Questions tagged [research-topic]
On identifying, evaluating suitability, or sharing a topic or focused direction for research.
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Is there a way to do a PhD such that you get a broad view of a field or subfield as a whole?
I will aim to keep this as general as possible, given the already narrow scope of the question.
I am looking for a way to design a PhD around the broader study of mathematics. I want to learn more ...
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6
votes
2
answers
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Unsure whether to begin a PhD program
A bit of background:
I'm in my late 20s and got my Master's degree about six months ago in Italy. I'm currently working as a research assistant at the same university, building on my thesis work. ...
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1
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0
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Research in Machine Learning in the era of transformers [closed]
I'm a master's student in Machine Learning. I'm interested in pursuing research in the field, but I'm concerned about the recent advancements like ChatGPT, CLIP, and DiNO that require massive compute ...
15
votes
1
answer
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Passionate about research in general but open to many fields: is academia for me?
I've completed my PhD, gone into industry, and now considering returning to academia.
I loved doing the research, all stages of the process, from the exploration of ideas to drafting papers - I ...
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3
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I work on a meaningless problem, no idea how to proceed
When I contacted my advisor, he had an interesting project proposal. However, since I'm a foreigner, it turns out I'm not allowed to work in that area. So, my advisor changed the project to something ...
5
votes
2
answers
279
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How to best exploit a (very) diverse research background in a Research Statement
I am considering coming back to academia for a faculty position after a successful stint as an entrepreneur. I think I'm a strong candidate for many of the job posts I want, having a good body of ...
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4
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2
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262
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How do I determine the direction of my research?
I'm a first year PhD student in Microelectronics. I started my PhD because I was interested in the idea of Neuromorphic engineering, but I've been so confused lately.
The problem is that neither my ...
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6
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Do both first-author and co-author publications from a potential advisor imply current research activity?
I want to apply as a PhD candidate and therefore looking up on various potential supervisors who have common research interests. My approach is by first visiting their webpages, looking up on the ...
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votes
1
answer
184
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Applying for a PhD - Can't Decide on the Topic [closed]
I'm applying to a PhD programme in the UK, but feeling kind of lost. I have two ideas for potential research topics (in the humanities - literature to be specific) but don't know which to go with?
I ...
7
votes
2
answers
478
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Postdoc disenchantment
Recently, I attained my PhD in biophysics, with three publications in respectable journals, including one letter, and delivered seven conference talks, two of which were by invitation. While I wouldn'...
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13
votes
6
answers
8k
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How to deal with failing ideas?
I graduated from my PhD last November and as I get along super well with my PhD supervisors, I decided to pursue research with them on my free time alongside my postdoctoral position.
We all have ...
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1
answer
54
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How to decide and narrow down the broad topics I should get an astronomy internship on?
This is to inform that I am a third-year Physics Major student. I am enrolled in a five-year dual degree BS-MS programme at IISER Bhopal, India. I had a keen pop-science-like interest in astronomy ...
0
votes
0
answers
45
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Is the "Journal of Innovations" in management a Reliable Source for Academic Research? [duplicate]
I came across the Journal of Innovations in [specific subject area] (https://www.journal-innovations.com/) and am considering it as a potential source for my research. However, I'm uncertain about its ...
5
votes
1
answer
848
views
What Can I Expect in the First Few Months of a PhD?
I am starting a PhD in Quantum Computing in England in about 2 weeks. I have already communicated with my advisor over email, and he is quite flexible with my research aims.
I am a bit nervous about ...
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3
votes
2
answers
400
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Extending the PhD Project into Post-Doc
I am an early career researcher about to finish my PhD in six months or so. My area ispolitical science, and I study a very interesting conjunction of a few research areas. I found a good post-doc ...
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3
votes
1
answer
113
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How Impactful is the Particular Subject of Undergraduate Research to Graduate Admissions
Okay so I am in the final year of my math undergrad, and I am an undergraduate research assistant in what you might consider Mathematical Physics, specifically in Black Hole Quasi-Normal Modes.
