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Should I ask for deferral before accepting a PhD offer or after accepting it?
I am currently in a PhD program, and have applied and received offers to start another (changing fields). Both are in the US, so I do not need to finish a master's or anything. The plan was that I will finish this year in my current PhD program, take some useful courses, get my master's degree, and peacefully leave in good academic standing and start the new program. For some personal reasons, which lead to serious bureaucratic issues, I had to take a leave of absence from my current program. So now, I would have to just leave my current program with very few courses taken and start my new PhD in Fall.
I know all of the departments I have offer from are ok with that, but I am NOT! I think it may look really bad on my CV to have just a few courses from my current PhD program, and abandon it in the middle of a leave of absence and start in a different field. Plus, although I am changing fields, some knowledge from my current field, the courses I was going to take, and the master's degree, are going to be extremely useful at many levels (super useful transferrable skills and a master's degree in a field and from a very prestigious school that can significantly improve my qualifications and open more doors for industry jobs after my PhD). Additionally, just for the sake of my confidence, feelings, and my relationship with my current classmates and professors, I think it would make a big difference if I go back after my leave ends, finish this year, and leave with good grades at a nice point (end of the master's courses), especially because the department was very kind to me and helped me a lot with the personal and bureaucratic issues.
I have to respond to my offers by April 15th, and I wonder if I should talk to the departments I am considering, and ask them if I can put their offer on a hold and join the new program in 2021 after finishing my master's. I know that most departments are going to be struggling financially because of the pandemic, and that makes me afraid that they may really dislike the idea and reject that request immediately. So, I think it may be better if I accept their offer, then ask them to defer the start date for a year. That being said, there are two risks with that: 1. If they decide not to take new PhD's at all in 2021 because of the pandemic, I will have trouble with starting then, especially because all are small departments with <10 PhD students a year. 2. One might be ok with that and another might not, so if I ask now, I can choose the one that allows me to do that. On the other hand, if I ask now and they reject, there is no way I can do that after accepting the offer, and going for a likely suggestion that I reapply next year is very risky. So, I think I have a higher chance for getting a positive answer to my request from each individual department if I present them with a fait accompli, i.e. accept their offer, then say I want to defer, but possibly a lower chance than getting one positive response if I ask all of them now (but that might not be from my current top choice). I know for a fact that some departments always reject the request to defer an offer, but sometimes accept to defer the start date when a new student asks for it after accepting their offer.
So, here are my questions:

Should I ask the new departments I have offer from if they allow me to go back and finish my current program and defer my enrollment in their program until next year, or should I accpet the offer, and then ask them?
Does it make sense to choose based on whether they allow me to do that or not? (and so, ask now)

When you finish your PhD nobody will care about whatever drama occurred early on, particularly given the current world situation. Really. Nobody.

"If they decide not to take new PhD's at all in 2021 because of the pandemic"  If they do that, they are probably closing permanently due to lack of funds.

Congratulations on your offers.  This is really four questions.

Would I benefit from a deferment?

It sounds like you feel bad about "abandoning" your current program.  You should not.  You probably owe them nothing.  PhD programs benefit universities more than students.  Completing your master's will do nothing to change the fact that you are switching programs.  There is no reason to defer.

Should I ask for a deferment so I can finish my masters?

No, this is not a credible reason to defer unless the masters is required for admission to the new program.

Should I ask the new departments I have offer from if they allow me
to go back and finish my current program and defer my enrollment in
their program until next year, or should I accpet the offer, and then
ask them?

An important rule of negotiation is that you negotiate before you agree.  Accepting and then negotiating is dishonest, and more likely to fail.

Does it make sense to choose based on whether they allow me to do that or not? (and so, ask now)

No, enroll in the best PhD program you can.


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Tool to generate feedback based on test results
My mom is a tutor and she was hoping for some software to help her speed up her grading process. Currently, she has her students take a test and she needs to generate something for the student with what they need to work on.
For instance, the student takes a test and they get questions 3 and 4 wrong. Question 3 is on long division and question 4 is on exponents. Ideally, she would be able to put in what questions the student got wrong and get something in a presentable format she can email to the student and their parents:

Areas to work on:

Multiplying exponents
Long division with numbers greater than 3 digits

Is there any software out there that can do something like this?
Thanks,
Eric

A possibility is to use a vlookup() in an Excel sheet.
Have a list with the q numbers and areas - every q number entered will return the area to a pre-set reporting area.
Put this together just for fun - you can edit and play as you wish:

Just enter the question numbers in cells E3:E12, leave un-needed ones blank and it sorts it out.

Thanks for the response. I made a Google Sheets form similar to that where it aggregates all the questions wrong and generates a report + emails it out (using a custom script). I wasn't sure of a good way to store records of student's performances, which is why I was thinking that an enterprise solution might be the way to go. Do you have any ideas on storing records per student?

Let us hope the downvoter can show us something better, created by their own hand of course... But somehow I won't hold my breath.

source: Stack Exchange

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

sort: votes


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Late graduation and prospects of getting into a good Master's degree
everyone, I hope all is good and you're safe during this difficult time.
A little background about me; I'm studying in Europe and I'm graduating this semester (economics) , however this is my 6th year of studies. I have a quite good GPA around 8.3 (out of 10).
University took a lot of time  for me to finish due to a variety of reasons such as chronic health issues (physical and mental), playing a competitive sport, volunteering, working etc. In my 2nd year I attempted suicide due to the stress of being unable to even attend classes. Basically, I started going to classes and passing exams during Y3. This has left me feeling terrified, since during my secondary education I've always been a perfect grade student. It's an unprecedented and uncharted situation for me, which has crashed my confidence and belief in my abilities.
I really want to get into a good or top Master's program for economics in Europe (Or potentially China/Singapore since I'm fluent in Mandarin) and then continue towards getting a PhD since I want to get into academia.
However I feel I've missed my chance, that I've been left behind and that I'll never get into a good program and teach in a university since I'm graduating so late.
Not to mention I don't have the financial ability to pay for a  degree without any kind of scholarship.
So, my question is; is it possible to be accepted into a good postgraduate program even if I have finished my undergraduate late. Is it also possible to get a scholarship? Or is it too late for me?

By late, I assume you mean that you took more time than usual, and not that you've missed published deadlines. Correct?

The time you take to complete a degree should matter little for the future, provided that it isn't explained by laziness or sloth. There are a lot of valid reasons for taking a long time. Medical issues, including depression, especially if now resolved, are one.
I think you will be judged in any application process just about the same as anyone else would, but perhaps with an asterisk to remind someone to ask you about it. People will want some assurance that the delays of the past won't affect your performance in the future, or will, at least, want to be prepared to deal with that if it comes.
But, I think that this is a case in which your materials other than grades become much more important. Your Statement of Purpose needs to show a strong commitment to your field and your career. But it is the letters of recommendation that become especially important in such a case. But they needn't try to explain the past, but, rather, to assure a reader of your readiness, commitment, and likelihood of success.
And it is worth talking to a personal/professional counselor about your mental state and to learn how to cope when things get tough.

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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As an undergrad, how to leave a research group that I told them I will do my PhD there
I am a 4th-year undergraduate student and have been working in two joint research groups (voluntarily, no credit from a course, no pay) for more than a year. I have applied to some Master's and PhD programs but while I was doing that I have talked with PIs of the research groups and they said that they want me to stay in that university to do my Master's and PhD there. At that time, I was getting rejected from some of the PhD programs and I feared that I will get into any program, so I told them that I will stay (I didn't lie, that was my actual intention at that time).
But, now I have been accepted to the PhD program that I wanted most and accepted the offer directly.
Since I have started working with them, they have been great advisors, very generous, kind and they definitely have changed my entire life, let alone my academic career. The research environment and the post-docs have been also quite good and we have even published an article which I am also a coauthor.
Given that I have (prematurely) told them I will stay there (at that time, the applications hadn't even started) and now will go elsewhere, I feel like I am cheating them and thing that this will "burn the bridges", which I definitely don't want.
Question:
Given the situation, how to approach my PIs and tell them I will not stay there for my graduate studies? They even asked me how I was doing in this epidemic multiple times, so I cannot simply write a cold, professional email.
Note that, the field I have been working in there and the one I will work during my PhD are quite close, so we (me and my advisors) could possibly collaborate in the future, and in fact I would love to be in contact with them and help in any way if I can (my expertise on the field is limited but I am learning new things every day).

Congratulations.
First thing to do is, tell them that you have got an offer from some university.
I am sure, the first response you get from them is, "congratulations! All the best for your future". They will be happy for your achievement. I think "they want me to stay in that university to do my Master's and PhD there" is because you did not had an opportunity in other place. I do not see any "burning bridges" here.

Pick out the one that you have the best relationship with and just say that you have a fantastic offer elsewhere and think it is time to move on. Thank them for all they have done, but note that you think you want and need a broader perspective. This is true, in fact. You may have already learned about everything that your current faculty has to offer and a fresh perspective would benefit you.
But be upfront about it. And be honest that your intentions were sincere at the time, but new opportunities have caused you to reevaluate your situation.
You want to walk away with best wishes and great letters of recommendation.
Maybe do this with both (all) PIs together. And this is best done face to face, though it is difficult now, of course. But email is a bit impersonal for this type of thing. Video chat of some kind, perhaps.


