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How should I deal with critical comment that may affect on my research path?
A few days ago I posted a question on specific paper on RG. Another researcher says this is insulated paper that really shocked me because it is central to my research.
After I saw this comment I contact this person to get more explanation that may guide me but he didn't respond.
The paper name is "Multimodal Registration of Remotely Sensed Images Based on Jeffrey’s Divergence, 2016" and my interest is multimodal image registration, below you will find a screenshot for the discussion.

I post this question to get some advice from senior researchers that may pass through a situation.
Update: How can Q1 journal accept to publish insulated work?
Thanks

@Nat I read the word correctly but my worry come from this comment because I don't want to put effort on work no one accept to publish.

Was the "insulated work" comment really by another researcher? The comment reads as if it was made by the paper's author (or at least by the one to which you addressed the question). Can you clarify the situation?

Why would a Q1 journal not accept a paper because the author does not generally work on that field? They will just have a look and if its good accept it. To repeat what other people said: The paper itself is good, the author is telling you that he/she does not work on that topic, so they can not help you. The paper itself has absolutely not problem (at least none is shown in this interaction)

I think it would help if we knew what you think "insulated" means here.  It's not really clear what you are worried about.

How can Q1 journal accept to publish insulated work? Why shouldn't the journal accept it if it is good? There is nothing bad at all about an isolated work. It just means that the authors do not work on this topic any more.

@Angew the comment didn't post by the paper's author. Interestingly, the comment writer has 2 papers in multimodal image registration the latest one in 2009.

@VladimirF the commenter isn't the paper's author.

I have no idea what is meant by this question and I personally think the author of said paper would not be happy to have screenshots of online conversations with them be publicized in strange SE questions which are hard to understand...

@nagdawi: He didn't respond because he didn't want to give you his code. Contrary to their public opinions on whether others should release their code, researchers are not always happy to just send you a copy. What do they get in return? If the code is poorly written or if you find a bug, they may feel embarrassed—or you may be someone who might embarrass them. And if the code is good, they might want to retain the ability to use it for commercial advantage later. None of this should critically affect your research direction.

@Mehrdad There are other, far more innocuous explanations. If the screen shot is a threaded conversation, the OP has already gotten an answer, and they may feel they may not have more to contribute. Or they suspect the field has moved on, and may not have advice that they think is still relevant. Or they're busy, and don't feel like helping someone with a side project they've long since left behind.

"Insulated" is a strange word to use there, but that reads for all the world like "This was a one-off project for me I don't really work on anymore".
Many academics end up having those. It doesn't mean anything about your research, and definitely isn't "shocking".
To respond to your edit, one-off or isolated projects aren't inherently better or worse science than any other project, so there's no reason a top tier journal wouldn't publish someone's side study. Indeed one of my best publications is from a one-off project.

I find your answer absolutely correct. But, still the author would have guided in getting some more information on the work for OP (which is of course a personal choice).

Probably "insulated" is a spell-corrected typo for "isolated".

@JeffE In Italian, the word isolare means both to insulate and to isolate.  (The same is true in other romance languages, too.)  So it could also just be a small translation mistake.

@fomite I update my question. I appreciate any more advices from you.

@nagdawi See the edit

I suggest the reading 'isolated' --- he probably meant a one-off effort.
Isola is the Italian for island (from Latin insula). Isolare means to isolate and to insulate at the same time. The Italian writer may have had his/her wires crossed at that moment.
I ignore if there is an etymological connection between the notion of island and that of solitude/seclusion/isolation. As a matter of fact, small islands are sanctuaries for solitude, and Napoleon was confined to St Helena to stay in isolation.

Your answer sparked a chuckle from me.

You are right there is a connection: insula is latin for island and still valid Spanish. English insulate does indeed come from that latin word. On the other hand, isolate apparently comes through French and Italian, but still from the same word insula. It's easy for romance-based language speakers to mix the two. In English they have different meanings ( ngram comparison ).

authors: Vladimir F Героям слава


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Is it okay to defer accepting a PhD scholarship to see if I get accepted into foreign Universities?
If I apply for a PhD scholarship at my current university, where I'm completing my honours, they'll notify me within 6 weeks of the deadline November 1st.
However, other universities I'd like to apply to overseas won't tell me until as late as March next year.
Is it acceptable to defer acceptance until I get a rejection from my preferred university? I really don't want to come across as ungrateful for the opportunity.

When does your university put the acceptance deadline date?

There are some variations between countries, but generally when you are awarded a scholarship tied to a PhD program the scholarship is automatically given to you as soon as you enroll. So you cannot defer accepting a scholarship. So you should figure out how the scholarship is paired with the admission process, if you have to enroll within a certain time of having received the scholarship that that's your deadline. You could also enroll and then drop out but in some cases you might have to repay part of the scholarship back, although unusual this could happen. Keep in mind that there's also the ethical side of things, if you don't accept the scholarship can go to someone else, and by dropping out after the program has begun you take an opportunity off someone else.

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Is it reasonable to ask a professor about the strength of a recommendation letter (after they have submitted)?
I have asked a professor that I took a year long project with to write a recommendation to support my application to a well-known, selective masters programme in the UK (my university is based in South Africa). The letter has already been submitted but the problem is, I have no idea how strong the letter is.
Some useful information: I think the project went fairly well and I will not have to interact with this professor again in any formal capacity.
Question: (1) Do you think it is reasonable to ask the professor about the strength of the letter he has submitted? (2) If so, how should I go about doing this?
I would like to do this for the following reasons:

If the letter is not so strong, I have other people who are willing to write me strong letters for my other applications (though none with the same reputation)
I can possibly try to change references for the current application (that the prof. has already submitted the letter for) since I have not submitted the actual application.

Any advice is welcome and appreciated.

No particular suggestion for the concrete situation, but for future cases, it would be wise to ask the professor if they can write a strong recommendation letter.

I asked for the letter in person and it just so happens that I forgot to say "strong". The prof. seemed happy to accept but I want to avoid reading into that.

@Dman I would hope that most professors would give you some kind of indication as to the strength of the letter they can write you when you ask. In particular, a good professor will tell you if they can only write you a weak (or bad) letter and suggest you keep looking for faculty who could give you a better chance.

It would be quite acceptable to ask for a copy of the recommendation letter (although your professor is not forced to supply it). That is probably a more reasonable request than asking if the recommendation is strong, which may require the professor to justify the recommendation.
Once the recommendation is submitted, you would also be entitled to request a copy directly from the institution you've applied to, as this is covered under the Data Protection Act.
Now, as someone who both writes references for students and reads them, I can tell you that the norm in the UK is for them to be restrained and factual. References that are full of hype are generally treated with suspicion.
Academic referees in the UK are also rather limited in what they are allowed to say. There are generally university guidelines which dictate the format. They usually have to be internally signed off before they can be submitted. Then a copy is kept on file.
Choosing referees is something that needs to be done carefully. Even with the best will in the world, an in-demand professor is not likely to be able to give this their full attention.
During my busy periods, when I was writing references for students regularly, I could get up to 20 requests a week. Normally, I'd have to write those in my free time, in the evenings. So, even though I would want to do my best for every student, references for anyone other than students I'd worked very closely with would become necessarily formulaic.
Choosing a referee who has had the opportunity to get to know you, who you have impressed in some way and who is not run off their feet with other activities is generally a sound strategy.

Interesting! In the US, I think a student asking for a copy of the letter would be considered inappropriate.

See here: https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/54584/how-reasonable-is-it-to-ask-my-referees-to-send-their-recommendation-letters-to?rq=1

@Dawn But see also here for a non-US perspective: https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/71440/20058

Yes! I think the best advice is for the OP to find out what the local conventions are.

As Dawn points out, in the US it would be considered inappropriate to ask for a copy of the letter. We have a similar law (FERPA) which considers recommendation letters a part of the student's educational record which must be provided on request, so it is a common practice to have students sign a FERPA waiver which allows the professor to legally deny that request. It is of course entirely reasonable to ask about the strength of the letter (and is something the student/professor should discuss before writing the letter, not after).

It is reasonable to ask about strength of a letter. Usually you ask in advance of the letter's writing.
You might consider using your next application to ask about the strength of the letter in general (probably the professor will use the same letter). For instance, you could say,

"I am also applying to Y. I will need fewer letters for that program,
  so I want to use my best letters. I am hoping you might guide me on
  letter selection by letting me know if you were able to write a very
  strong letter or an average letter of support for me."

I suppose that the professor could always just share the letter as a response to this inquiry if that is more comfortable than commenting on the letter's strength. But still this approach opens communication on the subject.

I believe it is reasonable to ask a professor for a recommendation letter if you developed a close enough relationship where the professor could do so without compromising his or her integrity. Meaning, if the only way your professor can identify you is by your name and the grade you received in his or her class, no, I would not recommend asking for a recommendation at all...much less as for a "strong" recommendation.
It never hurts to ask for a recommendation; however, requesting how the document read might be pushing the boundaries.

I think you are missing the point. I would like to know the strength of the letter given that it has already been submitted.

