text:
NSF Proposals: numerical citations or author-year?
I'm preparing an NSF proposal.  I ordinarily like author-year citations because they seem more scholarly and give the reviewer instant information about who(m) I am citing.  However, multiple people have advised me that it makes the text hard to read, and I've heard that the most important thing for NSF proposals is that they are easy to read.
But still- I hate flipping back and forth between text and citations- it seems like that causes a readability problem of a different kind.  At the same time, numerical citations are much more concise and help me make my page limit.
So I am in a bind.  What do you people think?

I'd use whichever style predominates in your field, or in the journals where you publish. In mathematics, we very rarely use author-year, and if I were reading a proposal that used that style, I'd subconsciously wonder why a psychologist is writing a math proposal.

or someone doing machine learning.

@Nate of course in Maths another common citation style is author-initial+year (many papers in Bulletin of AMS and Trans. AMS use this format). For specialist papers quite often author initials + the year allows me to pinpoint the paper without even looking at the bibliography. I think of it as a nice half-way compromise between numerical and full author-year.

Also, I disagree with the statement that "author-year citations make text hard to read". It may be the case if done poorly (every single citation is parenthetical with author, year). But if you work the author's names into your sentences, there really shouldn't be much loss of readability.

On that note, natbib and other latex packages have many different \cite commands depending on how you want the reference to flow in the text, so it's easy to do as @WillieWong recommends.

This isn't a full answer, but this came up on some twitter feeds and science blogs I read a few months ago - with no resolution.

In terms of reference formatting, this is the only paragraph I can find in the NSF guide:

Reference information is required. Each reference must include the
  names of all authors (in the same sequence in which they appear in the
  publication), the article and journal title, book title, volume
  number, page numbers, and year of publication.

Thanks to @Suresh, I misunderstood the meaning of it and I agree that the instruction does not specify either numeric or author-year format.
However, the page limit is 15, all inclusive, numeric system would give you a few more lines at the end. And you don't need to hate flipping back and forth, because the reviewers will do the flipping. However, should you feel so strong against it, call and talk to the grant program manager or contact person and ask if you can use your preferred system.

I think you misunderstand the statement. It's not that references should appear in the order in which they were cited. It's that the list of authors in the bibliographic reference should reflect the author order in the original publication being cited. This is orthogonal to whether you use author-year OR numerical citation mode. Your point about the page limit is a valid one though: numerical references are more compact.

@Suresh, many thanks and I agreed. I corrected the answer.

I have reviewed many thousands of NSF proposals (and written a few dozen, many funded) and strongly recommend numerical. You should note that even the NSF Guide uses numerical (for footnotes).
Reviewers tend to like the following order: Author(s) Journal Volume Pages Year
Make sure you use first and last pages: ie 2311-2318 not 2311-18 which is ambiguous
You may find EndNote or Papers the way to go for references.

My advisor actually gave me a copy of the proposal for an NSF grant that funded some of my research, it had numerical citations. But also note that this is the style most commonly used in my field (machine learning).


text:
How correlated are grades in math courses with potential for research?
This is something that has been troubling me for a long while now. I am an undergraduate mathematics major (a sophomore), and I wish to apply to Ph.D. programs in pure mathematics in the future. I'm very passionate about research and academia.
On basis of what I've read on this website, graduate admission committees (mathematics) select candidates on basis of how capable they are of doing research in the future, and there are several indicators for this, of which grades are just one. Everyone knows that research in math and in general is a lengthy process. It is not like working on problem sets for courses or writing exam papers in 2-3 hours. It is a lengthy process in the sense that people take months, sometimes years to solve problems and publish papers (I hope that I'm right?)
That being said, to what extent are grades and potential for research (and in turn, graduate admissions) correlated?
While getting As does signify that one has probably mastered the material, is getting a few  Bs really that bad? I'm sure this isn't something new that I've thought of, so how do graduate admissions committees deal with this problem - i.e. making sure capable and deserving candidates are not left just because of their grades (none less than B) in some courses?
P.S. We know that LoRs, and other things matter too - but I don't know how important each component is, and hence the question. This question specifically targets to ask how important grades are and how this obvious problem is addressed.

It is a lengthy process in the sense that people take months, sometimes years to solve problems and publish papers (I hope that I'm right?) Yes, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Wiles

I'm under the impression that there are three different questions (explicitly or implicitly) present in the post: (1) To what extent are undergraduate grades correlated to personal potential for doing good research? (2) To what extent are undergraduate grades a good indicator that somebody will do good research? (3) How do admission committees select the candidates that get admission into a PhD program? These questions are, of course, related, but they are not identical. Could you please clarifiy which of the question you are interested in?

My question is mostly about how admission committees use grades to judge whether or not a person deserves a place in the particular math PhD program. This is obviously related to the other questions, and it'd be nice if you could answer this in particular and/or throw some light on all three questions to some extent. Thank you so much!

Do you want opinions or solid data on this?

I don't think solid data is available - so opinions are all we've got. Though data is good to supplement any answer, in general - adds credibility!

Like most things, there is some correlation, but it's not perfect. In other words, good grades are an indicator of future success, but not proof.
This is why most places look at a wide variety of things, not just GPA or individual grades. In the US, letters of recommendation carry quite a lot of weight, for example.
No, a few B grades probably won't hurt (much), especially if they are in a topic that you don't intend to pursue further. Note that true insight into mathematics isn't uniform across sub fields. For example, I had great insight into real analysis and point-set topology, but very little in algebra or even in some other aspects of analysis. But I did fine, since I worked in an area where my insight was deep.
I'll note that when I took the GRE subject test in mathematics I was extremely discouraged when I left the test center. There were so many questions that I had no insight in to at all. But that was really because mathematics is so broad that no one (anymore) can understand all of it (not since the early 20th century, I think). I did well and got into good graduate programs.
However, don't neglect the fact that good programs are very competitive.
The key is to put together a complete application (including letters) through which a reader can have confidence in making a  prediction of your future success. If you get to write a Statement of Purpose (SoP), make it forward looking, not just a recapitulation of what is in the CV. Goals, plans, ...

"a few B grades probably won't hurt (much)" - Well, what are some ways in which one may be disadvantaged or hurt?

"...don't neglect the fact that good programs are very competitive." - I agree, they are - but then how do they deal with the same issue? I mean, just because they are good programs it doesn't make sense to give more weightage to grades as opposed to other things?

Indifferent letters of recommendation will probably hurt (US). Really good ones will overcome a few bad grades. But B's aren't really bad.

Got it! Anyway, I'll make it a point to get letters of recommendation from professors with whom I've done some research/graduate reading, or in whose classes I've gotten solid As. That sounds good, right?

Absolutely. Primarily people who (a) know you well and (b) can confidently predict success. Note that what a professor writes about you reflects back on themselves as well, especially when they are writing to places where they know some faculty.

to what extent are grades and potential for research (and in turn, graduate admissions) correlated?

You need to be good enough: A broad understanding of your chosen research field is needed. That can be demonstrated by good grades. But good grades are neither sufficient nor necessary.  (See Good Will Hunting for a dramatisation.) Grades have, however, become a heuristic for research potential. They're imperfect (and other factors are considered too), they're just better than other metrics. That's why you needn't have the best grades.

Hmmm, the movie mentioned twice in two days.

That movie is the most insultingly inaccurate depiction of mathematics research and of academia that I know of.

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How do I turn down a project I'm not interested in anymore?
I'm an undergraduate student, and I recently got in touch with a postdoc at an institution different from mine - since I was quite interested in her research work. Now, after a few weeks (haven't started much work yet, I've only gone through the preliminaries I'd need to do research in that field), I don't feel as interested in the project/work, and I wonder what would be a polite way to say the same. Since I haven't been offered an official position at the lab yet, I think this is still a good time to make this call.
As an undergraduate in my early years, I think I'm still figuring out my interests, so I'm personally not as surprised at my situation - but I'm having a hard time figuring out how to inform the postdoc that I'm not interested in that particular project anymore. I hope y'all understand my situation and can help!
I'm confused because I was the one who reached out first, expressed interest and I'm not interested anymore. I hope there's an easy way out of this.

"Hey George, I looked up my schedule and I think I won't have time this semester." ?!?

A polite and concise email to the postdoc will suffice.

As an undergraduate in my early years, I think I'm still figuring out my interests

A postdoc researcher will certainly understand this sentiment. There is no need to go into details about you not finding their work interesting, but rather focus on changes in your interests.

Since I haven't been offered an official position at the lab yet, I think this is still a good time to make this call.

The postdoc will be glad that you did not waste their time and they will appreciate knowing about your decision to not join their lab ahead of time.

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Sci-hub and ResearchGate
Sci-hub and ResearchGate both provide (among other things) online access to journals that sit behind publisher paywalls. For example, I have just discovered, not unhappily, most of my own papers on both sites despite the copyright being held by the original publishers and despite none of the publishers apparently having allowed free access to the papers.
Yet, despite their similarities ...

