Questions tagged [communication]
Questions about how to communicate with others appropriately and professionally; communication etiquette.
334
questions
5
votes
4answers
296 views
How to get feedback from my supervisor about me
I'm a first year PhD student in mathematics. One day I was having some conversation with my supervisor and we got to a point where he casually mentioned about his other students and said that one of ...
18
votes
2answers
3k views
How do I deal with a collaborator who stopped working at the final stage of a research project?
I am a graduate student who started to collaborate with a postdoc last year on a research project which we both came up with. During the past year we had several discussions about this project. I ...
45
votes
6answers
9k views
Regret after not being able to solve a problem that my supervisor did easily
I'm a first year PhD student and I was asked to think about a problem last week and I tried to work out some examples, did some computations, but I wasn't successful. Basically, I didn't really make ...
25
votes
8answers
10k views
First-time teaching PhD students make course assignment way too demanding for a new lecture
I'm attending a graduate lecture at a university in Europe. Two lecturers, both PhD students, are giving their first lecture. One of the PhD students is senior and another just recently enrolled in ...
8
votes
3answers
363 views
I am about to apply for a tenure-track position close to my spouse's workplace. How do I reflect my intent wisely in the cover letter?
I currently hold a TT position at school A. My spouse's job (not in academia) is at a 4 hours commute from school A. We underestimated the hassle it would bring when I accepted the position at School ...
14
votes
6answers
5k views
Can I use a fake email address for asking simple questions to experts?
I am a postdoc in math. From time to time, I have some simple questions, which I believe most graduate students know in their field. So, I email specialists to ask them. I sometimes noticed that ...
3
votes
1answer
148 views
Telling supervisor we need to wait before publishing
I am a PhD student and my supervisor absolutely wants me to publish an article with results from my master's thesis (done 2 years ago). I started writing the paper, but the more I write, the more I ...
2
votes
1answer
174 views
Wrote a paper, supervisor couldn't respond
I wrote a paper based on research done with my supervisor, and sent it to them.
They haven't yet confirmed they saw it. It's been some time, and I sent a followup.
What happens if they never reply? I ...
3
votes
1answer
305 views
Telling my supervisor I'm unhappy
An update to yesterday's post.
A mixture of events has caused me to lose interest in my PhD project. I started on the back of losing a close family member which really didn't give me a good start.
...
15
votes
4answers
6k views
Getting married abroad on August 21st, job begins on August 23rd. What do I do?
I just completed my Ph.D. and have recently been offered a lecturer position in a university. The first day of classes is on August 23rd, and I am getting married abroad in Europe on August 21st. The ...
1
vote
1answer
215 views
Is it absolutely necessary for a researcher to have an institutional email?
I was creating a researchgate account and it says it wouldn't let me in if I can't provide institutional email.
I do research in an University and I don't have any Institutional email. But the way ...
3
votes
2answers
545 views
My PI publicly humiliated my colleague. I want to report the incident but don't have a recording. What should I do?
Background: I am a PhD student in my final year, and I'm writing my thesis now. My PI (not a professor) is in his late 40's and is generally kind in public. However, he is often moody, and I feel he ...
2
votes
1answer
92 views
Should response to an email of accepted article with some comments
I received an email from one journal telling me that my paper will be accepted if I consider all the comments from the reviewer. They did not ask me to write a response to the reviewer as the comments ...
20
votes
3answers
5k views
Cold emailing another grad student at your institution to ask a question
I’m stuck in my research (I'm a PhD student) with a task/question that neither I nor my advisor are knowledgeable about (we are looking for vendors of a niche item and have had very little success in ...
68
votes
16answers
17k views
Why did I receive a negative response from a professor when emailing about course content and prerequisites of a course I am considering taking?
I wrote the following email to a professor (I've removed any personal or specific details):
Dear Prof. Last name,
Hope this email finds you well.
I am Name, an undergraduate in the mathematics ...
2
votes
1answer
433 views
Can my school fire me on the grounds that I have applied to another school?
I'm in the middle of a 4-year Ph.D. program on a full scholarship, in a foreign country. Due to expertise issues, lack of community, and other reasons I have decided that this program is not suitable ...