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Is there a paper where the list of references is longer than the main text?
By "length" I mean the amount of space on the page in the PDF or printed journal. Obviously the length of the references section will depend on the style, so that will be a factor.
I am thinking of one with a very large number of references.
I am not so interested in a paper where some of the references have very long lists of authors and therefore take up a lot of space, as in the question below which mentions a single reference taking up half a page.
When citing a paper with a lot of authors; is it OK to shorten the author list in the references section?
I am also not so interested in a paper that uses a bibliographic references style where not every reference is cited in the text.

There are papers in which the author listing is longer than the paper itself. Some come from CERN. I don't see how you measure the "length" of the references section without specifying something about how to list authors and titles.

Yes, I came across the CERN one mentioned here: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2015.17567  But when that is cited, the author list seems to usually be condensed. By length I just mean the amount of space on the page. I will edit the question to say this.

But even then, there are too many ways to "condense" it. But I'll guess, at least, that there are short papers with lots of references. Some papers even provide a bibliographic reference section where not every reference is strictly required.

Here is a sample that probably doesn't fit your criteria, but note the difference in font sizes: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2763764/

Thanks - I will make another edit to deal with those bibliographic reference sections

@Buffy For that one I can't find a PDF, but when I try to print it the main text is 3 pages and the references are 1.5, so not very close. I added to the question to say I am talking about a PDF or printed journal. Thanks for your comments

For people who are voting to close, please could you retract your votes if my edits have dealt with the problems

Look at A short history of integration theory by Ralph Henstock -- Southeast Asian Bulletin of Mathematics, 12 #2, 1988, pp. 75-95. The pre-reference section is on pp. 75-83, and 262 references follow this. Apparently a "compressed archive of .TIFF scans" version is on the internet (see Daniele Tampieri's comment to this question), whatever that is.

@gib Would you be interested in an example where most references are cited from within tables rather than in text paragraphs?

@DaveLRenfro Thanks. It is available from http://www.seams-bull-math.ynu.edu.cn/ and can be opened using 7-zip. It has 8.5 pages of text and 12 pages of references.

@Anyon Yes, that is still the sort of thing I meant

I can easily imagine that serious historical accounts of mathematical ideas could have several bibliographical citations every few sentences... For that matter, the intro-and-historical-background to my book "Modern Analysis of Automorphic forms..." is dense with bibliographic citations, and probably is about the same the length as the actual bibliography (all of which is cited in that intro).

@paulgarrett Thanks. In your book the bibliography is for the whole book and shorter in number of pages than the chapter. But the chapter certainly is dense with citations. I expect you are right that historical summaries like that could have very long bibliographies.

Zbigniew Tylczyński: "A collection of 505 papers on false or unconfirmed ferroelectric properties in single crystals, ceramics and polymers", Frontiers of Physics, 14, 63301 (2019) has a reference list occupying almost 20 full pages, while the main part of the paper occupies about 18.5 full pages. The majority of the references are cited from within tables with a fair amount of white space, rather than from within running text. The paper itself is essentially an overview and criticism of commonly encountered errors in the area of ferroelectricity.

The comment by Dave L Renfro gives another example

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How many recommendation letters are enough?
If I apply to a job, and it asks for 4 recommendation letters, is it good if I submit 5 or more letters? Why and why not?

I'd say submit your best 4 recommendation letters. Of course, make sure they are saying good things about you.

@FaheemMitha Generally, you shouldn't have access to any of your recommendation letters -- they should be confidential between your letter writers and the job. But, this is not always the case, and if you do have the letters, I don't think anyone would disagree to send the best ones. As kmm said in his/her response, don't send more than the number requested.

@ChrisGregg I didn't say you should actually read the letters. I meant (maybe it was unclear) that you should be confident that the recommenders are saying good things about you. Is that clearer?

In the US in math my understanding is:

For the NSF fellowship follows the rules to a T.
For other postdocs there's probably no harm in submitting an extra letter, but there's also rarely a compelling reason to do so.
For tenure track positions it is common, and not frowned upon, to submit 4 or 5 research letters instead of the requested 3 research letters.  If you have a compelling reason to submit more (for example, you work between two adjacent fields) then go ahead, but if you don't have a compelling reason you're also not going to be penalized for sticking with 3 research letters.  It's better to have all the letters be great than to have more letters.

There's a lot of discussion about this in the comments on this thread.

For the NSF fellowship follows the rules to a T. — In fact, it simply isn't possible to submit extra letters for NSF fellowships.  (And applications with too few letters are automatically rejected without review.)

It's worth noting that math may be different because applications (almost all) go through the mathjobs website.  This means there's no physical files so there's no danger of someone tossing the file for non-compliance or only putting some of the letters in the file.  Furthermore, since you can search applications by letter writer, having more letter writers can mean more people see your application.  In other fields the workflow may be very different.

The search committee, or whoever it is who is reviewing applications, asks for 4 letters because that's the number of letters they want. For a postdoc, four is logical because that is typically the size of a doctoral committee.
Unless you have a very good reason (which, off the top of my head, I can't think of), don't send more letters than they ask for. (1) They don't want to read them. (2) They will think you don't know how to follow directions and will toss your application (which is what I would do, if it wasn't clear why I was getting >4 letters). In my field of biology, there might be over 100 applicants for a position (particularly a faculty position; I've heard of 200-300 in some cases). I've been on numerous search committees, and I really can't fathom some of the materials that get sent in with applications.

Tossing an application seems like an excessive reaction to receiving more letters than asked for.

@FaheemMitha I'd agree with kmm that "doesn't know how to follow instructions" is a good reason to exclude an applicant. Even better if the candidate demonstrates this in the application process!

I can think of a good reason: you're asked for 3 letters, and 4 nobel prizes insist to write letters for you.

@Peyronnet: My situation is not that ideal, but similar. I have recommendation letters from more than 4 people, who all are very good in their research, and it is difficult for me to choose 4 from them. And, I don't have access to the letters, so don't know what letters are better.

@ChrisGregg Again, I repeat, it would be a serious over-reaction. If the committee says - don't send any more than 4 letters, or else, then maybe, but nobody says anything like that. In any case, I think I usually just supply a list of references the people hiring can contact if they want. Are people actually supposed to have referees send letters for a job application that may be totally ignored?

I stand by saying that I would consider ignoring an application with more than the requested number of letters unless there is a clear reason. Just because you can get 5 letters from good researchers, doesn't mean you should send them. What if you can get 20? Part learning to be an academic is learning to make difficult decisions. Picking your best 4 is just one of those decisions. NIH/NSF will refuse to review your grant application if you don't follow instructions.

I think this answer should have more context.  What field are you in?  What country?  Have you been on committees where throwing out extra letters has actually happened?  In my experience, this answer is totally wrong, but I'm not sure whether that's because we're in different fields/locations or if you're misinformed.

I think it's much more typical for search committees to simply ignore any extra letters.  Which could be dangerous, because they get to pick which letters are "extra", not you.

@NoahSnyder: At the risk of beating a dead horse, the issue being discussed was throwing out the application, not extra letters.

At the risk of piling on, I think this is a totally different idea of search committee psychology than I've ever experienced.  I've never heard anyone comment on the number of letters, and in my experience essentially all good candidates send in more letters than the minimum requested (like @NoahSnyder, my experience is in math).

The issue here seems to me that a search committee getting hundreds of applications might welcome any reason to widdle down the stack.


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Should recommenders be from the same discipline as the program one's applying to?
If I want to go to graduate school to study physics and am a math major, how bad is it to have recommendation letters from math professors, mostly? The problem is that I just have four physics courses and after being picky about professors, I might not end up with all physics professors. Further, math professors know me better.
So, will it hurt if my recommenders are more mathematicians than physicists?

To point out one pitfall in kmdouglass's answer, there is one situation in which getting letters from out-of-discipline people can affect an applicant's chances: if the letter writers do not directly support the candidate's application to the specific discipline. In other words, if you're a mathematician applying to physics programs, your math professors should be explaining why you will be a great physics graduate student, not a great math graduate student. (Or why you will be a great graduate student in any department.) "Dissonance" between the letters of recommendation and where you're applying could make some reviewers question if you're seriously interested in applying to physics departments, which could hurt your chances (albeit perhaps only slightly).

The answer to your question is no, it won't hurt.
How you prepare your application, however, will likely depend on the type of research you want to do while working on your PhD. For your case, if you want to pursue theoretical research, then I think recommendation letters from mathematicians will be a good asset.
If, on the other hand, you want to work in experimental physics, then I still don't think it would hurt, but I would work extra hard at highlighting relevant skills and experiences, such as experience working in a machine shop or with electronics, in other parts of your application.
You still want your references to be good judges of academic performance, however. By academic, I mean that they should work in academia or be experts in research, critical thinking, and other important academic traits in your field. A life-long high school teacher, for example, may not be a good choice.
To summarize, having letters of recommendation from academics outside of your major field should not hurt your chances of getting into graduate school. The letters should speak to your character, work ethic, and natural abilities, not to the skills you possess. Those can be highlighted in your application.
Qualifications: I'm a senior (sixth-year) graduate student in a physics-related field and frequently assist my advisor in taking on new graduate students. We've taken on people with engineering, physics, materials science, and mathematics backgrounds.

I would like to speak to this issue in terms of applying to interdisciplinary programs like information science, HCI, communication etc. It matters little what the specific home department the professor belongs to as long as they can point out 2 things - 1. How are you as a potential researcher in that particular discipline that you are applying to and 2. How can they (the recommenders) recommend you in context to (1)
For instance, in my case, my recommenders came from civil engineering, statistics and computer science and I was applying to an information science department. I don't know what their recommendations contained but they could very well certify that I was doing interdisciplinary work corresponding to most areas in information science during my masters degree.