Sci-hub seems to be regarded by publishers as a rogue site that ought
to be shut down (consider, for example, multiple news stories about
Elsevier's attempts over the years to recover damages from Sci-hub or to prevent its websites from being DNS indexed or publicized)

ResearchGate is either well-regarded, or at least tolerated .

Have I understood the situation correctly, and if so, what has led to the current state of affairs?
Added: To remove doubt, I'm not asking why it might be acceptable to publish a preprint with the permission of the publisher but unacceptable to publish the final paper without the permission of the publisher. I'm interested why comparable behavior on the two sites is apparently treated, and regarded, differently.

Sci-hub allows access to pay-walled articles.   They are like the 'robin hood' of academia.  Hence, they have many fans, especially among institutions who do not have the funds to subscribe to journal databases and proponents of open access.  Further, people who access sci-hub tend to have access to pay-walled articles. I for example use sci-hub to get an easier access to articles; my university's library access sucks.  Hence, publishers do not really care much.  This is because those who can pay are already paying, and those who cannot, they are never a customer.
Researchgate has a bad reputation.  It has questionable practices.  For example, it spammed my co-authors using my name hoping to increase their subscribers.  I also suspect that many subscribers who follow me are fake.
Additions:  Elsevier is a profit driven company; search for their annual revenue. ResearchGate allows publishers or copyright holders (or authors) to request their works to be removed from ResearchGate. Further, many publishers, such as IEEE, allow preprints to be posted as long as preprints have a blurb that indicate their copyright owner. Hence, ResearchGate arguably is nicer to publishers and/or do not infringe on publishers' rights. On the other hand, sci-hub is setup to get around a pay-wall, meaning it is a threat to publishers.

One answer to your distilled form of the question (from a comment)

why is ResearchGate apparently tolerated by publishers whereas Sci-hub is relentlessly pursued, at least by Elsevier?

might be the following. ResearchGate, at least in my experience, do not put full-texts of paywalled articles on their website without consent from at least one of the authors.  So it is the author who is at fault if this is done in violation of their agreements with the journal. It's really not much different to an author putting the published version on their personal website - the publisher doesn't go after the website host if this happens.

ResearchGate is legal, Sci-Hub is not
How is that possible when they both "provide access to paywalled papers"? That's when you need to know what exactly is copyrighted and cannot be shared.
Elsevier sharing policy (which is typical of publishers)

Preprint
Authors can share their preprint anywhere at any time.
Accepted Manuscript
Authors can share their accepted manuscript:
Immediately

via their non-commercial personal homepage or blog
by updating a preprint in arXiv or RePEc with the accepted manuscript
via their research institute or institutional repository for internal institutional uses or as part of an invitation-only research collaboration work-group
directly by providing copies to their students or to research collaborators for their personal use
for private scholarly sharing as part of an invitation-only work group on commercial sites with which Elsevier has an agreement

After the embargo period

via non-commercial hosting platforms such as their institutional repository
via commercial sites with which Elsevier has an agreement

It should be obvious that ResearchGate generally does not violate these guidelines (and if they do, a DMCA takedown request gets them to remove the offending copyrighted material).
This is in stark contrast with Sci-Hub, which is a pirate website that treats copyright laws with contempt.
Also: the methods Sci-Hub uses to get their papers are dubious at best (it's possible some sympathetic researchers donate their institutional credentials to Sci-Hub, but that still almost surely violates their institutional policies) and outright illegal at worst. ResearchGate's papers are acquired legally.
The two websites are not comparable.

Since the answer has been edited, I deleted the discussion about phishing  and moved to chat the other comments; please do not continue the discussion here. Before posting a comment below this one, please review the purposes of comments. Comments that do not request clarification or suggest improvements usually belong as an answer, on [meta], or in [chat]. Comments continuing discussion may be removed.

The opening statement of this answer is, I think, fundamentally incorrect. Only very few things are "illegal" under the copyright law of most countries, including the US. Instead, owenership of copyright gives rise to what is known as a "chose in action" (see, for example, the Merriam dictionary). Elsevier's pursuit of Sci-Hub relates directly to a chose in action and to the recovery of damages and various other injunctive relief, non of which declares copyright breaches themselves "illegal". Later contempt of court orders might be illegal.

@CrimsonDark sounds like you have a pretty unusual definition of "illegal" - although given that SciHub has already demonstrated contempt of court orders, they are still illegal.


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Coauthorship or not
A year ago I began work on a problem. Shortly after I began in earnest, I told a very knowledgeable colleague about it. Because she is a person with catholic interests, she listened carefully and then simply said, "wrong approach". Knowing her breadth of knowledge, I trusted her, and in retrospect, if I had pursued the path of enquiry that I originally intended, I would have wasted 6 months.
My colleague's work on the problem amounted to only a few minutes ... close to zero in the scheme of things. In terms of her intellectual contribution, however, I would count those few minutes as having been absolutely critical; I was fortunate to have  had the chance conversation.
I am now writing a paper. I could include my colleague's name, as I frequently see other people do, as an "also ran" in the never-to-be-remembered acknowledgements. Alternatively, I could list her as a co-author. Which?

Did she say only "wrong approach" or did she suggest a better approach?

No ... just two words ... "wrong approach", interpreted (correctly) as "if you go down that path you will waste your time". But it was clear to me after working for a few months ... on a correct, or at least better approach, that it was her deep knowledge of the subject matter that told her that my initial approach was dead wrong. Something it would have taken me several months to figure out.

My conundrum is encapsulated to some degree in an old joke about a person who hires a plumber to fix a problem with a boiler. The plumber arrives, listens to the problem description, whacks the boiler (with successful results) and says: "That will be $200". "But", says the client in protest, "All you did was whack it. I could have done that!".  "Yes", says the plumber, "you could have whacked it and probably broken it. It's my 10 years of experience that tell me how and where to whack it ... so, my $200 please."

What does "catholic interests" mean here? Is the subject matter related to religion?

No, Sorry for any confusion. Just the ordinary meaning of "catholic". Not "Roman Catholic" (capitalized, proper noun). https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catholic ... "Comprehensive, universal, diverse, "

What field is this?

In my assessment of the situation, I think that a generous acknowledgement suffices in this case. The bar for authorship ought to be higher than simply saying "wrong approach."
That said, nothing stops you from approaching the colleague again, thanking her for her insight, and asking her if she would like to collaborate towards the solution. If her deep insight helped you earlier, it might help you again and you have nothing to loose in the process. Then, you could truly add her as an co-author!
I also don't think that acknowledgements are in the "never to be remembered" category. If it is a genuine, heartfelt sentiment, then the giver and receiver both know it and that should be all that matters.

In mathematics, I think this is approaching the edge case. It is possible in math to become an author in a five minute conversation, but IMO that would require transferring some key insight into the nature of the problem. I'm guessing that this didn't happen here and you found the proper insight into the solution to your problem later.
I would think that a very strong acknowledgement is warranted. Had she said "try this..." then it would likely constitute authorship (in math, at least).
Fields differ of course, but in theoretical fields it can be the same. Maybe even some applied fields.
Had I been that person and you asked me "are you an author of this", I'd say "no, but thanks for the suggestion".


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How GRE score affect your acceptance rate
Suppose you are very bad at undergraduate but did well on your GRE test. How would that affect you application?

Acceptance rate for what?

Grad school. not necessarily Phd, could be Masters. Also could be in other countries.

Maybe a little, but don't count on it putting you over the line. Admissions isn't a numbers game at most institutions. Lots of bits of evidence suggest that you will, or won't, be a good candidate and a success in the program. You need to build a complete picture that has enough good points to outweigh any bad ones.
If you were a bad undergraduate that is a problem that you need to overcome, or at least explain. What were you bad at? Good? How does math fit in here, assuming that is your field? What else have you done? Do you have any research experience? What are your goals and do you have a plan to achieve them.
All of these things can matter, but a good GRE is positive, at least. What else have you got?

Research experience, extra curriculum activities involving learning teaching. Have being a grader for two classes, substituted TA for his tutorial... Cooked for a organization for homeless people, participated to conferences. Participated to competitions. But took 8 years to finish undergrad. GPA is so so

Good. Focus on the positive. Build a positive picture.


text:
Is there any degree for "intelligence studies" in Germany?
Intelligence studies is an interdisciplinary academic field that concerns intelligence assessment.
I have tried to find the relevant program in Germany, but i did not find anything.
Based on WikiPedia, every country might have its own standard for this field.

In British universities, intelligence studies developed within
  international history departments, while in US institutions it became
  the preserve of political science, and even then the subject was
  approached in terms of public policy and decision-making rather than
  IR. Recently attempts to connect intelligence studies with
  international relations theory have emerged, such as Andrew Rathmell's
  work on a postmodern theory of intelligence.

The question is:

How is IS (intelligence study) in Germany?
Can you specify some links to the programms?

Seems like its hasn't established itsself in Germany yet. I haven't heard of the field in Germany either, however that doesn't mean to much.

Sorry, we cannot provide links to relevant programs. Stack Exchange is not designed to accommodate list-based requests like this.

It seems like this field hasn't established itsself in Germany yet, and is mostly common in the anglophone world. However, the German Intelligence offers courses at the Hochschule des Bundes
Fachbereich Nachrichtendienste (Federal University of Applied Administrative Sciences).