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Would you consider using another's analysis as a basis for your own analysis on a poem/story plagiarism?
I'm just wondering what people think about this. I've had several literature classes where I'm assigned to analyze symbolism/figurative speech/other devices or themes and I almost always search online several analyses of the poem or story beforehand as a way of kick-starting my thinking process. However, I'm not entirely sure if this qualifies as plagiarism since many literary devices seem to be factual with not much room for opinion. I never copy the author's exact idea word-for-word, but my arguments seem to go down the same vein as what I've read because I can't help but be influenced.

Ask your instructor.  It is not possible to identify plagiarism without reading the text.  E.g. were there citations, were quotation marks used...  What students should do depends on what was assigned.

It might be plagiarism or not, depending on how you present it. If you do it in such a way that the ideas seem to the reader to be yours alone, then it is clearly plagiarism. It isn't the "word-for-word" issue at all. That is irrelevant.
But if you quote the original work and then take off from there, extending the ideas of the others(s) and you provide a citation for it then it is clearly not plagiarism. Plagiarism is taking the ideas of another as if they were your own without attribution. It is always fine to extend the ideas of others, provided that it is clear that it is an extension and clear that you don't attribute the underlying ideas to yourself.
Don't confuse this with copyright, which is more to do with the actual words used.
However, if this is for a class, then the standards set by the professor may go beyond mere avoidance of plagiarism. So, while you may avoid plagiarism by using proper citation it isn't necessarily true that you meet the course standards. The judgement on that will only come from the instructor.


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What do I need to do to move from a CS major to a math PhD
I am a first year computer science student in India. I have always liked mathematics and have performed well in it. I want to pursue research in pure mathematics. I did some research on the internet and read some answers on this website too. I found out that it is indeed possible and people have done it in the past by having some 'relevant undergraduate/graduate level math classes' under their belt.
The problem with this is that my college does not offer any math classes except linear algebra, calculus(including multi-variable) and discrete mathematics.
How should I go about things now? I have self-taught myself proofs and calculus and I am also good at algorithm analysis(my college has not taught me that yet).Here are the other ways, I found on the internet, that I think would help my cause -

Does self-preparing for GRE math subject test and scoring highly in it help showcase my skills?
Would doing a math heavy research internship in CS help?
Do letters of recommendation from CS faculty carry the same weight as a math faculty?
Is doing a masters in mathematics a better path?
What are the other ways in which I could show the admission committee that I have the required knowledge one would expect from a math major(assuming I can attain that through self-study) and that I can pass the qualifying exam by taking courses at that university?
What other math topics should I study? Do I copy a standard undergraduate curriculum or should I read advanced graduate texts too? Please specify the topics.

I want to do research in the US as there are much better institutions there. What advice could you give me for undertaking this journey? Feel free to even claim that admission in a top PhD program would not be possible if that is what you think.
Thanks for reading!

Do you intend to study for the doctorate in the US or remain in India?

@Buffy I want to do doctorate in the US

Do I understand that you are now a first-year undergraduate? The "obvious" answer would be to transfer to a university better equipped to help you achieve your career goals. Is there a particular reason why this is difficult, undesirable, or impossible? (There are certainly universities with strong mathematics programs in India.)

You might also want to look for "math-adjacent" CS classes your college offers. For pure math this generally means the more theoretical and proof heavy the better, e.g. symbolic computation or theory of computation. For applied mathematics, on the other hand something like parallel computing or machine learning might be a good fit. None of this can replace the undergrad math you'll be missing, but there are enough ares in math that need both, so having time to catch up on math, while the math students catch up on those CS topics might sway an admission committee.

@academic - In India, transferring between universities is not that easy (almost unheard of). And the option of going into another college for an undergraduate math degree is also not a possibility for me for some personal reasons.

In the US, a student will typically do an undergraduate math degree and then apply for a doctoral program. The undergraduate degree typically has about 16 semester-long math courses along with lots of other things; writing, science, philosophy, history, etc.
The math courses will usually include, in addition to the ones you have taken, things like a year of abstract algebra (say, 2 courses), advanced analysis, topology, probability and statistics, etc. Each program varies. I took a (terrible) course in projective geometry, for example.
So, you are missing quite a lot. But some things will compensate.
You don't actually need an undergraduate degree in mathematics to join a doctoral program in math. Most will have done so, but exceptions are made, even quite often for CS majors.
Moreover, such a doctoral program is heavy in advanced coursework at the beginning. My best probability course was as a grad student. The coursework is there to help you prepare for qualifying/comprehensive exams that usually occur before you get serious about a dissertation research problem, though there may be some research earlier. My first two graduate courses were in Measure Theory, which is now often taught to undergraduates, and a really great Topology course, far beyond what I'd seen as an undergrad.
So, if you have a way to gain any of the knowledge of the missing courses, say through online work, it would help give you the background to succeed in a US doctoral program. It will be hard to show any credential for such study, but it is the knowledge and background that you also need.
But the only way to know if you can get accepted is to apply. I'd suggest that you spend some time now studying on your own, but also making application to a few programs at US R1 universities. State universities are usually pretty good. But I strongly suggest that you don't limit your applications to a narrow range of places. Some students are convinced they will only be happy in a TOP 10 institution, but this is unrealistic given the numbers of slots vs the number of highly qualified applicants. But you will learn something from applying, even if you are rejected. Try to find out, from any rejection, what might have made the difference.
And note, that the above is probably only valid for the US.

Thanks for the advice, Buffy.


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Why is latex the standard editor for math/cs journals?
I think latex is a fine language, especially for typesetting math, but sometimes the lack of features for instance making text wrap around an image (\wrapfig can cause issues in places far from where you use it), various commands such as \mathbb not working properly in certain beamer templates etc. images not appearing side by side due to something in a beamer template, working with pocket conflict.. etc
Sometimes it feels like you have to jump through hoops to do/ fix trivial matters?
Better paid editors like overleaf already exist sometimes I wonder how difficult it would be to for microsoft to make a ms latex or something just enough to say  deal with image wrapping, divide up your text so you can find your errors, make flowcharts, image positioning...   better image insertion etc.
I might actually be wrong about this, as I am still a student, but I feel that the latex editor is way more popular than it should be.

LaTeX itself is not an "editor", but a markup language. There are many choices of "editor" to use to write and debug LaTeX... so somehow the question is misguided...

I'm going to answer the question in your title, which is specifically about journal articles in math and computer science. In this context, LaTeX is the standard document format for several reasons, including but not limited to:

It's by far the best widely used format for typesetting math, and unsurprisingly math/CS articles contain a lot of formulas that you'll edit and re-edit during the writing process.
It lets you focus on content instead of appearance. When you're writing a scientific article, you don't care where exactly the figures go. You'll write e.g. "The process is illustrated in Figure 2" in a proof, and floating somewhere on the same page or the next is Figure 2 with a flowchart. LaTeX does a pretty good job of placing the figure somewhere nearby, all you have to do is import the picture with \includegraphics or draw it with e.g. TikZ. Similarly, BibTeX takes care of references so you don't have to format them by hand.
Journal articles usually need only a small set of popular LaTeX packages that are well maintained and don't conflict with each other. Many journals explicitly ask you to not use "exotic" packages that may cause trouble during their typesetting process.
LaTeX source files are just text files. This makes collaborative editing and version control much simpler than with dedicated formats like Word. You don't have to worry about losing all formatting if your colleague has a different version of Word or uses an Apple or Linux system. Any text editor can handle .tex files, from Notepad to dedicated programs like TeXworks or the web-based Overleaf.
Historical inertia: LaTeX is the standard because it's been the standard for years. Most journals require or heavily encourage it and basically everyone knows how to use it. People don't like change if the current situation works well enough.

Beamer is kind of a special case since it changes the layout of your document so fundamentally and doesn't play well with many other packages. If you're making a presentation with special fonts and lots of figures that need to be placed exactly right, maybe Beamer is not the right tool for the job.

Journal articles usually need only a small set of popular LaTeX packages that are well maintained and don't conflict with each other. Yes, but journal styles are actually the biggest offenders here. They are often quirky and outdated.

@FedericoPoloni You're right, most of them have their own weird preface format and seem to conflict with amsthm specifically.

You use whatever tool you need for the occasion. In the case of LaTeX, its main competitor is Microsoft Word. Now it's not like Word is a bad editor - in fact for simple things I'd say Word is outright better - but when it comes to rendering equations LaTeX does things much better than Word.
For example say you want to type the Euler-Lagrange equation (the one in the green box as of time of writing) in Word. How would you do it? You could insert -> equation and start filling in the symbols, but it'll be a pain to find the symbols for partial derivatives, and what's more after you find it you'll have to manually reinsert it again each time. Comparatively in LaTeX you can just write \partial and you'll get it. This neglects the fact that some of the terms in the equation has an over-dot, and again that will be difficult to add in Word while it's fairly simple in TeX.
Ultimately you use whatever tool you need for the occasion, but if you're writing heavy mathematical texts (and math/CS journals certainly use a lot of math), TeX is usually superior.


