Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with research and school

Am I doing the wrong thing here?

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 14:57:46 -0800

Science grad school application filter: I have informally (but explicitly) accepted a graduate assistant position (in conservation biology) at my current undergraduate institution. I am now having second thoughts and am wondering what, if anything, I should do about it. Help me, Hive Mind! I don't know what to do! Okay, I will do my best to be concise. I am an undergraduate biology student who wants to be a conservation researcher. Specifically I want to do my work around the subject of biodiversity reserve success -- how can we identify successful candidate reserves, how can we implement them well, how can we maintain and modify existing reserves so that they can be more successful, etc. I am a Senior and will graduate next spring. That means this is the semester when I apply to grad schools.

I work in one of the labs at school. A month or so ago I was offered a graduate position by the professor for whom I work currently. The project that I would be a part of is definitely relevant to my interests -- it is a large international collaboration with the aim of identifying new candidate biodiversity reserves. I've read the grant proposal and it's definitely the kind of project that I want to be a part of both in grad school and later as a senior researcher. My position on it would involve basically heading up a major subsidiary of the project, and I would be involved at every level from the fieldwork to the final analysis and publication. This is a project with over 100 scientists on it, and my boss is one of three co-PIs, in charge of essentially half of the project as a whole. I have a good relationship with my boss and we sat down and discussed the position that he offered me quite frankly and in fair detail. I am satisfied that I would be getting a pretty good deal on this project -- competitive stipend, opportunity for first authorship, opportunity to work with collaborators and build my network, etc.

As I said, I accepted the position. My PI and I shook hands on it, but nothing is in writing. I am applying to a couple of other schools but I am not pursuing those applications aggressively -- I am just hoping to have a safety in case of some unforseen development, like for instance if my PI (with whom I am on very good terms) and I (a virtual pacifist) got into a fistfight next week or something. I do have the option of bailing with a Master's a few years in, but I am in my late twenties and am looking at a PhD and a post-doc before I really have a chance of trying for one of those coveted tenure-track academic positions which are still my dream. Yes, I know how rare those jobs are but I really want one and I think I would be ideally suited to the mixture of teaching and research that is involved. Really, that is the goal I am working toward here. Yes, really. Yes, I know how remote it is. I am still going for that.

However, I have some reservations that have been growing and I am wondering if I should try to change my path and break my agreement with my PI. I feel like I have been taking the easy route here, that I am passing up what might be better opportunities simply because I have been offered a good one here -- a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, etc. The city in which I am living now is one that I do not really want to live in for another five years -- I was looking forward to a change of venue with grad school, and I am feeling stressed about losing that. My partner of two years is feeling that same stress but even moreso and has pretty much told me that she may not stick around if I do stay in this town after I graduate. Also, my current school is not very prestigious. My favorite professor classified it as "fifth rate? maybe?". I think my boss does good work (he publishes in journals with good impact factor, and fairly regularly, and his students get decent numbers of first-authors) but my school is definitely not a well-known school in my chosen field, or really any field. I also don't know what I think about taking a PhD at the same school as my BsC. I think I might have what it takes to get into a "better" program -- an OK GPA, exceptional GREs, great recommendations (albeit one of those is from my current PI, who might not be happy if I decided to break my agreement) and two years of continuous lab experience. I am worried that I might have just chosen this path because it is the path of least resistance, not because it is the best path to my goal of becoming a researcher and a professor or because it is good for my quality of life for the next five years.

OK, so rambling over. Let me break it down. First, here is my transcript:

GPA: 3.14 (had a rough sophomore year and there's an F on my transfer transcript from 10 years ago.)

