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Proving authorship when name in publications does not match name in passport
My full name on passport is Amir Hisham Ahmed Al-Attraqchi (first three names + surname). In my publication, I only used the first and the surname (i.e. Amir Al-Attraqchi). Is it going to be a problem proving the publications to be mine?
I'm worried about proving this when applying for new universities, promotions or fellowships

As an anecdotical evidence, one of the greatest math masterminds of our days, Grigori Perelman, published his seminal works at arXiv, with "Grisha" as a first name. It is a typical Russian diminutive of his name, but formally, it's not the way it stands in passport. Actually, more or less all Russians also have a patronymic in their passports. From my feelings, in largest portion of authors it is typically abbreviated as a middle initial, if shown at all.

The only time I can imagine it mattering whether your author name matches your passport name is if you have to provide a publication list as evidence towards a visa somehow. Even then, I don't know if it'd be a problem.

Omar Al-Attraqchi Is that a common name ?  I presume you also have educational qualifications related to your publications - how common would that name combined with those qualifications be ?

Who are you worried about proving this to?  Academics?  Government officials?

Related: https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16333/choosing-my-name-as-an-author-when-publishing-a-scientific-paper-can-i-use-my

Related: https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/78507/how-to-prove-that-a-paper-published-with-a-particular-english-transliteration-of/78516 . Get an ORC-ID account, and then put whatever names you want anywhere.

StephanG... Omar Al-attraqchi is not a common name in publications...in fact...no other person has this first name and surname...however, there's one person named "Mohammed Hani Omar Al-Attraqchi" and has a publication.

Kimball...I'm worried about proving this when applying for new universities, promotions or fellowships.

@OmarAl-Attraqchi: Unless that person is in the exact same field as you are, it should be pretty obvious as to whether or not you authored a particular paper based on 5 minutes of conversation with you :)

If you are very worried, start going by Omar H.A. Al-Attraqchi. I don't think they'll be two of those working in the same subfield

Arguably, you did the right thing.
In my experience, too many names tend to confuse people. I have 2+2 and I saw my name being cited in lots of different ways, without any consistency.
One thing that really helps to prove that you are the same person is to set up an ORCID and use it in the publications.

Thank you for your answer. But is it possible to cause a problem when applying for new universities, promotions or fellowships...especially I'm still relatively new to the field?

@OmarAl-Attraqchi Very unlikely. Remember that there are people behind those processes. People used to this thing. You are not the first one to have those problems, far from it (think of every name change of a researcher since ever). You are overthinking it...

It shouldn't be a problem at all. It's very easy to believe that Omar Husham Ahmed Al-Attraqchi and Omar Al-Attraqchi are the same person because it's very common to abbreviate names in that way.  I and most of my British co-authors have three names; we only use the first and last of them on our papers.
People's legal name and publication name often differ much more substantially than yours. For example, in many western cultures, women often change their name when they get married. Female academics often continue to publish under their birth name so all their papers appear with the same name. I don't think they have to spend any time convincing people they wrote their papers.

Thank you for answering.Does it mean your publication name does not contain all names on your passport? I'm concerned about this when applying for new universities, promotions or fellowships.

Yes. I have a middle name that's on my passport but not on my papers. This really isn't an issue. My papers say "David Richerby", my passport says "David Malcolm Richerby". Nobody questions this: it's completely normal.

Thank you very much. I was really worried about this, now I'm much more relieved.

That is very unlikely unless the name you choose to use for publication is very common in the field that you work in. In the US, a person named "John Smith" might need to distinguish himself in a field with a lot of practitioners. Otherwise, I see no problem.
Another consideration is how formal you want to be. If you are a young academic building a reputation, it might be advantage to err on the side of formality rather than the opposite. As you grow into the profession and meet lots of people, etc., you can move to a less formal name if you would then want to. Some academics I know insist on being represented in print very formally so as to build a "brand". In person they are not formal at all.
However, since names like el Masri, indicate places, Timmy el Masri might not be very distinguishing (assuming lots of Egyptians are named Timmy). So think about that. Icelandic (and old Norwegian) surnames names are traditionally also not especially distinguishing: Lavransdottir (daughter of Lavrans).
I share a real name with another academic. Fortunately he is not in the same field. We are unlikely to be confused. An internet search on our common name can confuse people, however.

With respect to the last paragraph, my undergrad lecturer on databases used as one example of how not to choose a primary key her bad experiences with the IEEE confusing her with another member who had the same name.

Technically, the Icelandic second name is a patronymic rather than a surname.  Also Korea has much less distinguishing family names: Kim, Lee, and Park covers about half the population.

@MartinBonner, yes indeed. Also note that in several cultures a person has only one name. True in parts of India, I think, and also parts of Indonesia.

As everyone has said, publication names don't have to match an official name such as that on your passport. The answer by Fabio Dias mentions ORCID. This is a good way to make sure that all the publications with different variants of a name are by the same person (and distinguish between two or more people with the same name).
This doesn't directly fix your problem of proving that you are the person who 'owns' that particularly ORCID. However, as part of the public information attached to an ORCID, you can include information such as employment, which would make that connection. Or a supervisor is likely to be a coauthor and probably one of your referees, so that also makes the connection.

ORCID offers an 'Also known as' section where OP can post his full legal name. Given that, anyone questioning whether OP owns that ORCID can rightfully be met with a stare of disbelief.


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What to do when a former supervisor keeps contacting my current supervisor as a way to pressure me to publish my Master's thesis?
I'm all for publishing my own work of course. Since I have coursework and new projects during the semester I have temporarily put aside my manuscript and I have communicated with the former (Master's) supervisor about this. But now she kept contacting my current PhD supervisor and he in turn has written to me a few times regarding this matter.
I feel my former supervisor's behaviour is quite innappropriate and this is the third time she does this. There have been two very similar instances previously--her asking my PhD supervisor whether I could depart later than my planned date to start my PhD program; then about two weeks before the final thesis submission, she contacted my PhD supervisor while I hesitated to let her use my thesis for grant application--both times behind my back with me only learning what she did from my PhD supervisor. I called her the second time she did this asking her very politely not to do such a thing again and hoping to remain on good terms. She agreed. But now this happens again........
What can I do to stop her from doing this? While not having my relationship with the current supervisor damaged but also I guess not having to be coerced into doing what she wants?
Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated!

Why not just take some time off and finish it?

@ChrisWhite Hi this is a Masters thesis and publication is not a requirement. Some of the students do manage to publish after receiving the degree--usually within a year or two.

One thing you should understand is that in this crazy world, she may benefit from having your thesis published more than you, especially if she is currently under considerations for reappointment or promotion, so don't be too hard on her: rather blame the entire screwed up evaluation system in academia that has made much stronger people panic and do ridiculous things.
With all that said, the usual advice applies: be firm but polite and show some good will. Think of when you can realistically finish the job (it is in your own best interests to finish it eventually regardless of anything), and tell the plan to your current adviser. That should settle your scores with him and, most likely, he'll no longer bother you with that anymore. If you want, you can tell the target date to your former adviser as well.
Don't forget to give yourself some leeway, so that you can keep your word no matter what. Remember that promising less than one expects from you won't hurt your reputation, but failing to keep your promise will.

Being under pressure from "the system" is not an excuse to pass the pressure on to people lower in the food chain.

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Who issues the transcripts that applicants are asked to upload for a PhD application?
For applying on PhD programm I need to upload Bachelor Certificate, Bachelor Grades, Master Certificate and Master Grades?
I must upload it in PDF files.
My question is who is the issuer of these transcripts? Universities?
Do I have to translate these documents and the scan to PDF?
Please for a little guidance.

Are you sure that you need to upload Bachelor Grades and Master Grades, not the universities you obtained bachelor degree and master degree from?

100% sure. Here is text from applying. Please upload university transcripts for any degree program you have attended and/or are currently enrolled in. If you have completed a degree please upload the final transcript and diploma/certificate. We will not process applications that do not include transcripts.

That's weird. I thought the universities are supposed to send those transcripts to the universities you are applying to for you.

Please mention in which country you have done your previous studies and in which country you apply for the programme.

@scaaahu: Not necessarily. Many European universities will allow you to submit copies of your transcripts, but you will likely need to submit the originals at some point. It is mainly US universities that insist on copies directly from the university.

The basic problem is that different countries (and potentially different universities within a country) have different standards about what constitutes a program of study and what official documents they provide.
I did my studies in two different Australian universities - both provided a certificate at completion and a transcript. The transcript is essentially a list of all the subjects I studied and the marks. In Australia (at least for the programs I did), there is no overall grade on the certificate. That is, the certificate just says that I completed the course but doesn't say 'cum laude' or 'with distinction' or anything else that US universities might expect. The transcipt is used instead to provide information about the student's skills. One of the universities also supplied a third document, which provides a description of the program of study (eg number of years, what a major is) to help international universities understand what the qualification means.
I don't tend to need these when applying for anything within Australia because the universities have systems in place to communicate with each other. However, they are always required whenever I am applying for anything at any university outside of Australia.
Your university should be able to provide you with something official. The best area to ask is probably whichever administration group is responsible for providing the certificates when you complete. If you don't have anything official, you could provide your results notices and the contact details of whoever at the university is able to confirm they are correct.