[...] [T]hey focus on undergraduate education for
  generalists in intermediate-level posts.29 To some degree, the existence of this
  program also precludes the necessity of similarly-structured undergraduate
  programs at regular public universities. In the graduate and postgraduate sec-
  tors, no similar program exists. (source, p. 86)

Contents of the answer and further information from: source

The link is down. Could you please update your answer?


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If I notice missed part after manuscript submission, could I be contact the manager of review?
I submitted a survey paper, but I forget two lines to describe a method.
Should I contact the manager of review ?

Sure, just write an email to the editor, specifying exactly what was changed/missing.  (Of course, it should be reasonable enough to warrant the extra work for the editor, and, if it got sent out for review already, also for the referees.)

I upvoted this. It the bracketed requirement isn't met, OP wait for the review phase.


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What is the best title of an email that gives news and updates?
I am a PhD student. Since a long time I did not email my supervisor. Thus, I want to text him but I did not know which email that should be written in the title.

Do you mean the subject line?
You added the "title" tag, which refers to whether to call someone Prof. PhD, Dr, ...

@mark yes I am looking for a good subject line, may I use " News " as a subject ?

Is there a particular reason why you did not write her/him for a long time? Or is it normal (would be odd in my field, but maybe it is normal in others)?

Nah It is normal

Title your email something descriptive in a short statement.
Do not use "News" - what is news? You might be sharing your opinion about the media. You might be sharing an article you read about fashionable hats in the news. You might be sharing an engagement, marriage, childbirth, divorce, serious illness, change in the succession order of the British monarchy, taking a new job, winning the championship in your bar league basket weaving division. The title "news" says almost nothing - not about urgency or content or valence.
If you're sharing the latest results on some project you're working on, why not say that? "Updates on basket weaving data collection". Even better, don't bury the lede: "Basket weaving data collection now 50% complete". The appropriate title should depend on what you are sharing, there's no way anyone else can title your email for you in a meaningful way.
On the other hand, don't overthink it or spend time on making the title perfect or memorable - just frame in a few words what you are going to share.


text:
The difference between "reviewed by" and "communicated by"
I´d seen the phrase "Reviewed by (someone)" and also the phrase "Communicated by (someone)" in published papers, what they refer to or the difference(s) between them?
Thanks

Could you give an example of a journal listing "reviewed by"? Do they perhaps have open peer review? For the other phrase, see Article “communicated by”.

@Anyon, thanks for your comment, in fact, one can see on mathscinet  database in the description of an article between brackets reviewed by XYZ


text:
Do US universities invite faculty applicants from outside the US for an interview?
I am currently a postdoc in US on a visa that will expire in late October this year. I have been applying around for assistant professor positions in several US universities. Most of these positions start in the 2025 fall semester, but a few of them start in 2025 spring semester. Most of these positions have a deadline around September-October, how long in general should I wait after the deadline until I hear back from them assuming I am invited for the interview? I am expecting to get a faster turn around for the position that starts in the spring. However, if the interview announcement won't come until I leave the US, how much will that lower my chance of being considered to get the position? I have a doubt that they are still willing to conduct an online interview and guest lectures if I am not in the US.
Do you know an occurrence of a US campus hiring someone while they are not in the US?

If interested they would fly you in for an interview. It doesn’t cost that much really.

Well that depends on the foreign country. For my home country, the cheapest one-way airfare is still about $700. The question is, how high is the chance that they will be interested in inviting me.

Corporate institutions have better rates than you get. $700 is a lot to you, but is peanuts in getting a good professional employee.

You have a lot of questions here. Can you narrow it?

Generally speaking, institutions/departments willing to sponsor your visa should you get the offer (which isn't all of them, by the way) will have funds also for interview travel.

And, the difference between domestic and international travel is less than the cost of the latter, of course.

If you also need to get a US visa to come for a job interview, it will seriously lower your chances. But it is always the question of a balance: The more desirable you are as a potential hire, the more a department will be willing to do to get you.

@MoisheKohan - given they have had a visa for their postdoc, it isn't clear that getting another one would be particularly difficult (except for the time required). Depending on nationality they might not even need a visa for such a visit.

@JonCuster: And in the hiring process, timing is critical. The typical timeline is that hiring committee starts making a shortlist in December, expecting to make job offers by late January. If getting a visa takes 3 months (which it easily can), this will derail the entire process.

@MoisheKohan - indeed, the OP would have to consider their risk here. Clearly being visa-free for visits would help.

My university and other R1 universities will regularly fly in job candidates from overseas for an interview. I’ve never heard of this being a problem. There are maybe occasional unique situations involving a federal travel ban on citizens of certain countries, or someone who is denied a visa and is unable to come. Those would be dealt with on a case by case basis, but are too rare to be worth worrying about unless you have some specific knowledge of your situation being particularly problematic.
In any case, from the department’s point of view, they just want to hire the best candidate, and the small additional cost associated with interviewing someone from overseas will not influence their thinking on whether to invite you in any way, at least at R1 and similar institutions.
In terms of the time table, for a job with an application deadline in September-October, it seems virtually inconceivable that you will be invited for an interview before the end of October. But as I said above, if you can arrange at least a visa for a short visit (a tourist visa should be good enough I think, but I’m not an expert on such things) or are from a visa-exempt country, this should not be a problem and won’t lower your chances of being invited for an interview.

This very much depends on the institution. If you are applying to schools other than R1 (or well-funded R2), the budget for hiring might be limited and they might not be able to fly in someone from outside the country. They might be willing to fly you in from anywhere in the US, though.
Of course, with the experience of the Covid years, they might decide that they do not need to see you in person before hiring or at least only fly you in if you are in the top three.
Hiring people that are out of the country and do not have a current visa is a bit iffy. Again, the R1s and similar schools have the people that will solve this, but at a smaller school, the dean might get scared of the prospect of having to hire an immigration attorney.
In general, the timing of the hiring process is hierarchical. A good R1 (let's say University of Arizona) would like to get really good people but knowns that Stanford and UCSD are more attractive, so they will wait for the top ten before they enter the same phase. And it continues further down, until (non-existing) Potawotamee State makes offers in February / March. Similarly for temporary positions or non-tenure-track appointments.

or you may get a job offer where the job is conditional on you getting your work permit and whatever other documentation needed. I've worked for several companies that had such stipulations in contract offers (in my case never for work permits but rather security clearance, but we did hire foreigners depending on those).

jwenting:  Not having a candidate show up for visa issues is usually semi-catastrophic for the department. A new search would take place a year later, and the alternative candidates might no longer be around. Remember that hiring is a complicated dance where the smaller schools have to wait with making offers until the bigger ones have done it.

oh yes, it can get costly in the corporate world as well. Hiring processes are lengthy and expensive. And if you need someone you don't want to wait any longer than absolutely required or you'd not need that new person after all.

I suggest you focus on the important things. Most of your questions don't seem to have "action" components. If you don't apply, you don't get a job. If it takes a long time to get back to you it is only important if it comes up against other deadlines you have. They might conduct an online interview prior to an invitation, but that is fine. They might also make a decision (positive or negative) without a visit in some, perhaps rare, cases.
I'd suppose that at a research institution, especially R1 with a lot of research activity across fields, ordering of candidates doesn't take cost of hiring into account and HR will handle a lot of those details. Such universities tend to be large with huge budgets and expectations that some of that is for travel.
A small liberal arts college may have a smaller budget for such things so might consider whether it is "worth" funding a visit. But the import of that is that you need to stand out in the candidate pool.
Some places will give you an idea about scheduling, if asked, and when invitations and offers might occur, but expect several weeks at least as committees need to meet and there may be several candidates. Things don't become critical for them until Spring (for Fall starts), so the early process can be deliberative and time consuming.
But, apply if you want the job and process the information as it comes and make decisions when you must.

Hi thanks for the answer. I did say that I have been applying to several positions though.

If you make it through the selection process, you can expect a Zoom/Teams interview probably end of November for an early October deadline. If you impress there, expect to be invited for an in person likely in January.
Some places will do it earlier, but the US in particular slows down after mid-November as everyone is trying to wrap up their semesters before the Thanksgiving break hits, especially this year as it's at the end of month, which really compresses the time to final exams. So you can conceivably write off any in-person this fall unless you are dealing with the most organized of search committees!
As someone who has served on numerous search committees at an R1, I can tell you that we want the best. As for Visa issues? Not our concern. You are being hired by our department, all of the Visa paperwork is by our global office anyway. They are experts, and none of that process is a hassle to the committee or to our department chair. It just gets handled in the background.
So, for a job at an R1 (or otherwise well-funded R2) what you have to do is convince the committee (and then the Chair and Dean) that you are the best candidate. That is all you can control, and really that is what matters most.