1
vote
1answer
126 views
Getting an extra advisor late in my PhD
TLDR: what's the smoothest way of getting a professor as a third advisor in the penultimate year of my PhD without offending my current advisors?
(Note: I know I am lucky and this is not a big problem,...
0
votes
0answers
76 views
A measure implementation from my group deviates from an official implementation
In my master's thesis work, I am using several algorithmic measures to assess the difference between conditions.
One measure in particular is important to predict 'quality'. This may sound weird in ...
1
vote
1answer
122 views
Is it Okay to Appear Constantly as Offline but Reply Back Instantly? [closed]
On apps such as Mattermost, there are the following online status symbols:
To be honest, I don't (i) like and (ii) want people to know on which times I'm online, and on which times I'm not. I feel ...
17
votes
11answers
11k views
Is it impolite to not reply back during the weekend?
When someone writes to me while I am online during the weekend (a student or a colleague), is it impolite to not reply back, especially when they can see that I am online (on Mattermost for example or ...
6
votes
1answer
780 views
How to ask my former PhD supervisor to stay away from me and do not contact my prospective new PhD supervisor?
There are a long list of stories about the issues with my PhD supervisor here in Academia.SE (see it here but these are not the only ones). So, I'm not going to repeat why I'm leaving my current ...
-1
votes
1answer
132 views
What kind of mailing lists do academics use? [closed]
I have to create a mailing list. One of those kinds that are used in academia, with just one address through which anybody can share an email with everybody included in the mailing list. I've searched ...
17
votes
6answers
5k views
My previous university email account got hacked and spam messages were sent to many people. What should I do?
I am having serious trouble with my previous university email account (Office365), provided by the university where I finished my master’s studies last year (I am currently pursuing a PhD at another ...
4
votes
1answer
242 views
Professor submitted my letter of recommendation after I removed him
I had sent a reminder to the professor for submitting my letter of recommendation about two days before the deadline, but he didn't reply to me. He was highly unresponsive after initially agreeing. As ...
3
votes
2answers
296 views
Struggling with Lab Dynamics and Mental Health
I am currently pursuing a master's degree and I am one of two students working on one project. This project takes a team science approach to answering a question, which normally one would find ...
11
votes
3answers
904 views
How to deal with incommunicable co-author
The background: In the grand area of Mathematics in which I do research, there is a famous Professor, let us call him 'A', who started a joint project with another younger colleague, let
us call him '...
23
votes
7answers
5k views
I found that a method I was hoping to publish is already known. What would be a proper way to retract emails sent to professors asking for help?
Continuation of this post.
Basically, I emailed a publisher and two profs, asking for help on a paper I had written but not submitted. Turns out the method was not as novel as I thought, as an MSE ...
21
votes
11answers
11k views
How should I consider a possibly rude reply from a potential PhD advisor?
I am in my first semester of my applied math PhD program in the United States. The professor (potential PhD advisor) of the course I am auditing has replied to my question about the schedule for the ...
20
votes
4answers
7k views
Doing a PhD at a famous football school: how can I ask for time off to attend games?
Consider a famous football school in the U.S., for example Penn State, Michigan, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Auburn, and Ohio State.
I am doing a PhD in a STEM field at one of these schools, and on 6 or 7 ...
-1
votes
1answer
134 views
How to resolve current situation with a lecturer that comes across as overly critical/abrasive? [closed]
I am currently in my final year of a Computer Science degree in which there is a database module, and the first large-scale assignment is in progress. The Lecturer that has led most of the classes has ...
-1
votes
1answer
271 views
Interacting with Non-academics: How to Not Compromise One's Rigor? [closed]
This is a question about interacting with other people (in particular, non-academics). Hopefully, this is a common-enough problem that it is appropriate for this community.
I consider myself an (...
1
vote
1answer
128 views
How should I write an appropiate email for a PhD position? [duplicate]
I am a graduated Master's student from Asia and really want to take a PhD position in Canada, America or Germany. My English language skills are good but I don't have an IELTS degree. Some of my ...
1
vote
0answers
99 views
How to handle unresponsive ex-supervisor on the submission of an article?
During my master's, I had done a project which yielded some interesting results that I and my supervisor started to write up. I moved to a different university (and country) for my PhD and kept ...