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Should I post my PhD Thesis on arXiv, if I intend to make a paper based on it?
I am interested in posting my math Ph.D. thesis on the arXiv, but I also plan on writing a shorter paper based on some of the results in my thesis.  I plan on posting this paper on the arXiv when I am finished.
Would this be appropriate?

It's neither appropriate nor inappropriate. I've seen math theses on the arXiv. But most people don't do it. If you are going to write a shorter paper with some of the results, I think you should just post this paper, and not both the paper and the thesis. Your advisor should also be able to give you a good suggestion, since the convention might also depend on the particular subfield.

I'll offer a counterpoint to the answers which advise against posting to arXiv.  I have posted my PhD thesis (in math) to arXiv, as well as the papers that I published from it.  I feel good about this decision and haven't had any problems, and I disagree with most of the objections that have been raised.
Here are some reasons why I think it can be advantageous to post:

Convenience of access.  Sure, my PhD university does have an online thesis repository that contains mine, but it isn't so easy to find and access.  I just tried, starting from a Google search, and it took me at least five minutes to get to the PDF (the first few hits all led me to an alternate paywalled repository).  You might like to try finding my thesis in this repository for yourself, starting from scratch, and see how long it takes you.  (Post your time in comments!)  As an added handicap, you don't know off the top of your head the name of the university; and my username below is my real name, but not my full name.   Then see how long it takes you to find it on arXiv.
Of course, the thesis is also on my professional website (well, the arXiv link is there), but we all know how those tend to move around and vanish.  It'd be worse if I had a common name.  So for the challenge, assume it isn't there.
Archival.  In 300 years, will my university's repository still exist?  I guess the data will still be around somewhere, but will it be in a location that people can readily find, and in a format that they can use? (Brain implant uploads?)  The university may not exist anymore; for that matter, the country where it was located may not exist anymore.  I have quite a bit more confidence that arXiv will survive into the future.  I'm not really arrogant enough to think that people will be clamoring to read my thesis in 300 years, nor even 3, but I wrote it as a permanent document and I'd like it to be one.
Updates.  In the arXiv version of my thesis, I've included an addendum correcting some errors and mentioning some additional citations that I've discovered since graduating.  I can't do that for the institutional repository version.

Some other remarks:

My thesis has a fair amount of additional expository material that isn't in the corresponding published papers, so I think there is some added value in having it available.  This might not apply if you have a "stapler" thesis.
I posted the thesis on arXiv some years after the papers were published (simply because I never thought of doing so until then), so there wasn't really any risk of it "overshadowing" the papers.  If you're concerned about that, you could also wait to arXiv the thesis.  In the short term, your professional web page should be a reasonably good way to find it.
My thesis didn't get flagged as having "overlap" with the papers, which are also on arXiv, although there is a lot of overlap.  Anyway, if it had, the fact that I posted the thesis later should mean that it would be the thesis that would have been flagged, not the papers; and I think people would understand why.
Coauthors: I agree that if your thesis contains joint work, that would be a reason to hesitate.  But I would downgrade Anonymous Mathematician's "really unfriendly" to "ask your coauthors for permission".  And make sure it is clear that the thesis contains joint work and that the coauthors are credited.  I would probably list them in the arXiv comments field, and maybe put an extra page at the start of the thesis PDF with the same info.
The thesis is less polished than a paper: True, but I also have on arXiv my undergraduate thesis and some lecture notes which are even less polished.  I guess it's more important to me to have these writings available, in case someone finds them useful, than to reserve arXiv for only my very best work.
arXiv has hosting costs: I don't really understand this objection, since the marginal costs of hosting one more document are surely extremely small.  But you can always make them a donation if you want to help defray those costs.  (Based on a quick back-of-the-envelope calculation, I estimate that a one-time gift of US $0.30 is sufficient to cover the storage and hosting costs in perpetuity.)

I agree with your views, and I'm probably not a typical searcher so this will probably be an outlier, but it took me about 25-30 seconds. I went to the Mathematics Genealogy Project web pages (I have their search screen bookmarked), entered your last name, clicked on the obvious correct choice, selected and copied your dissertation title, clicked "google" at the top of my internet explorer, pasted the title between quotes in the google toolbar, and the CU version was the top hit.

Ooops, I see now that what I got to was the copy you have at your homepage . . . So I must continue my quest . . . Using the back button to return to your Math. Genealogy entry, I selected and copied your institution (including the city attached to the name), then I used the forward button to return to my previous search, then entered (without quotes) what I just copied (alongside what I had previously searched for), and NOW the top hit is the version at your Ph.D. granting university.

@DaveLRenfro: :-) My algorithm was to start by Googling for <university name> phd thesis.  The first hit is to the university's library, a page called "Find Dissertations and Theses", and I tried searching my last name there.  But the entries there all lead to the paywalled version on ProQuest.  The open repository is hit #5 in the original Google search.

I certainly think you can post your thesis to the arxiv if you want.  In my experience, posting your thesis on your own webpage (and if you are a recent math PhD who doesn't have a webpage: that's not good!) would have most of the same advantages while avoiding the (relatively minor) disadvantages of Anonymous Mathematician's answer.  Yes, putting your thesis on the arxiv might make it easier to find 300 years later....I guess you have to decide how important to you that is.

@NateEldredge I tried your challenge out of curiosity, and I actually found the university version of your thesis very easily : it was the third Google result when searching your last name + thesis...

@ArnaudD.: Google gives different hits to different people, but for me hit #3 on that search is not the official university thesis archive; it's a copy of the file that my advisor has on his personal web page.

@NateEldredge That's actually what I found too, my bad. I still don't know where the official repository is, but I've found your arXiv profile easily, so you are right about this.

If you are in high energy physics, INSPIRE recommends it:
"We also strongly suggest you archive your PhD thesis at arXiv.org."
Source: https://inspirehep.net/info/hep/additions?ln=en
(new link: https://help.inspirehep.net/knowledge-base/adding-material-to-inspire/)
Edit: INSPIRE is a website that acts as a literature database for high-energy physics. It also has useful tools for citations and cross-referencing.

Hi Adarsh I upvoted your answer but it would be better if you elaborated on what INSPIRE is to reach a wider audience

You can certainly do this (and some people do), but I'd recommend against posting the thesis.  In my experience, it's relatively uncommon to post a thesis to the arXiv.  You do see some there, but posting theses is a much less widespread practice than posting papers.  Most theses just aren't as polished and professional as the papers they will eventually become, and I think it looks better to reserve arXiv posting for the actual papers.
On the other hand, this is a matter of taste, not a strict rule.  Here are two considerations to keep in mind:

If the paper is going to have coauthors, then posting the thesis could be considered really unfriendly.  Even if you clearly identify your coauthors in the appropriate chapters, it's awkward to have it appear in the arXiv under only your name.
The arXiv marks submissions whose text overlaps with previous postings.  If you submit a later paper based on your thesis, it will probably be identified as copying text.  Anyone who clicks on the link and investigates will understand, but casual browsers may get a negative impression.

As someone who just posted their thesis to arXiv I'm a little annoyed that I did not think of #2 beforehand.

If you are concerned about #2, add a note yourself in the comments field of the subsequent paper: "Based on chapter x of arXiv:yymm.abcde" or something similar.  This is good practice anyway.

There is no issue in making your thesis available in the public domain if you are writing papers out of it. There is a small tinge that co authors might feel if and when  the papers do come out but most senior professors and your colleagues will find it perfectly understandable when text from the thesis appears as is in the papers as well. Having your documents in the public domain helps you and others in the field later. I prefer Research Gate (provides an independent doi for each document) and Academia.edu for easy access. You may use ArXiv.  There are also newer projects. Of course SSRN is only for papers as of now. I myself browse through original theses of authors on Proquest where available before reading/citing their later papers.
To summarise the response to your request, you should publish your thesis at arXiv online and it will neither be logistically a problem in plagiarising and content comparing engines, nor will it be any questions asked for your scientific publications at any point.

Upvoted. But uploading a paper/thesis to arXiv does not necessarily make it available under the public domain—that's a pretty technical legal term, and it is NOT equivalent to "freely available". See https://arxiv.org/help/license.

Sure, but free access to ArXiv and Repec among others is fairly certain, you just have to admit you are an academic and treat them as your own (by sharing your work, maybe..

These days, I'd assume that most universities have an online collection of theses. There is no reason to duplicate work that is already available at the place you'd most expect it to be.
Furthermore, keep in mind that arXiv has significant hosting costs, and as such relies on donations to keep afloat. In that sense, a thesis takes the place of several potential papers.