I have ...
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1
answer
145
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How to find venues for publishing short meta-analysis papers
How to find venues for publishing short meta-analysis papers (e.g., keywords, co-authorship networks, etc.) in Human Computer Interaction?
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4
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Is it possible to negotiate the PhD topic?
I have expressed my interest in the work of a professor. She does not perfectly match my interests but there is a good amount of overlap. Turns out that she has a PhD position open, with undefined ...
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2
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5
answers
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How to tell if a Master's thesis topic is stale/outdated/useless
I am a master's student majoring in a natural science subject. I spoke to a professor in my university about a master's thesis last year. Unfortunately I was unable to interact with him for the rest ...
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1
answer
186
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Best Way To Research On An Alien Topic?
One of the key challenges I have faced whilst transitioning to university life and further has been the independence bestowed upon oneself to find out information on their own. What is the best way to ...
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3
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How to handle potentially gaslighting and very confusing PhD advisor?
I’m a new PhD student (3 months in) of a niche area, and I now feel like my supervisor (f, 56) has been constantly gaslighting me. English is not my first language and this is a really confusing ...
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1
answer
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Studies about how to improve human civilizations' ability to anticipate and react to incoming hurdles to long term survival?
In which field of academia should one search for studies about how to improve human civilizations' ability to anticipate and react to incoming hurdles to long term survival?
BACKGROUND
Many problems ...
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Where to publish articles that are too technical for popular science journals and too conceptual for scholarly [closed]
We have hundreds of thousands of scholarly articles containing lab data and mathematical modeling results - published every year.
But what to do with a gray area in scientific research where there is ...
44
votes
4
answers
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Who said that one should change one’s direction of research every seven years?
A piece of wisdom I have heard several times is that an academic should change their direction of research roughly every seven years. This change needs not be radical but clearly more than what you ...
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148
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Does using methods from one research domain to another research domain counts as scientific contribution?
If method A was developed and published in XYZ Conference or Journal and then method A was used to address problem B, can it be regarded as a contribution to the research community?
For example, can ...
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1
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1
answer
179
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Does the superseded version of a paper establish priority?
Last year a group of authors put online a paper, titled "XYZ". The paper "XYZ" contain part I and part II.
Later the authors deleted the old file. They published a new paper called ...
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2
votes
2
answers
518
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Transitioning from Master's to PhD in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics: Is it Easy to Secure a Position in Germany?
I'm currently working on my master's thesis in theoretical and mathematical physics, and I recently spoke with my former post-doc supervisor from my bachelor's thesis. They mentioned that getting a ...
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0
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1
answer
101
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How to look for research opportunities in a different field?
I am a physics student doing a one-year taught master's program. Previously, I completed my Bachelor's degree with 2.5 years of research experience in subfield A of physics, with a few publications in ...
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3
votes
2
answers
308
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When asked about my topic of interest, I don't have a story to tell. How do I make my answer sound interesting and convincing for the position?
I am currently doing master's in mathematics and am applying for summer research projects in various institutes where they ask a particular question: What is your topic of interest and why? I asked a ...
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Why do some research topics seem to be confined to certain countries?
Here I'm not referring to research topics on that specific country (e.g. a study on high school in New Zealand would be very likely conducted by New Zealand researchers, for obvious reasons). An ...
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4
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Do I need to have a well defined PhD Research proposal before contacting a supervisor?
I am in the UK and I am looking to contact a supervisor about starting a PhD.
First, I know the area that I want to focus on but I don't have a defined research project just yet. I'd like to define ...
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4
votes
2
answers
355
views
Advice on finding good research questions
I'm a relatively newly-minted PhD (in math, algebraic geometry specifically, if that matters) approaching the end of their first year in a TT position at a smaller teaching-focused state school.
Like ...
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4
answers
6k
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My supervisor is suggesting implementing an idea that they previously rejected
I am in a very confusing situation. I am almost 3 years into my PhD project, and just today my direct supervisor suggested to me to read a paper in the best journal a PhD student would want to publish ...