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How to understand the broader goals of profs' research projects?
Firstly, I should note that this is a cross-post from Reddit r/AskAcademia, and the link to the question is: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAcademia/comments/knw86c/how_to_understand_the_broader_goals_of_profs/
I really hope to improve my situation, thus, I would love to get more perspectives on this problem!

Hi there! I'm a first-year undergrad student looking for my first ever research position. I have a hard time understanding the big picture/question/goal the professor is trying to solve/work towards when reading about their projects. I am often overwhelmed with the technical details that are way beyond my current scope of knowledge, and this has made their research appear a lot more tedious to me
I'm seeking ways to improve this situation, particularly things I could do to aid me in understanding the broader goal of the project.
Thanks in advance for any help!

Is there any reason you can't just ask the prof? It seems like a big task for a first year undergrad. Normally it requires reading lots of papers and forming abstractions and getting insight.

@Buffy I heard that profs don't like replying to emails though... So I'm planning to prepare myself fairly well (eg. learned about their fields, read their papers), before reaching out to them. I hope this would prove that I'm serious about research, and am interested in their fields...

Yes, it does that, of course. But profs don't necessarily mind students with serious questions and yours seems to fit that category. Maybe the prof will point you to something especially important to read. Big picture, long term questions are more interesting than detail ones.

There is a probably a forum, e.g., StackExchange, for the areas you are interested in.  Go there and ask, can anyone give me a big picture of X?

@Prof.SantaClaus On the scientific SE sites I participate in that would not be an appropriate question, it's far too broad.

@BryanKrause Depends on the question.   For many of my research areas, there are many articles that provide a big picture or intuition.

Per Buffy, ask.  You could also try taking some courses on the same subject (that is one of the purposes of courses).  Or perhaps the research is, in fact, tedious.

I would suggest it is unreasonable for an undergraduate student to try to understand the big picture before approaching a prof for a first research position.
I know that at least from my point of view if an undergraduate approached me with interest that would be good enough for me. I would just draft an email for several profs that essentially said something like this--but in your own words of course:
"Dear xyz, I am looking for a lab for my first research position and the topic of your research is interesting to me because . Would you have 30 minutes for me to learn more about the research in your lab and to explore if it would be possible for me to perform a research rotation in your lab?"
For one thing, you'd narrow down the profs/labs who are willing to explain their research/teach and are open to take on first year undergrads. You can then still try to read a single review or two on the topic or just read through the lab webpage before you have the first meeting. I'd argue too that if a prof is unwilling to take 30 min of their time to chat about their research, that is a good enough reason for you NOT to chose the lab for your first research project.


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Switching group due to a lack of interest; How to break the news to an advisor who has been very supportive
like many others I'm here to ask for advice about switching groups. I'm a third year PhD in physics. I have been working in my current lab for about a year. Prior to that, I worked on another project with a different professor for about 2 years. I want to leave my current group because I realize this area is not my passion. Good thing is there's a professor from math department who wants to work with me on a project, and I absolutely want to work with him. But I'm not sure how to tell my current advisor that I want leave.
I must say that my current advisor is an excellent advisor in all aspects. He is supportive (both academically and financially); he is absolutely smart and has deep understanding of the field. He cares about his students' overall progress and growth. In addition, the group dynamics is great. I have zero things to complain about. The only thing making me want to leave is that I realize I have absolutely no interest in this area.
His financial support (RA) to me has one more month before it expires, and he is willing to extend it for the summer. But I do not want to stay for another two months, since it does not fit my academic development and I don't think it's ethical to take his money and not willing to work productively. I don't know how to tell him my decision. I definitely don't want to be ungrateful or disrespectful, because I very much appreciate his support in the past year.
Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for the help.

This is not exactly the same situation, but closely related (especially the top answer).

If your advisor is a great as you describe then they will understand your situation and be willing to either work with you to help you enjoy your current field more, or be happy for you to go into an area where you are more passionate.
It is to no advantage to a good supervisor (who is looking out for your best interest) to have you work in an area that you dislike. But, they may have a broader perspective and want to talk to you about that. Things like: What caused things to change? Is there anything that they can do to help improve things? They may see that you have strong potential that you can't see as clearly - which could be influencing your desire to leave the field. (Or not, I have no idea - but a good advisor may want to talk to you about these things.)
So, my advice is just to be direct and honest. Set up a meeting as soon as is appropriate and don't be afraid to have the discussion.
I left a professor that was funding me during my PhD and she was great about it - no hard feelings. And, I have no hard feelings about students who have, in the end, decided not to work with me.

In academia, like in any other professional environment, we appreciate people who are interested and passionate about their job. But we also appreciate responsible people who get the things done.
Research projects require considerable resource, and PhD projects are not an exception. Your contributions via doing the RA work does not fully cover the cost of research - your PI and your University contribute most of it by maintaining the lab, the office environment, and probably by paying your stipend. However, it is you and only you who can complete your PhD project. And it is you who are responsible for it.
Please analyse your feelings and motivations. After two years in, you feel that you lost interest to the topic. How did you realise when it happened? What would you feel if you had to stay on course for another day? week? month? year? until completion? Which timeline here really starts to hurt and why is that?
Are you sure that what you feel is not an anxiety induced by your fear to complete your thesis and make it public, exposing your work to the external world, where it can be met with criticism (or praise)? Perhaps, you may need someone to help you better understand you feelings and motivations.
Academic professional work consists almost entirely of publication deadlines, milestones where our research projects must be completed and results must be made public. At the same time, we never can fully predict or anticipate the results of research. Living and working with this uncertainty is a part of academic experience. You won't be able to escape this part by moving to another group. There are no easy solutions here, and perhaps the easiest is to embrace responsibility for the resources and trust put into you and to get your work done.

Wow! a really tough situation. On one hand you have the opportunity to continue to be supported by someone whom cares and believes in you. On the other you want to be free to make decisions about your own life without anyone taking it personal. In life people take things personal! Yes, it's not professional but when someone puts time and resources into you they want you to remain committed despite your reservations.
Yes you could leave your group and go for something you're more passionate about, but would you get the same type of  deal? People talk to each other even if they seem like they don't. Would your new group look at you as a "trader" if they found out you had support and turned your back on your previous team because it got a little rough? Drama, folks love it, thrive off of it and will at your expense. I would say have a heart to heart with your current team let them know of your intentions while remaining politically correct and discuss with the new professor about your reservations to leave your old team but you can be more committed to this new challenge.
Do what's in you, try and be prepared if things don't work out the way you want. Live with whatever you may regret.


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How should one 'pitch' a research idea to someone in another institution?
And moreover, how to do so outside of one's own discipline?  I realize the burden of entry is necessarily high in this kind of case, but if I have a literature search, discussion, and conclusion written, followed by tentative methodology proposal, would that be enough to 'shop around' to researchers in relevant fields?
(background: I am working in the humanities, although before switching tracks I'd gotten a BS in cognitive and perceptual psychology, with 3+ years of experience working in a human factors lab.  However, having kept up with other fields after switching to humanities, I've noticed some implications in a biomedical paper; I've emailed authors in and around that topic, and while there's some interest, no one's in a position to experimentally follow up.)

What are you trying to accomplish? Why do you need them? Is the research question in humanities or biomedicine?

the research question is in biomedicine, although it uses biomedical findings to point out a potential application drawn from the anthropological + public health literature; I need them because the question must be answered using biomedical tools to which I do not have access (or the training to use); I am trying to accomplish an empirical corroboration or disproof of this potential application.

Do you want help? Critique? What? Can you clarify?

Please [edit] The question to provide more context. What kind of "implications" are you talking about here - some error in a high-profile publication, a further research topic, or some interesting discrepancy? Are you looking for someone to work with you, to jointly apply for funding, or to do all the work themself? Critically, as also pointed out in the current answer, why do you already have a conclusion when no experiment has been made yet?

This question is almost impossible to answer. It depends heavily on your position in academia and the details of your research. If you are an established researcher, it is not outlandish to "shop around" for a collaborator with a skill that you lack. If this is the case, I think what you are doing is appropriate - frustrating as it may be. You could also consider looking through university directories and identifying researchers who are working on your area of interest. Often labs will have public webpages describing research and whether or not they are open to collaboration. If you are coming from outside academia or are not well established, this could be more challenging.
But, fundamentally, I think your question is backwards. Generally, at least in my field, its rather poor form to write a conclusion and search for experimental validation after the fact - although I may be misunderstanding what you mean by:

I have a literature search, discussion, and conclusion written, followed by tentative methodology proposal.

It seems to me that if you have a conclusion and discussion, your paper should stand on its own. The experimental side may be nice to have and increase impact but could be pushed to a later date. In fact it may be easier to find a collaborator if you're idea has passed peer-review. If the paper needs experimental validation, anything you claim now is speculation. I can't imagine many researchers will be open to the vague post-hoc request of "prove this conclusion for me".
My recommendation is to either learn the skills necessary yourself (admittedly this may not be practical) or continue to do as you are doing and contact researchers in your field of interest. Your "pitch" need not be more complicated than a professional email stating that they are working in an area you are interested in and you would like to collaborate.

