by the professors?" ]

[ "phd", "graduate-admissions", "toefl", "language-exams" ]

[ "non-US PhD's with extensive course work", "I think I understand the general difference between US and European PhD. \n\nUS\n\n\nGRE is compulsory to get admitted to any PhD programs.\nFirst we get admitted to the institution.\nNeed to do extensive course work though if one has masters.\nWill decide about the area of PhD only after completing the course\n work.\n\n\nEurope & Australia\n\n\nGRE is not compulsory, but might help to improve the chance of\ngetting an admission.\nWe will know the research area in the beginning.\nMost seems to have no course work or little course work.\n\n\nIf I am right it seems both have its own advantages and disadvantages. \n\nI want to apply for a PhD with extensive course work (in the beginning of PhD) but I must know which area I'll be doing my PhD when i get admitted and the PhD duration must be more than ones without any course work (i expect around 1+4 years of funding).\n\nWhat are my best options considering the above concerns ?\n\nNote: I am looking for PhD in Theoretical Physics" ]

[ "phd", "united-states", "europe" ]

[ "Phd at same uni as MSc, possible offer but would like to change topic/group if possible", "I need some advice on how to diplomatically handle this situation:\n\nI will submit my master's thesis in a few weeks, and I am pretty sure that I want to do a PhD afterwards. Research is what I want to do.\n\nI have gotten a \"maybe\" from my current advisor (Prof. \"A\"), as in stay for a few months as an intern to extend/publish the work (minimally paid) and we'll talk again about a PhD (this is not specific to me, he did this with all his PhDs). However, there is a different Prof. \"B\" that does research on some other, more interesting topics, and if I could choose I would probably want to do my PhD in his research area. Although Prof. \"B\" knows me (positively) from a previous project, he'd probably also want me to intern at their group for a few months before making an offer. It is only during the course of writing my thesis that I realized that long-term the topics in Prof. \"B\"'s group actually interest me more.\n\nThe question now is:\n\nHow do I handle this situation, and maximize my chances of getting a PhD offer without upsetting anyone? I really don't know how to approach this situation, and I don't want to seem uninterested before I have something official. Do I talk to Prof. \"B\" in secret? What would I ask him? What do I do if Prof. \"A\" asks me to sign a contract for these next few months? Should I wait and apply for US unis anyways, regardless of my average GPA (see below)?\n\nSome more info:\n\n\nI am at a top-tier European university. PhD candidates are handled as employees and usually hired by the respective professors themselves. Candidates usually finish their MSc first, it's not possible to apply for a PhD position without having an MSc. Often, students working on their master's thesis will stay on with their advisor if the thesis is good enough. I'd say about 50% of PhDs get hired this way.\nMy grades are OK, but not stellar. Depending on the conversion, I'm at around 3.3/4.0, which is pretty much exactly the average of all graduating MSc students here. The university is known for not inflating grades, but this number still doesn't look too good.\nI'm not too keen on applying to other universities: Most of the higher ranked universities are in the US, and I'd have to wait until December in order to apply for next year. Also, that would cost quite a bit of money, take more time, and most of the top unis have GPA minimums that are above mine (e.g. MIT has a 3.6 minimum)." ]

[ "phd", "graduate-admissions", "graduate-school", "career-path", "computer-science" ]

[ "Questions regarding PhD in Linguistics or Applied Linguistics at US universities", "I have a few questions regarding admission into a PhD program in Applied Linguistics or Linguistics at US universities. I could not find any other valuable online sources regarding Linguistics for the answers I seek. Let me start with my qualification. I am an international student with a Masters in English Linguistics and Literature with a percentage of 65.9. Although it's the best language university in my country but it is not that famous anywhere else. My grade average was B with no A or C in any of the individual modules. We don't have GPA system for language studies.\n\nThis percentage is regarded with high value in my country and I was one of the top four in my class. However, there is no set grading scale used by the examiners in my country and it is very rare, in fact, almost impossible to score above 70% in any language related field. And that is the case for the most perfect performance. \n\nMy Bachelor's scores are mediocre (59.9%). I was disappointed in myself for not being able to get admission into a medical school (marginally) like the rest of my siblings and ending up doing Bachelors in law and English Literature was a major shock for my planned future career (I had been a brilliant student before). I, however, slowly developed interest in Linguistics and did well in Masters.\n\n\nMy first question is, as most good Universities require a GPA of 3 or above with successful candidates usually having more than 3.6, what are my chances of admission? How can I go about explaining my situation as the % of students pursuing Linguistics doctorate at US from my country is very low. Are my scores too horrible?\nMy only research was Masters thesis in a literature related field, titled, 'Autobiographical element in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's \"One Hundred Years of Solitude\"' of almost 40,000 words. Will it hinder my chance for admission into Linguistics? \nWhat else can I do to improve my application and up my chances specifically for Linguistics? How should I lay out my SOP? My ultimate preference would be Berkeley, UCLA and MIT. Should I even think about these universities with such scores? \n\n\nAny help would be highly appreciated." ]

