Questions tagged [etiquette]

The customary code of polite behavior amongst the academic world.

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Etiquette concerning Lab Findings / Results

I'm an undergraduate and was fortunate to be selected for a 12 week summer placement in a professors lab at my university. I worked way over and above the funded hours and made some very interesting ...
Julia's user avatar
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1 answer
256 views

At what point does research criticism become academic hazing?

I've been collaborating on a paper with a junior colleague and a senior colleague, among others. The junior colleague is the lead writer on the paper and has done about 85-90% of the research. Junior ...
user2352714's user avatar
8 votes
7 answers
4k views

How do I cite personal observations of what people generally believe about a topic?

I am trying to figure out how to cite what the general "word on the street" is regarding a certain topic within a scientific paper. As a researcher, I have noticed there are a number of ...
user2352714's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
188 views

Should I correct my previous statement to a stranger after several years?

A stranger sent me an email asking for a solution and advice on a technical problem years ago. I gave him my personal opinon and solution at that time. Now, several years later, I found that some of ...
konchy's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
185 views

Professor is responding to research-related emails but not reference request

I realise this is a common question, but my situation is complicated by the work-related responses without a response to my reference request. I requested a reference letter from my professor a week ...
WhooNo's user avatar
  • 113
2 votes
1 answer
149 views

Is it ok to ask academic contacts if they know of any postdoc positions suitable for me?

I'm a graduating PhD student looking for academic postdocs. So far, I've tried (soft-)applying to positions I found advertised online, applying for a grant and asking my PI for help. None of this has ...
coffee_into_plots's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
100 views

Independent guides for when to give authorship?

Are there any independent, widely-accepted codes of conducts or guides for when authorship should be given on a paper? Would be helpful to have these to refer to to avoid potential confusion or ...
Richard's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
2k views

Use of Prof title for academic moving from US to UK

In the United States, we use the title Professor or Prof. (in writing) for all faculty at the assistant, associate and full professor levels. In the United Kingdom, we use the title only for the most ...
jerlich's user avatar
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2 votes
3 answers
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Specific Advice about Grad-Undergrad Friendships & Relationships (US)

I am 21/M, and I am about to start my PhD at a R-1 university in the US in two weeks (if it matters, it's a southeastern state.) A month ago, I started talking to a 19/F on an online chat platform - ...
purple-sky's user avatar
6 votes
5 answers
5k views

Invitation to publish

A prestigious professor emailed me and requested that I submit work for publication with the renowned series that he edits. He needs this work because it is a gap for something he is engaged with. I ...
qwerty's user avatar
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14 votes
2 answers
3k views

Is it appropriate to try to contact the referee of a paper after it has been accepted and published?

I have a paper that was refereed, accepted, and published. The referee's report was overwhelming positive and enthusiastic about my paper and results. Now that the paper is fully published, is it ...
XYZT's user avatar
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1 answer
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Is it OK to inquire about my application status after a late application submission?

I recently encountered a situation regarding the submission of my application for a 9-month academic program. I submitted my application after the deadline by 40 minutes and now find myself ...
Dark_Witch's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
264 views

What is the etiquette for reaching out to potential PI's in physics?

I'm an undergraduate student majoring in physics and mathematics, who is preparing to begin applying to graduate programs in physics. In doing so, I've reached out to a few people for advice, and I've ...
MomentumEigenstate's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
190 views

condolence and work-related request in a single email

So my professor lost a family member a couple of weeks ago and went back home. I have not communicated with him since he announced this (in a lab meeting), work-related or otherwise, because I was ...
Feri's user avatar
  • 123
0 votes
1 answer
164 views

Writing an appeal letter for a rejected master programme

Background: Due to unexpected factors, I was forced to give up my offer and send applications to find another master programme. As a result, I had to submit my application files at the beginning of ...
m1ssing's user avatar
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2 votes
3 answers
3k views

What steps should I take when contacting another researcher after finding possible errors in their work?

The story starts on April 2, when I found a critical mistake in a semi-famous recent applied math paper with 100 citations. I admire the paper and I find a very simple counterexample that high-...
High GPA's user avatar
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15 votes
3 answers
3k views

Referee for two papers by the same author: can I let them know?

I am a referee for two papers by the same author: can I acknowledge in the second report (the first was almost ready when I was invited to referee the second one) my report to the first paper? To give ...
AnyDisplayName's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
234 views

Whose Email(s) Should be Listed on Research Poster Presentations?

If I make a conference poster as a graduate student, whose email address(es) should be included in the subtitle of the poster? Traditionally, I have always thought it should just be the PI's email, ...
rmza7's user avatar
  • 103
0 votes
3 answers
950 views

May a university lecturer wear a cap while teaching in the North American Setting?