GREs: 170 Verbal (99th percentile), 6 Analytical (99th percentile), 163 Quantitative (89th percentile)

Recommendations: very strong, but potentially jeopardized if I break my agreement with my current PI

Statement of Purpose: nice, coherent, well-written, focused

Experience: two years of laboratory experience

Goals: gain fieldwork, lab work, analytical, bioinformatic, and collaborative skills required to be a useful researcher and project leader addressing questions surrounding the success of biodiversity reserves

Interests: biogeography, community ecology, evolutionary biology, computational biology, scientific outreach, research ethics

Age: 28

Here are what I see as the "Pros" of my current path:

Virtually guaranteed acceptance to program, with full funding

Good working relationship with current PI

Confidence that my PI is not going to screw me

Assurance of a significant role in a major project directly relevant to my long-term research interests

Opportunity for international fieldwork and collaboration with researchers in desired field

Here are what I see as the "Cons":

Don't like my current location, don't want to live here for five more years

SO with whom I am in a serious relationship may leave me if I stay here

Current university not very prestigious at all

Feel like I might be able to get into a better school that might position me better later, assuming I can find the right PI

Might be shooting myself in the foot by getting a PhD from the same institution as my B.S.

Feel like I'm doing myself a disservice by not seriously exploring other options

So with that, these are what I see as my options. 1) Continue on my current course because it's probably the best deal I'm going to get. 2) Continue on my current course and reassess in a couple of years when I am a bit wiser and when I expect my GPA will be much higher. Bail with a Master's if I'm not happy with where things are going, take the hit in terms of lost time/opportunity/continuity, and try for another, better program. 3) Burn some bridges, try to find a 3rd recommendation at the last moment to replace current PI, and go all-out in applying to all of the top schools in my field.

What do you think would be my best plan, given my pros/cons (and any I haven't thought of) my current transcript as an applicant, and my desire to maintain a decent reputation in my field? Do you think it would be realistic in the first place for me to apply to the top schools/programs in my field (given my mediocre GPA) and if so where do you think I should be applying/who should I try to work with? Am I already in the best spot that I am likely to be for now, and I should just try to find someplace more prestigious when I apply for the inevitable postdoc? Am I missing out on some option that I hadn't considered? Are there major factors that I am neglecting?

Thank you for your advice. I am really stressing about this and things are so stressful in general what with it being the end of the semester and me trying to finish my applications etc etc that I am totally unable to tell whether I should even be stressing at all or not. Help me figure out whether I should just chill the fuck out or whether I should be making a major course correction or what.

If clarification or whatever is needed I have a throwaway account (Pseudonymous Bosch) that I will use to post replies. It is not "mature" (less than a week old) or else I would use it to ask this question in the first place. Thanks again, in advance.

I have a B.S. in Engineering. How can I get into a great Computer Science PhD program?

EthanAI — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 17:59:40 -0800

I have a B.S. in a mostly unrelated field. How can I work towards getting into the best Computer Science graduate program possible? (My first question here. Sorry for errors.)
I'm a fairly non-traditional student, and I need advice on the best way for me to get into a quality Phd program in computer science.

I'm in my 30's and have a degree in civil engineering. A couple of years ago I graduated top of my class, but from a mediocre school. I have not taken the GRE. Honestly it was my 'safe' and 'easy' choice. What I really want to be doing is research, specifically machine learning/artificial intelligence. Due to some recent life and (positive) health changes, I now feel both capable and obligated to do this. I should spend my life working hard to make humanity better.

My thought is, in order to do the most I can, I should become the best I can. That makes sense right? Therefore my mid-term goal is to work hard and get a doctorate in computer science at the best school I can possibly get into.

My two questions are:
1. Should I try to apply to a quality grad school now (and do the prereqs as a grad student) or get a BS in computer science first from the local medocre school.

and

2. Should I try to get into the best masters program I can, and then try to get into a PhD program at a better school, or should I directly apply for a PhD program (I understand it's common to skip a masters)

Or actually am I worrying to much about getting into a 'great' program and not worrying enough about doing this ASAP and getting into the industry?

I don't mind investing the time. I just want to know I'm doing everything I can.

Is this an offer I'd be a fool to refuse?

