Academia Stack Exchange
Academia Stack Exchange

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1500 questions
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7 answers

Why do people do postdoc(s) when they can already do research as a professor?

I think PhD is the first time, mostly, when a person does original new work and in this process they gain the skills to do research. So, I was wondering why do people do postdoc(s) when they already have those research capabilities which they can…
ankit
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Unsolicited CVs from grad school applicants - ignore or try to help?

I am a graduate student in physics and every other month or so I get an e-mail from someone who wants a grad school or even postdoc position. These e-mails often start out "Dear Professor (my name)," (I'm not a professor) and go on to explain that…
ptomato
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How to write a research statement for a math postdoc position?

I am a graduate student in mathematics working on functional analysis of quantum information (basically using matrix techniques in some well-known problems). I am presently applying for postdoctoral positions (in both Mathematics and Quantitative…
RSG
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7 answers

Paper accepted by a journal without comments

Did you ever get a paper accepted by a journal without any comment at all? It has happened to me twice; both times with a very high-standing journal in my field. I was initially confused, did not know whether to be pleased, or horrified. I then…
famargar
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6 answers

Am I being a "mean" instructor, denying an extension on a take home exam?

I am teaching part time at a community college (in the US) and I have one student who is about 16, I think he is a senior in high school (at least he is about to graduate HS in the spring). He is currently applying to MIT, Harvard, etc... and he…
Squirtle
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3 answers

How to decline a postdoc interview if there is some possible future collaboration?

I am applying for post-doc position. I was invited for two interviews on close dates. I already did the first one and got the job. I am going to accept the offer because the research is very nice, the institution has high publication-records and it…
Lucia
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5 answers

Is it possible to keep publishing under my professional (maiden) name, different from my married legal name?

I have a question about my choice of name for publication. I recently got married and legally changed my name to my husband's surname (for example's sake: from Hunter to Jones). So, despite legally being Ms Jones now, I would quite like to use the…
Ashley
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2 answers

Do my articles published in local newspapers count as publications?

I'm applying to Columbia's journalism school and it asked me if I have any publications. Since I worked as a reporter before for the local newspaper, and I did write a few headline stories, I thought this might help my journalism application. But…
Lavender. S
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4 answers

Published papers with incorrect solutions of famous problems: how to raise concerns with editors?

I recently discovered the following two papers: Bruckman, Paul S. A proof of the Collatz conjecture. Internat. J. Math. Ed. Sci. Tech. 39 (2008), no. 3, 403–407, DOI: 10.1080/00207390701691574. Bruckman, Paul S. A proof of the strong Goldbach…
Nate Eldredge
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How do I politely and tactfully tell my advisor that I would like more consistency in meetings?

I am a PhD student. My advisor is great, but like all academics is very busy (administrative duties, other students, research...). What happens almost every time I try to have a meeting, since the beginning of my PhD, is the following: We set some…
user54760
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5 answers

As an undergraduate, how can I explore research topics that may interest me without having a background?

I'm a fourth-year undergraduate looking to apply to graduate physics program this year. My problem is this: I don't know how to pick a study/research area for graduate school. I enjoy my undergraduate courses greatly yet I have no idea how I could…
Wise Owl
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7 answers

Concerns about a very old PhD advisor?

I’m thinking about taking a 70-year old math professor as my PhD advisor, in a US school. I like his teaching and research. If I don’t choose him, I would probably have to switch fields, which I can do with some pain, since I have not specialized…
first-year PhD student
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8 answers

Can I still try to publish my work if my algorithm's results are not as good as other algorithms'?

I've written a classification algorithm that does a pretty good job at classifying some datasets. However, I compared my algorithm to other classification methods, and their results exceed my results by a little. For instance, when classifying a…
Veil
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6 answers

How can I clear myself of emotional attachment when reading reviewer feedback?

I have received feedback from reviewers on my latest conference paper (this is in Computer Science). It was an acceptance, which is nice. I feel I really need to consider in depth the reviewer feedback. I have consciously noticed I have a emotional…
Frames Catherine White
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8 answers

Literature searches in publications when you have limited access to journals

I'm currently at an institution that has a phenomenal library system. I think every journal article or book I've ever needed, no matter how old or obscure, was available to me. I consider myself very fortunate, and always try to hold on to…
iwantmyphd
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