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Professional goals in pursuing a doctoral degree - Statement of Purpose
I am a prospective Ph.D. applicant in the area of Robotics Controls and Biomedical Engineering (US universities). As a part of universities' SOPs, I am supposed to talk about my professional goals in pursuing a doctoral degree (or current degree goals).
I am really confused over what to discuss about it in my SOPs. If you ask me about my goal of enrolling in a doctorate degree, I would say that I want to be able to make a contribution in my field through my research, and subsequently develop core expertise in the field so that I can join some top-level R&D organization/startup after completing Ph.D. (This answer might be a cliche and other applicants might have written the same thing.)
Is it literally that easy to talk about one's doctorate goals? Or do I need to work on it more and come up with a better answer?
Any direction/feedback/critique is welcomed.

Think also about what sort of position you want to have after you finish. Where do you envision yourself five years after completion? The R&D stuff shouldn't be omitted.

Thanks. If I say that I am interested in applied research and after completing my PhD, I plan to join R&D org/startup where I want to play my role in product conceptualizing, prototyping and commercialization, is it good enough or am I just limiting myself? (I have entrepreneurial exposure and industry/R&D experience so I think my previous experiences complement my PhD degree goals)

It isn't limiting in any way. Your goals may certainly evolve no matter what they are now.

Your SOP as a whole should cover your professional background in terms of classes, research, former professional experience, and your goals going forward. It sounds like you're asking about the last part of this.
Yes, your goals going forward are to do a good PhD and to get a job at a start-up. Those are reasonable goals, so it's reasonable to list them.
To the extent possible, you should be specific: what kind of research, which core skills, what types of jobs, etc. Obviously you want to leave yourself enough room so that your interests can evolve, but if you can articulate a well-thought-out, realistic plan for what you're going to do with this PhD after you get it, that will put you heads-and-shoulders above most applicants, who will be focusing on the PhD as an end in itself, or haven't considered jobs other than hyper-competitive faculty positions.

Thanks. If I say that I am interested in applied research and after completing my PhD, I plan to join R&D org/startup where I want to play my role in product conceptualizing, prototyping and commercialization, is it good enough or am I just limiting myself? (I have entrepreneurial exposure and industry/R&D experience so I think my previous experiences complement my PhD degree goals)

I like it except for the "conceptualizing, prototyping, and commercialization" -- virtually all companies do those things, so it's sort of empty words. If there's a particular industry/role you're interested in, I would say that; if not, I would just omit the last clause. Your SOP will not limit you in any way, though you may be formally or informally paired with an advisor based on what you write, so it's good to be honest about your interests and plans of course.

No problem. If this resolves your question, please consider accepting the answer.

While I believe that previous answers already gave interesting feedback, I would like to add this additional point.
Maybe in your field it is more common to obtain a PhD to have "better" jobs later in industry, however, I would be careful in phrasing this concept. It should not sound like: "I want to do a PhD so that I can then continue with what I really like, which, by the way, it is not academia".
If you are really certain that your goal is to end up in industry, try to be specific on what a PhD will give you to be better in the industry sector later on in life.
It is totally ok to do a PhD and then not continue on that path, however, showing passion for research in a university environment is always welcome.


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Cancelled Summer Program due to COVID-19
I am sure this question has been asked in some capacity on this site. I am a first year graduate student. I was contracted for a summer program that would have looked very good on my CV about 6 weeks ago.
However, due to the spread of COVID-19 the program was cancelled. Is there any way I can express this on my CV (possibly have an asterisk next to this activity)? If not, how should I explain the situation when applying for positions next year (because, now it is unlikely I will have anything noteworthy to put on my CV for this summer).
Thank you

The answers to this question will probably help you.

Not that it makes you feel any better, but many folks won't have anything 'noteworthy' to put on their resumes this summer. And everyone will understand 1, 3, 5, 50 years from now why that is the case. Stay healthy, stay safe.

List it as an achievement.

Awards and Achievements

Selected for competitive summer program, Summer School on ABCDE. Scholarship awarded; attendance cancelled due to COVID-19.

I think this is completely appropriate, for the same reasons as argued on this related thread. Note: I added "scholarhip awarded", but obviously you should not put that if there was no scholarship :)
In general, the purpose of your CV is to brag as much as possible; include everything that sounds impressive, even if you personally don't think it's that impressive. For instance, if you got accepted to two programs and only could attend one, I would list both. It's the same thing here -- the fact that COVID-19 is the circumstance is just a detail, not relevant to whether the acceptance is appropriate to list.

I worry about your concept of a CV. Don't list things that others would consider trivial. "I won the neighborhood marbles competition when I was only 6 years old." I don't object to your specific suggestion in this case, but would if the reason for not attending were something personal. But it is marginal (IMO) even as you state it.

@Buffy But winning the neighborhood marbles competition doesn't sound impressive :) So it doesn't satisfy "include everything that sounds impressive." In fact that detracts, even if (unbeknownst to the reader), winning this marble competition is a huge intellectual feat that immediately qualifies you as a genius and means that you should be accepted to all academic programs going forward.

I guess it's the "brag as much as possible" that Buffy was reacting to. I know I was. CVs that come across as bragging are the first to hit the trash as far as I'm concerned. There should be no bragging at all, IMO.

@terdon It depends on whether the bragging is warranted. I think lots of students are afraid to put things on their CV that objectively look impressive. Often people are afraid of bragging and underconfident on including things. So this addresses that perspective. You are right as well that the opposite problem can occur.

Hmm, I would disagree that you should list all that you got into.

@AzorAhai I see where you are coming from. It does depend on if it was a competitive/important application, and if a scholarship was awarded. I think it depends on the rest of the resume... if most things are pretty mediocre, maybe this stuff is better than average. But if OP has like 10 peer-reviewed publications and awards, then perhaps they shouldn't be listing summer programs at all.

I guess it depends on what a summer program is, my field doesn't really have them? I guess I'm not sure how to interpret how important it is. It makes sense, IMO to list fellowships and scholarships you earned, but could not take multiple, rather than to list workshops you did not attend and didn't get value from (except in these very exceptional times)

Hmmm. Are you a reader and evaluator of CVs for positions, or just a writer and hoper that you'll get accepted? Let others puff you up in letters. Then it has some value.

And you have no idea about how adept the 9 year olds were at algorithmic marbles. I still have nightmares. One kid had a 18,688 node Cray Titan to do the computations.

It is hard to predict anything in a period of chaos. But, depending on your field, you may be able to do some things to advance your education even if it doesn't show up as a "notch" on your CV. I'd suggest that you contact any professor in your field and ask for advice. Readings, research problems, whatever. It is pretty natural in mathematics and much harder if you require a well-equipped lab, but, still, there are papers to be read and problems to be searched for if nothing else.
But being invited into a program is not, in itself, an accomplishment worthy of a CV entry. It is something that might be mentioned elsewhere in an application, especially if you want to explain how you dealt with the current disruptions.
Mathematicians, for example, can and do work "together at a distance" since it doesn't require face to face interaction (helpful, though). A chemist who requires a lab, however, will be stuck, as labs are generally expensive to set up and normally require more than one person's presence to monitor experiments. Computer science is a lot like math. Biology is a lot like chemistry. Field matters here. But even chemists need to read papers and can share ideas and plan experiments even if they can't be realized in the short term.
But, given your current position, don't focus so much on your CV but on the work that might later lead to things worth putting there. It might be different if you were in your last year rather than the first, but then, the path would be more obvious then.

To the user who raised Low Quality Post flag, would you please explain why? Given the asker's questions and answers on Math SE, It's not too hard to guess that  the OP's field belongs to Math related field. I see nothing wrong with this answer. Yea, the answer may need to be improved, e.g. I don't understand what It is pretty natural in mathematics and much harder if you require a well-equipped lab means. But, still, it's not a low quality post.

@scaaahu, Mathematicians can easily work "together at a distance". Chemists might find it harder if they do lab work. Labs are expensive and normally require more than one person to attend experiments.

Would you please consider putting the above comment into the answer to make it more clear? (I didn't quite get it in the first place)


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Is this a typical supervising style and what should I do to make research progress?
I am a research master student in STEM field. My supervisor and I have weekly meetings. Each meeting lasts for about 15-20 minutes. Before each meeting, I will summarize the most important work I have done in a week in a powerpoint and will present my work to him in each weekly meeting. Then my supervisor will ask me some questions based on my work and I will explain some particular details to him. If there is anything I cannot answer him, I will look into that particular details after the meeting, revise my design and reply to him in the next meeting. This supervising style sounds good because both my supervisor and I are both responsive to our duties.
However, whenever I have technical difficulties (too often actually), I cannot get help from my supervisor or my labmates. For example, when I did some theoretical proof work and sent my work to him, he did not read it and give me comments (though I understand that it takes extra time or non-meeting time for him to read my work and he is busy with other duties). Also when the system I have been designing generates simulation errors, he would not look into the simulation details with me. Instead he would just say something like "there must be some problems, you need to solve it". Or he would just ask me to break the whole system into smaller modules and look into each of the modules. But I have already been doing this. It seems that every time I need to solve the problem by myself. I try to ask my labmates for help. But their research topics are somewhat different from mine. So they cannot offer me much help. Though I am happy to look into the technical difficulties by myself and regard it as an opportunity to learn (and get some self-satisfaction when I get the problems solved), it takes me so much time which makes me look like an inefficient researcher.
Now my research has been progressing very slowly. And I am very worried that I cannot graduate on time. Also I still want to achieve a good result in my research and hope I can publish a paper. Is there anything I can do to accelerate my research progress? Is there any technique to solve the technical problems in a more timely manner?
Also, is the supervising style a typical one? Is it reasonable to expect my supervisor to look into the details of my work with me? Or professors would usually regard technical details are too trivial and expect their research students to have adequate experience and knowledge to solve these problems?
Thanks a lot.