From my own experience, presenting a research idea to someone at another institution, especially outside of one's own discipline, is indeed challenging but not insurmountable. The key to success lies in clear, concise communication and demonstrating the interdisciplinary relevance and potential impact of your idea.
Given your background in humanities and previous experience in cognitive and perceptual psychology, plus your continuous engagement with various fields, you're in a unique position to propose interdisciplinary research. The challenge of finding someone with the resources and interest to pursue experimental follow-ups is significant, especially in fields as resource-intensive as biomedical research. However, your comprehensive preparation and the interdisciplinary nature of your proposal could be highly appealing to the right audience.
Keep in mind that persistence is key. Interdisciplinary research is increasingly valued for its potential to address complex questions, but finding the right collaboration partners often requires reaching out to many potential contacts and being prepared to refine your proposal based on feedback.


text:
How should I cite or reference books when I'm trying to compile a book (from other sources) for a specific course at my college?
So, I'm trying to compile a text for my fluid mechanics course, since my course does not follow one text, its difficult for reference. Most of the content will be taken word to word from established texts. So I want to know how to cite or reference those. If I do it for every section or paragraph, or just at the end as sort of a bibliography. Note that I might take content for a certain topic from different texts too.
Is there a certain set of rules to follow?

How do you  propose to avoid copyright violations?

I don't know. I have no idea about how this works. Is there a way I can take permission from the publishers? This book is not exactly meant for publishing. Only for student use within our department. However if we were to distribute it, it would require permissions I presume.

Are you in the US, or elsewhere. The rules vary widely.

I’m from India.

This isn't exactly an answer, but should help you find the answer. In the US, we have the concept of Fair Use of copyrighted works. It contains the idea that some educational uses are valid in spite of copyrights but there are limitations. India doesn't subscribe to that doctrine, but has, instead the concept of Fair Dealing which seems to be more precise in what it allows and it differs from country to country.
I point to both of these ideas, since some of what you wish to use might be covered by US law, but I'm not a lawyer and can't say. But both doctrines (I believe) are a matter of civil law, which implies potential lawsuits, not criminal law. But beyond legal doctrine, there is also the issue of your professional reputation.
Unless your college is very small they probably have an office that has access to lawyers skilled in intellectual property law. You should try to contact that office and ask them about the requirements and what are your proper actions.
It may be that you need to seek permission from at least some of the publishers holding copyrights. If that is the case, then they will tell you how the work you copy should be cited. It will probably include a copyright notice as well as the citation. For those you can use under Fair Dealing, it would be advisable to note the copyrights.
I assume that some copyright holders will give you permission for things you can't do freely but will charge something per copy. This can be passed to students or absorbed by the college, I assume.
I'll note that your proposal has the effect of reducing the demand for the works you copy. That is a major consideration under Fair Use, and may or may not be under Fair Dealing. And selling a composed book to students might be another consideration in the law, rather than making it available without cost.
There is, however, another possibility that may fit your need or not. Some large publishers will publish several books on a general subject and some of them are willing to create a custom textbook containing chapters from several different books. These can be sold to students, though I doubt they are cheap.

Thank you for the information.


text:
How to gain research experience after undergrad?
After graduating with B.Sc Computer Science last year, I got interested in compilers and kernel. I started reading research papers and finally decided to pursue masters, but most programs favour research experience.
I am an Indian student and reseach opportunities are very rare here, I approached my professors but haven't received any positive responses. Is there some other way I can gain some research experience, especially in India? or find someone who can guide me to perform some research Individually, Since I'm not sure where to start exactly.

Which university requires research experience to enroll into masters? Are you talking about M.Sc CS? As far as I know, most universities just conduct entrance exams, and some of those conduct interview.

I want to apply for masters in canada, MASc CS. Even though research experience is optional, I still need to prove my research potential, where some experience definitely helps.


text:
Do I cite both sources in the following scenario?
When you have sources X and Y that are similar in content/relay similar ideas, but only choose to use source X in an essay, and then summarize/paraphrase source X, but have source Y on your mind while summarizing/paraphrasing source X because it (source Y) can be summarized/paraphrased the same way and/or can technically apply to your essay as well, are you supposed to cite source Y in your essay too? Can you say that source Y “influenced” your summary/paraphrase of source X?

I'd say cite both if you're using both of them to support whatever argument or claim you're writing. Unless you're writing for a journal that has strict number on in-text citation counts, it doesn't hurt to cite multiple sources if they were both important in generating a given idea.


text:
What to do if my internet connection drops during the exam?
Next week I will start having online exams. One of the rules is that the camera must stay on during the whole time. Unfortunately, my internet connection will occasionally drop. This will happen rarely (maybe a few times a day) and will last from one to a few minutes. I am very worried that if this happens during the exam the professor may be suspicious. What can I do to assure him I'm not cheating?

I believe you should best contact and ask the organisers/instructors of the courses you are taking the exams for. They are the only people authorized to advise you in this situation. Another person could be someone who acts as a personal tutor to you, although he/she may redirect you

And cross posted and closed here: https://workplace.stackexchange.com/q/158004/75821

That is usually covered in the documentation and what the professor decides both prior to and after a situation.


text:
How do I professionally communicate to a colleague that I am not interested in helping with his project anymore?
I'm a PhD student in a pretty large lab, and have come from a more theoretical background than the other members, so sometimes they ask me to help out with theoretical parts of projects. Generally I like this, but a postdoc recently asked me to help out with his project, and I tried to help but it has gone poorly. We've gotten nowhere, I find his problem ill-defined and don't actually understand what he wants from me, and he even seems to want me to take lead on the project. At this point, I'm not interested. Recently he emailed me asking for progress and I told him I hadn't had time to work on it, because I had 3+ other projects that I'm working on.
Then he suggested emailing my supervisor to ask if my supervisor could "give me more time to work on his project". I don't want this. Also, I briefly talked to my supervisor about this, and he agreed that it wasn't worth allocating time to if I wasn't interested. How do I communicate to this guy that my supervisor doesn't dictate what I spend time on, and I'm just not interested in following up at this point - politely? I literally just don't know what to say.

It's worth noting that in long run, in academia you'll pretty much always will have far more projects, research ideas and potential collaborations that you'll be able to execute even if you genuinely would be interested in them.

The question of how to give someone a rejection is culture dependent and in different countries there's a different best practice. Specifying where you are located would be helpful.

Your project is nice, but I now decided for myself that I can't invest more time in it. I'm too busy with other projects which have priority for my current research interests (so, talking to my advisor won't fix the issue).

And just repeat that same basic point when he tries to argue/discuss with you.

Thanks, that's well put and what I was looking for. :)

Glad you like it.

I mostly agree with this answer, except "your project is nice, but" sounds like a fake compliment. I would replace that with a genuine statement about the past (if you can say it honestly): "I really enjoyed working with you on this project earlier this year. However, going forward I am too busy with other projects..."

Alternatively: "Thanks for your interest in continuing to involve me."

I assume that the working experience wasn't that enjoyable, hence the fake mild compliment for professional niceness. I think it's mostly culture-specific if professional niceness is needed.

"Thanks for your interest in continuing to involve me" is a bit icky. When you're rejecting someone, the only nice thing you mention shouldn't be the fact that they were interested in you.

@lighthousekeeper: I think "nice, but" sounds very negative -- worse than not even including a compliment. If you want to include a fake mild compliment, maybe structure the e-mail in the opposite order, with the fake mild compliment to the end? : "Talking to my advisor won't fix the issue: my other projects have priority for my current research interests, so I can't invest more time in yours (much as I'd like to)."

@ruakh "much as I'd like to" can easily be a venue to bring up the topic later again when OP seems to have more time again for some reason. I'd be careful with that.

@FrankHopkins: True, but the OP is unlikely to ever completely run out of other work that (s)he can deem higher-priority; and if (s)he somehow does, then (s)he may actually find it worthwhile to revisit this project, especially if the postdoc has sorted things out more by then. (And according to the question, the OP has already chosen to emphasize other priorities rather than to express a lack of interest. There doesn't seem to be a compelling reason to change approaches now, IMHO.)

@lighthousekeeper including an insincere compliment may be appropriate, but it shouldn't be obvious it's insincere. This one is blatantly false.

I think the issue you are facing is an important life lesson I had to learn (just an opinion). I think the real root of this issue is you feel bad. You don't like the idea of letting the other person down, and it makes you feel obligated. Maybe what I am stating is obvious, because if you weren't interested, and you felt comfortable saying no, then you would have by now.
The first thing I learned, is that when I pretend I am interested in something that somebody else is doing, they expect I truly am. I get their hopes up. They are starting to plan with me included in those plans. In other words, it's a waste of their time, and the sooner you say no, the better is is for them. So don't feel bad. You are helping them out and are helping them find somebody who actually is interested and will contribute sooner. And if you are friends with this person, you risk making the friendship/professional relationship go sour if you don't contribute like they expect you to. They might see you has phony or lazy which isn't true.
The second thing, is your time is important and it always will end up looking worse for you the more you try to cover things up. The more you lie or potentially act interested, the more he is going to push for ways to either keep you interested or communicate with people to keep you involved. He needs to know it's a firm no coming from you. You can say something like:
"Hey I really thought I had time to take on this project, but I don't. I have other things stressing me out that I need to take care of, and I apologize if I wasted any of your time".
Be firm. Don't act like you are thinking about it. If he asks what the problems are, just say it's personal. It's your life and he needs to respect that. You can also just straight up say:
"I thought I was interested, but I'm not I'm so sorry. I have a lot of other things going on and I would just be wasting your time".
Don't like either? That's fine, but realize if you try to say "my supervisor said it was a bad idea" he might reach out to your supervisor or ask you to reach out, then what do you say? Then it becomes obvious it's really you that just flat out does not want to work on it anyways and ends up looking worse for you. I would try to be as direct and honest as possible.

