84
votes
Accepted
How can I avoid overuse of words like "however" and "therefore" in academic writing?
Let me suggest an alternate view. This is in regard to writing proofs and other very technical things. You want, above all, for your intent to be clear. It may be that "however" and "...
- 316k
51
votes
Accepted
Is it normal for a PhD student to be asked to contribute to a grant proposal?
You should have no cause for concern. If the grant is related to your work in any way then it is appropriate for you to be involved in the grant writing.
But you aren't going to "shoot it down". In ...
- 316k
44
votes
Accepted
What can I do if a grant proposal was rejected by a reviewer making false claims and using straw men?
Contacting the program manager
You can, and probably should, contact the program manager at the funding agency to point out the flaws in the negative review. This is an easy action to take, with ...
- 181k
35
votes
Accepted
Is it moral to propose work that's already partly done?
Let me make two points. The first is that in order to write a research proposal you have to understand the area well enough to describe it. This implies that you have already explored it and have done ...
- 316k
34
votes
Accepted
Should I cite myself in my PhD proposal?
Yes, you should cite all relevant research: When conducting research projects that extend over multiple papers it is not unusual to want to refer to your past published papers on the topic. These ...
- 59k
34
votes
Professor uses academic employees to write proposals
If I understand correctly, you (as a postdoc) developed a research proposal, your professor submitted it under their name, and the project was funded. Then you were sidelined --- you will not be a PI ...
- 51.3k
30
votes
How can I avoid overuse of words like "however" and "therefore" in academic writing?
It sounds to me like you're actually doing everything that you need to do already.
In fact, when you are initially writing a paper, I would suggest that you not worry about it at all. Write things as ...
- 185k
28
votes
Can it be disadvantageous to actively publish in completely different fields?
I've served as a referee on grant proposals to large public-sector research funding bodies on a couple of occasions. If a PI had demonstrated the ability to achieve peer-reviewed publications in ...
- 7,713
26
votes
No reply from PhD supervisor after meeting
Given the initial enthusiasm of the supervisor and the silence since she took my draft should I accept my proposal must be horribly wrong and must be binned.
No, that's not a reasonable inference. ...
- 131k
26
votes
Professor uses academic employees to write proposals
I feel weird trying to play "the devil's advocate" in this case. It is quite clear that doing some work and getting nothing in return is frustrating at least and might be connected with ...
- 2,916
24
votes
Is it OK for graduate students to draft the research proposal for their advisor’s funding application (like NIH’s or NSF’s grant application)?
In experimental fields, this is not exactly a routine practice, but it is not rare either. Especially in a sizable lab with a large number of graduate students, multiple grants are needed to support ...
- 20k
23
votes
How can I avoid overuse of words like "however" and "therefore" in academic writing?
Aggressive Pruning
I agree with other answers that your repetition of however and therefore might not be a problem in this context. However, I would like to point out another option. These words are ...
- 592
21
votes
Accepted
Is it OK to work on projects from research proposal before position starts?
I don't think you should ever delay work, especially in mathematics. It is like trying to turn off your brain. Work away. I'd even say publish all you want. You aren't being hired for specific pieces ...
- 316k
21
votes
How can I avoid overuse of words like "however" and "therefore" in academic writing?
I must actively avoid using the words "however", "therefore", etc... every few sentences
Says who? There is nothing wrong in repeating the same linking word every few sentences, ...
- 45.1k
18
votes
Norms around who contributes to the diversity section in grant proposals?
No, it's not appropriate to turn to whoever you see as "most diverse" around you, be that based on their gender or race or anything else, and saddle them with the responsibility of writing ...
- 93.9k
17
votes
Unclear comments from research proposal review
My research proposal received many comments such as "is not convincingly demonstrated"
As a potential PI, it is your task to communicate the benefits of your proposed research clearly, and ...
- 51.3k
17
votes
What can I do if a grant proposal was rejected by a reviewer making false claims and using straw men?
You can of course contact the program manager, but in all of my experience, not very much will come out of it.
I don't know whether you have been part of funding panels in the part and so have ...
- 84.2k
16
votes
Can it be disadvantageous to actively publish in completely different fields?
I've looked at a lot of CVs of job applicants, for proposal review, and for promotion packages. I've also sat through a lot of review panels for proposals, as well as hiring and promotion committees. ...
- 84.2k
14
votes
Is it OK for graduate students to draft the research proposal for their advisor’s funding application (like NIH’s or NSF’s grant application)?
I see nothing morally wrong with this. As a graduate student, you need to learn to write papers and applications, and being a part of a writing team for a grant proposal sounds like a great ...
- 84.2k
14
votes
Is it normal for a PhD student to be asked to contribute to a grant proposal?
It is completely normal to get people who will be involved with the project to help write the grant. The PI is not going to just take your text and copy-paste it into their proposal without reading it....
- 33.8k
14
votes
Should I cite myself in my PhD proposal?
In general you cite yourself just as you would any other person. Failing to do so, while repeating earlier things you have published, leads to a charge of self-plagiarism. It is an odd concept, but is ...
- 316k
14
votes
How can I avoid overuse of words like "however" and "therefore" in academic writing?
Consider the argument structure in the paper.
I find that I have the however/therefore problem when I'm writing in flow-of-consciousness narrative voice, rather than making an effort to structure my ...
- 1,202
14
votes
Accepted
Sharing a research proposal when applying for funds
If you don't share the proposal with the prospective host, you are missing out on the chance of getting feedback from them. Detailed expert feedback on a grant application is not easy to get, and very ...
- 40.6k
13
votes
Accepted
Am I allowed to use personal conversation as a source?
I think it would be dangerous to source an unrecorded interview with a prominent person that involves opinion. Actually, it seems dangerous to do it if it is unrecorded and the rest of the first ...
- 316k
12
votes
Accepted
Is it normal that an advisor does not read the final version of the PhD proposal of his student before submission?
Well, if I would pingpong a proposal between me and a PhD student four times, and I feel like my last remarks were mainly fine tuning, then I would not mind accepting whatever the PhD student makes ...
- 13k
12
votes
Is it okay if research problem is vague in the initial phase of research?
In my opinion this is the definition of "research" everything else is "development". Of course, from "devlopment", serious research questions may be derived.
In my personal opinion, a PhD work whose ...
- 13k
11
votes
Can it be disadvantageous to actively publish in completely different fields?
It depends.
As a general rule, if your main discipline is X and you also published in discipline Y, as a researcher in X I would be inclined to be impressed by that (assuming I was satisfied that you ...
- 181k
11
votes
How can I avoid overuse of words like "however" and "therefore" in academic writing?
Both are perfectly normal in academic writing. You can mix things up by using:
However
nevertheless
nonetheless
X notwithstanding
This is not always/seldom/never the case for...
..., yet, ...
...
- 285
11
votes
Unclear comments from research proposal review
This is more a long comment than an answer, but...
When I started my (current) tenure-track position (and I am now tenured), I did what many people in my position did, which was to write a grant ...
- 22.7k
11
votes
What can I do if a grant proposal was rejected by a reviewer making false claims and using straw men?
I'm sorry this is happening to you. Unfortunately, you have no realistic recourse. If this is truly destructive of your career, the best use of your time is to figure out what you are going to do next ...
- 211
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