Scientist — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 17:15:19 -0800

I am a senior undergraduate biology student who wants to become a conservation biologist and a professor. I work part-time in a lab at my university, and my principal investigator recently made me an offer that on the face of it seems pretty great. Should I take it? OK. That's the bones of the situation. I'll try to fill it in here. Here's where I was at last week: I'm in my next-to-last semester of college, where I'm getting ready to graduate with two and a half years of laboratory experience, some great recommendations (I hope), and a pretty mediocre GPA. I have yet to take the GRE or apply to any schools but obviously that would be happening very soon now.

I was seriously considering staying for my master's at my current place because I have such a good relationship with my PI and I could use some time to improve my transcript, but not for a PhD because I'm tired of my current city and also the research I am doing isn't exactly in line with my interests. And also I'm not sure of my chances out in the wide world of grad schools with a GPA that's down in the low threes.

Very recently though, my boss took me aside and made me what seems like an excellent offer. She told me that her lab is moving into a very exciting new phase and she was going to need an additional grad student next year. She said that she had been planning to advertise for the position but that she first wanted me to look at the proposal and tell her whether I was interested.

I have not yet seen the proposal but what she described was very exciting. There would be a large component of international field work in a very ecologically-important (and beautiful and interesting and "sexy" in a popular-science sense) but under-researched part of the world. There would also be a significant bioinformatic and molecular wet-lab component. There would be cross-disciplinary sociological aspects and a major part of the project also involves capacity-building at higher education centers in the developing world. I would be involved in all of these aspects. I would be a Research Assistant paid through her grant, rather than a Teaching Assistant paid through my university. I would get to do a lot of collaboration with senior scientists on multiple continents, so there would presumably be excellent networking opportunities.

This sounds like a golden opportunity that I should jump at but I worry I am missing something. One hitch is that she'd prefer a PhD student (as would my department) but if the proposition is that good then I am OK with that. I would have to spend more years living somewhere that I'm really not so keen on anymore, but at least I'd get to travel. My significant other says that she understands that we'd be apart a lot but that she's willing to take that on and try to make it work. The exact groups that I would be doing fieldwork on are probably not my favorites but just because I would be doing my PhD on (for instance) birds doesn't mean I couldn't transition later to working on tortoises or something later, right? And it's still a cool group, just not my dream group.

Is this opportunity as good as it sounds? Obviously I need to read her proposal first, but it sounds pretty great at this point. What should I be bearing in mind in terms of evaluating the proposal? Should I still even try applying to other schools if I can be assured of having this position? (It seems to me like I would sort of be insulting my PI if I said I was interested but wanted to also apply elsewhere, and that I might lose her recommendation as it would be a conflict of interest for her.) Is this work the kind of thing that would help me later on when I wanted to try and become a professor?

Thanks for all your advice. I appreciate it, as always.

MSc or PhD?

Scientist — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 09:23:46 -0800

Wondering whether I should go for the PhD that I wanted when I went back to school, or whether it's more sensible to stay where I am and do a Master's first. OK, so I've done some mulling after my last question on this subject, and I've mellowed a bit and also found what I think is my desired focus. I've also started to wonder if a PhD program is the right move for me right now. Let me lay it out; I'll try to be concise. (On preview: I failed.)

I'm currently working as an undergrad in an evolutionary biology lab that I really like. I'm learning a lot, every day – molecular and genetic techniques, in silico and bioinformatic techniques, and my PI has expressed a willingness to try and get me some fieldwork experience by writing me into her next round of grants. She values my work, supports my ideas, is a very easy person to work for, and takes a fairly holistic, humane view of the scientific enterprise in general. I like working for her and I think she likes having me work for her.