""I thought I was interested, but I'm not I'm so sorry" - this is the right direction. Perhaps making clear that this came out of a process is even better, e.g. "I thought I would be more interested in the direction, but as we worked on it, I got the feeling this not exactly down the route I'd like to go."

Or you could split the difference: "When I first responded I was perhaps unrealistic about how much time your project would require."  But yes, I think this response is on the right track.

I don't think the OP wasted anyone's time. This sounds a bit too apologetic to me. Even though I agree with the overall sentiment that something is holding the OP back from just saying "I'm not interested anymore".

@user2705196 I totally agree; it really depends on the person. I feel like saying sorry says I feel bad for initially saying yes and is more genuine. To each their own.

As PhD students, and in academia in general, we can take projects and their outcome very personally and empathically. This is good when it leads to excitement and motivation but can also lead to disappointment and guilt. I think it is good to learn to be more pragmatic and accept that

Eventually deciding that a problem is ill-defined,
Prioritizing time towards promising projects,
Working with the people whose research interest are most closely aligned to yours

are all natural aspects of research. Feelings don't have to play a major part in these decisions. Learning to manage your projects objectively and in a level-headed manner is difficult enough. I would advise you to try not to personally burden yourself of the additional emotional weight of this other person's research progress.
On the flip side, a more senior person in academia (post-doc / professor) also has to learn to compose with the interest of their collaborators. If the person has any sense, they will not try to involve you if they understand you have no interest. A collaborator's interest might come and go depending on the advancement or results of a project – this is normal.
That being said

Answering politely that you are busy with other projects, as recommended by other answers, is totally fine. Giving a realistic assessment of the time you can allocate to the project is the right thing to do, even if that time is null. This will allow the person to rethink the management of the project.
Optionally, you can develop further and explain the reasons why your interest has shifted, why you think the problem is ill-posed, and what troubles you in the direction that the project has taken. While requiring more work and reflection on your part, this is a very kind thing to do, and shouldn't be see as negative. Constructive criticism can help the person's thoughts on that project, and could also help them understand how to lead a more successful collaboration next time.

Your final point is a good one and is missing from the other answers (some of which seem to be suggesting to use a white lie as a cover). It could be that this colleague is not only wasting OP's time but is also wasting their own. Being maximally honest in a case like this could save their colleague a lot of wasted effort. Depending on the colleague and the dynamics of the lab, it might not be the smartest thing to do, but it is the most principled thing to do.

The final point works with a person respecting boundaries. Some people will try to deflect from the reason given if they feel they need OP's support (and that might be the case here). So, handle with care, if you really are not going to be swayed concerning leaving the project.

Yeah the takeaway I'm getting from this ("I tried to help but it has gone poorly. We've gotten nowhere, I find his problem ill-defined and don't actually understand what he wants from me") - you're not impressed with his work. You don't want to lend more of your time because you've (reasonably) become convinced that you'd be carrying the weight in the relationship, there's not much in it for you, and you have plenty of your own fish to fry. Good for you! This happens a lot in life and now's a great time to practice the firm no.
One good tack is to tell him that you've become overwhelmingly interested in {something else; e.g. bitcoin, interstellar travel, whatever} and you have a huge passion for pushing forward with it because it's the future, and you're sorry but he should find someone else; your heart and mind have become 110% committed to {this another, vague thing} - doesn't need too much detail other than a statement of passion for new thing. It's a brush-off but people are really accepting of it; they get the message that you cannot be convinced otherwise, it doesn't rub their nose in you leaving their thing behind, and they remember you as this passionate, driven, smart person who's shooting for the stars.  I'm sure you have several real things you are (more) passionate about than working with him, so just use one of those.  This method doesn't require you to provide any negative commentary about his project or his progress on it.
I kinda invented this by accident one time (I really was wildly passionate about 'new thing'), noticed how well it worked (even if 'new thing' is pretty far-fetched, people respect passion even if they quietly pity your foolishness; 'I'm inventing a new currency to replace bitcoin!') and it comes in pretty handy here and there.
Footnote: It's just about conceivable that he'll try to guilt-trip you, in which case F that guy frankly, you totally dodged a bullet.

Why don't you simply say verbatim what you wrote in question: "I'm not interested"?
You won't make it better to anyone by sugarcoating it, trying to invent excuses or giving false hopes. It is not your project. You're not obliged to be interested in it. If other party is stubborn enough enough, this will only give them reasons to invest more into trying to get you on board and the more they invested, the more they will be dissatisfied in the end.
"I'm not interested. I don't want to take time from my other tasks. Sorry, I can't help you anymore."
You can explain project's problems to be extra nice, but make sure to stress that it isn't checklist for "fix that and then I'll agree" while doing so.

Cultural aspects looming large again. In the cultural spaces I'm familiar with, that would be perceived as very rude -- you would only say that in response to an absurd/overly bold request, or if the other person keeps insisting after you already said no.

Of course one can make it better by sugarcoating, if done in a right way. If you claim not, you should at least state your culture.

@lighthousekeeper According to question, that's exactly what's going on. Other person keeps insisting while issuing pretty bold requests to OP to drop his other projects in favor of this one.

@OlegV.Volkov Hmm, it appears that OP so far hasn't said "no" yet in any capacity.


text:
How do I reference in a figure legend?
I am citing a figure I have taken from a journal. In my figure legend do I only include the number citation or do I need to state the figure is taken from somewhere else?
i.e Figure shows a cat [1]
or
Figure shows a cat. Taken from [1]
Thanks!

Or maybe Figure [1] shows a cat.

@GoodDeeds good point!

Is this for a course assignment or something you intend to publish?

@BryanKrause This is for my PhD thesis

@Sam Ok; make sure you have the necessary rights and permissions to reuse the figure (only a citation is not necessarily sufficient). If it's your own figure, most journals (and every one I am familiar with) have a policy stating it's no problem to reuse in a thesis and no special permission is needed, but you should check anyways. If it's someone else's then it depends on licensing and also on copyright laws by jurisdiction.

When you plan to reuse a figure taken from a journal paper, you should first ask permission to the copyright owner which, in most cases, is the journal publisher. Every publisher has its own procedure to make such a request, but usually you will be at least asked to specify where you want to republish the figure (in this case, specify PhD thesis).
The publisher will typically grant permission to reuse for free and it will also specify how it wants its copyright to be stated. Here are a couple of real examples:

Reproduced with permission from [1] ©IOP Publishing. All rights
  reserved.
© 2018 IEEE. Reprinted, with permission, from [1].

If your citation style is non-numeric, substitute the appropriate citation style.
In my experience, many people frequently overthink this procedure, as though obtaining the permission to republish could involve going through an obstacle course race, and sometimes they plan to spend hours to redo a figure which is just a few clicks away.

Thank you, it didn't even occur to me about permissions! I'll get that sorted right away

I think the most appropriate method is to give the information in the caption of the figure.

Fig 1. An example cat figure from the paper "Interesting Cats" by
  Johnson et al. [1]

Permission
Contrary to what the accepted answer says, it is not always necessary to get permission from the copyright holder (or author) to reproduce a figure (or quote a block of text). Check your local legislation, but most countries have a provision similar to the American "fair use" whereby reproduction for the purposes of scholarly criticism is allowed without any need for copyright request.
Notice, however, that something is not scholarly criticism just because it appears in a PhD thesis. I cannot give any good legal advice but if you are not saying anything more than what the author said in the original source, or if the figure could be omitted without significantly impairing the ability to understand the text, you are probably in the red; on the other hand, if you point to parts of the data that were not analyzed in the original publication, or if you discuss the figure as representative of a previous state-of-the-art (and describe the known shortcomings), you are probably OK.
Furthermore, it is possible that some publishers will require permission even when not legally required. I doubt thesis committees take a close look at this, but journal editors might. I cannot tell either way since I have only ever published one paper with the inclusion of a preexisting figure (from someone of my research group and published in the same journal, so an exceedingly favorable case for an editor to overlook a transgression).
Citation/use
I use "(rest of the caption). Taken from [1]" when I reproduce a figure from a former publication without change, and "(rest of the caption). Adapted from [1]" when I add modifications to the figure (arrows pointing to interesting points of data, zooming on a part of the figure, rewriting physical symbols to match the conventions in context, etc.).
I cannot say how common that practice is, but it is what I used for my PhD thesis (which went through my advisors and committee), and I decided on it after imitation of other papers.


text:
Is a Masters Degree required to pursue a PhD?
I recently heard someone saying that you don't need a Masters to pursue a PhD. Since I have never heard of people who got PhDs without Masters, I wanted to know whether this is true and how common is it for people to get a PhD without Masters?
I would also like to know if this is true for Engineering related fields specifically.
In other words, can someone who has just finished their undergrad apply for a PhD?

