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1500 questions
43
votes
7 answers

What methods can be used in online exams to genuinely test the students' knowledge and capabilities?

There has been a lot of talk about online teaching in relation to covid-19 and campus shutdowns. This question isn't about that though: my question is about what ways online examinations should be treated in counterpoint to written examinations.…
Stumbler
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5 answers

Rejection from a legitimate journal, with reviewers recommending me to try a Beall's list journal

Recently I received a rejection by the editor of SCI Expanded journal (which I consider to be a legitimate journal): The reviewer's comments (just a few days after I submitted the manuscript): Sorry, this paper lacks novelty, is not well written,…
yoyostein
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43
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6 answers

Points to remember when having to write recommendation letter yourself

While it is an unethical academic practice, it is a fact that most recommendation letters for MS degrees in US and Europe from countries like India and China are written by students themselves. Students apply en masse; the faculty strength in…
Bravo
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43
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11 answers

Is it unethical for a professor to misrepresent the format of an exam?

If a professor at a university explicitly states an exam will contain "multiple choice questions and true/false questions" and then administers an exam with several short answer and essay questions, is that worth filing a complaint to the department…
Scott
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43
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12 answers

My PhD defense is next week and I am having negative thoughts about my work and knowledge. Any advice on how to tackle this?

I am presenting my PhD thesis in front of my committee next week and I feel that I have just not done enough. My work is simple and I also feel that I have poor theoretical foundations and am going to be an embarrassment when quizzed by my…
Raj Malhotra
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43
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8 answers

How to structure presentation to avoid getting questions that will be answered later in the presentation?

In the past when I've given presentations at my lab and conferences, I've not had to deal with this problem. But at my new institution I'm constantly dealing with the following phenomena. I'm constantly being asked questions that will be answered…
user84735
43
votes
8 answers

Is there a way to save my career from absolute disaster?

I am in my fifth year and I am about to submit my Applied Mechanics PhD thesis in. However, I always felt absolutely incompetent in the field. I tried improving my weak areas by self study, taking up challenging projects, but always ended up with…
Clueledd
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43
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12 answers

I hate taking lectures, can I still survive in academia?

I'm 3rd Physics & Mathematics student and I almost hate both taking and attending lectures; it is not because of the content, but rather the way how it is done; I don't like sitting in uncomfortable in a crowded room for 50 min. unstopped. To…
Our
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43
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6 answers

Is it appropriate to cite a paper in a language I don't understand?

Some months back I got into a situation where a paper with information that I considered important to prove a point was in a language I cannot understand. Since it was important but not crucial, I ended up not using the paper. Except for its…
James Cook
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43
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7 answers

Dispute grade penalty for reading in class?

I am in an large, entry level course targeted at engineers. A few weeks ago, I was reading for another class while my professor covered material I was familiar with, and she marked me down as absent for at least one and maybe two classes. She has a…
Irritated
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43
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3 answers

What are the minimum contributions required for co-authorship

In this answer it is claimed that authorship is given away for "free" in some fields (e.g., obtaining the funding). The comments to the answer suggest that this is field dependent. I am looking for documentation from a field that suggests that…
StrongBad
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43
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4 answers

Central dot as decimal point in top journal

The Lancet, one of the top medical journals in the world, requires 'Type decimal points midline (ie, 23·4, not 23.4)'. Does anyone know why this is? As a mathematician, I'll always read 23·4 as 92. Seems odd to me that such a high profile paper…
E. Rei
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43
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5 answers

Can co-authors disagree in their own paper?

Co-authors are increasingly required to report their individual contributions to a research paper. But can they report their (internal) disagreement? Co-authors may disagree on parts of a final draft. Each may have own interpretation of (parts of)…
Orion
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43
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6 answers

How far should you go in compromising your work to get it published?

To get my first paper published I carefully followed all reviewers’ instructions as I was convinced that reviewers are experienced researchers and reviewers. After major revision my first paper was smoothly accepted. However, as I progressed in…
user93911
43
votes
4 answers

Don't want someone else to continue on the topic of my thesis

Today I defended by Bachelor's thesis and I did well. The thesis is handed in. However the process of developing it was a real nightmare, I had many panic attacks, etc. and it was just awful. But now I realized that I have mentioned in my thesis…
GeForce RTX 4090
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