Why do you assume this? As far as I know, many (if not most) use http://www.proquest.com/products-services/dissertations/, which is not free.

I don't understand this answer at all.  First, online thesis services have delays: even to access PhD theses at my own university, there is a year's lag.  Second, as the commenter above points out, people typically have to pay to access the thesis.  Third: "Furthermore, keep in mind that arXiv has significant hosting costs, and as such relies on donations to keep afloat. In that sense, a thesis takes the place of several potential papers." Huh?  I don't see what the first and second sentences have to do with each other.

@PeteL.Clark Obviously it is personal opinion, but I don't think every single math PhD student should be encouraged to post their thesis to arXiv as that would unnecessarily bloat it. Since he is using the word "should", I think it is fair to present this point.

Ah, now I understand what you mean: by "takes the place of", you mean "takes up space which could be used by".  I don't think the question was "Should every math PhD student be encouraged to post their thesis to the arXiv?" But I agree that the answer to that question is "No."

Personally, I would encourage every math PhD student to post their thesis to arXiv.  I don't share your concern as to "bloat".  I'd estimate this would increase total annual arXiv math postings by perhaps 10-15%.  And storage and bandwidth are a small fraction of the project's budget anyway.  I don't think it's realistic to worry that theses would "displace" papers, as there's no indication that arXiv would handle any added expense by refusing future submissions.

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Should I apply for a position which I previously applied and had an initial interview?
I am on the job market again, in Mathematics.  I see a few job postings for positions which I applied for last year, and I had an initial interview for, but no second or campus interview.  These were either temporary or postdoc positions.
Should I apply for these again, since I am still interested?  Or is it a waste of my time, and I should take the lack of a second interview as my cue that they are not interested in me.

Yes. The cost of an application is essentially free -- these days you don't even have to pay postage. Unless you were specifically told that you were categorically unsuitable (e.g., you had a felony conviction and the job required contact with minors) then there's no reason not to reapply.
It's more curious why the same job popped up again. Either the search failed or the candidate bailed after being hired. You might want to delicately inquire as to what happened.
You clarified that this is for a post-doc or other temporary position. In that case, there's all the more reason to reapply. While applying should just take you about an hour of your time to brush up the CV and letter since you did everything last year -- As aparente001 notes, you may want to invest just a bit more time to figure out what the committee is looking for and hone your application a bit more.

The reason why they are hiring for the same position is because these are temporary or postdoc positions.

An important factor in these decisions is whether the candidate's skills and interests match the slot they have available, and the needs.  It would be very helpful if you could find out more about the slot, so you can highlight the appropriate aspect of your prior experience.

@FelixY. That does not make it the same position. That makes it an equivalent position.

@TobiasKildetoft The position has the exact same title and name to it, so I assumed I can call it "the same" but I'm not sure how you are defining equivalent in this case.


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Including "Best in show" type award for a conference paper on CV
I work in industry, but come from an academic background. We publish several papers a year in journals and conference proceedings. I'm also preparing a new CV for academic purposes. Earlier this year, a paper that I coauthored was selected for the "best paper in [technical category]" award they give at the end.
If a conference paper that you have coauthored receives this kind of "best in whatever" type award at the conference it was presented at, is it appropriate to include a mention of that on a CV? If so, how? This is geared toward proper academia, not a resume.

Possible duplicate of http://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/7895/awards-when-applying-for-faculty-jobs

It's common to have an "Awards" section on an academic CV; you could put it there.  Give the exact name of the award, identify the group that awarded it, briefly explain what the award was for, and list the date.
See also How much detail to include for an award listed on a CV.


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Organizing committee of conference announced publication of papers, but one year later, this hasn't happened. What to do?
I participated one year ago in a conference. The organizing committee asserted that they were planning to produce a publication from the papers presented at the conference and they announced they secured a contract with Palgrave, but I haven’t received any updates regarding the book since the conference. By the way, The Association which organized the conference has a good reputation. Should I send an email to ask them about the book? What’s the best formula for such email ?Thank you

Do you think they may have been affected by Covid19?

An email to the conference or program chair would certainly be appropriate. You don't need any format for it. Just say you are wondering if the book is still in progress and when it might be expected.
As Solar Mike implies in a comment, the coronavirus might have disrupted this, like many other things. But it can also take a while to produce a physical book, especially for conference proceedings when not done by the association itself. The publisher has higher priorities, most likely.
I know of one conference where the papers from one annual meeting are only available at the next. The publisher is a university press.

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What to do in case of academic dishonesty by organizers after getting published
I am trying to avoid academic dishonesty as far as possible. I have submitted a paper to a local journal and after getting published, I noticed that the editor-in-chief (who is also a professor in a university in my country) has added three of his papers in the citations. He did not even bother to reference them in the content of the paper.
My topic is related to deep learning in plant disease and the references he added are related to radio transmission systems, deep learning in skin, and video quality streaming.
At that time I let it go because to whom should I complain with him being the editor in chief of that journal? He did the same with other papers published in his journals and is still doing it.
Should I ask the same person to withdraw my paper, though it has been a year since I got it published? Would it be considered misconduct on my part, if I do nothing?
Note Editor in chief has 85 citations in his top 12 most cited papers from the journal he managed.

https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/83764/how-do-i-identify-predatory-and-low-quality-journals-with-bealls-list-gone-ho

Does this answer your question? What should I do if I submitted an article to a predatory journal?

I think doing nothing is acceptable.  The best answer might depend on who the publisher is; some publishers would fire the editor if they found out.  Others would look away.

I don't think this journal is predatory, except this everything is good. They have a good review process, they don't accept every paper. They don't have very high APC.


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How to justify pursuing a Masters after a Ph.D. for Visa purposes?
I have recently completed my Ph.D. in Molecular Biology. Regarding my background, I have a BSc and an M.Sc. in biotechnology. During my Ph.D., I wanted to work extensively in the Neuroscience domain but since my project was already decided and was funded accordingly, I had no liberty to alter with what I wanted to do with it and had to complete it as per the expected methodology. This in no way means that I am not proficient in Molecular Biology. Nevertheless, I did another project (not so extensive) in the field of Neuroscience in order to satisfy my interest but the scope of the project was fairly basic and I did it on my own expenses.
Soon after completing my Ph.D., I applied for an MSc Neuroscience course in Germany and I recently got into it. I am really excited and happy about this opportunity to learn and work in fields of Clinical Neuroscience and Psychiatric Neurosciences and to finally get a proper specialization (that I am motivated for) for my CV.
Regarding the visa, I need to justify why I want to pursue a Master's after a PhD and I really can not think of how to make them happy about it? The university was quite happy to know about my motivation and everyone in the interview was supportive of my motive as well.
I would appreciate any inputs towards the required justification!

I don't know how the visa process works, but do you have any reason to believe that explaining the same way you did to the university / here would not work?

In the United States, it is common for universities to have an "International Student Services" office, or something similar. I imagine they would be best positioned to answer your question, so I would recommend seeing if this university has something similar. If you can't find it on your own, you might ask the graduate director.


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How do I ensure I'll be able to claim authorship over a math proof, as an amateur math student?
I found proof for an open math problem. I know it likely has flaws, but I can't catch any and I'd like to put the proof out for revision. But without losing the credit for it, in case it turns out to be correct.
The thing is I'm just a math student and I have no experience publishing math papers or anything.
I've already checked a post here with the same question I'm asking, in which many people recommended talking first with a mentor or a trustworthy teacher, but I've never had a relationship with a teacher. And currently, I'm not seeing my teachers in person, because I'm in quarantine and my classes are virtual. Moreover, it would be really embarrassing for me to talk about this with people I know, especially if they rapidly find a mistake in the proof. I fear they'd think I'm silly for even considering the possibility I may have proven something no mathematician has been able to prove before. So I don't want to share this with anyone I know unless the proof is reviewed by expert mathematicians and I'm fully sure it's correct or at least seems to be.
Finally, as you may have noticed, English isn't my native language, so I don't know how I could manage to write down this proof in English. I'm not familiar with the math language and notation used in English.
I want an English version because once the proof is published, I'd like to send it to important mathematicians for revision and I don't know important mathematicians who speak my language.

Related, if not duplicate: How can I “time-stamp” my data without publishing it?

Create tex/pdf/docx/whatever document with your proof and include some information that clearly identifies you as the author. Then put its SHA1 hash on a blockchain. You will be able to prove that you had that document on that date (or, at least, somebody created the document that identified you as the author and gave its SHA1 hash to you). Also, you might be able (depending on your jurisdiction) to find a notary who can certify that the SHA1 hash you presented matches the document you actually had in your possession on that date.

What about asking a [proof-verification] Question on math.SE ?