Questions about how to do your research are generally closed on this site.  Questions about supervision style are okay.  Please ask one question per post.

You cannot expect your supervisor to help you debug your code!  I tell my students exactly the same thing as your supervisor.   I do, however, test my students to ensure that they understand the theory or what they are trying to implement.  I leave them to the details.

Is it reasonable to expect my supervisor to look into the details of my work with me?

No.  Some supervisors might do that, others might not.  It is reasonable for you to expect your supervisor to identify resources that will help you work independently.

is the supervising style a typical one?

There is no typical supervising style.

I’m not sure what the answer to this question will give you.
Suppose that you are told that all advisors are like this; how will this help you any more than hearing that your advisor’s style is way off?
It sounds like a fairly typical interaction a professor might have with a masters student. Weekly meetings are good, checking in to see that you’re trying stuff is good, but perhaps not reading your results quickly is less than optimal.
Perhaps a more apt question to ask is: is this supervision style good for you?
From the way you describe it, it sounds like the answer is no.
I suggest you try to ask your advisor for more detailed/personal attention (unlikely to happen), direct you to resources that will help you move forward (like a fellow grad student/postdoc, or a class you can take), or be more self directed.

One reason why the question makes sense: If it turned out that OP's advisor is particular poor, that would make it more likely that switching an advisor might lead to an improvement.

At least in my university, changing MSc advisors can take a while, and is not necessarily worth the time it would take.


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What is the difference between a masters thesis, a PhD thesis, and a journal paper?
From my understanding, a PhD thesis has more original/substantial contribution to the field than a masters thesis. Because of the time invested in a PhD thesis, it is more ambitious and expected to generate peer reviewed publications.
However, in terms of structure: length, content etc. how does a master's thesis differ from a PhD thesis and a journal paper? Particularly as it pertains to engineering disciplines.
Some sources I looked at:

Quora: What's the difference between a master's thesis and a Ph.D. thesis?
Reddit: What are the differences between research done for a Master's thesis and research done for a PhD dissertation?

What are the main differences between undergraduate, master's, and doctoral theses?

There is not necessarily a difference in the document per se, but it is likely a dissertation will have a broader impact and loftier goals than a thesis, simply because of the additional study, effort, and time a dissertation requires. I don't think one would be able to easily classify a document as thesis vs dissertation based on content alone. But, having the status of a 'dissertation' also suggests the author completed any number of ancillary requirements, including coursework and comprehensive/preliminary exams, which may add some weight, but that's speculative.
A journal article is something altogether different -- sometimes based on a thesis or dissertation.  Journal articles must pass external peer review, whereas a thesis and dissertation is approved internally (sometimes with 1 external committee member). Also, formatting is usually dictated by the recipient journal, whereas theses and dissertation formats are dictated by the institution. It is usually the case the journal articles carry more weight than any thesis or dissertation.

The main difference between a master's thesis and a PhD thesis is really the scope of the work. The master's thesis is assumed to be over a shorter period and therefore should have a slightly smaller scope. One might extract just one or two journal papers out of a master's thesis, but four or five out of a PhD thesis.

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How to include research done for masters thesis on CV?
I am 3 semesters into a MS/PhD program (2 years MS + 3 years on PhD) currently working on my masters thesis based on research work. My research with my advisor is currently unpaid. It is also not for academic credit (besides the resulting thesis). I have been doing research for 9 months now.
How do I include this information on a CV for internship applications? This is not paid employment, nor is it strictly coursework, yet it is the most significant effort I've put in for the better part of a year.
Should it fall under Work Experience? Personal projects? I did a couple of research internships as an undergraduate. Should I lump this and them together under Research? Or should I overlook it altogether (albeit reluctantly)?

Normally, it goes under Education. You can list a separate bullet point under your MS (expected on ...) with some details on your thesis.
A separate group for Research seems fine too, as long as you can furnish it and your CV stays at 1 page (assuming you are looking for industry internships, academic CVs can run longer).

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As a new grad student, should I put Masters or PhD on my resume?
I enrolled in a PhD program after getting my undergraduate degree. The program's first 2 years are geared towards getting a Masters degree after which candidates can join the "proper" PhD program.
What should I put on my resume/ professional sites? Am I a Masters student, a PhD student, or simply a graduate student?

Officially, to the university, what are you? When in doubt, it is always safer to go with the officially provable

Do you have an advisor?  Sometimes the difference in a combined program is whether you have an advisor and are actively working on research vs. focusing on classes.  If you have an advisor and are working on research, you could put PhD, otherwise you probably want to put Master's because your current work is more toward requirements/a Master's degree.

To a first-order, you should say what is actually true. If you enrolled into a Master's program and that's the program you are in now, you should not try to indicate you are really a PhD student.
Past that, though, how exactly you state something which is otherwise true - how specific versus how vague, for instance - is a reflection of what you are using your resume or CV to actually do. If you are applying for an employment position, you should understand there is no such thing as a singular "resume/CV" - but a variety of versions which are all true, but emphasize different things and are more/less clear about some things, depending on the desired position. You are trying to tell useful story, and what's useful to someone hiring a staff researcher vs. an entry-level technician can be very different things.
Sometimes you'll want to be specific, such as when your education is a very specific and useful fit for the position, where'd you'd say something like, "I earned my Masters's in Basket Weaving and am currently working on my PhD in the sub-field of Applied Stained Wicker Fabrication Techniques." In a job where the details aren't so relevant, to save space you might just say "I'm a graduate student in commercial art."
But to reiterate, the reality of your program at your school is important to what you say. If your program has 2 years of coursework that is like a Master's program, but they have not explicitly granted you a Master's degree (you could not ask them for a physical copy of it because they haven't granted you one), then do not imply or say you have a Master's degree. If your program is for a Master's degree and then they technically choose or allow students to continue on to a PhD program, don't just say you are in a PhD program if you aren't. Other than for general reasons of honesty, you'd be one question away from needing to say something like, "well, technically..." and then you'll have to back-track and look like you could just be making up everything you've said.


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Mentioning unpublished research paper in Statement of Purpose/Resume
I graduated two years ago with a BE degree. At that time, I did not have any plans for Ph.D./higher education, so I did not put any effort to publish my undergrad research work in any conference.
Now things have changed a lot, and I am applying to Ph.D. programs. To strengthen my research profile, I have entirely reviewed my undergrad dissertation, and manage to come up with a research paper out of it.
The problem is that there is no time to publish this paper as the paper submission date of a potential conference will open up next year, and my grad applications are due next month.
I wanted to know how I can mention my unpublished research paper in my Statement of Purpose, Resume? Considering that the research paper is highly relevant to the Ph.D. program I am applying to.
(Do I also need to mention the reason behind publishing my research work so late? like after two years)

You can certainly mention "work in progress" or "submitted, not yet accepted" and the like in your materials. Just label things for what they are. Two years isn't really a long time for research in most fields, so I wouldn't worry much about the time. It is also natural, if you have been working in the field to immerse yourself in that for a while.
But submitting the work is marginally better than not.


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What does 30 credit hours mean in case of dissertation?
I have just got an offer letter from the University of Malaya for MSc in Software Engineering. It is a 42 credit hours course. 12 credits for courses. 30 credits for dissertation. I am confused with the latter part. What does 30 credits for dissertation mean? Does that mean that I would have to do class or being involved with the research in the lab for 30 hours every week?

In the US, a "credit" normally refers to 1 hr class time and around 2 hrs study outside of class. You wouldn't take 30 credits in a single semester. Usually the limit is 12-18 credits as a full-time student.

The successful completion of the dissertation is awarded 30 credits. This means it has to show relevant effort, research, results - as per their marking scheme.
If the dissertation is not successful then you won’t be awarded the qualification, until they are satisfied - resubmission etc if that is allowed.
You will have to check their detail...

They haven't mentioned anything regarding the 30 credits. Does it mean that I would have to do class or being involved with the research in the lab for 30 hours every week?


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Alternatives to Mendeley or Qiqqa to manage PDF and autoextract meta-data?
Having been a long term user of both Mendeley and Qiqqa, I have to switch to another tool that offers in particular:

the ability to bulk upload PDF and autoextract meta-data / bibTex info
manage all the relevant PDF, including annotations
be available as desktop version, i.e. with a locally managed database and library

Unfortunately Zotero, Endnote and other pure reference managers don't seem to have a usable content management systems for PDF's, that allows bulk PDF processing, like Mendeley or Qiqqa have.
I also don't want to switch to a pure content / document management system, which likely would not have the meta-data extraction and bibTex management capabilities.
My preference would be something like Qiqqa, which includes a lot of features I find very useful, including auto-tagging, relationship extraction, mind-mapping etc. but have not found anything that comes even close to that. Unfortunately due to Google changing it's access methods, Qiqqa is not useable anymore for me.
Mendeley would have been an acceptable alternative, but I have to move the library occasionally from one computer to another, and since Elsevier started to encrypt its SQLite3 datastore, it's not possible to move the respective folders to a new location.
I have looked at various alternatives (also paid ones), but have not found anything suitable.
For any recommendation I would be immensely greatful.