Now, my goal in returning to school lo these three (has it only been three?) years ago was always to pursue a PhD immediately after graduation. I originally thought I wanted to do marine biology, toyed for a while with the idea of going into genetic engineering, eventually realized that conservation and ecology are really much closer to my core interests (these are core interests of my PI as well) and am now becoming increasingly aware that what I really want to do is restoration ecology – or, quite possibly, work on the applied side in ecological restoration.

All this floating around from subject to subject is all well and good, except that I'll be a Senior in the fall and it's nearly time to apply for graduate programs if that's what I'm going to do. The thing is, I'm not 100% sure that I'm ready. I feel like I've done pretty well for myself as an undergrad, but I think that for the programs that I'm most interested in I'll be up against a lot of other people who've also done quite well for themselves. I'm also quite aware of the fact that there aren't really enough jobs to go around for new PhDs who want to continue doing academic research. I'm also not totally sure anymore if academic research is what I want to do – I enjoy it greatly and I have a thousand burning questions that I could see myself happily pursuing, but at the same time I feel like I want to do more than just answer questions; I also want to solve problems, to get out and actually try to fix some of the damage that's been done to the biosphere.

So I'm starting to think that I want to stay where I am and pursue a Master's with my current PI in order to get more experience, get some publications and fieldwork experience under my belt, find my true focus, and generally put myself in a more solid position so that at the end of a few years I can either go on to a PhD program with better knowledge of my specific goals and a more impressive CV, or else look for a job at that level doing actual restoration work – perhaps as a project manager working in ecological restoration, for instance. I'm also keeping my eye on EvolDir and REU Sites to see if I can work in some internships or funding to pursue more specifically restoration-oriented projects and get some specific experience there. My PI's interests overlap with mine and she's shown nothing but willingness to help me find a place in her lab that dovetails with my own interests and goals.

Master's students at my school are generally funded – stipends are fairly small, but it's more than I'm making right now and I survive just fine these days. My fiance is about to finish an MSW and will need to work in the field for probably two years before she becomes a fully licensed social worker – it would be easier for her to find sponsorship during those two years if we stayed here where she has more contacts. It all seems like it makes perfect sense to me.

However, I'm a little worried that I'm just taking the path of least resistance. I've always been kind of a "go with the flow" person and I feel like I have a tendency to let myself down, to rationalize myself into taking a course that isn't really the best for me just because it's easier. Applying for grad programs, trying to sell myself to get into the one that I want, moving across the country, dedicating myself for six years to a job that might or might not pan out in the end – it all sounds very adventurous, but it also sounds very risky and I get anxious just thinking about it. Staying here feels nice and safe. The biggest caveat is that I haven't approached my PI yet to see if she'd be willing to sponsor me into her lab, but she's seemed very pleased with my work over the last six months and I have a feeling that she'd be glad to have me – she just graduated out two PhDs and a Master, so there's probably room for me if I want to stay.

Still though, I can't help but feel a little like I'd be letting myself down, setting my sights a little lower. I know that I could certainly still pursue a PhD afterward, and I feel like this move would preserve most of my current options while also opening up some new ones. Everyone I've spoken to thus far seems to think that the idea of staying and doing a Master's sounds reasonable, but none of them work in my field. I'm almost certain enough that this is what I want that I'm ready to talk to my PI about it, but I wanted to seek the advice of the hivemind first. What do you all think of this bold new plan? Is it a sensible and pragmatic restructuring of the larger plan, or am I just letting my fear of risk and confrontation get the better of me?

Help find a cite for a study

kavasa — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:02:08 -0800

Can anyone help find a cite for a study? I think I heard about it on the radio at some point. It was a study that recorded classrooms - I think high school - and then talked about how much classroom time was spent on girls' discussion and questions and how much on boys. It also surveyed student/teacher perceptions of the time spent, and had a follow-up component where teachers tried to even out the time. Thanks in advance!