You say that you don't want to share a proof with someone you know, because it might be embarrassing.  I would suggest that if you want to have any success in mathematics, you get over that.  If you continue to work in the field, you will make one horrible embarrassing mistake after another.  Over and over and over again.  You will feel dumb and inadequate.  You will make an ass of yourself in front of others, and if you don't, then you will never get the opportunity to learn from your mistakes.  You just have to get over it, and learn to accept that everyone makes dumb mistakes.

@VladimirReshetnikov why not simply give a copy to a notary/attorney at law/etc. to be notarised, maybe sealed, and be safekept for you for a while? I know people had this problem before the invention of blockchain/computers. It's probably similar to a document like a last will or other contract.

@fr13d Yes, this is one ways to do it. But it relies on human factor that is always may remain open to doubts (maybe the notary was bribed, or somebody forged his seal and signature and switched the kept document). Publishing the hash on blockchain provides a cryptographically strong guarantee that the document (that attributes its authorship to you) existed on or before certain date, and doing it is even easier than visiting a notary office.

@KeithMcClary proof verification for open problems is not welcome on math.se.  It is seen as too much of a liability with respect to attracting cranks.

I’m surprised academia.se doesn’t have a canonical post for “ scared someone will steal my result, how do I share not for review without giving it away?”  I had the impression it gets asks a lot.

Did your proof turn out to be correct?

Moreover, it would be really embarrassing to me to talk about this with people I know, especially if they rapidly find a mistake in the proof. I fear they'd think I'm silly for even considering the possibility I may have proven something no mathematician has been able to prove before

My advice for this concern is to propose your work as an attempt rather than conclusive. It is normal and okay for attempts to fail: most do. If you reduce your expectations publicly to those that you hold privately, there is little cost to failure and substantial benefit to success. Ask others to find errors in your work, and be humble.
If they can find no errors, they will be sufficiently impressed. If they do find errors, you can be appreciative and they will feel useful for having found and taught you something and you need not be embarrassed, only thankful.

Indeed, to echo this: in real practice, having errors or problems is the_norm, and is expected, in the best of cases. The real question of interest is about the future of the idea, not its present state.

-1: This doesn't say ANYTHING about ensuring that the OP retains authorship credit.

@Brondahl OP mentions this has already been addressed in another Q&A here; I decided to focus on the remaining stumbling block they have.

If they fix errors, then OP has potentially found a collaborator and co-author.

@BryanKrause OP mentions this has already been addressed in another Q&A here ... Where? Do you mean the reference to "talk to a trusted mentor"? ... i.e. The line that is immediately followed by "I don't have one of those"? What makes you think that they've already solved the problem that is the title of the question!?

There are really only two ways to do this. One is that you do it all yourself, and the other is that  you get some help. You've indicated that you don't think you have the capability to either check it properly or express it in English, so it seems clear that you need help.
The best help would come from someone who you know, such as a professor, given your other issues. And it wouldn't be terrible if they point out an error. That might lead to additional insight that could serve you well..
But once you have it in reasonable shape, there are math journals that will publish student work. If it is truly good, as judged by your professor, you might be able to submit to a regular math journal. If you reach that stage you will get some additional advice from reviewers to further refine it. But it needs to be in fairly good shape first.
Just publishing it, yourself on something like ArXiv seems like a bad choice here if it still is in only preliminary shape. If it has flaws then you might not like the feedback you get.
But your local math professors should support you in this. They can also give you some advice about future directions. Don't underestimate the value of that.

+1: "And it wouldn't be terrible if they point out an error." Indeed, if there is an error, you'd rather they pointed it out, before the reviewers of your eventual paper have to do that instead. That's presumably one of the reasons for asking them.

@Brondahl, publishing it is the only way. I assume you understand that, as does the OP.

@Buffy trivially it isn't, as demonstrated by the 2 other valid solutions offered below.
And even if it were, assuming that OP knows the answer to the specific question they asked, and thus deciding not to actually answer it seems particularly foolish.

@Brondahl, "foolish" or not, some answers here are helpful to the OP, even if they are a bit orthogonal to the actual question. The OP needs advice, not just an answer if the real problem behind the question is to be resolved. A short answer that just says "publish it" would be useless to this OP who seems to need some guidance to get to the place where publishing is even possible. You might be wise to consider that as a new user here..

I agree. Adding advice in addition to the direct answer is extremely valuable ... But this answer doesn't do that - it ignores the direct answer, as you yourself admitted. (I assume you understand that, as does the OP.)

@Brondahl, it is fine to set standards for your own actions here. Complaining that others don't meet yours isn't very helpful, actually. Your complaint is a bit childish, actually, if the answer is helpful. Of course, it is your right to vote however you like.

So I don't want to share this with anyone I know unless the proof is reviewed by expert mathematicians and I'm fully sure it's correct or at least seems to be.

This sentence seems to be a bit contradictory in itself. I'm assuming you meant

So I don't want to share this with the mathematical community I know unless the proof is reviewed by expert mathematicians and I'm fully sure it's correct or at least seems to be.

First of all, since you are new to the world of academia, it's reasonable that you are worried about having proper authorship. However, I don't think there is anything to worry about here. Just follow these steps

Contact a professor of your university who is expert in the area pertinent to your proof. An email such as follows will suffice

Dear Prof. [name],
While working on [...] I found an interesting approach for proving the Theorem [...]. As far as I am aware, this is still an open problem, so I would be interested in knowing if my attempted solution actually constitutes a proof (or at least if it's a valid step towards one).
Would you be interested in discussing the details via a Skype/Zoom call? I could also send you a draft of the attempt if you like.
Best regards,
Sally Sullivan

You could also mention that you'd like to make it into a publication if the proof is correct or salvageable. But that would be of course implied. Saying it explicitly could sound a bit arrogant to some professors.

If the professor agrees s/he will likely find room for improvement. Or will discover an irreparable flaw. We don't know. In any case, based on the amount of work done, s/he might suggest to
a. Publish a coauthored paper with you and him/her
b. Publish a solo paper with your name only (in that case acknowledge the professor at the end)
c. Not publish anything at all

If a. or b.: you are in business! If c., you might try to publish anyway, but this is absolutely not recommended, you might regret it later on. Rest assured that, even if the professor contributed a sizable amount, it's still possible that s/he might propose b. There have been several cases where I've seen this happening (albeit for PhD students).

If a., when the peer review arrives, the professor will likely take care of that. If b., you'll be the corresponding author, but you can (should) still ask the professor for help.

This was the by far most likely scenario. Now let's review some less likely ones that might make you worried.

The professor doesn't want to know anything about it. In this case you can look for a different professor. Or contact a post-doc in your department. You might not know them personally, but the likelyhood of not finding anyone willing to listen is low. If you don't find anyone, I don't really have any smart solution.

The professor "steals" your work. That is, s/he publises the proof without giving you credit for it. I find this extremely unlikely, almost unprecedented. There is nothing to gain for a professor to publish one more paper after they have tenure and there is everything to lose if they are found out about it. If it really happens (I highly doubt it will) you have all the e-mail trail and you can prove that you initiated this dialog with the professor. Usually in every university there is a professor who is sort of a reference point for students (when they have complaints etc..). Go to him/her and explain the issue. I'm sure justice will be made.

You're afraid you will look like a fool for attempting to present an incorrect proof to a professor. Don't worry, this won't happen as long as you don't make any assumptions prior to presenting the attempted proof. It's perfectly reasonable to make mistakes. Worst case scenario, your attempt would be equivalent to the question "why is this not a correct proof? Where is the mistake?". This is a valid question and you absolutely have the right to ask it as a student.

Also let me comment that your situation is not unique. I have witnessed other cases of master students publishing before their thesis. I do not know the details but they had a professor who helped and they got credit for it.
Let me also give a personal viewpoint. In academia we need to work under the assumption that we are all on the same team. Our goal is to get mathematics done, not to get to be the the one who says "first!". The latter attitude would lead to people keeping secrets and severely impair collaborations. Again, it's pretty reasonable for you to worry about this, but try to learn to free yourself from these concerns as you mature as a researcher.

This sounds like very reasonable and actionable advice based on actual experience.

Such things are quite simple in our day and age. Although you will request help from any professor both for translation and for initial review, you will make sure that you are the first recorded person to post this proof even if it's in your own language. Simply create a transaction in either the Bitcoin blockchain or the Ethereum blockchain with that information (Bitcoin blockchain allows for adding extra metadata in your transaction, the first transaction ever has a phrase the creator left).
If you don't know what a blockchain is, first read up on it, but the gist is that it is a secure and unhackable way to store data in a "cloud" type storage. No professor or university could hack it. If you don't want the proof to be visible, you can always encrypt it and post the encrypted version.
EDIT: I found a service that does just that in a relevant question: proofofexistence.com

Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.