If not, can one refer to any formal (written) prohibition of wearing caps for lecturers, in a North American university? The cap may be text-less or have any non-offensive text/image.
Pinton's user avatar
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36 votes
4 answers
9k views

What should I do when I can’t replicate results from a conference paper?

There is a theoretical computer science paper that is published in a very good conference. The paper essentially comes up with an algorithm and an explicit function (mentioned in the paper) of some 20 ...
user3508551's user avatar
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-1 votes
2 answers
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Contact chair after VAP position ended to express interest in an RTF position?

I spent 2 years in a Visiting Assistant Professor position, which just "ended" after 4 tenure track positions were filled. I was not considered for any of them. My best guess is that I a) ...
Mlbrent 's user avatar
12 votes
7 answers
12k views

I sent a Facebook friend request to my ex-professor, should I apologise?

Summary: after graduation, I sent my professor a friend request on Facebook, but didn't have response for a few days. I feel really bad and I really want to apologize. I just graduated and I have ...
algare's user avatar
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17 votes
6 answers
6k views

Can I omit my department's name to express my dissenting opinions?

My full affiliation is: Abacus Beard Department of Underwater Basket-Weaving, Calvin Doofus Division of Ocean Science, University of Watering-Down. A. B. is the name of a big donor. C. D. is the ...
dodo's user avatar
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18 votes
5 answers
8k views

May the spouse of a tenure-track candidate accompany them during their lunch with the head of the department?

In a hypothetical North American setting, assume that a tenure-track candidate whose spouse is also with them during their campus visit. Having lunch with the head of department is common for such a ...
User's user avatar
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-1 votes
1 answer
405 views

Offended My Professor [closed]

Last night in class we were having a discussion about how to handle an ethical dilemma in the workplace. I raised my hand said that I had read an article that said there are few times when we would ...
SallyQ's user avatar
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5 votes
4 answers
3k views

Is it worth pointing out missed works in already published papers?

I have come across several works that omitted the citation of relevant related literature, but clearly are camera-ready versions already accepted/presented at a conference or journal. Of course, due ...
dennlinger's user avatar
9 votes
3 answers
2k views

How much control does my advisor have if I'm on fellowship?

I'm a second year Ph.D. student in STEM and I have a lot of "clashes" with my advisor. Some are serious issues: (1) he wouldn't talk to me, the 1st author, about a project and instead met 1-...
hazel_lion's user avatar
10 votes
4 answers
4k views

Ethical standards in asking a professor for reviewing a finished manuscript and publishing it together

I have been independently working on a substantial idea. The results of my work have been compiled into a complete manuscript. However, I think I need to have an expert in the field reviewing it to ...
Ash's user avatar
  • 388
10 votes
3 answers
3k views

Should I send a manual email as well as an autogenerated email to potential reviewers?

I am an editor for a math journal. When I select and invite a reviewer to referee a paper the journal's management software automatically writes and sends an email invitation to that reviewer. For a ...
Darren Ong's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
98 views

How do I pivot from a collaboration with some professors on a project I am not particularly invested in to one lying more in my area of interest?

I am a graduate student who is currently working on a project with another student and some professors which will soon lead to the publication of a paper with my name on it. As someone who would like ...
user170146's user avatar
14 votes
8 answers
8k views

Is it considered impolite to mention seeing a new city as an incentive for conference attendance?

I'm a grad student in the final term of my 2nd year. In a weekly meeting with my supervisor yesterday, I brought up an upcoming conference in our discipline. This conference is twice-annual and very ...
Nicolas Banks's user avatar
-2 votes
1 answer
411 views

Is it appropriate for a teacher to make a sex analogy related to physics?

My physics professor was talking about the companion forces that act on an object with molecules interacting with one another and Newton's 3rd law canceling out the internal forces. Then he said ...
WorldOfMasters's user avatar
28 votes
9 answers
4k views

What is the de facto standard while writing equation in a short email to professors?

In a research field that math is frequently used, while sending a long note/paper, attaching a pdf is of course the best. But for a short email that only involves few equations, a pdf file might be ...
dodo's user avatar
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116 votes
11 answers
40k views

One of my postdocs elegantly solved a problem another postdoc had been working on for years. I have no idea how to navigate this delicate situation

I run a lab in an applied computational field (e.g. computational biology/chemistry/physics etc.) One of my postdocs (“A”) has been working on a problem for the last two years. They have made good ...
ScoopedPostdoc's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
73 views

How to approach my MSc advisor that I may want to apply for another PhD program?