My brain wants me to hate myself. My self wants me to finish college. Help.

bilabial — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 19:41:25 -0800

Please help me make a plan to deal with the aftermath of this episode of severe depression. For various reasons I would really prefer not to be enrolled in college again next semester. It's long, I'm sorry, but I wrote this too quickly to pare things out. First, I am not in crisis. Basic self care things I know about, and am working on with my psychiatrist. I will not discuss them here. (except to say that I am making the decision to post this here to help relieve some of the anxiety about this, and to go to sleep now instead of pulling another a pre-exam all-nighter trying to write a terrible 2,000 words. If you have questions, I will answer them in the morning.)

I need help with the university specific stuff. The thought of failing these classes is terrifying, and a very expensive possibility. Here's what happened.

So. My psychiatrist wrote a note to my professors a month ago with a brief explanation of my condition, and a statement that any help they could provide would be appreciated. We made a medication change.

I met with each professor. I said I needed to make a plan. They both said, "try to catch up" I said "I will do the readings and work on the writings and try to catch up." (I knew then that this was not a plan, but I didn't know how to say, "No, I really need a plan. Like, a time progression. Concrete." I had exhausted my ability to talk in the meetings. I meant to email them. The second time it happened I said, "self, send those emails." The ADD didn't help, I didn't send them.)

In the meantime, I resumed attending lectures, and just dragging myself in there destroys my energy for the rest of the week. I continue to maintain a convincingly positive affect, which is also very tiring, but less tiring than crying all day in front of people and having to (decline to) explain why. When not faking it in the world, I am at home, sleeping screwing around on the internet.

My communication with professors has been poor (shame cycle!) Tonight I spent a few hours emailing my profs to try to explain. (I can share that privately if you think it might help you suggest damage control.) I don't know what I need to ask for. I don't know what is available to me, or what is reasonable.

The medication change has not been effective, except in restoring my ability to form sentences about topics I really care about. This has been a very intense form of procrastination (see: my long winded answers this past week or two). I meet with psychiatrist again on Friday, another med change is probably imminent, but that won't help me in the very short term. College students are not his primary patient base, and he does not seem to know what resources are available or where to access them on campus. Neither do I. And it's a little late in the game for that.

How do I do a good literature review?

superiorchicken — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:20:07 -0800

How do I do a good literature review for a research paper in philosophy? I have access to good resources, but I really want to make sure that I cover everything that's been written on the topic. How can I put myself at ease while making sure I don't miss a beat? I'm a 2nd-year philosophy undergrad, and I'd really like to start doing research before I get anywhere near graduate school. But I've been struggling to get started, since I have no idea when I can say I've read enough to say something substantial about a topic.

My interest lies mainly in the history of philosophy. Right now, I'd love to do a paper on Kierkegaard. I've scoured SEP, JSTOR, the Philosopher's Index, and the academic library at my institution. I've found and indexed all of the papers/books I have free access to. But how do I make sure that I'm covering all my bases? I simply can't tell whether or not, even if I read much of this material in a guided fashion, I will yet be able to write a good paper on anything in specific. I understand that I can't possibly read or find everything, but how do I alleviate these fears?

I'm especially worried that I'm missing books that have been written on the topic, for example. I don't mind not having a paper or something, as long as I know information about it that an index like Philosopher's Index can tell me. But such resources don't generally index books, and I know that my academic library doesn't have nearly all of the books there are to be found. Interlibrary loan takes a long time, and I'm not sure what assurance WebCat can give me about my field of research. So a second question: how do I make sure I'm covering all of my bases when I dont' have access to a specialized library on a thinker or a topic?

All of these concerns are generally the same, though. So to put it bluntly: when I do research in philosophy, what kind of wrangling is required with my resources before I can be confident enough to write something about my topic?

Any advice on writing research papers in philosophy is welcome. Thanks!