[ "phd", "university" ]

[ "PhD in Machine Learning from CS Department or from EE Department?", "I am from electrical engineering background and I want to do PhD in machine learning. But machine learning is a multi-disciplinary field and available in many departments. So I am bit confused that from which department I should pursue PhD and what is the difference in PhD programs in different departments. Should I pursue PhD in machine learning in computer science department or from electrical departments. Thanks." ]

[ "phd", "computer-science", "electrical-engineering", "machine-learning" ]

[ "Is it good reputation for a researcher to publish an article belonging to different research field?", "I have a BA in International Relations and MA in Water Management which is the field I want to do research. However recently one of my former professors in my current workplace asking me for colloboration in research related to international relations. Now I am in a difficult position as I do not know what to do. Do you think it is okay to have this kind of publication?" ]

[ "publications", "self-promotion" ]

[ "Can I get into a top school C.S. Ph.D. program with a Master's from a lower ranking university?", "Is it possible, and what are the chances of doing so, to get into a Computer Science Ph.D. program at a top school like e.g. the U of Toronto with a Master's degree (say, with excellent academic record) from a lower-tier school?\n\nMy situation is as follows:\n\n\nI am about to complete my Master's degree in math (GPA will be between 3.7 and 4.0) in a program with a high reputation (acceptance rate 40 out of 170). I have done mainly (functional) analysis and mathematical physics, and some differential geometry and probability theory. No computer science-related stuff. Also, no statistics (so far at least).\nHowever, I am increasingly unhappy with my field, and I would like to go into machine learning. I know how to program and I have won some competitions as a high school student at federal state level (Germany), but I haven't taken any university courses in computer science so far.\nThis term I'm taking courses in databases, operating systems and machine learning. That will be enough to get admitted into the Applied Computer Science Master's degree at the University of Heidelberg (note that Master programs in Germany are two-years programs). Certainly not itself a bad university, but the computer science program doesn't really have a very high reputation (after all, there's a reason the admission requirements are so low). With virtually no formal education in computer science, I just don't have a lot of options at the moment.\nAssuming that I will complete that Master's program with a very good GPA (and also additionally take the one and the other undergrad course like e.g. algorithm design to catch up), what would be my chances to be admitted e.g. into the Computer Science Ph.D. program at the University of Toronto or a similarly good school? At the moment, I would certainly have no chances to be admitted into their Master's program.\n\n\nI have also considered doing a one-year computer science conversion Master at a better school, but I found the curricula of those programs rather basic and concluded that doing a 'real' Master's at a not-so-good school would be the better option. But maybe that's just my German way of thinking... Here in Germany the name of your schools means relatively little, but my impression is that things are somewhat different in the anglophone world (in particular the U.S. and the UK).\n\n\nWould it increase my chances if I combine this degree with edX MOOCs from top-tier schools like MIT?" ]

[ "phd", "graduate-admissions", "computer-science", "reputation" ]