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Should a student mention about contacting a faculty in a SOP even if the faculty has not replied yet?
In most cases it is advisable to contact faculty while applying to the graduate school. But not all professors reply to the emails and in most cases none of them reply to emails, so is it advisable to mention in the statement of purpose (SOP) that a faculty member was contacted even though no reply came from their side ?

I would recommend against mentioning e-mail contact with faculty unless you've had a substantive interaction, one that leads you to believe they would remember you and support your application.  In particular, you don't want someone on the admissions committee to mention to a colleague "So, I hear applicant X has been in touch with you; what was your impression?" and receive the reply "I have no idea who that is."
If there has been no reply to your e-mail, you could still indicate interest in your statement of purpose ("Based on my interests in X and Y, I envision Professors A and B as possible advisors.").  This would help classify the application and indicate who should look at it, without setting up the expectation that they will already know who you are.


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Is typical ebook reader with pdf support enough to read scientific papers
I am considering buying either an e-book reader or a full tablet. My main motivation is to read books and scientific papers and I really don't need all the extra stuff tablets can give me.
My only concerns are

whether e-book reader (that has pdf support) will handle many different layouts used in articles (how well will 2-column A4 page fit in an 800x600 e-ink display)
whether it will display math properly

Do you have any thoughts and (more preferably) experience about this?

No, however what I sometimes do when a paper is available on Arxiv, is recompile it to an epub format. Some might complain that it is not as the author intended it, but it makes it way easier to read when I have long train journeys.

The enTourage Edge seemed perfect for reading papers, but unfortunatly had technical and marketing problems and went away.

Ebook readers are not considered a good choice at displaying PDF, however they had some progress recently. What you need is a reader with 10" display. Afaik. currently Onyx Boox M96 is one of the best readers by displaying PDF.

No. Not sufficient. Kindle DX, an almost full-sized page, was not big enough. Refresh rates are not fast enough for flipping back and forth. Zooming interface is terrible. E readers are good for simple flow text, one page after the next. That is not how I read papers. Tablets do much better.

from my limited experience, i agree that reading papers on e-ink display is not convenient especially because you need zoom often and if figures are involved it is a nightmare.
e-ink display works well for text display, mostly. i would suggest ipad or something with similar screen.

I do not agree. My PocketBook works well for reading pdf paper and even pdf or djvu books. Size is not a problem, reading is much better than an LCD screen. Granted, refresh rates are not fast but you just have to get used to a slightly different way of reading.

It most likely depends on field of study. For me the Kindle DX is great (not perfect). But I am in mathematics, and except for the most computationally heavy and long papers, most scientific papers I read linearly one page after the next. The smaller page size of a typical journal PDF also makes it usually close to (and sometimes bigger than) physical sized. (Though on the other hand reading eMags or larger format journals like Science or Nature do not work too well.)

Some ereaders detect column layout (which is often used in papers) and automatically move along in reading order. Aside from flipping back and forth, that provides a good experience.

A Tablet will be more appropriate for your task. Have you seen the new Google Nexus 7 or Nexus 10?

I started reading scientific papers on my iPad and now I hardly print any papers at all. I use an application called PDF reader, which also allows one to annotate the pdfs, which is really useful for commenting on student papers. One can make comments using a pen or type them in.
Apart from saving trees, it is very handy for collecting and carrying around hundreds of papers (that I'll never have time to read).

I use one called iAnnotate, which allows highlighting and annotation - as you would expect from the name.

GoodReader user here. I like it because it lets me SFTP sync entire folders recursively (and bi-directionally) from my laptop. Plus the usual DropBox, etc. interfaces. Also, better UI than iAnnotate in my opinion (it follows Apple UI standards).

What tools does the student have to have in order to read your annotations? In other words, what are annotation tools that allow the annotations to be read on all major platforms?

@Raphael: Annotations are embedded in pdf, so in principle any pdf reader can read the annotations.

It would be nice if that were true. There is plenty of annotation software out there which implement their own island solution. I take it your software uses some (Adobe's?) standard, so that's fine.

@Raphael: Actually, I don't know whether mine does that or not. Before I send the annotated version to anyone, I select the flatten PDF option, which generates legal PDF. (Or at least no one has complained.)

To answer the specific questions in the OP for the Kindle DX.

Size: if the original journal article is printed on B5 (which is also about the size of many textbooks in mathematics) or smaller, then the auto-zoomed display on the Kindle DX is more than sufficient. If the original article or book is two-column A4 with small font, it does not look so great. If the journal or magazine includes "navigational tools" in the PDF file, they become extraneous header and footers that make things even worse (American Scientist, I'm looking in your direction).
Maths and Graphs: so far everything displays well. This includes digital scans of old (1950s and 60s) mathematics articles, modern journal articles from Springer and Elsevier journals, arXiv downloads, as well as European Mathematical Society and Cambridge University Press eBooks.

For some caveats:

Bookmarks: yes. Use them plenty, since internal hyperlinking doesn't work. The reader does remember where you "left off" automatically.
Notes and highlights: no.
Page turning: slow, but is something I willingly put up with for the convenience. (It is lighter and cheaper than a netbook, and also lighter and more compact then deadwood format.)
Battery life: great, one charge lasts me usually several weeks. Of course, the main energy consumption in eInk is the page flips. So if your paper reading habit is lots of back and forth page flipping, you will use up your battery much faster.

Afaik, the Kindle DX can detect column layout and jump around in reading order.

While I still prefer to have a printed copy, I find that my Kindle Fire (which I bought for this particular purpose) works wonderfully. It's a little pricier than a standard kindle, but the touch screen allows you to zoom and scan on pdf pages with ease. It's far superior to reading the same paper on a laptop or desktop monitor.
It's also nice to be able to carry around so many papers without additional weight or bulk!

How does it cope with equations or graphs? My experience with older kindles are that they completely mess up the fonts and alignment on equations and graphs.

It works beautifully. The pdfs are rendered perfectly. I'm a math grad student, and my Kindle Fire has handled every paper I've ever thrown at it with ease.

I use a PocketBook 912 Pro (which is an ebook reader). The display is almost 10" and that is large enough (even too large for, e.g., SIAM papers, but zooming in persistent). Reading is great, reading outside in the sun is even better. The battery is great; I use it for more than a month now and I did not need to charge it (the small time I connected it by USB to upload paper was enough). The stylus allows you to highlight and scribble on papers. DJVU is supported.
Downsides: Paper turning is indeed slow (for me this is not too bad, it slows me down and helps to read more carefully). Taking notes is sometimes slow, erasing notes is very slow. Hyperlinks do not work in pdf documents as well as the table of contents (this is a software issue and I hope, it will be fixed some day).
My conclusion is that if you need a device for traveling which allows you to read something when you only have a few minutes (at a bus stop or so) but also to read a little longer, than an ebook reader is a good option. I use it both to read papers and books and found is especially convenient to referee papers.

I second the recommendation. I have 902, and it is great.

I would go with iPad too. My experience with trying to use an ereader was horrible. The page turns are far too slow for flipping backwards and forwards, but mainly the claimed advantage of eInk - it doesn't glow - became a problem when trying to research in the evening.
That, plus the iPad's ability to access Google or JSTOR or whatever on the same device, means that I now use the iPad exclusively. The Kindle might get dragged out to read a novel now and then, which is what it is designed for, but for documents? Never.

Never say never; progress is inevitable, and eInk is easier on the eyes as well as battery. For example, my ereader easily worked through a one-week camping trip.

The nook doesn't allow you to highlight things, make notes, or bookmarks. If you just read one paper at a time and leave it on it's fine, otherwise carry a piece of paper to remember the page you are on.

If you have many PDF files, then you better find a way to organize them on your device. Thus, the software or digital library which you like to use determines which operating system is better for you and hence which device you should pick.
I personally prefer Zotero to organize my PDF files which is only avaiable on Windows. As a result, I bought a 10 inch touch laptop which can be detached from its keyboard. One example is acer switch 10.
If you like Mendeley, then you have three choices, Android, IOS, and Windows. I did not work with Mendeley on IOS. I think between Android and Windows Mendeley works better on Windows.
Consider that the battery on Android and IOS devices last longer than laptops and you can charge these devices via power banks but you cannot charge a laptop with a power bank.
One advantage of Windows is that you can install full MS office on it. Pay attention that some laptops have Windows RT. They usually have MS Office preinstalled, which might need a license, but you cannot install .exe files.
I tried to read papers on my touch laptop for a year. At the end I prefer to read short articles printed on paper. I only read books and long articles on my device.
I think you should first consider which software you need, then decide which device you should get. With regards to e-book readers such as Kindle,forget them. You cannot install apps or software on them.