Search, cross-link references in PDF articles?

samac — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 20:44:01 -0800

Perhaps this is just a fantasy, but is there any application or online tool that could search through the references of an article I have saved as a PDF, in order to check whether I have those cited articles in my larger PDF library? It would be perfect if it would highlight, link, or somehow display cross-referenced relationships between all my articles. I am already familiar with many referencing/PDF organization software such as Papers (Mekentosj), Sente, and Devonthink. I suppose what I have in mind is a similar tool, but with the additional power of something like ISI Indexes. I have a fairly large library (about 300 references that I'm actively using, and more than 2000 total) and I'm just trying to get some "big-picture" grasp of how all these sources relate to one another.

Am I a crazy person to want to become a teacher?

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:25:33 -0800

I've taken a one year leave from a grad school program in physics. I was very unhappy in grad school, and I'm now leaning towards not going back. My next best idea is to become a high-school teacher in physics and/or math in the Boston area. Am I crazy? How do I do this? I'm fairly excited about the idea, and I feel like it's a very important job in which I would feel fulfilled. Also, I'm pretty happy living a frugal lifestyle, so $30-40,000 a year would be just fine with me. I've done a fair amount of volunteer tutoring, which I've enjoyed.

A few related questions:

1. Am I crazy? I've heard stories all over the map about how hard it is to become a teacher now, how there are layoffs everywhere, etc, etc. I'm currently most of the way to the lowest certification level in Massachusetts, after which point I can legally teach a class. Any ideas about what's the most sensible path for me to become a teacher in the Boston area?

2. Does anyone else have experience with this kind of switch? Care to offer me your 20/20 hindsight? Will I be haunted for the rest of my life by the loss of the admittedly great opportunity I have now to become a research scientist? I've always loved the idea of being a scientist, but it turns out there are quite a few things about it I like less in practice. Teaching sounds great to me, but it doesn't give me quite the same feeling of pride as imagining myself as a research physicist.

3. I've maintained a vague fantasy of going back to a less-intense grad school when I'm older and getting my physics Ph.D. Is this in any way realistic? Has anyone started their research career later in life?

Thanks for any input. I know a lot of this is personal, and you can't really tell me what I should do, but I really feel like I need some outside perspectives on this.

Grad school self-sabotage

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:47:25 -0800

Please, help me deal with a justified last-minute anxiety, regarding a Very Important oral presentation (end of the year research presentation), that will introduce a more than average research (due to personal problems, which interfered with academic work). Also, help me think about the right attitude to adopt towards my teachers on D-day. Hello, and sorry in advance for the length this may take. My story may be related to this one , this , and this as well

I am a student in my 1st year of grad school, in a country where university isn't expensive at all. My program doesn't make selections before accepting students in grad school, as their policy is to let them in and see their capacities, then selecting them for the next year (= about 30% of us end up making it into the next levels). In order to maximize chances to be selected, 1/3 of the students decide to divide the academic content of that first year, over 2 years, which I decided to do, very late last schoolyear.

Students are led to enroll in research and in the writing of something very similar to a scientific paper on their own, in collaboration with advisors as part of the credits, aside of full-time courses and internships 1 day a week. The program is known to be a tough one in its field. I made a research in collaboration with a very sweet and understanding advisor/researcher. She went along with the repetitive and irritating delays each of my writing pieces and experiments had to take, very gracefully, partly due to my sincerity and motivation towards work. These delays were the results of procrastination, and of a clouded mind about half of the time. These being heavily caused by social and performance anxiety as well as depression issues I have been dealing with in therapy, with medication, for 2 years now. It has gotten better, but my time management definately needs improvement
(These issues started showing up like never before only a few months into grad school.. which didn't leave me with a choice but to continue)
The problem is that all these delays got me horribly late for the presentation I needed to make at the end of the year (next monday to be precise), and as i had sent her the various parts of my writing separatel during the year, i ended up sending her the last and most important part exactly 2 days before due date, when all teachers would have access to it. Busy as she is, and having let me know that she wouldn't be very available these days, she trusted me to hand it it, and even found time to read it once, sending it back to me about 2 hours before i printed it.