[ "Is it rude to visit a professor's office during office hours after he/she doesn't respond to my email?", "I'm currently about to enter my final semester of undergraduate life and plan on continuing graduate studies (master's) at the same institution.\n\nApplications for the fall semester this year open in April. I recently (around a week ago) emailed a professor whose lab I want to enter and expressed my interest in his research and that if he would spare me a few minutes to meet in person or a phone call that would be great. I sent my resume as well. I had fairly high hopes because I have spoken to a former student in that lab and she happened to say he has a very nice reputation of communicating well and will reply to my email even if it's a rejection.\n\nHowever, he hasn't. I'm wondering what I should do. I've confided with my parents who are also professors, and they told me that once semester starts next week to just visit the professor's office during his office hours. My question is, wouldn't showing up unannounced and bringing up the topic of my email come off as a bit rude? My parents say that professors get paid to deal with students and so I should think of it as my right, and also that \"office hours\" are meant for professors to keep their doors open and answer questions. I'm curious as to what other people believe, though.\n\nIt was either visit his office, email him again, call the student lab via phone and ask them what I should do.\n\nThank you.\n\n\n\nUPDATE\n\nI just thought I'd share the result of taking @Buffy and others' advice in case anyone's curious.\n\nI was planning on visiting the professor in question's office today. I was planning to just visit, but yesterday I decided to send one last email out of courtesy saying that I'd love to visit his office during his scheduled office hours. If that didn't work then I would just show up \"unannounced.\" He did reply to that and asked if tomorrow is okay.\n\nI sent him my resume with the first email, but I wasn't sure if he had read it or not so I decided to print it out and bring a hard copy with me. Plus, I myself always prefer having a hard copy in my hands to flip through rather than looking at a computer screen. Sure enough, when I asked him if he would like a copy of my resume he said that it would be great and that \"students normally send them by email but I prefer hard copies\" and that likes my sense of preparation.\n\nHe was impressed at me taking the initiative and offered me an undergraduate research position on the spot - despite them lacking openings - and showed me around the lab introducing me to everyone and advising a PhD student who shares interests with me to give me a more in-depth explanation. He said that if I do decide to pursue graduate studies (\"since people change their minds all the time\" as he added) that it would be better if I naturally transitioned from an undergraduate research intern to a full time graduate student at the lab.\n\nSo yes, lesson learned. Also thanks for the advice from the community." ]

[ "etiquette", "professors", "communication", "office-hours" ]

[ "If you make changes to paper after initial conference submission, should you present updated version at conference?", "I am a PhD student in computer science and have submitted a paper to a conference which details my proposed architecture. However in the month or so since this paper has been submitted my architecture has undergone changes (relatively major), how is this normally dealt with?\n\nIf the paper is accepted do I present the work as it was at the time of submission or do I openly state that changes have been made and present the updated version of the architecture?" ]

[ "publications", "conference" ]

[ "what is peer review journal, are they paid by authors", "To publish a research paper in peer review journal is good, are they ask charges to get a paper published" ]

[ "phd" ]

[ "How can teachers reduce student suspicions in discrepancies and irregularities of grading?", "From experience, many teachers dislike it when students compare grades, but that often shows the discrepancies and irregularities in the grading system. What other methods should teachers implement in order to keep grading transparent and fair? \n\nConsider the following situations in your answer:\n\n\nCurved Grades\nThe possibility of an error in grading, which leads to an imbalance in the grade distribution.\n\n\nSome teachers immediately assume that just because a student wants to compare papers that he/she is just interested in increasing their grade. This is not the case! Some teachers make mistakes so instead of brushing it off, by assuming that students want to \"grade-lawyer\" or the like, they should consider the possibility that an error has been made. The goal of this question is to reduce such responses." ]

[ "teaching", "education" ]

[ "How to make sense of a 2019 paper published in 2016 journal issue?", "I submitted a paper to a social sciences journal and it has been accepted. However, the publisher tells me it is going to be printed in the next weeks in the 2016 issue. How to make sense of this? Apparently the issue has been delayed a few years. However it will not mention the year 2019 and it is officially a 2016 paper issue. No digital copy since the journal doesn't have a webpage. Can I still put 2019 in my CV? and if I want to present it in an upcoming conference?\n\nIt is an old journal in French that might had issues with their timeframe, collecting papers, printing, and moreover getting the editing work done on ambitious projects. Is it really an issue when the work was done? If this is part of PhD research, want difference does it make if it is possible to indicate in bibliography that the work was submitted and printed in 2019?" ]

[ "publications" ]

[ "Can I be successful as a lone wolf researcher in mathematics?", "I am not a people person, and therefore I usually work alone. I'm quite content with this, and I have actually been able to achieve some wonderful results (to me, anyway) working this way. However I worry that nobody else will really care about my research. \n\nAre there examples of modern day mathematicians who have been successful (as recognized by the mathematical community) working alone?\n\nHow can I get more people to be interested in the problems I'm interested in, without being able to connect on a personal level? Even if I'm not able to collaborate with anyone, I'd like to create some level of dialogue between other mathematicians and my publications. That is, I'd like for them to perhaps answer some of my questions, and for them to pose new ones that I could possibly answer. So far, I have failed to achieve this." ]

