Questions tagged [etiquette]
The customary code of polite behavior amongst the academic world.
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A potential postdoc PI contacted my Ph.D. advisor without asking me for the contact info. Is this common?
I'm a recent Ph.D. graduate looking for a postdoc opportunity in the US. I recently interviewed with my potential PI, and at the end he said we will discuss later. A week or two after the interview, ...
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What to do when a senior co-author is very disrespectful?
I am a researcher and professional in the social science field, writing a paper in the field of Computer Science together with CS colleagues to be submitted to an interdisciplinary journal, which is ...
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When a paper has multiple corresponding authors, how should one respond to interview requests by media?
I've got two stories, one old and one recent. I'll start with the old one.
The paper has three authors, all corresponding. The first author was a senior postdoc who came up with the idea and did all ...
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Contacting Department about a Job (UK)
I keep hearing that in the UK, it's a positive thing to get in touch with the department during the application process to show you're really interested. Is this true? (I've read that in the US this ...
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Would it be possible to work as part-time staff in a university research lab?
I was wondering if it's usual(or even possible) to work in a research lab as part-time staff. I would love to just apply for a full-time position, but I cannot leave my current job due to an education ...
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How to Politely Decline Sharing My Research Proposal with a Fellow Student?
I recently finished my masters program and for my thesis, I was able to do something that not many people in my department had done before which was be able to conduct my research in Malawi (my school ...
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Ask Area Chair/Editor to reveal one of the reviewers of my paper [duplicate]
We submitted a paper to a venue and got accepted. The venue is single-blind, reviewers know our names, but we don't know who they are.
During the review process one reviewer made very good suggestions ...
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How to publicize my rewrite of another group's software, should I try to get citations for it, and how would I attribute original authors
Four years ago, another group published a paper describing a new method for estimating an important parameter in my field. The method is theoretically elegant, has good accuracy in their benchmarks, ...
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Realized error in testing of machine learning paper
I submitted a paper in a major machine learning conference recently. The paper submission deadline passed ~2 weeks ago and the appendix submission deadline passed ~1 week ago. I just realized an issue ...
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Is it acceptable to ask a professor for a recommendation letter if I am also looking for jobs in their lab?
I am currently considering my job options:
I could potentially apply for Professor X's lab; however, I do not know if he will have positions available
I could also apply for other research positions, ...
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Unprofessional hiring committee?
I recently interviewed for a permanent/TT position and had a mostly positive campus experience. At the end of my interview, when it was my turn to pose questions to the hiring committee, I asked what ...
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How to list paper on CV where one is not listed as author
I used to be in the lab of a professor at a top 10 US university with an h-index of 90+ (essentially very well respected). I was working with a PhD student in the same group on a paper (the professor ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 - ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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-...
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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 ...
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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, ...
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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.
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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 ...
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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) ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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-...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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(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 ...
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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 ...
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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.&...
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