Very common in the US because a PhD program is typically 5-6 years where the first 2 correspond to a masters. Sometimes a masters is even awarded along the way, otherwise it is just awarded if you drop out.

(there are numerous other duplicates here too; try searching the site a bit)


text:
Writing an arXiv paper without "Introduction" or "related work" sections
Many conferences and journals demand that a paper must follow certain guidelines; otherwise the paper will not get accepted.
For example:

Writing introduction section
Writing previous related work

Is it okay to not follow these guidelines while writing an arXiv version? I want to directly write the main result and its proof, and put that on arXiv.
Note: I take an exceptionally good amount of time to write an Introduction since I am not good with framing English sentences. And since my research area is a competitive one, I do not want to get scooped in that time.

Related works is an important section of the paper to give the readers a sense as to why your method works better and why the others haven't. An intro can be compressed into the abstract but it is generally not recommended. May be cut short it into half and just specify the important points?

ArXiv's submission guidelines state that

Submissions to arXiv should be topical and refereeable scientific contributions that follow accepted standards of scholarly communication.

A manuscript that doesn't provide any context is unlikely to meet that standard, and may be declined by a moderator. In any case, the golden rule in technical communication is to consider the audience (hopefully your preprint will find some interested readers!) and what they'd find useful. Context and discussion of the relation to prior work tend to be quite useful.
Note, however, that ArXiv's guidelines don't specify that you need to write a perfect introduction. I've sometimes found myself stuck on one or two key opening sentences, trying to get them just right, instead of writing productively. If you face a similar issue, here's a method I've found useful. First consider what points you want to make, and maybe key works you want to cite, in order to have some structure to work from. Then force yourself to just put something down on (a possibly figurative) paper, in order to get started. If you edit that a few times, I would be surprised if you don't have something that's at least refereeable. More advice along these lines can be found here.


text:
How to communicate to my supervisor that I might not be ready for PhD completion yet?
I am a 5th year Ph.D. student in Computer Science. My advisor thinks that I have made a good progress during my Ph.D. and I should give my Ph.D. synopsis presentation. In the Ph.D. synopsis presentation, the student briefly presents the work to the research committee so that they give approval of writing the doctoral thesis or any final feedback. If done, it means the Ph.D. is almost completed.
However, I think that I have made good progress but not to a level that I expected. I do not have quality publications yet. I have 2 tier B papers, 1 tier A paper, and 2 papers (average ones) currently under submission. How should I communicate to my supervisor that my Ph.D. might not be a good Ph.D.? Also, should I even communicate this issue to him or not?

Frame challenge: you're definitely ready for your PhD. Trust your advisor. You have plenty of papers. It is not in anyone's interest to drag out your PhD needlessly.

@TomvanderZanden Thanks. It was good to hear. However, isn't it the case that the quality of a Ph.D. is judged by the quality of papers and not the quantity? that worries me.

@IY2 isn't it the case that the quality of a PhD is also judged by the supervisor (who thinks you're ready..)?

@Jeroen Yeah. That is also correct.

I don't know what ranking system you're using but "one A and two B's" sounds like they're pretty good papers to me.

@TomvanderZanden There is A* tier also, consisting of top 3-4 venues. I do not have any paper in that.

I think you're approaching this from the wrong direction. Talk to your supervisor about what you want to do after the PhD: whether those goals are currently realistic; whether they'd become more realistic if you spent another 6 or 12 months on the PhD. Of course there's some element of personal satisfaction involved, but otherwise a PhD thesis is just a means to an end. Remember, the sooner you submit, the sooner you can start earning (more) money!

Yes, have a conversation about it with your advisor and take their advice.
There are a number of good reasons to finish and move on to your next steps. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
It is a great thing to finish your doctorate with a bundle of things "yet to be done", "future directions", "work in progress". It gives you things to do as you start those next steps. You also have a lot to talk about in any employment interview.
You may have a mild case of "imposter syndrome", actually - "my work isn't good enough". Well, your advisor, who should know these things and has some experience thinks otherwise.
Once you begin your next steps, nobody (nearly) will judge you on the quality you perceive in your thesis. It is your first major work, but it shouldn't be your best work. Look forward.

I am apparently a somewhat rare breed - I have a habit of skimming through theses of potential collaborators. It is about as much of an impact as you might see on your future evaluation: to most, you would just become a PhD and that is it. Do I even bother looking up publications? No. I look for ambition, certain poise with the flow of ideas, the way this person has structured their work.
The work itself will very likely become irrelevant in just a few years. Unless you are a total genius who is incredibly productive their entire lifetime or get lucky to achieve something groundbreaking during PhD*, it is not that special, and people will largely look at how you did it, not what you did. This applies first and foremost to the thesis committee.
Now, I also can completely relate to being unhappy with the work while pretty much everyone around says I could just defend whatever I did these few years. It is not an insignificant milestone, but pushing back on the notion that it will be something perpetual for generations to come is much needed. Now is a good time to adjust your goalposts. I have struggled for quite a while with publishing "not top-notch" results as well, and the thesis itself is similar. What helped was Hamming's "You and your research" talk: spend your energy on something important. When the time comes to showcase some big work you have done, write a book or two! Until then, publish and move on to the next problem.
*If this was the expected outcome, all we'd be doing was PhDs!


text:
Reviewing a paper that is build on a paper not peer-reviewed yet
I am reviewing a paper 'X' that is heavily built on an existing paper 'Y'. The paper Y is available on arXiv; however, it has not been peer-reviewed yet. It is only 4 months since it has been available on arXiv.
As a reviewer, is that my responsibility to verify the claims made in paper Y? or should I simply assume that to be correct and on that basis review paper X?

Wouldn't Paper X validate Paper Y? As long as paper X validates and confirms it can recreate the results from Paper Y, doesn't that give some validation to Paper Y?

@Issel Here, in some sense, paper 'Y' has been used as a black box to get paper 'X'.

What does your question have to do with the literature-review tag that you used?

Paper Y is the literature, that I am not sure if I should review.

Given that refereeing is a voluntary and little rewarded task, I don't think it is fair to demand verifying more than the paper at hand. The report should make clear what the referee knows and what they don't know. E.g., it could read:
The paper under review contains interesting new results, and the proofs are (to the best of judgement) correct. They do, however, rely substantially on results from the preprint Y which I have not read in detail. Should Y contain a substantial mistake, this could easily invalidate most of the results in the paper under review.
The ball is then with the editor to make a choice. Wait for Y to be published? Go ahead? Gather more information?

Actually, it would be a bit dangerous to assume that a paper on arXiv is correct. If you want to give more than a pro forma review then you need to look at the earlier paper to at least get an idea of its correctness.
If anything stands out as problematic then it will certainly affect whether you can recommend acceptance of this paper.
Alternatively you can just reject the review and tell the editor that the earlier paper needs to be validated first, delaying a proper review of this one.

For a conference submission, which has a firm deadline, I suggest passing the responsibility back to the Program Chair. They can, perhaps, offer advice. But it is their responsibility to put the program together in a timely way. Just give them whatever information you can to help them do their job. Heroic efforts are not required of reviewers, but a PC might just have a hero reviewer in reserve for hard cases. It may be that the situation you describe just means that this paper isn't yet "ripe" enough for this conference. The PC may be conservative in their judgement to preserve the integrity of the conference or might go "all out" to get a proper (complete) review. But that is their responsibility.

Good question. I provide two points of view:
a) According to the scientific community, anything not peer-reviewed is non-verified. Thus, you could reject the paper because it builds on non-verified sources. Building on non-verified (=non peer-reviewed) claims violates "the code of conduct" for research. In computer science, this "code of conduct" is not even known to everyone, but in other disciplines even conference papers are considered as non-properly reviewed and a poor source. The authors should have been aware of this. It is certainly not on you to review two papers, but, in practice, I often end up reading multiple papers for a review, e.g. to assess contributions of a paper or to verify claims of a paper.
b) Many high-quality papers get published on arxiv.org and they are also cited a lot. While arxiv.org does not do any real reviewing, they do a very lightweight check of publications (e.g. is it copy&paste from somewhere else...) and they ensure that only members of reputable institutions can publish there. The average quality of an arxiv.org paper is arguably at least the level of a lower quality conference or journal. Furthermore, many reviewers only conduct "coarse" sanity checks. My guess is that less than 50% of issues in technical details (proofs) are caught by reviews. So, building upon an arxiv.org paper is arguably as good as using other sources.
What is the recommendation?
If it is a high profile conference/journal and the paper's claims require the non-peer reviewed source to be correct, you should probably reject it.
If you want to play it safe, reject.
If the claims are non-essential and it is a really good paper, you might give it a chance, you could lower your rating because of this and also state the issue clearly in the review as others suggested.

Thanks! for the answer. I agree with the first point. For the second point, I was under the impression that anyone can upload his/her paper on arXiv.

"anyone can upload his/her paper on arXiv" is roughly true, and there is no assumption that what is there is correct. There are a few rules: https://arxiv.org/help/submit

In which fields "even conference papers are considered non-properly reviewed"?