Is coding your own tool to meet your needs a viable option?

I'm sure it would be a fun project do (or perhaps to tweak Qiqqa, since it has gone open source), but I don't have the time to do so.


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Non-tenured to tenured track?
Our faculty voted last year to allow any teaching faculty member to request going from being non-tenured to tenured.  Our dean has now denied this request.  Are there other universities offering this option? what are the pros and cons? and should we attempt to fight this?

To clarify, the vote was to allow non-tenure track teaching faculty to request/apply to be considered for being on a tenure track, perhaps with different criteria than those hired on to the classic tenure track? Perhaps after $n$ years of teaching, or some other bar?

Related: How common is it to switch to a tenure-track position from a non-tenure-track position in the same institution?

Why were faculty allowed to vote on deciding their own tenure? Presumably the dean didn't sanction the vote, which is why they are denying requests. I don't understand why any university would invite faculty to award themselves tenure. Tenure is a form of promotion, granted by universities, not by faculty.

This reads more as a comment than as an answer.

@user111388 Are there other universities offering this option? No, I don't understand why... what are the pros and cons? All cons for the university: Tenure is a form of promotion... and should we attempt to fight this? No, based upon my points, the OP can't win, the university will never agree.

"Why were faculty allowed to vote on deciding their own tenure?" There are quite a few universities which have some sort of self-government and where the faculty or some of their elected representatives have a binding vote in such decisions. Right now the question lacks too much context to give an answer and this is definitely not one.

@mlk I answer based upon by best understanding. I agree the question lacks context, that limited my ability to answer.


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Informative article about physics and quote on "physicists don't care about precise numbers, they care about trends"
I am writing an informative article about physics for the general public, and I was wondering if there is any quote by some famous physicist on the concept that usually physicist care about understanding trends more than predicting precise numbers.
In particular, I would like to convey the message that for a physicist developing a general model which explains the trend of multiple physical phenomenas is much more rewarding than developing a very specific model which explains very well one single physical phenomena but is limited to it.
I found Fermi's quote "Better be Approximately Right than Precisely Wrong", but I would prefer something containing the word "trend" (e.g. once I heard a physics professor saying "I don't care about numbers, I care about trends", this would be perfect for my scope, but it would look much better if this was said by some illustrious physicist).
P.S. I am not sure this is the best platform to post this question, any suggestion for more suitable place to ask this is more than Wellcome.

No, probably not the best place for such questions. A mailing list of a professional association in physics, I'd think, would be better.

If that were true then the Stefan Boltzman constant could be rounded to 5.7 * 10^-8 ... but it is not - wonder why...

I'd say we physicists care about both trends and numbers, but we care about the trends (i.e. how something scales, or its functional form) first. That's required for understanding the overall behavior of a system. But we certainly care about quantitative aspects too - otherwise we wouldn't spend so much time trying to teach people about significant figures or improving measurement techniques.

Let me quote, as a counterargument, the Nobel laureate Steven Chu: "Accurate measurement is at the heart of physics, and in my experience new physics begins at the next decimal place" (quoted by A. J. Wallard, "Metrology and society", in Proceedings of the International School of Physics Enrico Fermi, Course CLXVI, 2006). I'm a metrologist, a field which generated a lot of Nobel prizes, and I know many physicists who would disagree with your idea. I strongly suggest you to rethink your paper.

This is clearly in scope and probably not the content of research, but it is a shopping question.

I do not agree that physicists are more concerned to obtain a qualitative analysis than a quantitative one. However, your question is not about my believes, so ...

Einstein: "If I can’t picture it, I don't understand it."
Dirac: I don't know the exact quote, but he said something like: "In order to understand a differential equation I have to be able to predict the limiting cases, and not solving the actual equation".

You will find the exact quotes in the internet.


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How to respond to potential power abuse from project supervisor?
Over the space of a now concluding 20 week long project, my appointed supervisor has made a number of questionable decisions that appear to have negatively affected my work and solidified her grip over any avenues of complaint i can make.
One of the more recent incidents included her refusal to complete a strictly compulsory progress report, unless i removed a statement about her absence for a three week period that affected my ability to receive feedback. Stating during the incident, that if anything reported made her look bad, then it would be reflected on my final grade(As she is one of two, who marks the project).
Her general lack of support throughout the entire process has been difficult and while i appreciate that some supervisors and some students prefer the more independent approach, it doesn't work for me and I've made this clear many times. She has also enforced a number of design decisions that convert the project to a very similar format to one she had previously partook in. Additionally insisting on heavy reference to her previous work.
I'm at a loss of how to proceed and the advent of the global pandemic has only narrowed my ability to discretely contact any support staff.
UK, final year undergraduate student

Talk with the other person who marks the project. Are they aware of her 3 week absence? If not why not?

@SolarMike The second examiner isn't known to the students, and is primarily for cross examination of work. i'm not sure they're actually part of the university staff.

Is this undergraduate work or other?

@Buffy Undergraduate, but i'm in my final year with this project being worth 100% of the module and is worth twice as much as other modules

What do other students have to say about this prof?

@Buffy She's only currently supervising my project and had come back from a year long sabbatical in September. So none of the students i know have ever had any interaction with her.

Is there a director/coordinator of final year/undergraduate studies/projects with home you could discuss this?

" refusal to complete a strictly compulsory progress report, unless i removed a statement about her absence for a three week period that affected my ability to receive feedback." Totally inappropriate if the statement is true.  It's fine if she wants you to say her absence was approved - it could have been approved by someone, we don't know.

Let me make two suggestions, though I can only really recommend the first.
You could just go along and get along, but mostly as a strategic move that helps you get away without damage to your future. For a single course a nice grade would be good and you will have learned a lot from the project no matter what the write-up looks like. If it is to be published, especially as a joint publication, then you need to take care that what you say is actually valid, of course. I recommend this course since the professor has power over you and has threatened to use it against you. Strategic retreat is often the best course of action.
The second, burn the bridges strategy, is to send the entire correspondence stream to the department head and ask for advice. This may be what you really want to do, and it might have some positive outcome for others in the future, but it is also the one most likely to damage you and your career. If you embark on this course, copy the head on all correspondence.
There are options in between but most of them might have the flavor of one or the other of these. I recommend something closer to the first option.
For doctoral research, however, the situation is a lot more dire and might require drastic (escape) action such as changing supervisors or even institutions. But your undergraduate program will ultimately be judged on a lot of things, not just this project.

Thank you for taking the time to answer, i honestly will take you're recommendation for the first answer as its looking like, for my institution our exams will be cancelled and the grade will be solely determined by course work (this report included). So it puts even more importance on this report. Maybe after graduation i can make a formal complaint as i wouldn't wish any other student to endure my experience.

The bridges are already burned.

Some of the actions of your supervisor that you are describing may be defensible, but some sound to me to be highly innappropriate, and they compromise the feedback mechanisms you have mentioned.  As the academic supervisor on the project, your supervisor probably has a legitimate prerogative to steer the project in the direction she prefers, in terms of research design, etc.  This may simply be a matter of steering you to a project in which she has the proper expertise to supervise.  If this makes the project similar to her past work, and makes her past papers relevant references for the work, then it is probably also reasonable for her to expect that these papers will be cited in the new work.  If you raise a complaint on these grounds, it is likely to be quite tenuous, and unlikely to be successful.  However, it is dubious for your supervisor to demand that you censor your progress report to remove mention of her absence, and it is certainly not okay for her to threaten to penalise your grades in the event that you give feedback that raises matters that she would prefer you not to raise.  If your supervisor has been absent, and has a reasonable reason for this, she should let you mention her absence in the progress report, and then respond to that issue in an appropriate way.
As Buffy has suggested, you are going to need to make a decision of whether to "go along to get along" or raise a complaint.  Since you at the end of your undergraduate degree, this might be a case where discretion is the better part of valour, but you have the option to complain formally to the Head of Department under the relevant complaint procedure (look up the details for your university department).  One advantage of this latter course of action is that the complaint rules probably prohibit "retaliation" and "victimisation" of a complainant, which would include penalising the student's grade due to the complaint.  If you do decide to complain, I recommend you focus solely on the absence of your supervisor (and its effect on your project), her censorship of your attempt to mention this in your progress report, and her threat to penalise your grade if you raise this issue with her.  Bear in mind that if this was just a conversation, she may deny saying this; a person who is willing to penalise a student grade when they raise a complaint is probably also a person who is willing to lie about a threat they made.