There is software that will help to better format an academic PDF for a 6-inch reader screen.  See the MobileRead.com PDF forum (sticky entries):  http://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=184


text:
Finding a number theory reader
I'm a physics graduate but have written a number theory paper as a hobby. A couple of professors have read it briefly though it is not their field they gave positive feedback and suggested I send it to  professors working in this area.
I sent it to 8 professors and none has replied to me. I asked the original professor what's going on and he said probably the following:
The nature of the paper (Fermat's last theorem) and being an amateur mathematician it will invoke memories of all the failed attempts on this problem over the centuries. Even if it is correct that doesn't matter they will throw it in the bin without reading it.
He suggested I may have to pay a qualified reader to evaluate it  so I'm wondering how do I find a qualified number theory reader. There are no listings for maths readers and I don't  want to email everyone on the number theory web until I find one.
Thank you for any advice.

Does the paper claim another proof of Fermat's Last Theorem, much simpler than Wiles'?

Is your paper public (e.g. on arxiv) yet?

@Anonymous. Yes it does and the methods are applicable to the general case too. It came from an accidental discovery that  I sometimes wish I never found due the large amount of time I spent on it.

@thomas. No I need endosement from a published number theorist.

This seems appropriate: https://rjlipton.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/proofs-and-elevator-rides/

What is the general case of FLT?

@Tobias x^a +y^b-z^c=0 has only common factor solutions for a,b,c >2 or there are no co-prime solutions for a,b,c>2 (Beal's conjecture)

Chris, please devote your time to something else that will improve your present and future. The chances that you did what you claim are extremely slim. Your profs couldn't break the news to you, and the math profs receive twenty emails per day with a solution to Fermat's.

Chris, the discussion in this question may be helpful to you.

Well, I am a professional number theorist, so let me give you some feedback that you don't seem to have received yet:
Your paper containing an elementary proof of Fermat's Last Theorem is wrong.
This is what I think, and I am confident that this is what more than 99 out of 100 professional number theorists would think.  Here by "wrong" I mean as a real person would use the term: i.e., probably wrong.  I obviously don't know that it is wrong, and I couldn't without reading it, but in real life there is almost nothing that one knows is right or wrong: we have to go based on probability.   Let me try an analogy: suppose I am an amateur aerospace engineer. I claim that I can walk into anyone's home and, using only the materials that are already there, build a ship that can safely carry me to the moon and back.  Wouldn't you say that I'm wrong?  Wouldn't you say that, if anything, the fact that we have been to the moon and back gives us a better sense of the resources necessary for that, and that gives you more confidence that my estimation is wildly off? That while it's of course possible that I'm right, if I were I would have to be in possession of such vastly superior knowledge and expertise that I could easily provide evidence of it on a smaller scale? That's pretty much how we number theorists feel.
Let me make one point about amateur mathematicians: it is exceedingly rare for an amateur mathematician to solve a problem that has been worked on unsuccessfully by the mathematical mainstream, but it has happened sometimes (more or less depending upon what you mean by an amateur mathematician, but if for instance you count brilliant young people without a college degree: sure, it has happened several times).  However I know of no examples in which an amateur mathematician has solved a significant mathematical problem without having done other substantial mathematical work already.  So...is this your first math paper, or the first substantial piece of mathematics you think you've done?  If so, I really think it's wrong: that's just not how success in any field works.  Nobody picks up a tennis racket for the first time and discovers they can play at the professional level.  On the other hand, if you do already have published papers, then certainly mention that in your correspondence: it will make a big difference.
Anyway, if you want to find out why your proof is wrong, then yes: I agree with the other answers who say that you should pay to enlist the services of a tutor.  If you go to any math department with number theorists and say that you have reading and thinking about FLT and have some ideas you'd like to clarify and are willing to pay, say, $30 an hour to get one-on-one tutoring, I think you're very likely to find some takers.
Let me say finally that my goal in writing this answer is not at all to crush your dreams.  Rather, I hope that you actually like mathematics enough to move past your thought that you have proven FLT and engage with the subject matter more deeply.  Mathematics is a lot deeper and richer than I think you know...in some wonderful ways.  Good luck.

I might add that this happens to professional mathematicians as well: they stumble upon what look like solutions to big open problems. It has certainly happened to me. We too, assume that such proofs must be wrong, and savagely tear through them until we inevitably uncover a mistake. In the very unlikely event that we don't find a mistake, we might venture to show them to colleagues, in which case our firm expectation is that they will find the mistake.

For what it's worth, be careful to say FLT and not FTL. You will look more unbelievable otherwise.

Jeez I feel like Hippacus about to be hurled overboard by claiming that the sqr root of 2 is not a rational number.

Please understand that you're the 189784678th person to claim to have proved FLT using elementary methods, and that the previous 189784677 claims were wrong, sometimes for very subtle reasons, but almost always because of an elementary mistake or utter incoherence. Your claim will be held to a higher standard of proof, because you are claiming to do something that centuries of stellar mathematicians have found impossible. That's doesn't mean you're wrong, but it does mean experts will be predisposed not to believe you.  There's no point being insulted by this; it's not about you.

@Chris we're all sorry that you feel like Hippasus, but logically speaking surely you realize that comparing your emotions to those of Hippasus doesn't make it any more likely that your claims are correct in the way that Hippasus's claims were, right? Pete gave you a straight, honest answer. He is a highly reputed professional mathematician, number theorist and academia.se contributor. Frankly you will not get a better quality answer to your question from anyone else anywhere. I suggest listening to the content of Pete's message instead of focusing on the emotions it makes you feel. Good luck!

There is a difference with Hippasus. The story is that the others were shown the proof and understood that it was true but they didn't want it to be spread. Here we've only seen a claim, not the proof (correct or not).

@ChrisS Pete's response is actually quite kind and considerate. You could also post your "proof" online, so that we can point out the (most likely) obvious mistakes.

@Rüdiger The thing is that the mistakes need not be at all obvious. A common type of mistake in such proofs consists of huge leaps in logic, making the proof incomplete to the standards of the mathematical community. Authors of such proofs are usually completely incapable of accepting that there is an issue, especially since everything might be correct (after all, the claimed statement is known to be true, so the proof need not have any statements that are actually wrong, just ones that have not been proven properly).

I commend your modesty. Many people, in a similar situation as you, seem angry that the mathematical world has not recognized their genius. Your attitude is much more modest, and you seem to be willing to do whatever is needed to get your paper read.
I recommend addressing your question to a graduate student rather than a professor. At least if you are in the United States, now (early May) is a particularly good time to do so: final exams just ended, and many students are a lot less busy and would like to earn some money over the summer.
Moreover, I would frame your request as seeking out a private tutor. You can often find these by Googling. For example, here is a list of math Ph.D. students at the University of Wisconsin who have made themselves available for (paid) private tutoring. Hopefully you could arrange this with someone within driving distance of wherever you live, so that you can do this in person.
I would send a brief e-mail something like the following:

Dear XXX,
My name is ZZZ and I'm an amateur hobbyist mathematician. I believe that I have found an elementary proof of Fermat's Last Theorem, and one that covers further cases as well. Since I'm an amateur, I understand that I could have easily made a mistake -- and indeed that this might well be the most likely outcome.
I'd like to hire you to discuss my paper with me, to check my arguments, to point out any logical flaws that you see, and to offer me your advice. I'm happy to pay $60/hour and to meet with you at your convenience, and to send you my paper in advance if you like. Would you please be in touch if you're willing to do this?
Thank you very much.

Possible reactions will vary. Most people will ignore you, so be prepared to e-mail multiple people. Some might ask to see your paper; if it is logically coherent but contains a mistake, someone might point out the mistake and tell you not to worry about payment.
If you managed to hire a tutor, and if you have, in fact, come up with an elementary proof of Fermat's Last Theorem (as you claimed in the comments), and if moreover you have explained it clearly and without mistakes, then whoever you hired will likely refuse payment and bring your work to the attention of faculty members.
Good luck to you!

Wow! Yes I will try that approach and thank you for that wise advise.

I really liked your answer up until this point: "If you managed to hire a tutor, and if you have, in fact, come up with an elementary proof of Fermat's Last Theorem (as you claimed in the comments), and if moreover you have explained it clearly and without mistakes, then whoever you hired will likely refuse payment..." While the implication is probably true, the premise is exceedingly unlikely.  I wouldn't encourage the OP to go in to this transaction hoping to get his money refunded at the end.  That seems to be setting him up for disappointment.

@PeteL.Clark: I definitely understand your point. That said, although I agree (unfortunately) that the premise is unlikely, the OP nonetheless believes it, and I am tried to write my answer with his/her point of view in mind. OP wrote in a comment: "I sometimes wish I never found [this] due the large amount of time I spent on it." If OP determines that his/her proof is wrong, then surely that will be a bigger disappointment than not getting a refund?

That said, to the OP, @PeteL.Clark is completely correct: if you follow my advice, and if a tutor agrees to work with you, you should go into it anticipating that the tutor will find a mistake. (Or, possibly, that your paper is written in such a nonstandard way that the tutor can't follow it at all, in which case h/she might give you advice on mathematical writing). To a mathematician, your claim will sound like you are claiming to be able to run a marathon in under an hour. The problem is just that difficult.

+1 for "now (early May) is a particularly good time to do so: final exams just ended, and many students are a lot less busy and would like to earn some money over the summer" Also, regarding "then whoever you hired will likely refuse payment and bring your work to the attention of faculty members", Chris S need not worry about the person stealing the proof --- he/she will be plenty famous as it is for being the person who "discovered you".