@P.Shark Being from the Computer Science field, I would say that almost all conferences impose a page limit of 9-12 pages for the main body of the paper. The content that is deferred to the appendix is optional for the reviewers to read.  Therefore, it is natural to infer that conference papers are not properly reviewed.

As a reviewer, is that my responsibility to verify the claims made in
paper Y? or should I simply assume that to be correct and on that
basis review paper X?

Neither.
It is your duty to verify the claims in paper X. Paper Y has not been peer-reviewed, and even if peer-reviewed you should know before hand if it holds true, no "assumption" here.
In theory and in an ideal world, if it has been peer reviewed it has been accepted by the community and it is part of the state-of-art knowledge on the topic[1].
Reference to paper Y are absolutely needed? if yes then the paper message is not adequately supported. If not, they should not appear in the paper, but they should belong in the acknowledgments (maybe the authors of X are trying to show they are not trying to copy work done by someone else, because they are just extending on the idea published in Y and they want to explicitly mention this).
[1] yes, the reviewer has such an extreme important role. Don't take it lightly.

You seem to be expected a level of self-containedness of articles that makes no sense at all in mathematics.

@Arno either the content of paper Y is true, or it was true until confuted. No speculations, no assumptions, no self-containedness. Are we on SE:Mathematics, by the way?

Sorry but "either the content of paper Y is true, or it was true until confuted" isn't how math works. It is just the opposite. It is "unknown" until proven or disproven. Actually, the same is true in many fields. Anything can be claimed. Few can be shown to be true.

So @Buffy you mean that the conclusion "Chloroquine is effective in preventing the spread of SARS CoV in cell culture" from this paper https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1232869/ is unknown? I thought that it was true, and it was as true as what it says, that spread of SARS CoV in cell culture is prevented by Chloroquine.
Then, if you build paper X citing Y, stating that Chloroquine prevents SARS CoV in human, then it is unknwon, until the conclusions of the paper, which must be supported by the paper content.

I'm not qualified to judge the cited paper, but if it hasn't been independently verified then nothing is "known", just claimed. However, if X "depends" on this paper (as opposed to just citing it), then X is questionable until the cited paper is validated. Such papers can have errors - even intentional ones, though, as I say, I can't judge the case. The cigarette companies "proved" pretty conclusively (???) that smoking doesn't cause cancer. Lots of citable literature.

@Buffy I thought we were discussing general prinicples, not specific (bad-intentioned) cases. anyhow, in principle peer-reviewed paper from cigarette companies were true, until confuted (which was easy, because to confute grossly falsified papers is easy, given enough time and resources are spent).
Why do you focus on cigarettes, by the way? have a look at diabetes and sugar history https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/sugar-s-sick-secrets-how-industry-forces-have-manipulated-science-downplay-harm


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Undergraduate research feels like it is going nowhere. Any advice from someone experienced?
A bit of a preface; I am an electrical engineering undergraduate student. Almost exactly a year ago I asked a professor I had as a freshmen (I'm a junior now) about joining a research team. I was very surprised when he messaged me back with "Come see me." Keep in mind, this professor is very old (in his 80s) and foreign born, so he's not the best at communicating in general with me. After sending me home with some totally unrelated papers he worked on in the 60s and 70s, he essentially told me that he'd find something. Well, about a month passed and nothing, so I messaged him again and he said he found something.
He put me with a PhD student working on something that sounded familiar and understandable from digital logic class. Well, we get started and this grad student is very nice. He runs me through some fundamentals of what I need to know. The important part of this is that he never tells me what we are actually working on. The next 6 months of my life turn into studying abstract algebra textbooks, not electrical engineering. I get sent packages of like 15 assorted research papers that look like complete gibberish to me. But whatever, I keep pushing onward.
Well, weeks turn into months and I start to lose motivation because I feel like I am left in the dark. I tell this grad student all the time that if there's any meetings I can go to to please invite me, but I never really get anything back. He finally gave me a vague idea of what we are doing about 6 months in. He seems to have either forgotten about me or just doesn't care. I feel like I am absolutely useless to this research. This further perpetuates me not wanting to even try to hike this mountain. I'm the kind of person that can accomplish great things if I feel like I have guidance. I don't know if he feels like I am incapable or doesn't want my name on his research paper. I am a first generation college student, so all of this is very new to me.
The last I spoke to him was right before spring break where he said he'd send me some materials, then this pandemic hit and I haven't heard from him in like 4 months. Any advice what I should do? I emailed him today and still haven't gotten a response. That old professor that got me the research retired this semester. I've never actually met the professor that my grad student works under because, again, I feel like I am not important.

Undergraduate research feels like it is going nowhere.

That's normal.  If it were easy, it would have been done before, and it would not be research.

he's not the best at communicating

That's not normal.

he never tells me what we are actually working on

That's not normal.

if there's any meetings I can go to to please invite me, but I never really get anything back.

That's not normal.

I don't know if he feels like I am incapable or doesn't want my name on his research paper.

More likely he's disinterested.

I am a first generation college student, so all of this is very new to me.

<5% of people with college degrees have studied abstract algebra.  Being first generation isn't that relevant here.

I haven't heard from him in like 4 months

The pandemic doesn't excuse zero communication for four months (assuming he's alive).
Conclusion:  You are not receiving adequate research mentoring.  Find new mentors.

I agree except "Being first generation isn't that relevant here." It may not be relevant to studying abstract algebra, but it's potentially elevant to the rest.

Thank you for your response, I was beginning to feel like I was going crazy! Just for clarification, I said I was first generation to say that I don’t know if this sort of academic politics is normal. I don’t really know the culture all that well.

Many people who are not first generation would have no reference point for this situation either.


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Advice on reusing images/illustrations from an AIMS paper
I'm working on a chemistry paper about the Belousov-Zhabotinsky-reaction (a chemical oscillator).
On of my sources is this paper from the AIMS. In the paper the authors have a few figures, especially figure 2 (you can view it on the website). If permitted by the copyright, I would like to include the figure.
I've no idea how the copyright is regulated with such papers. The AIMS website provides even an option to download the full-size figure.
What is the copyright for DOI-papers (by the AIMS)? And how can I determine such a thing the next time (if it has an DOI)?
For this specific case, is it allowed to include the figure, on the condition of correct reference?

Did you consider asking the author directly?

One problem with images is that they can be considered a "complete work" in themselves, even when part of a larger work. (One picture is worth a thousand words.) So "fair use" can get more complicated. So, yes, ask the authors.

In general the authors will have assigned all copyright for figures to the journal upon submission/publication. I'm not familiar with the journal in question but it does not look to be any different from any I've ever seen (it has a title, volume, page number etc so is 'normally' citeable). If you wish to reproduce figures from any journal or other source then you need to contact the publisher. This is usually just a formality.
In this case the contact page for the AIMS (https://www.aimsciences.org/common_news/column/contact) indicates you should get in touch with the Editorial Manager - editorial@aimsciences.org "Regarding the book/journal editorial process, book orders, Printed version claims, copyrights" (emphasis mine)

Thanks for researching that @jovisg!


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Research Summary Article Published. Can I Submit the Full Research Paper Elsewhere?
Last year, I submitted an original research paper (approx 3000 words) to a public health journal (USA). The editors advised me that they were unable to assign it sufficient priority to allow publication as a full research paper, however, they invited me to resubmit it as a research summary article (approx 700 words) which was published 6 months ago. My question is as follows: Would it be feasible for me to resubmit the full research paper somewhere else?

This is quite common in CS as well. The summary and full paper being submitted at two different venues/journals.

Almost certainly, but you need to take a couple of precautions.
It is likely that you gave up copyright to the summary article so you need to assure that you don't infringe that copyright. The easy way for that is to let the editor of the original know that you intend to submit and get assurance that they don't object. Perhaps they will issue you a specific license. If you didn't give up copyright then this is not an issue. It is also possible that you already have a sufficient license from the publisher even if you did sign over most of the rights.
But the other issue is that your full article needs to avoid any hint of self plagiarism. I think in this case the easy way is to put in a notice, even a footnote that a summary was previously published of the same material, along with a citation. Then it is clear to a reader what is going on and that (some of) the ideas had been previously published. This note also informs the new publisher of the older work, which is necessary in any case.
The main reason for avoiding self plagiarism in this case is just to provide complete context for a reader. This is especially necessary if there are some things in the summary that aren't in the full paper. But, over citation is a safe way to assure that there is no misunderstanding of intent.

Also, in whatever versions of your CV and list of publications you put out, you should somehow indicate these are two versions of the same paper.


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Do you need to state that you have written permission from the copyright holder of the image I use as cover
I am using a picture for the cover of my thesis. I received written permission from the copyright holder of this picture that I may use it for this purpose.
Do I need to make a comment somewhere in my thesis that I have this written permission and if so, where shall I make this comment? Or do even I need to include the entire written permission, perhaps in an appendix.

It is common in book length material to give a citation of the photo, perhaps in a footnote. The title page, if present, or a page just following, is possible. So is a footnote on the last page, which is probably a list of references. Another possibility is on an "Acknowledgements" page, if present.Just mark the citation for the photo as "used with permission".
The citation is necessary in any case since the work isn't yours.
It isn't necessary to include the entire permission statement. But keep a copy of the statement.