[ "research-process", "mathematics" ]

[ "Is it advisable to apply to graduate programs after the deadline has passed?", "I committed to a decision to attend graduate school starting the semester of Fall 2017. I made this decision around mid-December. I started applications 2 days ago and to my surprise, many of my schools had deadlines of December 15th or January 5th.\n\nI don't feel I badly managed my time. This was just when I felt comfortable committing to this direction in my life. I took the GRE about 5 months ago so that 'future me' wouldn't have to worry about it if I decided to attend. I also saw that some schools had an admission deadline of March 1st, so I figured most universities would follow this pattern it would be ok if I stopped focusing so hard on work and side projects to enjoy the holidays with my loved ones. I'd rather not wait an additional year to attend grad school.\n\nIs it (generally speaking) worth my time and money to apply to these programs so far after the deadlines? Fall 2017 is 8 months away after all. I feel I should still have enough time to get my name into the figurative hat." ]

[ "graduate-admissions", "deadlines" ]

[ "How relevant are non-top conference papers to a PhD CS admit panel? (USA)", "Background:\nWhile I am not sure about other fields, Computer science has several conferences an year for multiple of its domain. (there are around 150+ conferences for artificial intelligence alone). Out of all of these conferences, only 15-25 are actually highly regarded and considered as A to A* category.\nThe other conferences while good, are not really known. They have good proceedings like springer LNCS, ieee explore, etc. They also hold sessions conducted by profs from top schools and people from top private RnD labs. Few even allow the extension of the paper to be accepted into transactions.\nApart from these, there are always the top journals which are SCI indexed.\nQuestion:\n\nDo accepted papers from the non-top conferences add any value to an undergrad CV applying for PhD schools?\n\nAdditional motivation for the question:\nThe alternative to not publishing is keeping it as a pre-print or just a softcopy to link in the CV. But I am told in another question that some form of peer review always adds some weightage. Hence the question." ]

[ "publications", "graduate-admissions", "united-states", "conference", "research-undergraduate" ]

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

[ "phd", "graduate-admissions", "graduate-school", "application", "statement-of-purpose" ]

[ "How can I judge reputation of a publisher? Any rankings?", "Correct me if I'm wrong: identity of publishers affects quality of a publication. E.g., OUP and CUP feels like the most reputable and trustworthy in the UK, as Oxbridge are globally renowned.\n\nBut how can unknown publishers be judged, like those unconnected with any top universities?" ]

[ "publishers" ]

[ "How can multiple people grade assignments online so that different graders don't see each others' grades?", "this question is related to how you do your double blind marking for assignments, we are looking at the coursework plugin for moodle but are interested in how other other institutions do this. a specialist piece of software? paper? excel spreadsheets?\n\nTo clarify this would be two markers not being able to see the grades the other marker has assigned to the student, unless the grade is within a percentage.\nThis would be passed to a third marker if grades cannot be agreed upon." ]

[ "software", "grading" ]

[ "Procedure for having multiple advisors for a PhD thesis", "Assume that one has begun a PhD program at a university which allows a student to choose an advisor after his/her first year in the program and the student has narrowed down to a couple of potential advisors and that he/she wishes to do his thesis under multiple advisors.\n\nWhat is the procedure for suggesting multiple advisors? Whom do you speak to first? What if the advisors don't go so well together?" ]

[ "phd", "graduate-school", "advisor" ]

[ "Do online students deserve video content?", "I teach different courses online and in person and expect all my students to read textbooks and web pages. The online students get an extra explanatory text every week that is meant to replace the content that would be discussed in a lecture or seminar course.\n\nA few students are surprised or disappointed that I haven't made and posted videos as well. I don't personally learn well from video content, but it seems some of them prefer, or even expect, to do so. Other than the several that have said as much, I don't know how many students feel this way.\n\nScripting, staging, performing, recording, captioning, and publishing quality videos is harder (at least for me) than editing a document. Still, has video instruction become so normative that I should take on this project?" ]

[ "teaching", "online-learning", "lecture-teaching-method", "audio-video-recording", "lecture-notes" ]

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

[ "research-process", "publishability" ]