Just an update, I got a response at last!  I have found a reader/editor. He is the chief editor of a number theory journal which is a bonus. He's willing to review my work. He's done the first 3 hours and so far so good, but keep those torches burning - I'm still strapped to the heretic burning stake. See if you can find my paper online it's in 2 locations but once it is edited I'll put it on arXiv if it is ok with the journal.

An alternate approach would be to formalize your papee in a mechanical proof system, like Coq or Agda. This has several advantages:

If your proof is correct, it is undeniably correct, and others will take you seriously
It will make the assumptions you have in your paper explicit to you, so you can possibly spot where you've made mistakes
If your proof contains tedious but repetitive parts they can be automated. (This is especially true of Number Theory, where induction is common, as opposed to real analysis)
If all else fails, you will have learned a fun, interesting new tool

These tools have helped some results, like the 4 color theorem, gain more acceptance in the community.

Care to explain the down vote?

Have you thought of soliciting feedback on MathOverflow? E.g., you can post your proof on some publicly accessible location on the web and post a question on MathOverflow requesting feedback. If you offer to pay as some other people were suggesting that may increase the chance that you'll get help, but if your proof is written in clear and readable language and interesting to examine it's completely possible that knowledgeable people will offer you some useful advice free of charge. Good luck!

I could not seem to find it while searching now, but I am fairly certain the attitude of MO is that questions asking about proofs of well-known hard open problems are off-topic.

Please, no. Do not post on MO about this.

@AndrésE.Caicedo is that your personal preference or official MO policy?

Indeed,  https://meta.mathoverflow.net/a/942/4832 and https://meta.mathoverflow.net/questions/1818/questions-of-the-type-i-have-written-something-please-give-me-feedback make it clear that this is not an appropriate type of question for MO.  There isn't really "official" policy, but it seems to be a clear community consensus.

@NateEldredge so Chris would still be allowed to ask for feedback about the correctness of specific steps in his proof, just not general feedback about the correctness of the entire paper - am I understanding this policy correctly?

@DanRomik: Yes, if such questions are at a research level.  If the material being asked about is actually elementary (and this may be difficult for OP to judge, if he/she is not an expert), the question is not on topic and will be closed.


text:
Can I ask my professor to allot me mentor while I am doing reading work for a theoretical project?
I am a master's student in Physics and currently working on my thesis work and I am having a hard time grasping some mathematical concepts needed. Most of my friends are working on simulation work, and they all are allotted Ph.D. mentors, which helps them in several ways since profs aren't always available and take time to respond to emails. But since I am doing reading for my theoretical work, should I ask my guide to allot me one as well?  I don't know if I can have one in such work.
I think it will help me to understand mathematical tools and to think from different perspectives. I do have weekly meetings with my professor, for doubts and discussions. Please let me know.

Are there PhD students in your lab that would be appropriate mentors?

Can you not approach other PhD students directly (face-to-face or via mail) because they were tutors/TAs in one of your seminars?

@BryanKrause  My professor told me one Ph.D. student works in the same field.

@Stefan_W  I don't know anyone from this field yet. I can, if I get to know someone.

Why do you doubt the appropriateness?

@Buffy appropriateness of what?

The appropriateness of asking. It seems if others have such mentors then it is common and accepted.

@Buffy Others are doing computational work mostly simulation. While mine is basically reading and doing mathematics, so I was sceptical.

You can ask. We cannot tell you what the answer will be.

@ChristianHennig alright

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


text:
Can I transfer to a university in Europe from Turkey?
Currently, I am studying at METU (ODTÜ) Computer Engineering/Science, Bachelor's Degree. I am not happy with the situation here. My department is ABET-accredited, but I am a non-EU citizen. Is it possible for me to transfer to a European University from here? If it is, what about tuition fees, etc.? Are there any foundations where I can get financial aid?

I don't know off about the process. But if you are at the beginning of your course, then at least you can restart the same course in Europe. I wish you get what you desire.

Oftentimes, you could start the same/similar program and get some of the courses you already passed to transfer to your new university. This way, you would not loose all your progress.

One of our current PhD students went exactly this way. So it is definitely possible. I do not know much about the regulations involved, unfortunately.

I can't answer, but suspect that transfer is possible, but funding is much much harder. Look also into funding from some organization in your home country. You can ask at any place you apply to, of course.

@Snijderfrey Do you know how to get information about this situation? Where should  I send an email, to universities or someplace else? Thank you in advance.

At my university, I would start asking at our international office. Their main job is to make sure that international students get support especially with the regulatory issues they have to sort out. They are also usually willing to help, unlike official authorities which tend to make things more complicated.


text:
How to find the newest mathematics journals promoted from ESCI to SCI-Expanded list?
ESCI indexed journals which maintain qualtity publications are migrated to the SCi-Expanded list. Where and how can I find the new mathematics journals that have been promoted to the SCI-Expanded list recently ?
Furthermore, how can I know if a particular mathematics journal will be promoted to the SCI-expanded list soon from ESCI indexing ?


text:
Plagiarism in thesis when copying passage from own paper?
I finished my Ph.D. recently and I am about to submit my thesis but I have copied a few lines from the discussion and results from my own papers. Will it be considered plagiarism? Can I exclude my papers while running Ithenticate software or should I contact springer nature and ask for permission?
Please let me know if I need to quote text copied from my paper.

My answer is "No." As far as I know, most journal publishers won't have any problem if you reuse your own paper's languages in your thesis. You still need to check journal publisher's policy. Some may require you get a copyright permission, some may require you to make an acknowledgment. For the university, when the graduate school uses anti-plagiarism software to check your thesis and find you use your own paper in your thesis, they won't have any problem

I agree with @Part-timeEngineer, but if it is only a few lines, why not just rephrase them? That might be quicker than checking with the publisher and your university.

Why don't you think you need to cite the earlier work?

I quote Springer's policy about how author should reuses their own articles in their thesis. You may check it yourself.
"Authors have the right to reuse their article’s Version of Record, in whole or in part, in their own thesis. Additionally, they may reproduce and make available their thesis, including Springer Nature content, as required by their awarding academic institution. Authors must properly cite the published article in their thesis according to current citation standards.
Material from: 'AUTHOR, TITLE, JOURNAL TITLE, published [YEAR], [publisher - as it appears on our copyright page]’  "
Website is here: https://www.springer.com/gp/rights-permissions/obtaining-permissions/882

Apparently the copyright of the earlier work is held by Springer (or another). That implies that you need to treat the work like any other copyrighted work, though you hold a certain license from them for certain uses (typical case). You need to abide by that license.
You would be best to quote and cite the earlier work, which I can't see as being a problem in a dissertation. Straight up copying with no indication that it is copied could be seen by those judging your thesis as improper self plagiarism.
Note that copyright and plagiarism are distinct. The former is governed by (usually civil) law and the latter usually only by custom (with some exceptions unlikely to apply to self plagiarism).
The license from the copyright holder is probably generous enough that you can quote and cite longer passages than you could from the work of another but that doesn't solve the (self)plagiarism issue.
Note that self plagiarism is an issue because  reader of a scholarly text wants the complete context of the ideas to be readily available. Some of that context is only in the earlier papers, so you want to keep in clean and clear.

Caveat: I'm assuming that the "few lines" contain significant information pertinent to the conclusions. A few lines of "filler" not essential to the whole is probably inconsequential.

You would be best to quote and cite the earlier work - depending on the field and university, quoting may or may not be necessary (some of my thesis chapters are > 90% verbatim copies of my own published work, I mention+cite this of course but I don't quote). But an advisor should be able to advise on that.

It is technically plagiarism but not of the type that will get you in serious trouble. They are your words, after all. But you can very simply mitigate this - just quote yourself and cite the paper. Or, rephrase it. The rule is in place to prevent one from appropriating others’ work as their own

Even rephrasing probably requires citation to avoid self-plagiarism.

@Buffy yea, I agree that would be best


text:
Recommendation letter for postdoc
I have applied for a postdoc position in the USA. I have been asked to submit two letters of recommendation. I have requested one of the letters from my supervisor. After multiple attempts, finally, she has given me one. Now, the problem is her moody nature. I am worried if the admissions committee calls her for background verification. She has given the letter on her present company letterhead with the title 'To whomsoever it may concern' and no date. Although it is written that I worked with her until my viva, there is no specific date mentioned. Should I submit this recommendation letter or take two from my present employer and submit them? My husband got my canadian visa rejected. So I want to be very careful so that no common friends will know where I am applying.

Academic recommendation letters are quite different from recommendations letters used for non-academic positions, which often merely confirm existing employments.
Usually, they are confidential and not seen by the applicants, but send from the author of the letter, typically an academic with a university affiliation, directly to the committee. Such a letter may well be addressed to 'whomsoever it may concern', but should contain a date, describe the relationship of its author to the applicant (including a timeline), and give a true assessment of the applicant's qualities, possibly with reference to the position they are applying for. It is not uncommon for such letters to fill a page or more and describe in some details the projects of the applicants and their approach in tackling any problems.
For applications to a first postdoc, a letter from the PhD supervisor is usually quite important. Without a good letter from them, the application is difficult (you would need a very good publication record, for instance, to compensate). The fact that your supervisor required several promptings to finally produce a letter either means she doesn't really want to recommend you (for whatever reasons) or that she is just a bad/sloppy supervisor.
However, in your case, it seems that you left academia and now attempt to rejoin. This is unusual (though not unheard of), but you should try to have academic-style recommendation letters. It would be helpful if one came from an academic who knows your work -- a personal relation is not necessary.