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Advisor is unhappy with M.Sc. research results and is showing signs of preventing the student from graduating. What should be done?
I am having difficulties with an advisor who has not been clear with me on my research project, and I am fearful that I will not be allowed to graduate on time. What should I do? Please allow me to explain:
(Please note I am trying to be as vague as possible to conceal the situation and identities).
Previously, I was working at a company that was taking advantage of me, so me starting my M.S. was a ticket out of a bad work situation. I did not have many options to begin this program, and I really wanted to study this subject. So I began a M.S. program. The tough part of this situation was that I was introduced to a project right in the middle of it, so right from the start, it was rocky. There were probably less than 20 minutes devoted by the advisor to explaining the project to me, and it really wasn't set up for the kind of measurements that I was to take. It really wasn't set up for success to begin with, in my opinion.
The first year did not go well because of said reasons. Being more prepared the second year, I accomplished everything that the advisor wanted me to. I was therefore not able to do it the first year, but with the second year, I was able to get significant results. This work was to be included in a M.S. thesis, but the professor wanted me to  produce work that could be published in a scientific journal. However, in my area of study, it is not usually possible to publish results with only one year of data. The advisor did not like this, and is continuing to push me to analyze other kinds of data to try to make results that would be deemed publishable.
With this in mind, the data that I did collect makes a good thesis chapter. The original objective that was only briefly explained to me was accomplished, with results that showed the success of my experiment. However, knowing that I may not be able to publish it, my professor is telling me that what I have as a thesis article will not meet the advisor's expectations for graduation. I am trying other means of data analysis, but am not getting significant results. These results are not pleasing to this individual.
This problem is further complicated because the professor will not give me clear directions on where to head with this project. Every time I ask for help, I get no clear answers, just papers sent to me that only partially relate to my project. I do think that if my thesis is not going to be considered 'good enough,' there needs to be specific suggestions for improving it. But there are none. To make matters worse, I have not been prioritized, having been blown off several pre-arranged meetings with no apologies. I just never get a clear answer, and I often feel afraid to approach this person.
I feel like I can defend my thesis chapter well, but I am concerned that this person will ask me a whole bunch of questions during my defense (might not be related to my thesis) that I will not understand just because they are upset at my insignificant results. The committee may deem me unfit to graduate if I'm not able to answer them. It is not a requirement to publish in a peer-reviewed journal to graduate, so I have not failed that expectation.
As I feel like I have been short-handed in this process with no direction provided, what steps can I take to get around this? I want to graduate, but I feel like politics may impede this. Has anybody ever heard of anything similar? Is there an appeal process that I could take, if I am not allowed to graduate?
Thank you for reading!

start by talking to the graduate chair of your department, and possibly an ombudsman, if your department or University has one.

@Evariste I don't know if your comment was flippant, but if your situation is really causing you to consider self-harm, please seek professional help, or at the very least, talk to a trusted friend or family member about how you feel. This project is not worth your life.

@ssquidd: it doesn't sound like negotiating with the advisor is going to be productive. Going to the graduate chair is the next step up the chain.


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How to answer a non-specific point of a review?
I'm in the rebuttal stage of a conference paper and I'm having trouble to answer in a specific way to a point raised by a reviewer. The reason is that is completely non-specific:

[...] and some subtle conditions are not discussed by the authors.

and the previous sentences are unrelated with the final one, so I don't have a clue on what he's speaking about.
It's quite frustrating, since it seems to me very unfair that he/she doesn't give me the opportunity to defend my paper. How can I answer in some constructive way?

You can email the editor asking them to seek clarification from the reviewer. I did this once and it worked out.

Try to interpret it in any possible way. Think what he could possible thought about and discuss this. Start by saying that "unfortunately, the concern of the reviewer was not specific, so I will try..."

I guess I won't be too popular for saying this, but you seem to have the wrong idea about what is going on. The point isn't to "defend your paper" or "rebut the reviewer" but to take constructive criticism of the paper so that you can improve it for the conference and for the future. It isn't a debate. It is a search for a way to express some scientific truths through a cooperative process.
That said, you can't respond to what you don't know. As user Miguel says in a comment, the editor may be able to help you here if you say that you don't understand the comment and ask if the reviewer can give more specific advice.
When you get the advice, hopefully you will, you can take it into account for a revision. But not just to complain about it. You won't win much by arguing. Your paper will only be accepted if it stands on its own, without side arguments in its favor.
Please note that I'm not being insulting here. Nor were your reviewers if they made suggestions about the paper that you didn't really want to read.

Counterpoint: I often see this kind of arguments in "phoned in" reviews. Remarks need to be precise, otherwise, we would be just wasting time.


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Research jobs in industry
I have earned a PhD last year in materials science (semiconductor processing). Now I find myself in a job where most of the work is managing other people. To mee it seems like most of my former colleagues at university share the same fate.
What are your experiences? Have some of you found a job in industrial research which is really hands on like at university?
In particular I am interested in the field of semiconductor processing.

Who are those people you manage?  Are they those with less education than a Ph.D., but they have the hands-on research job you would prefer to have?

No. They do not have the hands-on research jobs I want. Basically I have to coordinate projects and have to talk to the experts of the processes that are involved and tell them what is needed.

We have all heard the old saw: "those who can, do; those who can't, manage". If that sums up your opinion, then you have two options: get a job as a basic researcher in industry (that is, as one of the people you currently manage) or in an appropriate academic environment (if you can find one that does not involve managing anybody).
You may, however, like to consider that some of the greatest scientific and technical achievements in the whole history of human activity have come from teams of individuals working together on a problem. Teams don't just work together automatically; they have to be managed. The skill of managing scientific research is to be prized:  by no means every brilliant researcher can do it, and very few so-called professional managers can do it either.
So, do not undervalue the importance of managing people.

Consider technical staff jobs at a national lab.
That being said, the post-docs in my groups have had to learn that the technologists should be doing much of the hands-on work. That is what they are there for, that is what they are good at. The techs may need hands-on help for really new stuff, but they should do the vast majority of day-to-day stuff in the lab.
You, the PhD staff member, are not paid to optimize beam, or machine and build something. You are paid to think up new research topics, get funding for those, and oversee the project to successful completion (whether or not that includes publications). Yes, you get to think deep thoughts and analyze the data generated by the techs. Even then, the very best techs will do most of the data analysis for you. If somebody else can do it, let them - you should be doing the things nobody else can do.


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Reputation in project
I would like to know your opinion about the following situation. I am currently a postdoc working on a project that is a continuation of my PhD work. The results are very promising and it seems likely that there will be a follow up project of the work while funding would be given by a prestigious grant.
However, since I did not work in academia for a few years and joined academia again for this project out of curiosity I am not the project leader. Due to this grant the project leader would get a tenure position in the end. I feel a bit fooled, because I did essentially all the work and I even wrote parts of the proposal for the follow-up project because the project leader is not really knowledgeable about the subject of the project.
I have the promise from the leader of the group that something similar is planned for me in the future but this is really uncertain because no one knows if such an opportunity will come again. I knew, that if the project will work out, that the current project leader would get the reputation, but now this does not seem right to me.
I will still be working in the follow-up project and without me it would not go on, but my motivation is going to zero at the moment.
What do you think about this situation?

Please clarify your specific problem or provide additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it's hard to tell exactly what you're asking.

"What do you think about this situation?" is quite vague and opinion-based, what exactly is your question?

In what way were you fooled? You left, the project continued (for a few years!), you rejoin and want, well, what exactly? Jealously never works out particularly well.

@Jon. That is the point, the project re-started when I re-joined and no one else had continued working on it in the meantime.

One of the often-misunderstood things about reputation is: It's not a zero-sum game. In a successful collaboration between two people, both can reap the benefits in terms of job offers, prestigious publications, funded grants, invitations to give talks.
In other words, focus on what the success of your PI/group leader could mean for you: It might mean that your position continues to be funded for a couple more years in which you can build up a better resume for permanent positions; it might mean that your PI's stature grows so that they can write you letters of recommendation that carry more weight; the success of your project might mean that they can stop working on other projects and work on things that you two are good at, and that that might mean more publications for you as well.
My take from your question is that you envy your PI's success. But that success is not to your detriment. It might be to your benefit, and that's what I would focus on.

As one mentor told me early in my grad student time, "Glory is not a thermodynamically conserved quantity"...

Hi Wolfgang, thank you for you thoughts about it. Indeed a very pragmatic answer. :)


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Are there application fees for PhD positions in Europe?
I'm new to the applying process and I'd like to ask a simple question. Does a PhD position in European universities require an application fee?

Why not check the websites of the programs you are interested in applying to?

Europe consists of 40+ countries and, although the Bologna process started to "harmonize the Europe higher education", the answer depends on the country - there is no answer to this question in this generality.

I applied to about 10 European universities for my PhD and only one (Oxford) charged a fee. But anyway, as others have said, it's not standardised so apply and you will find out.

This is completely dependent on the manner in which the PhD program is handled. If it is a purely research position that is applied for like a job, then there is typically no fee associated with it. However, if it is part of a "program" and involves coursework and other requirements, then there may be a fee associated with a formal application. You'll have to check the announcement of the position to be certain.