The services at proofofexistence.com cost 0.00025 BTC which is now $8.36. That is too expensive. Services like this should cost next to nothing (after everything gets set up and programmed) since one can use a blockchain with lower transaction fees than the Bitcoin blockchain (it does not matter too much what blockchain you use since a proof that one blockchain exists will be posted on another blockchain), and one can easily bundle an unlimited number of proofs into one transaction using Merkle roots.

Write up a rough draft of the proof, create a public Github repository, and upload the pdf. The Github commit history functions as a publicly-verifiable timestamp. Yet you can always delete the repository if the proof turns out to be wrong. Your work doesn't yet belong on Arxiv, and such uploads are hard to take down.

How does this prevent you from using old timestamps on your commit? You would need a service that is providing the timestamp itself, like posting the hash of the document on twitter.

Commit timestamps are from Git, and are shown as is by GitHub. And it is extremely easy to fake commit timestamps to whatever one wants.


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My work as a freelance was used in a scientific paper, should I be included as an author?
I have been paid to develop a piece of code which is being used in a scientific paper. The code is an important piece of this paper, since the paper is about a specific (novel) computational method.
Would it be fair to be included in the list of authors even if I have been paid for it?

Did you devise the algorithm? Or someone else devise the algorithm and then you developed the code according to the algorithm?

I was asked to use an algorithm from a published paper and re-adapt it to solve a new problem.

What did your contract say on this topic?

Did any part of the code get described in the paper? Especially if the part that you changed to adapt it to the new problem gets described, you should be an author.

If you developed bespoke software for a particular project, it would not be unreasonable to include you as an author. If the software you have developed is more general, you clearly can't expect to be an author on each paper resulting from its use. Whether you are getting paid or not is irrelevant.
Whether you really should be included, or whether it is a bit of a grey area, depends on how much intellectual contribution went into the software. If you took a precisely defined algorithm and done a straight-forward implementation of it, I can't find much fault in denying you authorship. If developing the software included coming up with some details of the algorithm, I'd say you definitely should be an author.
In the comments, Lodinn mentions the CRedit guidelines, which explicitly include a "Software" category for author contributions.

Well the code that I developed was "unedited" and precisely crafted for this work. However according to our contract, I also sold the intellectual property and not only the code, does this make any difference?

@Andrea That you sold the IP would have an impact on your ability to successfully sue them if they don't list you as author, but not on whether or not they should list you as author.

See also: CRediT system https://www.elsevier.com/authors/policies-and-guidelines/credit-author-statement. For bespoke software, your contribution would almost surely fall under the respective category here, and your work may also cover Validation and Visualization. If your entire contribution was rewriting Python code in FORTRAN or vice versa, this is probably insufficient. If you have introduced substantial and meaningful changes and the software is bespoke, this almost certainly qualifies for an authorship.

@Lodinn that seems so helpful and relevant that you might consider posting it as an answer for better visibility for future readers.

@uhoh I see it as merely piggybacking on Arno's already good explanations, just with more concrete examples.

@Lodinn comments are considered temporary, can be deleted at any time in the future without warning, and they're written in fine print. The goal in is (presumably) not to sound smart or original, but to provide good answer posts to future readers, so I'm thinking that those future readers would benefit from having that in an answer post rather than a comment. It's not about you or me, it's about them. :-)

@Lodinn I've included the link in my answer. If you do change your mind and want to write an answer of your own, please feel free to edit it out of mine.

Arno, authorship is independent of copyright. Otherwise I could find anyone who has just finished a paper, hand them enough money for their paper including copyright, and put myself down as the author.

@gnasher729 Well, yes, as far as academic practises are concerned, thus my statement that having signed the IP away has no impact on whether Andrea should be an author. But as far as the law is concerned, your proposed trick is entirely legal (which is why ghostwriting is a thing), it's just unethical.

@Andrea To put things into perspective, the majority of people who write papers are paid to do it (it's part of their job). It is also very common that it's in their contract that intellectual property they produce, such as software, becomes the property of their employer/institute. So as the answer says, "Whether you are getting paid or not is irrelevant."

@Arno If I used a ghostwritten book as evidence I can write to get a job or contract, then my lie (that I wrote the book) might be sufficient to make me guilty of fraud.  You are still unlikely to be prosecuted, unless you committed fraud on someone richer than you who wants to make an example of you.

The question you specifically ask relates to fairness, which calls for a rather subjective response. In my view it would be fair for you to be included among the authors, but I also know that some research teams  would be more inclined to list your name in the acknowledgements than to put your name in lights along with theirs! On the issue of fairness, I think that the best you can do is argue your case with the other authors.
There are, however, two other issues that are distinct both from each other, and from the issue of fairness. The first is the matter of so-called moral rights; the second relates to the policies of different journal publishers. In those jurisdictions that recognize moral rights, perhaps the foremost right is the to be attributed as the author of a work. For example, in Australia, moral rights (generally) are granted under Part IX of the Copyright Act 1968, and the right of attribution is granted under s. 193. However, it is not all as simple as might first appear. In your particular case, for example, your moral right to be attributed as the author of the software would not arise merely as a consequence of the software being discussed in the paper. Instead, your moral right of attribution would come into play only if the software itself were being published or distributed. In that case, under Australian law, you would be entitled to require that you be named as the author of the software, even though you had been paid for your work, and even though you no longer owned the copyright to the software.
In addition to the matter of moral rights, there is also the question of the policies of different journals. Most publishers require that anyone who makes a substantial contribution to a paper be included in the list of authors but yet again, it is never as simple as first appears. Some journals will view the development of an important piece of software as fulfilling the criteria for a substantial contribution, others will not.
It is worth mentioning that statistical consultants often find themselves in a similar position to yours. Much of the work that statisticians do is viewed by some researchers as "mere technical assistance"; other researchers will recognize it as having been essential to turn data into useful conclusions.

Let's say I read this paper, and the code. After reading everything published, what is my impression? Do I think the authors of the paper wrote the code? Do I think Andrea wrote the code? Do I think the authors of the paper hired someone to write the code for them, or found some publicly available code?
In the first case, if a reader believes falsely that the authors wrote the code, then we have a case of plagiarism, which is a serious problem for the authors. Everything else: You invested your work, and you want something out of it. I do that kind of work purely for the money. Pay me, and I'm fine. You may have done this work to improve your reputation. That's something that needs to be agreed upon beforehand, because you likely traded money for the hope of reputation. I wouldn't necessarily recognise you as a co-author, but definitely add something like "Software designed and created by Andrea".
BTW. In many countries there is a "right of authorship", which means if you wrote it, then you and nobody else has the right to say "I wrote it". That right cannot be sold. The copyright allows them to distribute your code and charge money for it if someone is willing to pay. It doesn't change the fact that you wrote it.


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Moving with a questionable advisor
I know variations of this question have been asked before, but it's nice to get input on a specific situation. I'll try to keep this as brief as possible.
I am a PhD student at reputable institution A in the US. My advisor, Dr. Jill (pseudonym), was hired as an assistant professor at a better university, institution B. I have a B.S. in the field and am very early in my Ph.D. career.
Dr. Jill has a few issues:

She has very little diplomacy, making her criticisms and remarks difficult to endure
Despite having just 4 students, she is so busy with other obligations that she does not spend sufficient time with each of them (including myself)
She is unprofessional. In a recent meeting, she lamented previous students by name to her current students. In other meetings, she bluntly criticizes students in front of the group for minutes at a time

In addition, she recently "fired" one of her Ph.D. students after this student accepted the offer from institution B. While I don't have all the details, the student's perspective was that Dr. Jill was a bad leader / manager / advisor, and from my own observations and supporting stories from others, I believe this to be the case. In response, another student has decided to stay at institution A.
I have reservations about Dr. Jill. I don't think she is a good leader, and I have told her multiple times that I don't want to do the research that she is directing me to do (which is unrelated to what I originally signed up for). I do not trust her poor management and lackluster social skills to carry me through a Ph.D., but I know that I am independently capable.
To now, your answer is probably "don't go!" I would perhaps stay at institution A, but I'm not sure that I can find another advisor whose work would be interesting enough. I was also looking forward to living in a new place. I considered staying at institution B until I get my master's degree, but I don't know how long that would take. I also considered moving, working for a semester, and then finding a non-academic job to work.
What do you think? I will likely move to the new city regardless of if I'm enrolled at institution B. But how should I game plan for Dr. Jill? I appreciate your insights!

Why would you move to the new city?

Direct, correct criticism need not necessarily be couched 'diplomatically'. Personally, I prefer blunt, accurate assessments. I still recall the response of a mentor to something I proposed - they said "Well, Jon, that's just bullshit." And they were right. And I never tried to bullshit them (or anyone else) again. Clear, direct, accurate feedback need not be 'diplomatic'.

How do you know you would be accepted to University B? Does Dr. Jill have a line of funding for University B that she has asked you to accept and work with her? Also, what about Universities C,D, E, F....and Z, that are also options for other universities?