I've been on hiring committees for postdocs at universities.
We have understood that not all primary advisor are willing to write strong letters of recommendation or provide references.
However, we have wanted somebody who you have worked closely with.
For example, hopefully another committee member can describe you, your work ethic, and skills.
Additionally, if you have a current position, the committee's I have been on would consider that position and your feedback from it more heavily than your previous position (like your PhD).
But a lot of this is situation specific and depends upon the position and the hiring committee (or possibly a single PI if they alone are making the hiring decision).
One PI may refuse to hire you if your PhD supervisor doesn't give a strong reference whereas another PI may be happy with your current project's supervisor's recommendation.


text:
How often should I send a reminder to the editor of a journal?
I am a Mathematics PhD student, number theory background. My research article is under review in a journal since 1 year 4 months.
Since I am a PhD student, I am expected to have publications in time. Over this interval, I have sent 3 reminders to the editor to inquire about the status of the article.
The first reminder was after 6 months and I politely asked about the status of the article and the editor said my article is in review process and they will let me know once the referee report comes in. Then at the end of 10 months, I gave another reminder to the editor to ask about the status of the article and the editor promised to talk with the referee.
As of now, it has been almost 15 months since I submitted the article.
It seems to me that the editor is very polite and does reply everytime. I guess the referee is a very busy person and that is why it might have been taking long time.
My question is: How often one can/should I remind the editor and in turn the editor the referee? Should I make another inquiry? What can the editor do in such cases if the refree is taking a long time?
The worst outcome would be that the referee rejects the paper (which is possible) and I will have lost such a long time. The other case might be, that the referee already read the article and probably found it meaningful at first glance so they are taking more time recap it. Another possible case is that the referee still didn't look into the paper and is waiting to look into it.

Have you spoken with your supervisor about their experience with the duration of the peer review process? I do not have experiences with publishing in math, but what I have gathered from this site and other sources, review times in math can be (painfully) long.

@Sursula, yes i spoke with my supervisor and I have published a paper in 6 months in other journal.


text:
PhD in a less desired field
To keep the long story short, I kinda have two options for a PhD.
Option 1
Do a PhD in engineering at a mediocre university in a developing country. Chances at the very top institutions in the same country are not possible due to some uncontrollable constraints.
I love engineering related study. However, there are some drawbacks. Opportunities here seriosly lack during and after the PhD. Funding will mostly be scarce and I will have to work while studying or lean on my own earnings to sustain my life. Also, postdoc chances even at decent universities in the world are extremely low. The county is corrupt, so without (non-merit based) good contacts, chances in good academic and industrial positions are also minuscule.
Option 2
Do a PhD in social sciences at a respected university in Europe or US.
Compared to option 1, opportunities and funding seems to be very well
Although the field is social science, some interdisciplinary study opportunities that require engineering skills might be available. Also, the study area I am interested in is a newly flourishing sub-field. But, still the emphasis is on social sciences. I am also interested in social sciences too, but nowhere close to my interest in engineering.
Questions
Should one choose option1, just for the sake of the love of engineering?
Or, should one choose option2, as engineering specific love might be temporary or be some kind of short-sighted guess for someone who is not very experienced at research to clearly determine his future interests?

Don't do a PhD that doesn't help you get where you want to go.

Obviously we can't answer this question explicitly for you, since it's an opinion.  But I would approach it with this thought process, and maybe you would find it helpful too:
First, I would hold each option up against an outside third option of not doing a PhD at all.  Assuming an average outcome, would be willing to chance an engineering PhD if it meant a lack of funding and job opportunities?  Repeat with the second option - would you be willing to suffer through a social science degree you don't necessarily love, just to have better prospects?  Or would you rather do whatever it is you would do without a PhD?
If both of those answers are that you would rather do the PhD, I think the real thought needs to fall on the second option.  A PhD is a huge, often demoralizing undertaking.  You will almost certainly want to quit at times.  And while most fields, as you said, allow some interdisciplinary flexibility, at least at first you will almost certainly be immersed entirely in the field itself.  Do you enjoy this field enough that it could sustain you through down periods?
Also, European and US programs are often quite different, in particular in that US PhD programs start right out of undergrad, then do several years of coursework that earns you an incidental Masters, followed by your research.  European programs generally require you to have your Masters coursework done already, then you come in to the program just to do your own research.  Make sure you're familiar with the structure of the programs you're interested in - it's possible that might help narrow your choices down some.
I would also add, especially for the engineering program, that you should talk to some people who have gone through it if you haven't already.  Find out first-hand how good or bad the opportunities were.
Good luck!


text:
Can you quote peer-reviews in papers?
I'm writing a commentary-ish paper on what NOT to do on peer-reviews. Like many of you here, I've received numerous reviews ranging from very good and constructive to absolute garbage.
Some background:
Some of the notably bad ones include recommending rejection entirely because of the sample used or that the manuscript cited papers from authors the reviewer had a personal falling out with. Most questionable reviews are on the lesser side, typically including subjective interpretations (e.g., "This topic is not important") to just poor commentary with no clarification of their stance (e.g., "The authors claim X, Y, and Z. I don't agree.").
Now, my question is, is it permissible to quote examples of real bad peer-reviews in papers? The peer-review comments are also double-blinded (or will be anonymized) and won't be identifiable (and thus it would be hard to claim defamation here--but heck, I'm not a lawyer).
Would it even be recommended to use real examples (i.e., is there possibility of some form of retaliation)?
I would believe that using real examples would hold more weight but I can also imagine slightly altering them to avoid issues down the road.
*NOTE: I'm also writing a blog-esque type commentary on toxicity in academia where I would cite real examples of academic workplace toxicity. A possible spin-off question would be whether the answers to the two questions above is the same for quoting real cases of toxicity.
Edit: Per Anyon's comment, comments of original nature are likely to be construed as copyrighted from a legal standpoint (including peer-review comments). That being said, I believe quoting real peer-review comments will likely need to be credited to "Anonymous Reviewer" for those obtained via double-blinded review.

Why would they not be copyrighted? As per the Berne convention a copyright exists the moment a work is fixed. Publication or registration is not required. I don't see why a review wouldn't be a work. Of course, that doesn't rule out quoting.

That is a valid point and something that went over my head when first writing this--thank you for pointing this out. A quick Google search seems to agree that comments of original nature are likely to be considered copyrighted in the legal sense.

Some journals publish the peer reviews and make them fully citable.  In this case, I would argue it's certainly permissible.  Otherwise, you're quoting from an unpublished source, which might be considered controversial.

F1000Research publishes peer reviews - Frontiers may, I don't recall

@AzorAhai With the consent of the reviewers, surely.

@FedericoPoloni I was following on gerrit's comment of where to find peer review that are already published.

It should be fine, but put in an ethics application with your university first
Assuming you are at a university, you can apply to your university ethics office to put in an application for your proposed research.  The university will then review the proposed research and advise whether it breaches any ethical or legal rules.  If you are not at a university you might still be able to get some advice from the ethics office of your alma mater.
So long as your proposed research does not identify the reviewers or journals, there ought to be no issue of defamation involved (and in any case, truth is a defence against an action for defamation).  It is also unlikely to breach the right to privacy, since it will not give "unwarranted publicity" to any person or institution.  Some commentators have pointed out that the review contents would be subject to copyright.  While that is true, copyright laws provide exemptions for use in academic research.  Specifically, the "fair use" exception for copyright usually allows use of a work for the purposes of academic research, criticism or review, and parody or satire.
I disagree with the view that you need to confine your attention to published reviews.  As in many contexts, academic research may legitimately find and report information that is not on the public record, so long as you obey relevant laws relating to defamation, privacy, and copyright.  The obvious drawback of confining attention to published reviews is that the authors of such reviews are likely to be "on their best behaviour" when they know their review will be published.

I was thinking of the Hawthorne effect rather than reporting bias (though it is disputable whether this effect is really a serious issue at all).

Look for officially published peer reviews.
For example, atmospheric chemistry and physics and other journals by the same publisher (Copernicus) make all peer reviews public, along with author replies, other comments, and editor comments.  All have DOIs and are fully citable.  In this case, there should be no objection to quoting peer-reviews.
Quoting from unpublished sources may be more problematic, because the authors never agreed for their comments to be made public.  In this case, it's even more important that your quotes are rather generic, so nobody can be sure you're quoting them.
If you quote from published peer reviews, there is of course still a  risk that the author goes public and gets angry.  Anyone can get angry for any or no reason.  If you're worried about that, maybe pick examples that aren't from your field?

Your latter 2 points are important and interesting as it deals with consent. In my field, it's very uncommon for peer-reviews to ever be published or be made public. I believe this would be one case for slightly altering real comments to not run into the issues you mention above.

@ssjjaca If the bad behaviour you're citing is indeed common, you should (sadly) have no trouble finding examples in peer reviews from other fields...