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Nervous about my thesis results -how to decode my supervisor's email?
I have been waiting for my PhD thesis results for a long time now. Last week, I sent an email to the university, asking for the results.
Few hours ago, my supervisor has sent me an email saying that she got a notifications that the examiner reports were ready, and once I get the official email, I should contact her on how to respond to them. When I asked her if the results were "OK or not"? She replied that she cannot disclose anything, but what she can say is that

"the two examiners saw things very differently....."

Now, those 'dots' at the end and the different views from examiners made me very stressed; Especially, since there is no one at the university to answer phones, because of the COVID-19! I have faced many problems during my PhD, such as my supervisors having problems with each other, my main supervisor resigning from the university, etc! And I just want this nightmare to be finished!
Does someone here knows if my supervisor's reply means there is a major problem with the thesis or not?
Thanks in advance!
PS: The reason I am shocked, is that despite almost not receiving any major feedback from my supervisors, I managed to publish a 'best paper' in a relatively good conference, based on my thesis. So, I was confident that it will not come back with very bad reviews!
Now, I am starting to read the sentence as 'both reviewers saw things differently from me and my supervisor'! Going crazy here! :))

It seems consistent with your supervisor not being able to tell you anything until you get the official e-mail.

You should get the answer to your question from the examiners' reports, which will reach you soon enough.  Nobody can help you who has not seen those.  If you're feeling very stressed, you might discuss that with a licensed councilor or a friend.

As a sidenote, that's really not something that the supervisor should have said. "There may be serious issues that I can't tell you about right now" sounds like unusual cruelty to me.

Nobody can answer this question.  Nobody here has read your thesis, sat in the examination room, knows anything about what you're working on, nor do we have any other information that you don't.  You can read almost anything into that sentence that you want to, depending on context, and we have absolutely no context.  You will simply need to discuss this further with your supervisor.

It could just mean that one supervisor has an astigmatism, and the other is colour-blind...

Summary: One of the examiners liked it, and the other did not.  When you get the official e-mail, you'll hopefully figure out why.  For the examiner who didn't like it, try to see things from that examiner's perspective.  Is the criticism valid? If the critique is something you'd thought of and found not to be a problem, did you communicate that adequately, or can you be more clear?  It may be that some additional work is required, but the extent of that (e.g. minor explanation change vs. new analysis vs. new experiments) is unknown until you get your official results.

What's the reason your supervisor can't just tell you? Also, it's silly for her to say "I can't tell you anything," and then immediately tell you some things, but not what you actually want to know.

I assume this could sound like a third review is being requested and before that happened, they do not want to tell you officially, to not force their hand. Or they are debating to let you go to the viva (if that is part of your process) nonetheless. I suggest to not press it too much. They may try to find ways of solving your problem, but if they tell you too much, they create a fait accomplit.

@small_wayne Apparently, this is how it works! They can't say anything before the official email!

"Major problem" is premature. "Potential major problem" though - that's likely, depending on what the examiners are disagreeing about. It's possible your thesis is fatally flawed, but it's also possible one of the examiners is wrong.
Either way you can't do anything right now, so there's nothing to do except wait for the official email.

In a circumstance where there is a ‘fatal flaw’, what could likely happen as a result? I mean, the degree would not get awarded, but is there any way to remedy that or is it just 4-5 years for no degree?

@GrayLiterature that depends strongly on the country, funding source and even individual university. It's possible that the student would be given time to revise, resubmit and have the thesis re-examined, but if the flaws really are fatal this may not happen. Of course, the question then becomes, how on earth did this fatal flaw not get picked up on by the supervisor long before the thesis was submitted...

This an awful position to be in, but I think the problem is most likely to be "minor vs significant changes".
Looking at the UK system, there are (simplifying slightly) 4 possible outcomes:
1) No changes.
2) Minor changes (up to 3 months work).
3) Major changes (6 months or 12 months work)
4) Fail / Get an MSc.
If I had to guess based on that email, I'd guess you are looking at 1 vs 2 or 2 vs 3. I would not expect a significant disagreement on (4) -- if a thesis is this bad there is usually agreement on that topic.
However, I've often had disagreement around 1 vs 2, or 2 vs 3. Is it worth asking the student to perform another minor study or significant further analysis of their result? This kind of thing can be discussed. In some cases, these discussions can take a while.

Thank you for your input. I'm in Australia, and the system here is very similar to UK's system. I also don't think that it is a fail! Since when I saw I do not get much from my supervisors, I published a summary of my whole thesis as a paper, to see how it is; and it became a 'best paper' in a relatively good conference!


text:
Should I cite non-peer reviewed work that helped in my research in a peer-reviewed publication?
Specifically, I want to cite a blog post in a peer reviewed paper. The post was extremely helpful towards how I formulated the problem. The blog was not breaking-edge research; more a re-write of existing concepts. However I borrowed the abstractions and representations that the author made in the post.
For example, I want to say: the mathematical representations herein borrow from prior work by author.
Is it advisable to cite such sources? Should this be a footnote? Or there is no need to attribute credit at all? How would you do it?

Does the blog author have any journal articles covering the material?

@JonCuster no. They do not have any peer reviewed publications. The author is a hobbyist in that field.

Well then, citing the blog is the right thing to do. And, once the paper is accepted, you might reach out to them to let them know.

You could reach out to them and ask if they were interested in collaborating with you.

(Somewhat) related: There's a well known paper that cites the work of "Anonymous 4chan poster". Attributing ideas to their authors is the correct thing to do, even when they're posted on the toxic garbage fire that is 4chan. Blogs are no different.

Actually you must cite it to avoid plagiarism. It doesn't matter whether it is peer reviewed or not, the ideas are those of another and you need to avoid suggesting otherwise.
But, using non peer reviewed material puts the burden on yourself to verify the accuracy of what was said there.
On the other hand, some things are treated as common knowledge and needn't be cited. Normally, though, such things tend to appear in several places and the blog author may just have been stating things commonly known and accepted. The fact that you found them there is incidental.
But if the ideas are, in any way, original with the blogger, cite them as you would any other. Citations of web material should normally include the date of last access since such things can change.

Thank you. Yes the author presented material nowadays in grad level textbooks. They re-phrased it in a way I found very digestible. So no, there was no academic/scientific novelty, but it helped me understand and talk about the concepts better.

@hazrmard I am unsure, but it seems "it's possible to find in another source" is a generous definition of common knowledge. If the author presented a useful synthesis, rather than just restating another source, I would consider that a helpful contribution, like an expository paper.

@JustinMeiners very well put. I was leaning towards citing exactly for that reason: their writing meaningfully contributed to my work. I had developed the impression that citing non-research/hobbyist stuff, instead of original research, "diminishes" a paper. Quite irrational, I think? So I wanted to poll people in the field.

@hazrmard If you only/primarily cite "non-scholarly" sources, it certainly raises eyebrows, but a single "non-scholarly" citation among a number of scholarly ones probably wouldn't even be remarked on. (Well, unless it's something like citing Wikipedia.)

This seems very wishy-washy to me.  I would at least change that last paragraph to start with "But if the ideas or presentation are...".  Wording, variable choices, formatting, even conceptual ordering, are all worth citing.  Moreover, it's certainly allowed to cite more sources than strictly necessary.  If you find a source helpful, others may also.  When in doubt, just cite.

And, when you do cite a blog post, consider submitting the page(s) to https://archive.org/web/ to be archived at the time you make the citation. (This is especially important if the page(s) haven't been archived yet).

You cite anything that you didn't create yourself. If you talk to a colleague in the cafeteria and gain some insight from that which becomes part of your work, you cite it as "personal conversation". Citations are there so that others can reproduce your sources, but mostly to make sure that we can distinguish between your work and anyone else's work. If reproducing a source is difficult, the latter is still important to avoid plagiarism.


text:
How can I claim ownership of my idea without securing a patent?
I created a model for the pathogenesis of a neurodegenerative disorders that reveals a novel target for neurorestoration/neuroprotection. Can I patent the use of an existing compound for another purpose since I have reason to believe it would also act to target neurodegeneration in this disease?
To provide some background, I'm a recent Ivy League alum who hasn't been able to secure a long-term position in a lab (in grad school or as a job). I've done an extensive analysis of the literature and believe I've found a number of solid papers to support my claim but, of course, since my clout in research is nonexistent, I'm not sure what to do. My advisor who supervised this work is still saying we can publish the manuscript where I explained my model this summer but I'm afraid that if there's multiple people on the paper, some of whom are bigger names in the fields of biochemistry, neurodegeneration, and medicine than me, it'll look like it wasn't completely my idea.
Should I use a preprint server, a provisional patent (even though I can't afford the full $5000 patent that you need to protect your patent status.), or ask one of the potential co-authors directly what she thinks (she's huge in the field of neurodegeneration)? I'm not trying to sound self-important, I'm just really anxious to capitalize on my effort, which involved a lot of work, before someone else does. How important does someone have to be in molecular neurobiology for a new idea from them to be taken seriously?

Ideas, per se, are not patentable. You should find someone who understands intellectual property laws and learn the basics of what to do and not to do. Note that since the work was done at an institution, they may have a vested interest in helping you protect the work.