Honestly it sounds like you don't like or have any respect for Dr. Jill, and she probably doesn't like that you don't want to do the research she is directing you to. Let her start over at her new institution with students who are interested in her research instead of going with her and bringing your disrespectful attitude that will poison the new group dynamic before it even starts. You should be fine without her. You are obviously a supremely talented PhD student, Dr. Jill is obviously a bumbling fool who has little achievements beyond getting a faculty position then getting poached.

@Dr.K - from what I've seen, for a move like this, who the professor is bringing with them is part of the hiring package. Students close to being done finish up at the old institution, new students are part of the deal to bring the professor over.

@AzorAhai-him- I am looking forward to living in a new place. Although originally for school, if I decided not to pursue the PhD I would still live there and find a job.

@JonCuster Direct, correct criticism is indeed acceptable. Unfortunately, her criticism is neither direct nor correct. When she criticized me, I asked her for specific details about what I could do better, and she chose to sweep the criticism under the rug. Furthermore, her criticism is sometimes too personal to be helpful. Critique the painting, not the artist, especially not in front of a group.

@Dr.K I have been accepted to University B with funding. I'm hesitant to move somewhere else for universities C, D ... Z because I don't want to roll the dice on another advisor. Furthermore, and perhaps I should have mentioned it in the post, I haven't fallen in love with research like I hoped I would.

@R1NaNo Dr. Jill told me I would be working on X, which her and her lab are familiar with. I was excited to work on X, and agreed to join the lab under the condition that's what I would do. Dr. Jill then pivoted my work to Y, which neither she nor I are familiar with and which was never discussed when I agreed to join the lab. Y is not close to X - it is in fact extremely far away. As for my attitude, you're right that I shouldn't poison the lab - that would be unfair to her and her students. However, the last part of your comment is nonsense, and I don't know why you have to be aggressive.

Are you accepted to University B with funding because your advisor is moving there? If so, I suspect most other profs would be leery of "poaching" a student of their new hire.

@JonCuster Yes. It would not be possible for me to switch advisors without causing lots of headaches and resentment.

@fallacy Yes my statement was a little harsh and bordering on the absurd. However, I want you to take a look at the comments you have made about your advisor in your post and in response to others. Honestly, it looks like you completely detest this person and have zero respect for them. This is not healthy, and frankly it is also not fair to continue either to you or to them. As to your note about changing topics. This happens often, especially with younger faculty whose initial ideas are refined, and pressure is on to produce and get tenure. If you really dont like the research, change groups

Seems like you have a few options:

Stay at institution A and find another advisor. You say this is a no-go, and it seems like you've already mentally discarded this option.
Follow Dr. Jill to institution B and continue working with her. From your post, this seems like a very bad idea.
Follow Dr. Jill to institution B, then find another advisor. I would speak directly to institution B about this possibility, and also think about who your advisor at B would be. This will require extreme tact, since it's likely Dr. Jill will hear about this. But you probably don't want to make the jump only to learn that you aren't actually able to switch advisors.
Apply as a transfer student to institutions B and C.  Your advisor leaving is an iron-clad "excuse," so wanting to transfer won't seem suspicious at all. Maybe you can get in somewhere you're more excited about. But this may delay your graduation by a year or so.
Abandon your PhD.

Only you can decide which of the last three options is best.

I have reservations about Dr. Jill. I don't think she is a good leader, and I have told her multiple times that I don't want to do the research that she is directing me to do (which is unrelated to what I originally signed up for). I do not trust her poor management and lackluster social skills to carry me through a Ph.D

your answer is probably "don't go!"

Indeed; don't go.

Indeed, learning to listen to the little voice in your head rather than trying to "rationally" over analyze things is a skill to learn. It applies to many situations in life.


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How can I get relevant experience during undergrad if professors at my school don't study what I'm interested in
I'm interested in pursuing a PhD in clinical psychology, but there aren't any professors doing clinical psych research where I'm going to school. I'm at a top university, and I'd like to get into a prestigious PhD program. I don't know how to set myself up for that though, trying to reconcile what I'm interested in, what my school supports, and what's hot in the field right now.

Can you transfer to a school where people do the research you're interested in? I'm surprised a top university wouldn't have people in clinical psychology in some sense, though.

Any research experience is useful, though. Very few people do exactly what they did as undergraduates when they go to graduate school.

Is this about the US? And are you an undergraduate currently?

@BryanKrause - and very few people do exactly what they did as PhD students through the rest of their career... But, an undergrad doesn't know enough of what is out there to really know the totality of what is or will be interesting to them. 40 years in I'm still finding new interesting things.

@JonCuster Indeed. https://phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=2031 https://phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=967

Firstly, it is normal that no one at the university has the same interest as you. However, it does not mean that they cannot supervise you on the topic that you are interested. You have to ask them first.
Secondly, I used to think that I should only do (undergraduate) research in the field that I liked the most in order to prepare for graduate application. I was wrong. If you want to become a good clinical psychology researcher, you need to become a good researcher first. You need to know how to do research; philosophical stuff; how to cite papers; how to read papers; how to do literature review; critical thinking; etc.
That is why any research experience is immensely useful. As a pre-PhD student, the domain knowledge that you learn from a particular research project may not be as important as the research experience - which will be useful for a lifetime and not limited to any discipline/topic. Good luck!

Other than what others in the thread have said, you can always approach professors from other universities and talk to them about what you're interested in, and that you're willing to research for free, this will 1) give you experience and 2) give you a connection and a possible recommendation. Basically, it doesn't have to come from the same university where you got your degree.


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How does a student's misconduct history carry across to other courses (if it does)? Is there a difference between minor and major offences?
I have a general inquiry regarding the impact of past misconduct in different courses of study.
To provide an example: if a student takes a course and is removed because of poor performance (or even if they are not removed and have had a warning) could this be used against him/her in a different course in the future? Or does the code of conduct for each university specify that each course constitutes a different "chance". What about when it is not about removal, and is about academic misconduct or general behavior?
In cases where the gap between both courses is quite high (say a decade), would it be safe to presume that misconduct as (for example) a teenager could not be used without good reason in the future, or could it be waived all-together?

To clarify. I think you are in the UK, in which case "course" is something like a "BSc in Mathematics" and not "Introduction to Linear Algebra".

My UK university centrally tracks all academic offences, both major and minor, and I think this is pretty common. We are not allowed to release information about academic offences to employers or other universities. If the new course is at a new university, it is up to the applicant to inform the university. There may be a question on the application and the applicant must answer it truthfully. If the new course is at the same university, it depends on how well they track things, in this case, how well they tracked things in the past.
Past occurrences of academic misconduct are only used in deciding penalties for current occurrences of academic misconduct. Hopefully, a student would not commit academic misconduct again. If they did, the board may have discretion to ignore some past events if a large amount of time has elapsed. This is going to be specific to each board. Even if the board is allowed, discretion, they may not exercise it.

My university, in the United States, also tracks academic misconduct and maintains permanent records.  While the record is not released as part of a transcript, is is released if a student consents to release of the full academic record.  That happens when the student applies for a job requiring a security clearance, for example.  So, cheating as an undergraduate may keep one out of certain kinds of employment later.

Are you talking about academic misconduct (cheating) or simply poor performance?
With respec to to cheating, policies vary from institution to institution.  However, in my experience it is common in the US to have a central authority responsible for recording and reviewing cases of academic dishonesty.
For example, on my campus faculty are required to report incidents of academic dishonesty (cheating, plagiarism, forged signatures on registration documents, etc.) to the Associate Vice President for Academic affairs.  Individual faculty can punish students by assignment of failing grades, up to and including failing the course. There is a formal process by which students can appeal these decisions.  However, if a student has repeatedly violated the policy they can be punished further by suspension or expulsion from the institution.
A huge advantage of this approach is that if this were left up to individual instructors a student could cheat repeatedly in multiple classes and never suffer any punishment worse than a failing grade in an individual class.  In the other direction, it provides students with due process if they think that a faculty member has acted improperly.
A suspension or expulsion for disciplinary reasons will typically remain on the student's transcript forever.
If you're talking about poor academic performance (low grades), that can be a very different issue.
It is certainly the case that poor academic performance in the past (having "flunked out" of a program) can affect your chances of being admitted to another program even many years later. The application process nearly always requires the student to provide transcripts from all colleges that they have attended.
In the US, a student who has "flunked out" typically can apply for readmission to the university after some period of time.  Many institutions have policies that explicitly disregard academic failures (and the associated low GPA) that happened in the distant past e.g. a student who flunked out 5 years ago or more may be readmitted and start with a new GPA.  However, under such policies the student's transcript will still typically show the earlier academic failure.