I would be wary of quoting peer-reviews because you do not have the writer's consent. I don't know if it is a legal grey-area, but it feels like an ethical grey-area. If I wrote you a private email and you cited me in a paper, even anonymously, I would still feel there was a breach of trust. I think reviews we expect to go unpublished, should stay unpublished in full unless you have the reviewer's permission.
If the issues you are discussing are common, you could take the approach of combining several versions of similar comments into an anonymised exemplar.
As a reader of your article, I don't think direct quotes would mean that much to me compared to an 'ensemble'. I have had comments in reviews that were so off as to break satire, so I don't think believability will be an issue.


text:
Is it acceptable to present the same project at two conferences and list them separately on my CV?
Is it acceptable to present the same project at two conferences and list them separately on your CV?
The two conferences are for different audiences (one is for educators and faculty members and the other is for a more interdisciplinary population). This being the case, the project itself will not change. However, the analysis of the data and the emphasis on the implications of it are drastically different for the two conferences.
I have seen elsewhere online that the recommended course of action would be to simply cite the more well-known conference and only that one. However, since the analyses of data are different for the two conferences, would it be deemed acceptable to list them as separate entries on my CV?

When I give the same talk in multiple venues*, I list the title of the presentation once, then underneath all the places I've presented it. For example:

On the use of nanofibers in basket weaving
20th Annual Meeting of the Society for Basket Weavers (July 2016), Department of Basket Weaving Seminar at East South University (August 2016), Workshop on Innovative Use of Nanofibers (October 2016)

If it's a different presentation (e.g. different title), even if part of the same project, I'd list separate entries.

* Only at venues which accept work that has already been presented, of course.

It will most likely be under a different title because while the data will be pulled from the same project, the analysis itself will be entirely different for each audience! Thank you, this cleared it up nicely!

They are two different presentations at all effects. So whether you write it twice on your CV or not, should only depend on how "heavy" is your curriculum. I would use two entries if I had only those two conference talks, or just a bit more, and one single entry if I have >10 conference talks under my belt. To give you an idea, once you have given over 15/20 different talks about different projects at different venues, you would most likely keep on your CV only the most relevant ones.

Ah I see! I only have about 8 conference talks so far so I will note of your suggestion! Thank you!

Glad to help. Please take my numbers with a grain of salt though. At the end, what you want to show is that you have a good balance in all aspects of academic achievement. That is the only reason to keep the conference talks to a reasonable size, that is to say, not to overwhelm your CV with a single type of achevement.


text:
Is it (un)ethical to use your students' research idea without giving them coauthorship (only acknowledgement)?
A tad similar to this question here but also quite different, so here's the current debacle:
In one of my classes I taught, the final project entails students getting in groups and having to run a mini experiment of their own. One of the groups had a very cool idea that I thought was great and unique but didn't give much thought to. Fast forward about half a year or so to now. I revisited their idea and realized that their idea could, in fact, be a Study 1 that's part of an overall larger series of projects I'm hoping to conduct. Of course, because their study was a class project (meaning that it has no IRB, sample size is extremely small and therefore statistically underpowered, no supervision from faculty or grad students for quality check, etc.), I can't simply slap their results on my paper and give them coauthorships like you might do with other collaborators.
That being said, I'll have to run a replication study of their idea to meet publication standards and rigor. Normally, I would see if the students would want to be research assistants to help me replicate their study and give them coauthorships on any posters, oral presentations, or papers that come out of this. However, I don't think I'll be able to get the study started for a while and all these students are currently 4th years (meaning they will graduate in approximately 6 months).
With that in mind, is it ethical to replicate the study with my own batch of research assistants in the future and give credit to the class students in only the acknowledgement sessions for giving me the idea for one of the studies in the paper?
Or would one have to give authorship to the students? I personally follow a code of publication ethics where authorship is mainly reserved for those who played a role in the actual writing of the paper or collection of primary data but of course am open to hearing out other opinions and changing my code. (Note: my field is Psychology)
Small edit: I see this case as being different from citing published papers or preprints given that the work is still novel and not published. But the students' project is actually on Youtube so it can be regarded as public. Perhaps I'm intuitively sensing that it is different given that they were my direct students.
Final update (5/11/22): I've since changed my approach and now agree with others that intellectual contributions warrant giving credit to in the form of coauthorship. Unfortunately, the specific project that spurred this question never came to fruition due to the COVID pandemic as it required in-person activities.

I'm somewhat distant from your context, but if they're already "published" on YouTube, citing their video (but no co-authorship) would seem reasonable to me... in terms of fair-play and such. And maybe ask them if they'd want an opportunity to continue on your extension of their project... or not.

That was also a rationalization I reached as well from a strictly academic code of ethical conduct point of view. Perhaps it is because it is the same institution and the fact that they were my students that it's bothering me--but this may just simply be me worrying over nothing.

In particular, if you're not actually "scooping" them in any on-going projects of theirs, you're not "playing unfair", I think. Yes, you had "inside information", but that does not necessarily mean that you can't do anything ever... If you wanted to be squeaky clean, I guess contact them and ask them what their own plans are...

"I don't think I'll be able to get the study started for a while and all these students are currently 4th years" Do these people really need to be around to study with you? Can't you collaborate from afar? Have you considered offering them grad. positions (perhaps masters degree)? If you think there are many projects to be conducted you can fit 3-4 masters thesis after you all co-author the study 1.

"I personally follow a code of publication ethics where authorship is mainly reserved for those who played a role in the actual writing of the paper or collection of primary data" your personal code is wrong. It implies you can get an idea from someone else, do the same consequent experiments quicker and better than they would do and publish their ideas without burning any neuron time on thinking about "the idea". The idea is a very fundamental contribution, even if the "thinker" cannot write. Do not be selfish, not even by accident, stop your thinking of authorships in these limiting terms.

Given your description of events, the students have made unmistakable intellectual contributions to your proposed project. As such, they are naturally authors. You should invite them into the project, indicating that they will be authors even if they do relatively little from this point on.
But if you give the impression that the concept is your own, then it is plagiarism.
Acknowledgement here is not enough. It would imply that they helped you with your ideas rather than the other way about. Furthermore, as a professor, it is good and wise to be generous in such things. Their success reflects on you, I'll also note.

+1 for "the students have made unmistakable intellectual contributions to your proposed project. As such, they are naturally authors" If someone comes up with a brilliant idea that no one else had, even if they do not write a single line of the concrete paper, they should be an author. These rules for co-authorship popular today try to avoid courtesy co-authorships  where someone makes a remark that earns them authorship pro forma. Crucial ideas that make or break a research direction are in a different class. However, since the method is on Youtube, a (very clear) citation might also work.

Agreed with @Buffy. I've since updated my approach to coauthorship :) (made a final update to the question).


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How can I enter name as author(even after work)in a govt level research without affiliation with an institution?
This question is particularly aimed to target researchers with many years experience in this field.I have done bachelors in Bioinformatics and got an unofficial/voluntary opportunity to work with United nations on a research via local government organization.Although I would be doing the work myself and even document the paper but my superviser says that as I am not affiliated with any institution right now so I cant be put into authors section.But I have heard people work and write papers even after graduation.I want to know how is that done and what am I supposed to write in affiliation part if I want to get the research published.please tell the process in detail.Also, is it possible if I can be associated with thay phd scholar or something without being affiliated with institution?Any information regarding it will be helpful with details please.

@ff524 It seems http://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3010/does-one-need-to-be-affiliated-with-a-university-to-publish-papers is closer than the question you linked (which incidentally you linked in your answer to the question you linked).

@PVAL There are multiple questions in this post. I chose a duplicate of the "what am I supposed to write in affiliation part if I want to get the research published" part, but the question you link is also useful - thanks for digging it up.


text:
Can I avoid getting a PhD recommendation letter from my bachelor thesis co-supervisor, if I have one from my head supervisor?
I will be applying to PhD science program in the US.
I want to avoid taking recommendation letter from my bachelor thesis co-supervisor since he might not give me the best recommendation entirely due to reasons other than work.
To compensate, I will have a very strong recommendation from the head supervisor who guided my bachelor thesis, who can write about my contribution to the same thesis project.
In this circumstance, will it look suspicious from the application point of view, if I do not have the recommendation from my co-supervisor ?

It looks totally normal to hand in the letter from the main supervisor instead of the co-supervisor. If you need a second letter, ask someone from another project. I would not advise to hand in two letters from the same project anyway, it looks as if you have nothing else to offer.


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How should I respond to being addressed as "Dr. [MyName]" when I don't have a PhD?
I am a researcher without a PhD.  Because most people in my field do have PhDs, I sometimes get emails addressed to "Dr. [MyName]."
How should I address this, if at all?  I don't want to complain because they are being polite, but also I don't want to lie by omission about my credentials.

In the beginning I used to explicitly say I am not a PhD, but after a while I realized it was just the standard and I stopped worrying about it. And of course once you get your PhD you don't have to worry about it anymore. ;)

One of my professors - sorry, "lecturers" - in college used to say "Don't call me 'Professor', I can't make a radio out of coconuts"

"OH, no I'm not a doctor. I don't even play one on TV."

I have the opposite problem. I am a "Dr" as in, physician, but still doing my PhD. It confuses the hell out of people when they see my signature. :D

This is a very common experience, and mostly I think that you should ignore it.  From my experience, the primary reasons that you will get addressed as Dr. (or Prof.) are:

The sender doesn't know who you are and doesn't really care ("Honorable Dr. please send your excellent paper to our predatory journal sir!")
They are using a form or other automated system that is automatically inserting the title.
Somebody who does care but isn't sure of your status "rounds you up," figuring they are less likely to offend by too much honor than by too little.