[ "Efficiency techniques for recording screencast lectures", "I use notetaking software on my tablet to write lecture notes, and then I record myself reading and explaining my lecture notes. I use those recordings as teaching.\n\nHowever, I find it very time consuming to produce good videos that way. I do not enter the same 'engaging' mode as when standing between an audience and a huge black board. I frequently get muddled, forget what I want to say, and falter. \n\nI usually edit those videos but I believe it must be possible to deliver videos with a presentable performance right from the get go." ]

[ "teaching", "covid-19", "remote-work" ]

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

[ "citations", "mathematics" ]

[ "Can I do a PhD without MSc?", "I am currently an undergraduate student in Turkey. I will graduate from genetics department and I would like to do a PhD without MSc in abroad. However my GPA sucks ( probably it will be 2.5 or 2.6 out of 4 ).\n\nI have done my summer internships in Germany and America. I am very good in laboratory and I think I have got enough knowledge to do a PhD in genetics. My English level is upper-intermediate and I definitely have good references ( I have talked with 4 people, they are all Prof. and they all said that they would give very good references ).\n\nBut I am still concerned about my GPA. What do you think, can I be accepted to a PhD program?\n\nAlso, can I apply for both MSc and PhD or will they think that I am a fickle person and don't accept me for neither of them?" ]

[ "phd", "masters", "gpa" ]

[ "Will my paper be published?", "I submitted my abstract at MISG-2015 conference at Malaysia. I got a mail stating that it was accepted. Does this mean that my abstract will be published?" ]

[ "conference" ]

[ "Should your PhD students call you by your first name?", "I've read at least one career advice essay that calls out asking your PhD students to call you by your first name as unprofessional.\n\nMy coworkers and I always called our PhD advisor by his first name, and a graduate student calling any professor by their last name, much less their own advisor, strikes my sensibilities as quaint and old-fashioned (undergraduates are a different story, of course).\n\nWhat is the standard practice for this?" ]

[ "advisor", "etiquette", "personal-name" ]

[ "Do people need to have their PhDs at Harvard to get tenure at MIT (and vice versa) in STEM fields?", "My friends and I were just discussing about this question: do people need to have their PhDs at Harvard to get tenure at MIT (and vice versa) in STEM fields? I know theoretically, the answer is supposed to be \"No\", and \"It depends on many other factors\". But I just skimmed through MIT's Biology and Harvard's Biophysics department; it appears that those two giants only want to marry each other. \n\nI wonder if there are are any detailed statistics of where faculty from H&M did their PhD and postdoc." ]

[ "phd", "job-search", "job", "tenure-track" ]

[ "Adding a faculty as a co-author", "I and two other student, did a course project and it has been accepted for publication in an international conference. I am confused now that whether I should add his name as a co-author or acknowledge him in acknowledgements ?\nI would like to share that though, the entire implementation and writing the paper was done by us, we were student of his class and the work was produced as a part of course project. \n\nMy field is Computer Science.\n\nEdit: As F'x suggests, that I should ask the instructor. What would be an appropriate way to do so given that his name was not added as co-author before acceptance.(We were confident about the work but were not sure about the acceptance. The conference management software was EDAS and it spams email of all co-authors which we wanted to avoid in his case)" ]

[ "publications", "authorship" ]

[ "Changing mind after rejecting a job offer", "I recently finished my Ph.D., and joined a private company in the industry.\n\nA few months before defending my thesis, I received an offer for a post-doc position; the offer was very interesting, but I declined it because I wanted to move to the industry (I have always been in academia). \n\nNow, after some months in the industry, I realized that this is not what I want to do, and I am back on my search for a postdoc. \n\nQuestion: how bad is it to contact the professor that made me the rejected postdoc offer, asking if the position is still open?" ]

[ "etiquette", "postdocs", "early-career" ]

[ "Presenting a survey/review paper at a conference", "I have noticed that senior members of the community often present survey-like work at conferences, especially if they are giving a plenary lecture or have an extended time slot in a mini-symposium.\n\nI am currently working on a survey/review paper, but a senior mentor advised me that it is not good to present such work at this stage in my career. (I'm currently a postdoc, only about a year since I got my Ph.D.)\n\nWhy is this the case, and when would it be appropriate to present such work?" ]

[ "conference", "early-career", "review-articles" ]

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

[ "presentation" ]