I am doing a research-based master's degree at a university, and my advisor was asking me "if I want to do a Ph.D." when I was starting and I said yes. For some reason, he assumed that I'd ...
Tortellini Teusday's user avatar
13 votes
11 answers
5k views

(When) Is it appropriate to give a "thank you" gifts to a professor who is not your advisor or teacher?

As a grad student (or postdoc), past taking classes, is it ok to get a thank you gift for a professor who : has helped you with something (e.g. introduced you to someone for a collaboration or wrote ...
nara's user avatar
  • 1,073
0 votes
1 answer
234 views

Could I ask an ex-advisor to show me the letter of recommendation he wrote for me?

Is it possible to ask somebody who wrote me a letter of recommendation to show me the letter? or is it impolite in academia? - The letter is a requirement to participate in a top networking conference ...
Nadine's user avatar
  • 1,549
0 votes
1 answer
138 views

Handling alternate spellings of a personal name

Dealing with a text that mentions several times the architectural historian Siegfried Giedion. A number of Giedion's books feature his first name as "Sigfried" and others as "Siegfried.&...
Typothalamus's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
285 views

Virtual conference speaker made it awkward due to the small number of attendees. Should I (the organizer) send them an email apologizing?

Organized a virtual conference and invited lots of top-tier speakers. The number of registrants was around 115, and the event got lots of attention on social media. The strange thing is that the ...
Nadine's user avatar
  • 1,549
3 votes
0 answers
151 views

How do I handle a conflict with my former mentor about a potential paper correction?

During my postdoc, I published two research papers as the first author, with my mentor (a Professor at an Ivy League institution) as the corresponding/senior author. Months after publishing the papers,...
user168490's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
422 views

Does telling people that I (undergrad) want to stay in academia come across as naive and/or big-headed?

I am an undergrad planning to apply to MA-PhD cognitive neuroscience programs either this year or next. I've decided to try to approach grad school in a way that will maximize my chances of getting a ...
Tamandani Mpho's user avatar
6 votes
5 answers
3k views

Etiquette: How many reminders should one send for conference speakers to submit their talk info?

I am co-organizing a conference that will take place virtually on Mar 13, 2023. We invited the speakers and they confirmed their participation in Nov, 2022. Now, we sent them a form that collects ...
Nadine's user avatar
  • 1,549
1 vote
1 answer
145 views

Submitted to journal, rebuttal period now ongoing but no feedback from referees yet

I submitted a paper to a journal in January. According to the journal web site, the rebuttal period is the present week of February 20 to 24. It's February 20 everywhere in the world and actually ...
a throwaway account's user avatar
18 votes
1 answer
4k views

Invited a speaker to talk at a conference which is part of a bigger conference and the parent organizers rejected their participation. What to do now?

I am organizing a volunteer academic conference as a part of a larger conference at a top university (let's call it X). Organizers are required to invite speakers to talk about their research in a ...
Nadine's user avatar
  • 1,549
2 votes
1 answer
194 views

Using URL Shorteners to Track Who Viewed My Application

Some URL shortening services allow users to see very basic information on who has clicked-through the link. If I remember right, it documents the visitor's web browser, computer's OS, exact date and ...
Forgot the Jacobian's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
295 views

How to approach disclosing a marital relationship when we both want to be post-docs in the same lab?

I and my spouse are planning to apply for a post-doctoral position with same professor. Since we both are eligible for and interested in the positions, we want to communicate the same to the professor....
satya's user avatar
  • 149
10 votes
4 answers
2k views

Do journal editors/referees expect relatively unknown authors to provide evidence of counsel from an expert when submitting a paper?

The reason I've brought up this question is due to the following observation. Let's say, for instance, there is some field which is called "Specific Grand Theory". The field is quite minor ...
user1851281's user avatar
12 votes
3 answers
2k views

Can you contact a professor whom you have never met to inquire about a RA opportunity?

Is it considered ok to proactively ask a professor from a different university that you never met in person about some potential research assistant internship? Or is something like that considered ...
Lorenzo Pozzi's user avatar
31 votes
4 answers
5k views

Is it okay to upload code I wrote for replicating someone else’s simulation study?

I have code I wrote to replicate a simulation study by another author. Is it okay to publicly upload this in my code repository? This will include: code (my work, based on the author’s description in ...
LambdaPsi's user avatar
  • 687
15 votes
4 answers
3k views

My supervisor worked so hard to get a research opportunity for me, but now I want to quit. How to handle this situation?

It is about my friend (an undergraduate student in Australia), but I used first person pronoun "I" for convenience. My friend needs advice, and I tried my best to describe the situation. The ...
Neuchâtel's user avatar
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