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1
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2
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474
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Where do i find trusted scholarly articles for historical events
As a new hobby, I am wanting to read more and stick to the facts only.
I recently became interested in the public education system and many sites and YouTube videos claim that the modern American ...
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1
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2
answers
358
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How do I communicate to my advisor that I would like to do more theory?
I am a PhD student working at the intersection of applied mathematics and machine learning. I'm still early in my PhD, but I'm unhappy because my current research direction is too focused on ...
3
votes
4
answers
639
views
Becoming good at writing papers without being overwhelmed?
After a career in the industry, I started to work in research as a graduate student/research assistant, and I am learning to adjust my working and thinking style. That process is a little painful, but ...
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0
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0
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95
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How to measure the quality of a research idea? [duplicate]
I am at the start of my PhD. For the last four months, I have been studying the existing literature on the topic given to me by my advisor.
I want to know, how do I find a research idea on which I can ...
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1
vote
1
answer
344
views
Can I use my first and middle names on research publications instead of my first and last names? [duplicate]
Can i use my first and middle name as name in research publications instead of first and last name?
Because my full name is long and most people used to call me with first and middle name.
1
vote
1
answer
110
views
Different field of interest in my undergraduate projects and higher studies
I am currently a 3rd year undergraduate student in Mechanical Engineering. I have done projects on different topics. I have done a project on the performance evaluation of jet engines with different ...
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3
votes
1
answer
208
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How to write six month work plan for theoretical field?
I need to write work plan for six months. My field of research is mathematical physics, I have mathematical work (calculations), not using any lab. I need to write following points.
Please provide ...
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0
votes
1
answer
331
views
Can I get accepted into a PhD program in Electrical & Computer Engineering with an MS in Computer Science?
I am wondering if it's a wise idea to apply for a PhD in electrical & computer engineering (I believe if i take this route, i would need to take pre-requisites before being accepted into the ...
user165893
1
vote
1
answer
80
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Exploring dissimilar research topics
I'm currently a graduate student, but I plan on my future career being in research and academia. I like many different related topics and I like being interdisciplinary in my topics, and I see myself ...
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2
votes
1
answer
316
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How to overcome the difficulties of starting of a PhD?
I have started my PhD this fall in the USA. Before starting the PhD, I worked as an RA and published a good amount of papers. Now my current lab is totally different from my previous lab. As I have so ...
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0
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68
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Recommendation for getting into a different field in Computer Science as first year CS master
I am currently co-supervised by 2 profs and my Master's thesis would be on the intersection of both their work: along the lines of compiler, programming languages and machine learning.
However, I'm ...
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2
votes
2
answers
614
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How to find mathematicians in a given field?
This is essentially a continuation to my previous question here. In one of the answers, it was proposed that I find people who did active research in the field I wanted to study and contacted them. My ...
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1
answer
187
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Research topics “belonging” to a school
I heard that in some scientific schools it is typical that certain research topics “belong” to the school, and people from other schools are not welcome to work on them.
I am wondering how popular is ...
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2
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Talked about novel idea for a paper in class. A mistake?
In a graduate course (master's level), during topic assignment for coursework, I mentioned that I came up with a research idea of my own. The professor asked me to present it in front of the class. ...
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3
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3k
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Is it a good idea to write a paper on new algorithms based on an existing algorithm?
I am an undergraduate student interested in doing research.
There is a paper I have recently read. In the paper, a new (general) algorithm is proposed (in a bottom-Q1 journal). It is not a ...
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6
votes
1
answer
615
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Importance of an applicant's area of interest in the grad school admission process
Do math grad schools in the US create separate merit lists for each of their research groups depending on which professors are willing and capable of taking PhD students in the coming years or do they ...
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4
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1
answer
370
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Is it unethical to work on "open" ideas of other people without giving them credit?
At many universities, there are dedicated websites where supervisors can publish information on current research projects looking for students.
These research projects often have some "vague"...
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