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Should I tell my advisor I am academically overwhelmed?
I studied humanities in undergrad but am a first-year PhD student in a STEM field. Until recently, I was very proud of teaching myself the requisite background material to be competitive for a top-tier research program. But now that I am in the program, I realize just how much catching up I need to do and am feeling overwhelmed.
For example, I am only taking two courses this semester with the expectation that I explore research project ideas and secure a research advisor within my first year—I have an academic advisor who may become my research advisor, but that is not required. But one of these courses is taking up all of my time. The last two homework assignments have taken me 30–40 hours each to complete. I know other students also find the course hard, but even undergraduates who seem to struggle the most—those who are at office hours with me every single time—say the assignments take closer to 20–30 hours for them.
I am embarrassed to say anything. I have an academic advisor who seems very helpful, but I worry that she'll think less of me if she knows how hard this is. The alternative is to not really meet with her this semester and hope that I can get started on a research project next semester.

I would say yes, be honest with your advisor.

Absolutely be honest - the graduate program knew they were taking a bit of a risk in letting you in, but almost certainly would expect you to (1) work hard to catch up, and (2) let them know if you are having difficulties. I believe they would work with you to figure out avenues for help.

Fantastic work, gwg!  Do let your advisor know.  Try to keep the emotions out of it, just give a neutral account of the time you're putting in.  Hang in there!

I was reminded of this question by an SE notification. Update: I have a PhD.

Had this exact problem last year as a first-year direct-Ph.D. student -- and that was as a STEM undergrad going into a STEM field. I took 2 courses, not knowing at the time that both were considered some of the toughest courses in the department, and ended up failing at one of them so miserably that I had to withdraw from the course.
So backstory out of the way, here's my advice (in no particular order):

DO be honest with your academic adviser. Their job is to give you honest feedback and advice on what your options are (course-wise, at least). It may be possible for you to withdraw from a course without it affecting your GPA (though it may still show up on your transcript. That's how it worked for me -- but it was an acceptable trade in my opinion).
DO NOT expect your academic adviser to necessarily be "sympathetic". That's not to say that they're going to be a cold-hearted jerk, but they likely aren't going to be willing to comfort you (learned this the hard way unfortunately).
DO seek out counseling services if you're feeling overwhelmed and need that sympathetic ear. They can give you strategies for better managing your time and efforts, as well as reassuring you that you are not alone. Friends and family are great to lean on here as well.
DO NOT try to strike out on your own. Project? Make it a group project (if you can). Homework? Round up a few others in the class, find a whiteboard, and do it together. Exams? Order pizza and start studying (at least a week ahead of time, even if only for an hour a day).
DO take care of yourself. That means getting a good night's sleep -- even if you're not going to have everything done for your research tomorrow. And eat a good meal -- don't starve yourself to ink out an extra hour of work. I can't stress this one enough. Your mind (and body) is your greatest tool as a grad student. Take care of it.
DO NOT give up. It gets better. I promise.

None of that is particular to non-STEM students working in STEM fields (major kudos to you for that), so I hope someone who has been in that situation can get back to you too!

I definitely second Seek out counseling services, but I'd caution you against leaning too heavily on friends and family. Of course you should reach out to them for sympathy and even advice, but if you were to start treating them as counselors it would seriously strain the relationship and also probably not result in good counseling, since most people aren't counselors.

Another reason why getting in touch with fellow students may help is: the method of study that you are using might be good for the humanities, but a bad fit for STEM subjects. The goals and the methods of STEM are completely different, and they call for a different way to work. You might need to retrain yourself.


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Being "good enough" to do research with a professor? ( cse, undergrad )
I'm a computer science student at Stony Brook University. As the undergrad final project next semester, I am to do a research project under the supervision of a professor, whom I have to find this semester.
I have not yet taken any classes with professors whose research I am interested in, How can I show that I'm "competent enough" for them to spend time on me? It feels like standards for computer science are different than say, biology. I also currently don't know a lot about the area I'm interested in (data systems/mining), though I will be taking the database course this semester. Would this be a major negative factor?

Welcome to Academia.SE!  I edited your post because we prefer one question per post around here :)

Regarding what was your third question, you might want to check out Do's and Don't's of Undergraduate Research.

Research means diving into the unknown.
Committing to work on a research project with a mentor is also diving into the unknown.
What I can reassure you about is that

Professors are used to undergraduates signing up for research projects with less preparation than would be seen in grad students
The stakes will not be as high for this as they would be as a grad student.  If you don't have any original findings to show for yourself at the end of the project, that won't be a disaster.

This is a chance for you to get your feet wet, to ask, I wonder... and then figure out how you might start working on an answer.
Give it a try!

How can I show that I'm "competent enough" for them to spend time on me?

In short, you cannot. You can inform yourself roughly about their area, but you won't be able to impress them by knowledge in their area. Let them choose the topic.

Would this be a major negative factor?

It would be a negative factor. Whether it'd be a major one, depends very much on the topic. There is still a lot of low-hanging fruit in the area, so, deep knowledge might be simply not as necessary as programming skills.

Self-doubt is important. Shutting down and doing too much of self-doubt is quite harming.
While at the post-graduate level I recon the most important researcher quality to be having new ideas, this is of lesser importance for you know. You might not know enough to get good new ideas or might happen to rediscover things people already did.
To take a short digress: a famous marvel of Soviet mathematical school was "the ability to solve problems". Some even describes this as the prime task of a mathematician. While we might go aside and discuss in length if this is generally the case, this fits your current stage.
So, to put in in a succinct manner: As a undergraduate doing research, you need to be able to find solutions to the problems your advisor assigns to you. Most of them would be of the sort "implement this" or "find which one of known methods to do that better works with our current data". Of course, if you find a yet another method not listed/mentioned by your supervisor, it's a plus. If you invent a new one, if a huge plus. But do not aim too high for now.
tl;dr: Convince your professor, you are good at problem solving. As this is CS, most of problem solving would involve coding.


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How long is too long for a personal statement for undergrad research application?
Many REUs (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) require a personal statement or related essay as part of the application. I am wondering, how long is too long? My essay is right now 1000 words (but it could be ~1300), and my worry is that the people reading it will lose interest in an essay that long.

It's worth noting that the personal and research statements for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship are restricted to two pages each. So if you're writing more than that for a REU, you're probably writing too much.

Double spaced or single spaced?

The NSF applications are single-spaced.

Also, what if the program "only" requires one essay? Does that mean that they are willing to read 3-4 pages of my personal info AND my research interests?

If they only want one essay, two pages (ca. 1000 words) is probably reasonable.


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Feeling unprepared for PhD because of poor educational system in my home country. Should I leave PhD to retake courses somewhere else?
I will give some background. I am from a third world country, and I am doing my math PhD in Europe.  During high school and university years I participated in many maths competitions, and even got to the pre-national team. (I mention this just to show how interested I have been over the years with the topic.)
Here is my problem: my education is not the best. I would say it is mediocre at best. By education I mean the whole system of the country. I pretty much had to learn everything on my own during those years, starting from Analysis. So, even though I took courses, they were meaningless, because the level was very low and in many cases the professors were not experts in the field. On top of that, the interaction with other students was almost null, I was very ahead of all of them.
Despite that, as I said, I studied very hard to get to where I am now. However, I have to admit that due to this personal training, there are many topics that should be basic with which I don't feel comfortable about: ODEs, PDEs, Numerical Linear Algebra, etc. This is due to time constraints because I feel capable of learn anything.
To summarize so far: I have been a lonely man in a cave with a book for the last 7 years. That being said, I managed to get some decent knowledge in the area I am currently working in.
Fast forward to the PhD program. As usual in Europe, there are no courses involved: only research. And there is were my conflict lies: I am very unsure of myself because I think that everyone has a better education than me and hence they are better prepared. Another issue is that the institute were I am is very small and hence there is no ‘big purpose’: no one seems to care about you. Also, the institute is not well known, so that I am also afraid that the ‘brand’ issue will affect me later.
I feel like I don't belong there, and that I could do much better if I go to another Program that starts the courses from the beginning. However, the way I am doing it right now has got me very demotivated and it is starting to affect my research: I have been here for a year already and so far I am only at the middle stage of a first paper. The paper is not that strong, because after I got the results I found that someone has done it before (I lost months on this).
I guess that what troubles me most is the fact that, due to lack of data, I can not compare myself (main source of motivation, in a healthy sense of course) with the rest of my peers and that is the main reason for my insecurities. The comparison is in the sense of me being sure that I am roughly at the same level of my colleagues. I know no other way to do this other than taking the same courses and tests. This comes naturally with a program in which one take courses on the first year but, as explained earlier, I didn't have this interaction with really good students. Due to this, I am thinking of quitting and starting all over again somewhere else. Also, I don't think this is a case of the Impostor Syndrome: I am sure that with proper training I could get far, I just haven't had the opportunity to take a bunch of graduate courses.
Should I proceed?

I broke your wall of text into paragraphs so I could read it, then voted to close your question.  I think what you're asking calls for opinions that, if they were to be particularly useful, would depend on knowing you as a person, the institution and program you're in now and what others around you experience.  There's no way we can know that.  So my opinion has to be on just what you've written.  But my takeaway so far is that you're probably very lucky to be in the PhD program you're in right now.