If this is related to your studies I am not sure you can take ownership (patent).  IANAL but I don't think you can patent a different use an existing compound.  You should talk to a patent attorney.

@Paparazzi It is sometimes possible to patent a new use for an old compound - cf. "second medical use".

You can't patent that.

Can I patent the use of an existing compound for another purpose since I have reason to believe it would also act to target neurodegeneration in this disease?

No, you can't patent "the use of X for purposes of Y" abstractly. As this description of patentable matter explains it:

A patent cannot protect an idea. Instead, the idea must be embodied in one or more of the following:

A process or method (such as a new way to manufacture concrete)
A machine (something with moving parts or circuitry)
A manufactured article (such as a tool or another object that accomplishes a result with few or no moving parts, such as a pencil)
A new composition (such as a new pharmaceutical)
An asexually reproduced and new variety of plant.

If you developed a specific method to use compound X to do neurorestoration/neuroprotection of Y - then maybe you can patent it.
Instead of trying to patent - try scientific publication!
You need the anxiety to "capitalize on your effort". Like you, I have not been able to secure a position in academia - not even a temporary one - despite having a bunch of solid ideas which can be developed. So I can sympathize, at least somewhat. Still: You should not, must not, utilize the tool of patents - which is a legal mechanism for inhibiting scientific discovery and preventing the public from benefiting from inventions.
Instead, try to find the time to write a paper - albeit a "vision paper" rather than an empirical study - making your case. Perhaps publish it on arXiv before it's peer-reviewed, to "stake your claim" scientifically rather than capitalistically. It might help you find a source of funding for developing this idea - in a "start-up", an established company or even a scientific institution.


text:
How to find the Endnote template for CJPH submission?
I have been searching and trying out to find the Endnote citation style to match the one required for the Canadian Journal of Public Health submission for hours, with no success.
It demonstrated that the CJPH style here. It also mentioned that "The style for references is based on the ICMJE Recommendations." I have looked up and searched for the endnote citation template for keywords related to CJPH and ICMJE, but I couldn't find the the one that matches.

From the wikipedia page of the ICMJE Recommendations, it looks like the citation style you need is some implementation of the well-known Vancouver system. You should already have a few different versions of it, as I think they are part of the standard EndNote installation. If not, you can easily find and download them from the Internet.
I would then choose the one that looks the most similar to what your journal asks for, and do the (hopefully) minor modifications necessary to make it exactly as the journal requires. You can find plenty of online resources about  citation-style editing in EndNote. This one, for example, seems to be a nice introductory video that might be useful, if you don't have any previous experience.


text:
Publishing two papers at the same time
I wrote two political science papers with a similar premise but with different case studies conducted in countries A and B. I sent the 'A' one out to a journal last summer, and it took a while to get reviews, production, etc., but it is ready now, waiting for proofs. For the 'B' one, I sent in late fall and got quick reviews, quick production, and a great process, and now it is also waiting for proofs. These papers went to different journals —one is quite high-ranking, and the other is still quite solid.
An academic friend of mine suggested putting the proofs of the second one on hold for a while (two or three weeks) so the papers get attention individually, not one over the other. I thought of just getting them ready and getting them published because why wait? Is it sensible to get two papers out simultaneously, or does it not matter?

So few people will read your paper this kind of gaming is pointless.

@AzorAhai-him- how can you tell?

@JohnMadden I was mostly being pithy, but most papers receive very little attention. Let's say the OP's friend is right, and separating them gets more attention. Over the few months (the timescale of this plot), that might amount to a few dozen reads. Over years, this won't matter and is just fretting over nothing.

It's like, should I merge now or in a mile? It might save you four seconds out of your half hour drive.

I did think that way as well. My main worry was that both have very similar theoretical and methodological approaches; it seemed a little silly that both came out simultaneously. Otherwise, I can keep one quiet and share it with people a week later. But when the colleague/friend suggested it, I had a doubt. But yeah, merging now or in a mile makes sense!

It is also important not to add further delays and obstacles for your journal editor

The idea of stalling between the publication of each of the two might make some sense if there was a reasonable chance of "audience fatigue". That seems unlikely to happen in your case, particularly as the two papers are being published by different journals. Moreover, despite the fact that both papers now appear to be in the proof stage, publication timetables as well as the lead-times vary considerably among journals. Only you will know, but it is quite possible that one paper will appear quickly while the other might not be assigned to an issue for up to a year!

Both will go to "online first" publication though, prior to being assigned to an issue.

Do any journals today not do this, publish online as soon as they have the page proofs back? DOI get's assigned, nobody cares about issue and page number any more. ?

Many in the social sciences just wait for the issue to come out without prior online access. It is probably both domain and journal specific.

Both will definitely, %100 will go online first.

@Karl - one journal I regularly check no longer has page numbers, just a number for the overall article.

I agree with @crimsondark. Just because both are in the proofs stage does not mean that they will both come out at the same time. If they come out simultaneously, it's not like everyone reads every single article in every publication the month it comes out. You'll just have double the work by announcing both to your colleagues, friends, and networks.

In a comment below their post, the OP wrote

My main worry was that both have very similar theoretical and
methodological approaches; it seemed a little silly that both came out
simultaneously.

No, it is not silly, it is possible self-plagiarism. If what differentiates the papers is their empirical application, then it matters greatly whether

a) the theoretical approach (presuming it is novel) is presented as something new in both papers while the one "ignores" the presence of the other (that would create a possible case for self-plagiarism and/or questionable conduct towards the two journals since it is very close to concurrent submission of the same content), or

b) one paper is the "originating" paper where the novel theory is introduced and detailed together with an application, while the other paper "reminds us" of the theory by summary presentation and referencing the previous paper, and presents a second empirical application.

This is very fair - thanks! So, I present a theory in the 1st paper. In the 2nd, I present it as one of the factors (among others). However, I pulled all the original sources and explained them briefly. Also, 1st is about why x happened in politics, while 2nd is why x didn't happen. But the 2nd does not "claim", 'Oh, look at this new theory I have developed here', while the first one does. 2nd one just traces the original sources, but there are other factors at play. I hope I was able to explain it, but I would love to hear more if you think this sounds problematic.

1st paper was sent in July, 2nd in November by the way.

@rhyso I would suggest that you find a way to reference the first paper in the second paper, and in the references list of the second paper characterize the 1st paper as [journal name]-[accepted for publication].

Thanks! I sent the first paper after its proofs; the second one is still with me. I'm considering contacting the journal editor and possibly informing them about self-citation in this publication stage; I've asked around, and some said no one cares about adding a clearly sensible citation, but why not? Maybe he'll have a different suggestion. Thanks a lot, though - I am sure it's a bit of a non-issue, actually, because it's not literally the same paper with different cases, but better safe than sorry, I guess.


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What is the best way to submit a mathematical solution to a university?
I have an indisputable proof of the Collatz conjecture and I am trying to submit it to a school. Should I approach a professor or the president of the University if I am offering half of the prize money for their assistance in publishing my work?

Why would you want to submit it to a university? Universities don’t publish papers. Why not approach a regular publisher/journal or even a direct publication platform such as arxiv?

Please see the linked question. The relevance might not be immediately obvious, but it is: you are making a very bold claim ("indisputable proof" of a famous open problem) and you need to convince someone (probably not a university, but a professor or publisher) to spend time reviewing your work.

Thank you so much for your replies. The reason why I wanted to go to a university or specifically a professor is because I could show it to them, and they would be taken seriously because of the PhD with their name. I have two main concerns about sending it off to be reviewed. It has never been published because if you see it, there is no way you cannot understand it and I am worried that they would Zuckerberg me change the font and color of the text and claim it as their own. It is worth a lot of money and I know it’s value and it’s clarity. Is this something I should be worrying about?

@Kevinswag "Indisputable"/"there is no way you cannot understand it" - both are things that need a third party to voice their opinion about. It is very easy to think something is clear when it actually isn't (see the Hales/Kepler Conjecture debate). Independently, you do not go and offer prize money for reviewing your work. If the person has integrity (and that's what you look for), they will be offended. Collatz would be an amazing achievement for anyone, but an honest scientist will not steal glory and won't be in for the money.

I agree with the captain: any mathematician of integrity would want you to get the credit and would be happy just to be involved as an advocate. But, expect skepticism. You are claiming that you, with limited mathematical training, have spotted something obvious enough that "if you see it, there is no way you cannot understand it," but hundreds of actual mathematicians have somehow all missed it over the last century. Statistically, this would be almost unprecedented. Even when amateurs have made real contributions, the proofs are usually hundreds of pages long and take a long time to verify.

Wow guys. I really feel like the Earth is playing a prank on me right now there is no way this problem was worth $1 million. Somebody’s gonna wake me up. Due to the laws of limitation’s the answer I have is unquestionable indisputable and obvious once it’s shown. I really think one of you guys  is setting me up somehow Good thing I’m not schizophrenic it’s just that was just way too easy. Somebody told me to go look for it just seems like a set up anyway, I will keep you posted. I finally have the courage to send it off and not worry about it being stolen.