If the person is somebody you actually want to have a relationship with or are concerned about misleading, then you can correct them, but for the most part just don't worry about it.

Wrong. Predatory journals refer to you as "Distinguished Prof", not as "Honorable Dr"!

Dear PhD student, I wanted to ask your professor a question, but I don't dare waste his/her precious time, so now I waste your time with a question you most likely cannot or are not legally permitted to answer. I am therefor upgrading your status to flatter you into taking it up with them for me.

I find that the cleanest way to defuse this, without (a) raising a fuss, or (b) lying by omission, is simply to sign my reply as e.g.

Yours sincerely,
Mr. John Smith

It is short and unobtrusive, it's there if they want to look for it, and the fact that you're signing with your title is odd enough that it's a bit of a rap on the knuckles if the email is personal and your correspondent is at least a bit perceptive.

I don't think it's necessary to respond directly to being addressed as "Dr." via email. If it makes you feel better, you may put whatever credentials you do have in your email signature:

[body of email]
Sincerely,
Slow_Writing, M.S., M.P.H., B.A.
Research Associate
Department of Writing Slowly
University Technical College

If they care, they'll read your signature and fix it. If not, enjoy the free title.

enjoy the free title, it's worth what you paid for it

@Michael Annoyingly, the free title is worth about as much as my actual title :)

I have the same problem.  I teach at a state university and I'm occasionally addressed as "Dr." even though only have an MS, unlike everyone else in the department.  Similarly, I'm occasionally addressed as "Professor", even though I'm only a lecturer.  I'm a stickler about not inflating my resume or my credentials, so this makes me uncomfortable, just as it does you.
Usually I'll offer a correction but sometimes not.  With my students, I specifically tell them at the beginning of every quarter that I do not have a PhD and am not a professor, explaining that other people have earned those titles, I have not.  I'm a lecturer and they should call me Nicole.  Most do that, though some will still call me "Professor", usually, I suspect, because they've forgotten my name or because they follow the casual convention among students of calling all their instructors "Professor".  I'll generally let that slide though if they do it in a one-on-one conversation, I may gently remind them, "You know I'm not really a professor, right?"
With others, whether I offer a correction depends on context.  If it happens in conversation, I always offer a correction.  If it's on a notice or a poster or something else that might be seen by others, I always ask for a correction (which doesn't always happen, to my discomfort).  If it happens in a forum of some kind where a speaker has referred to me as "Dr." in front of a lot of people, I'm always uncomfortable but always let it slide at the time, rather than correct the speaker in front of others, possibly making them uncomfortable as well.  But I may look for a later opportunity to offer the correction privately.
With emails, if it's simply an automated email (even sometimes from my own department), that's easy:  I ignore it.  With other emails, it depends on whether I have to reply or if I expect to have more contact with the individual.  If yes to either, I always offer a correction and, as with my students, ask them to call me Nicole.
Anyway, that's what I do.  YMMV.

It is also a cultural thing, in some cultures any teacher is a professor no matter what.

I correct it once and then let it slide rather than having it become a distraction of repeted correction.

@JDługosz Yes, I agree with that.

This is useful information, tried and tested.  However, the question specifically spoke of emails.  So I suggest you ask a new question to fit your answer, and then provide your own answer.

@aparente001  And I suggest you re-read my answer as the I did specifically address the question of emails.  I merely put it in context.

Yes, I see it now -- "It depends on whether I have to reply or if I expect to have more contact with the individual. If yes to either, I always offer a correction and, as with my students, ask them to call me Nicole."  Sorry I missed it.  I would vote your answer up if the key information requested were somewhere near the top.  Also an example of a sentence you would use when offering the correction would be a plus.  I found your answer informative and interesting but I would like to see the key information front and center.

If the email is from somebody who you'll need to communicate with in the future, you can let them know that you don't have a PhD. It doesn't matter how you do that: just be polite. Most of these emails, though, are from people you will never speak to again. There's no need to waste your energy correcting those people; just ignore it and/or take it as a small compliment.


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How can I cite an entire paragraph from one source minus a line in the middle
I have an entire paragraph mostly based off one source, but in the middle of the paragraph I have a sentence that comes from a direct quote and then the rest of the paragraph is from that first source. How can I cite this using MLA-style?

Hi, I edited you question a bit and since I did not know what MLA should mean, I googled it and inserted a link. I hope, this is correct, if not, feel free to edit it out (and sorry!).

Use three citations, plus a bit of supporting prose: one for the first part of the paragraph, one for the direct quote plus some prose indicating that you've changed sources, and one for the final part of the paragraph plus some prose indicating that you've shifted sources again.
For example:

According to the consensus of the time, electrons might be blue but they were never green or yellow (Dali 89).  Picasso, however, declared "I have many times seen green, yellow, and even polka-dotted electrons" (Picasso 322).  The obvious retort to this declaration, however, is that Picasso was probably mistaking protons for electrons (Dali 89).

If your paragraph is particularly lengthy, you may need to use more citations, just as you would if the inserted quote did not exist.


text:
Time waiting for submission to student section of law journals
I have submitted a small piece in two legal Journals, one for the Journal's blog and one for an on-line version of it but haven't heard from them for quite a while. These sections are the only ones where they publish student submissions. I submitted to the first one on 12 May, didn't get any response and I e-mailed them on 27 May just to make sure they received it and I finally got a response on May 31 asking for extended cuts. I expanded the article to meet the second journal's standards and I submitted it on 25 June. Meanwhile I submitted the cut version to the first journal on 3 August. On August 18 I tried to send an e-mail to confirm that the second journal had received my piece and the e-mail that I sent to the original submission address failed to deliver (I received a relative notification). Anyway, I e-mailed the general submissions address of the second journal to let them know of the problem and ask if I need to re-submit and have received no response until today.
I know that it may seem that it is not a long time but the short version of the paper is 4 pages and the long one 7, so it shouldn't take much time for the editors to finish reviewing it (another journal responded within two weeks). Also I need to increase the number of my publications to apply for some positions asap. Should I try to re-contact any journal or should I just keep waiting?

No they're not, they actually are journals of Harvard and Columbia and the one that rejected me was of Stanford. They just have these sections for smaller parts, and they only accept submissions from students in those. Plus in my field it is very common to submit to more than one journals, at least as far as the US are concerned.

If you are submitting to a special kind of journal (smaller parts, student only, whatever) or in a field with unusual publication practices (where multiple submissions and 1-week decisions are normal, as you say), then you will certainly need to [edit] the details of your situation into your question before anyone can answer it. How can anybody answer your question without knowing the context?

It was two weeks after all, I did not remember correctly. I made the changes, hope they help.


text:
Is it plagiarism to hire a freelance programmer for an assignment but change a lot of it before you submit it?
I took freelancer tutor help for a Python programming coursework  during my MS but did not submit the exact code he gave, I refracted it and changed a lot of it. Is it considered plagiarism?
I am asking this question to clear the self-guilt and to know more about code plagiarism.

Possible duplicate of Took external help

Please don't evade the rules by breaking more rules. All you're going to get is a crowd of people who are irritated with you and have no reason to help you.

@chipbuster I don't think it's a duplicate, because that question asks whether the professor will give a good recommendation. This question asks something different.

@ff524 fair enough. Would the usual protocol be to edit the first question for reopening? (I lurk the SE a fair bit, but I'm still not that familiar with all the rules)

@chipbuster Not really, the first question is asking something else that is fundamentally unanswerable; there's no point in editing it to turn it into something else completely. We will just let that one stay closed and eventually get deleted.

what is your purpose for asking the question: because of your own guilt, or because you were 'caught' plagiarizing?

@J.Roibal - own guilt .

Rohan: Yes, you committed academic dishonesty and plagiarism. Since you were not caught, you will not be facing any disciplinary actions that would accompany being caught or found out in this situation. What you have done is similar to 'cheating' in a relationship. Although there are no external consequences, your conscience has (accurately) taken stock of the situation and you feel bad because you acted incorrectly. The best you can do is accept you acted inappropriately and resolve to NEVER make the same mistake again.

If you used code that you paid someone else to write (or found for free online) for an assignment and don't disclose it, then you have plagiarized.
Plagiarism is the practice of using someone else's work and pretending it is your own, in a situation where there is an expectation of originality (as there is in coursework assignments).
If you use someone else's work and you disclose it (by citing it and telling the professor you have done so), and then build on that work by adding your own work, then you haven't plagiarized. You may not have done a good job on the assignment - your professor may decide that the work you have done on your own is not sufficient to earn a good grade, or your professor may set a rule that students are not allowed to use outside sources and then penalize you for not following the parameters of the assignment; but as long as you are honest about the source of the work, it isn't plagiarism.
But it is absolutely required that you make it clear what part of the work is not your own, and what parts are your original contributions.

This particular coursework was a high-end python glue-ware application involving many open-source libraries . I used his inputs and logic but changed the code(i understood how libraries worked and the logic) and went onto to refactor the code for 2 of my classmates.I made a mistake by not mentioning his name for initial solution . I do feel bad about it.

@RohanGupta Regardless of whether you mentioned his name, did you make it clear in your project submission how much was bought and how much was your own work?

NO . Honestly i did not knew about mentioning the this , back in the day . My only intention was to understand , learn and then do it myself.