[ "Postdoc without PhD?", "I have never been to grad school, but I have several publications, in good journals, as well as planned future projects. Some very prominent experts know me and think well of my work. In this case, should I apply for postdoc or just go to grad school?\n\nIf it matters, I am working in a subfield of mathematics." ]

[ "graduate-school", "postdocs" ]

[ "How to find out salary for faculty positions in private universities?", "Public university salary information is usually available online. What about private universities? Can average salary by field and rank be found at least?\n\nContext: US/North America, mathematics" ]

[ "job-search", "salary" ]

[ "Online Computer Science Masters as PhD Prep", "I have recently completed my undergraduate degree, and am interested in pursuing a master's and potentially an eventual doctorate. \n\nI have been looking at affordable online degrees such as the following: \n\n\nGeorgia Tech | M.S Computer Science\nU of I | Master of Computer Science\nUniversity of Texas at Austin | M.S. Computer Science\nASU | Master of Computer Science\n\n\nAre these types of degrees (all of which are purely coursework and do not require a thesis) considered to be more \"professional\" masters programs that cannot lead to a PhD or could one get a PhD after the completion of one of these programs?" ]

[ "phd", "thesis", "masters", "computer-science" ]

[ "Is it plagiarism/OK if I use big parts of someones literature review for the introduction section of my paper?", "The questions says it all. I have an report I want to write. The level expected is slightly lower than that of a master thesis. I do need to write an introduction to the topic and there is a very recent literature review online. It covers some things that I want to use in my introduction. I do not have the possibility to access all the papers in the review as they are behind a paywall. How should I cite the review or the papers in the review? What is common practice in psychology?" ]

[ "citations", "writing", "plagiarism" ]

[ "Why are the German professors addressed as Prof. Dr. XXX?", "I notice that in Germany, basically all the professors are addressed as Prof. Dr. XXX, say Prof. Dr. Mueller. \n\nHowever, in other parts of the world, only Prof. would be sufficient, since a non-doctor can never be a University professor. \n\nSo why are the German professors addressed this way? Isn't it kind of redundant?" ]

[ "professors", "etiquette", "germany" ]

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

[ "publications", "phd", "authorship", "interpersonal-issues" ]

[ "Professor asks me if I have other options (to apply). How should I answer?", "A professor who agreed to advise me asked, \"Have you found any other options?\" I interpreted this as him asking if I have applied to other schools. I think he knows that I should spread my application to a range of schools, so telling the truth would do no harm. However, since we have had some trouble in the application process* and I need him to help me, I don't want to take a risk. I'm worried that he will lost a little interest in helping me.\n\nHow should I react to this?\n\n\n\n\n\n*The problem may be off-topic, but I will put it here in case it's important. His school doesn't have a PhD program, and he has to advise me through another school. However, when I emailed the other school, they said that I could not have an advisor from the outside. I think this is a mistake and he thinks that too. He has sent an email to them and we are waiting for them to reply." ]

[ "graduate-admissions", "advisor", "email" ]

[ "How to correctly cite a retracted paper?", "I would like to cite a particular paper that has been retracted, due to a specific error the authors have initially overseen in their analysis.\nBecause this specific error is the subject of my discussion, I want to include it as an example.\nNow, how do I cite it correctly? For example, ...\n\n\nShould the citation appear in my list of references? \nAm I supposed to use the general citation format; e.g. Smith et al. (2000)? \nShould I or am I actually allowed to mention the author's names?\nCan I be brief and simply write: Smith et al. (2000, Nature, retracted)?" ]

[ "citations", "citation-style", "retraction" ]

[ "What does it indicate if a professor from other departments is included in applied math department?", "Currently I am preparing for postgraduate application. My research interest is fluid mechanics. There are several professors whose research interests are similar to mine and all of them are included in both applied math department and some non-math departments, such as geophysics department. Most of their papers are published in Journal of Fluid Mechanics, which is one of the leading journals in that field. However, it seems that those papers do not involve advanced math knowledge, such as abstract algebra or analysis. Even epsilon-delta terminology seldom appears in those papers.\n\nThis slightly contradicts to my previous understanding. In the math department where I finished my undergraduate study, real analysis is a basic requirement for every postgraduate student. Does this mean the field of applied fluid mechanism does not require students with solid math background? What does it imply if a professor is included in applied math department? Does this indicate he/she will supervise a student with only math background? Or does this mean he/she has an intention to publish papers in math journals?" ]