@NicoleHamilton thanks for the input. However, I didn't followed you on the last lines. "So my opinion has to be on a lot less. But my takeaway so far is that you're probably very lucky to be in the PhD program you're in right now." Does that means that you think I should stay because I am not capable enough?

@jhndoe Far from imposter syndrome, you seem to have a very high opinion of yourself and appear to feel your current institution isn't good enough.  But I didn't see evidence in your essay that convinced me of either.

@NicoleHamilton I am sorry if I gave you that impression, but it is quite the opposite. I am very modest and have very low self esteem to be honest. Any people around me would tell you the same. In the question I tried to explain my reality so that you could get a better idea when writting an answer. I am not a genius. Do I impose myself high goals? that is for sure. But one thing do not imply the other one.

This is exactly the case of impostor syndrome.

Relevant questions: https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/87668/how-do-you-come-to-terms-with-the-fact-that-you-might-never-be-among-the-best-in https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2219/how-should-i-deal-with-discouragement-as-a-graduate-student https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11765/ive-somehow-convinced-everyone-that-im-actually-good-at-this-how-to-effect

In the European programs I have been involved in, there is no (or a very minimal) fixed curriculum students need to go through. However, students do follow specific courses to learn specific techniques. Typically/ideally the student discusses with her/his advisor what is needed for the project, what is needed for her/his future career, and where the gaps in her/his knowledge is, and how to fill those gaps. This is the kind of discussion you need to have with your advisor.

in Math?? are you sure?

I don't understand that comment. Do math PhD students not talk to their advisors?

It is different concepts of study, on both unies in EU and one in Asia, concept how Math advisors behave toward Phd students is different from other departments.

not to misunderstood me, I have the highest opinion about math PhD students, but the way they work and function is different

@SSimon I have several friends that are currently doing PhDs in math in Italy, Germany, France and the UK. AFAIK all of them have to follow some courses during the first year of the PhD, and some of them will have to follow some courses also the following year. Obviously the departments also do some non-mandatory courses and/or series of seminars for both the PhDs and professors that want to hear about specific topics of research.

+1, "talk to your advisor" is the best advice in my opinion. Also, have some confidence. Unless you lied and cheated your way into the program, you're there because they think you're qualified to finish. See also this: https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2219/how-should-i-deal-with-discouragement-as-a-graduate-student/

I'm not from mathematics, but your progress sounds reasonable to me. Midway to a paper after the first year is pretty good. That you missed closely related work is unfortunate, but not unusual: it's more or less the first time you are doing a real literature search. Ideally, your advisor should have checked that too.
I would caution against thinking that just because classwork is mandatory in other places, it will be good or useful. The classes offered at postgraduate level can vary wildly, and are often a motley collection of the research topics of the professors who get assigned to teach one. In my department, most of the postgraduate courses are too far from my work to be of practical use, and the one class I think I really could benefit from is taught by a professor that everyone has warned me to stay far away from.
The classes don't have to be mandatory for you to attend them. Especially when it is for your own learning, rather than for a grade, it is quite easy to just sit in on classes that you think you could benefit from. At the beginning of the semester, look through the classes offered at your local university and attend the first lecture of any that interest you. If it seems useful, talk to the professor at the end and ask if you can sit in informally. Usually there will be no problem, although if the exercises are only accessible through an online platform requiring students to be registered, like moodle, you may need to ask for access or for the prof to email you the materials separately (or you just find your own, different exercises).
This way, you can find out if extra classes would really be of as much value to you as you think they would be, without going to the drastic step of abandoning your PhD first.

Changing topic, advisor, or university came to the mind of every PhD student facing serious problems. Still, most students must tackle their problem and get their research done. After that, you can wrap up and write the thesis and you are done.
Having a PhD without major detours is a good sign. You can move around to prestigious names during your post-doc time. Maybe you can stay a couple of week within your PhD program at another institute.
In general, you don't need to know everything, just your topic. You can still learn about ODEs and numerical methods once you need them. If you are good in your topic and have above-average contributions, everything will be fine.

The university's name is not nearly important as your contributions. If you believe you have the talent required for a top university, but you say you don't have the education, then get the education.
Doing research requires you to be able to self-educate and then use that knowledge to push the boundaries and discover new solutions -- whether it is by inventing the method yourself or applying other people's methods to these problems.
This whole case sounds like you need to step back and evaluate yourself honestly. Then, buckle down and learn the things you think you need to know. You've already done the hard part of getting accepted, now do the harder part of making a plan and sticking to it. Talk to your adviser, figure out what you need to know, make a plan to learn it, and make sure you keep your eye on your research goals while doing so.

Thanks for the answer(+1) That is exactly what I have done(evaluate myself), hence the question on this site. I feel very comfortable in  my area right now, I am just afraid that not knowing other topics can harm me somehow in the future.

Anyone who answer this question might be expressing his/her opinion that must be biased towards his/her own experiences. Mine, for example: I was starting a cientific initiation in algebra and automata to achieve a master's degree in computer science.
I was working at a federal university as a technician, not teacher, and my "dream" at the time was to work as teacher and do R&D. But after sometime I knew for sure that it was only to gain a 30% raise in my wage due to degree's incentive given by institution where I worked. I was starting a 4 year (or more) study just for 30% raise? Does it makes sense?
Afterwards I realized that I should be happier working with my REAL dream as a DBA. Then a friend of mine invited me to join he in a company and we opened up a Database Administration startup. It was 2 years ago and I can't say that I would be happier with just a degree more into my resume. My income today is far better than 30% raise and my challenges are new everyday.
So, you must think what makes you happy. Do you think yourself as a researcher or a teacher in the future? The PhD will add something pleasure in your life? Does the area (math) you choosed is really what you like to do?
Work in something you love and you will not work a single day in you life.
Best wishes from a "third world country" too (Brazil).

How did you manage to get into a Phd-position if you think that you have a lower education. In most departments that I know it is really hard to become a phd-student. Do you think that you get there because of a rate?
Another point is that on one hand you think "my education is not the best" and on the other hand you think that "Also, the institute is not well known, so that I am also afraid that the ‘brand ’ issue will affect me later". Why do you think that a well known and popular institute should accept you, if you think that your knowledge isn't even good enough for the small unknown one?

"Why do you think that a well known and popular institut should accept you, if you think that your knowledge isn't even good enough for the small unknown one?"  Because I know I have the talent, I just haven't had the right opportunity

Coming from a third world country, I didn't had many choices. If I could, I would have applied to a PhD program in the US: this was just not possible for me back then

"if you have talent why you didnt publish any paper until now?" because I change topic from master to PhD and had to spend around 7 months studying the topic. I can not thrive because I feel depressed( as stated in the question)

@SSimon: "why didn't you publish a paper until now". Uh? Who publishes a paper in their first year of a Ph.D. in math? Do you know anything about doctorates in math?

@MartinArgerami IDK, at my uni, if they dont publish, qualify exam cannot be passed :( that is case for Math department only. Is not same at your institution?

That's pretty close to unbelievable. Which university are you at? If you are understandably unwilling to tell us, can you give us an example of a (different) university with a similar policy?

@SSimon: it's not about comparing with my institution. In mathematics, it is very rare for a Master's thesis to result in a paper, and even more unusual to publish in the first year of a Ph.D. Before qualys, what a math student does is to take classes and study for the qualys. Example: not long ago I had to referee the grant application of one of the best mathematicians (worldwide) of my area; for this top mathematician, in a top university (who obviously gets top students), his expectation is that a Ph.D. student will defend with two papers submitted; and this is already beyond the norm.

@SolveIt usually they failed them very long, IDK why, we have only 2 times to resolve qualification exam, but they do it every semester, it is important for them, and regourous.

@MartinArgerami Maybe.... strange...

It should be noted that schools in the same field can have very different policies for qualification and candidacy examinations. In my own field, some do it after one semester, some might do it after several years; some do it via written and oral exams, some do it via a research proposal.

I suspect your intuition is correct.  I'd either take the extra time during summer to get to the level of expertise of your peers, or drop out of a PhD program, and re-enter as an undergraduate at the same school to arrive at the level of beginning PhD students.
That's perhaps a bit extreme, and you should consider a serious discussion with your advisor about something that approximates this trajectory.

Thanks for the answer! I think that is a little bit extreme too, given that I feel very comfortable in my area right now. I am just afraid that not knowing other topics(not needed now for the research) can harm my academic career.

It's definitely good to be concerned about that.  Once you slip a little, you slip a lot and it's very hard to climb back up.

Re-entering another PhD program after having difficulties with your first one came to the mind of virtually every PhD student. Stick to your problem, work around or solve your problems, learn about yourself and focus on get research done. After that write up your thesis. Good luck!