2
votes
0answers
66 views
How do I tell my private teacher I want to stop learning subject with him/her [closed]
I would like to tell it politely, because there is a chance I will hire the teacher in the future. Now I just want to stop working with the teacher.
36
votes
1answer
7k views
My wife's contributions are not acknowledged in our group's paper that has me as coauthor. Should I speak up for her?
The background is that my wife and I are in the same lab.
Recently our group did a paper together, and I am an author. However, my wife had contributed to draw a figure to a publication level. ...
12
votes
2answers
582 views
Verbal warning based on student complaints without evidence and investigation
I am working as a lecturer at a university. My students hate math and stats. Due to that, they hate my class. There is a group of students who are always shouting, yelling, and showing disrespectful ...
33
votes
10answers
7k views
How should I request a professor to restrict communication to email?
My instructor for an undergraduate math course (a professor) has been interacting with me over WhatsApp lately, and I feel that that is very unprofessional (and uncomfortable), since I (and everyone) ...
51
votes
7answers
10k views
How to react to some students who book an appointment and do not show up?
I wonder what is the best strategy to follow to respond to students who book an appointment with you and do not show up. It is just so un-nice when this happens.
I do not want the student to be upset ...
3
votes
0answers
83 views
How can I enable productive online meetings with my supervisor?
I am currently writing my master's thesis. My advisor is very busy, and I reckon he will allocate about 1-3 hours a month to actively supervise me, at least in the near future. Due to the ongoing ...
6
votes
2answers
251 views
Is the salutation and/or the signature of an email indicative of the intended level of formality?
I wrote an email recently to the author of a book. I'm working on the master's degree in Hungary, the author is a professor in Canada. I'm not a native English speaker. My letter looked like the ...
0
votes
1answer
115 views
I worked in a specific direction without communicating it to master's thesis advisor, problem?
I am currently waiting for a meeting with my master's thesis supervisor and two people from a research institution i am associated with. The plan is to for me to talk about my literature review, and ...
27
votes
8answers
9k views
In what language do scientists communicate with each other in European research institutions?
I was just wondering out of curiosity. Nothing relating to my own circumstances.
In what language do scientists in facilities like the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (whose campuses are there ...
-1
votes
1answer
167 views
A retired professor welcomed me to talk with him after I asked about doing a master thesis
(This post is related to A professor invited me to their seminar when I enquired about working on a master thesis with them: did they reject me?, I have a follow up question so I decided to open a new ...
55
votes
9answers
7k views
Telling a former supervisor you don't want to publish
I graduated from my PhD in the middle of last year and have since landed a full time job in industry. Currently I'm pretty ran off my feet with work, but I'm also enjoying having free time at weekends ...
33
votes
4answers
11k views
How can I politely tell a student that I already support him several times and that is enough?
I have a student who sends me emails twice a week showing me his updated dissertation. At first I supported him a lot. But he literally does what I say word by word and never goes beyond what I tell ...
8
votes
4answers
2k views
How do I ask professors to give feedback on my online articles that are based on their work?
I am working on a website that contains a list of free courses. My aim is to promote our field (semidefinite programming).
Each course consists of a number of articles.
Each article is built using ...
38
votes
11answers
15k views
Was my student being disrespectful by using shouting language in her email to me?
I have a PhD in statistics and teach statistics for humanities students in a university. One week before the start of the semester I posted all the required information regarding the course textbook, ...
5
votes
2answers
405 views
Fighting for academic fairness: My authorship is unaffected but my PhD advisor pushed up authorship of a co-author at the expense of other co-authors
I’m Nick, a postdoc currently working on publication of my PhD work. There are several authors on the paper - two former graduate students as co-first authors (myself and Aubrey), followed by five ...
30
votes
5answers
11k views
How should I address my two supervisors (one man, one woman) in an email?
I am currently doing a PhD. My professor, which is my first supervisor, is a man. My second supervisor is a woman and works for my first supervisor. The etiquette and the courtesy, at least in my ...
2
votes
2answers
181 views
Is it okay to change advisors in the same university between Masters and PhD?
I have almost finished my master's in Computer Science the only reason that I don't want to directly continue with a PhD is my advisor and co-advisor. I was left out during almost all my master's ...