[ "research-process", "graduate-school", "professors", "mathematics" ]

[ "Put a half-baked paper in arXiv for the purpose of documentation", "I'm sure this has been asked before, but I didn't find it.\n\nI have been working on a side project for some time, but I don't have the time to make the final evaluations to make it into a peer-reviewed-worthy paper. However, I do think it has merit and I wouldn't want it going to waste.\n\nIs publishing in arXiv for this purpose considered acceptable? \n\nThank you." ]

[ "arxiv" ]

[ "Computer Related Discipline for Economist", "I've always wanted to study abroad simply because I believe knowledge expands a person's world view. However, I've not been able to find a program that I can fit into. \n\nI had my undergraduate degree in Economics, which I really didn't find interesting, I enjoyed and can still recall after five year topics from my Psychology electives simply because they were more practical. Although I found Game theory quite interesting. \n\nI've been programming for over a decade now and work full time as a software developer and despite living in a low wage country, am quite comfortable. \n\nHowever, I would like to pursue an advanced degree. I tried reaching out to Computer Science departments in the US, Canada and Europe but most keep referring to my first degree. I would like to find out if there are fields that combine my interest." ]

[ "masters" ]

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

[ "plagiarism" ]

[ "What to do when no one speaks English around you?", "Often when I attend conferences and meetings, there are some social activities sometimes specifically for graduate students to mix with each other and get to know other students and build possible future collaborations and contacts. Once in a while I end up with a group of let's say all Chinese foreign students. I am not Chinese and I don't know any Mandarin/Cantonese. But it is a little frustrating and in my opinion quite rude when everyone carries on their conversation in Mandarin sometimes bypassing me directly and I have no clue what's going on and I stand there looking like a complete idiot.\n\nIf the gathering is something like a cocktail party, I would move on pretty quickly. But if it happens to be a formal dinner then I am stuck at that table and the entire evening might go by with me hardly talking to anyone. My question is, what can I do or say which will make them realize this and to consider other people around who may not know Mandarin?\n\nJust to clarify, this is in the USA and the students I am talking about are all foreign students attending American universities so it isn't a question of them not knowing English. Sometimes I know a friend or two and I would jokingly tell them only English which works for a couple of minutes and then everyone reverts to Mandarin again.\n\nAny ideas?" ]

[ "conference", "etiquette", "language", "travel", "social-skills" ]

[ "Is there any preference given based on how far in advance of the deadline a graduate application is submitted?", "During graduate studies online application submission period, is there any preference given for an applicant if he/she submits his application at the beginning of that period compared with someone who submits his/her application couple of hours before the deadline?\n\nOr as long as the applications are complete there is absolutely no difference!" ]

[ "graduate-admissions", "application", "deadlines" ]

[ "Researcher with Startup Company - Conflicts of Interest?", "Looking for your advice on best practices on how to avoid conflicts of research. \n\nThe facts: \n\n\nResearcher is a director of a research institute on campus.\nResearcher has a start-up company involved in same research as his university research. \nResearcher uses this company as a way to get Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) grants to fund his lab under subcontracts. \nResearcher has company located on campus in university sponsored incubator.\nResearcher employs a post-doc and shares this post doc with his company – funding of post-doc is 50/50 between the company and his research center.\nResearcher's lab members go between his lab and the company lab space freely. \nResearcher is interested in submitting closely related grants through his research center and through his company as SBIR/STTR.\n\n\nWhat are best practices or rules to put in place to minimize conflicts of interest in such a scenario?" ]

[ "ethics", "funding", "industry", "legal-issues", "conflict-of-interest" ]

[ "Ideal Teaching Mix as a Postdoc?", "I'm a math postdoc at a research university, and I have 1-1 teaching for the next two years. What would be the ideal mix of courses to (1) prepare me for a higher teaching load in the future (hopefully as TT faculty), (2) demonstrate my teaching ability to hiring committees (if it matters), and (3) still allow me to concentrate on research?\n\nI'm considering requesting Abstract Algebra II and Linear Algebra next year. My only teaching experience so far was one semester of Linear Algebra in graduate school. It went well and I enjoyed it, but it was a while ago so I think I'll have to spend some time getting used to teaching again." ]

[ "mathematics", "teaching", "job-search", "postdocs" ]