Having dealt with my time as usual, and being too busy re-reading my 60 pages long paper, in bad need of sleep, with shaky hands, I was adjusting and checkig my graphics, etc... I was horrified to see that she had underlined a single thing in each paragraph, and was asking me to reconsider them, the way I had expressed certain ideas but also a few key elements (such as all the statistics I had done, including the ones that didn't show any significant results)... I couldn't have gathered and edited all this information by myself, in such little time. I did all that I could, but ended up giving back a booklet that bears every proof of me being somehow slack and uncaring, etc.... (for the second half of the paper.. the first half being of a good quality). Some pages don't match the summary, some elements are missing... Overally, it isn't entirely bad, except that my instructors are probably laughing at the moment, thinking I gave them a work that lacked an average week weeks of re-reading, editing / etc. They are strict, and by no means would I be able to fool them by saying that these errors were technical (as a friend suggested).

Presently, I feel devastated, as I have felt every once in a while since school started.... Too well aware that my relationship to deadlines and to the assignments that I am given by professors is compulsory. And I know that my reason to procrastinate is merely a fear of disapointing them. (usually, as soon as I hand my work in, I purposefuly stay away about the topic, and everything related, despite enjoying my work and having picked it myself out of many others........ because I have been so very scared by the whole "adventure".)

In case it is relevant, I am a 23y female, and I decided during the last 6 months to make a change of major, in which i have been accepted thanks to the grades i got in the last years....; So my future isn't at stake here, as I will start a new gradschool program next fall, in another city, and am forsaking this field of study for now, for valid reasons (the other field offers more stable jobs, has better recognition, and it will probably match my personality much better). I intend on making solid changes, documenting myself sufficiently on time management and the likes, and dealing with all the lessons I learned the hard way, during the coming summer.

As a side information, my university doesn't really put health services in touch with teachers as it is the case in america, in order to help them out in difficult times.

I know there is no easy way to go through next monday, and am scared to be overwhelmed by emotions, because I feel like I have never wanted anything like this to happen. I am scared to death of the reaction my teachers will have. They will probably only ask questions, be cold, and let me go. But... even though my conclusions are alright and can be justified, I am really shaky. There is no way I can justify the poor quality of my work, because my personal life isn't of any interest to them.

Do you have any advice on what I could do or say to balance my emotions and be at my best ? Also, would it be acceptable to hand in another paper, that would have been corrected ? I cannot ask my advisor anything regarding this, as she has said she will be unreachable until the day of the examination. Thank you in advance, hive mind.

Is there anything else I can do? If not, help me let it go.

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:34:41 -0800

Is there any further action I can take to recoup the financial loss and and deal with the emotional frustration resulting from my university's swine-flu-panic decision to cancel a much-anticipated field research opportunity? For over a year, my fellow grad students and I had been planning for a month-long field research opportunity in [foreign country]. For several of us, it was part of our motivation to attend this university – research opportunities in our field for non-PhD grad students are rare, and this is a small and amazing program to benefit a community in need. The summer research has been going on successfully for several years now. Our professor works unbelievably hard to arrange this...it takes an amazing amount of coordination and resources to make it all come together.

A few days after swine flu was initially announced in the media (late April) – and almost two months before our research was to begin, this June – I received notice from our professor that our trip had been canceled by a [certain office at the university in charge of assessing risk]. Upon hearing this, we all made many attempts to salvage the situation on many fronts, to no avail. Because swine flu is no longer a major threat, the tickets are booked through online travel companies, and the flights are international, none of us are able to reschedule or refund our tickets. Even with insurance, which I bought at booking. We also can't afford to take a "forced vacation" (ie. taking our flights and spending a month playing in [foreign country]). For me, this is $600 of sunk cost. Additionally, this research would have provided us with a summer opportunity to earn a necessary 3 units towards our graduation. Without it, many of us must spend an extra unplanned semester at our university, including the cost of tuition, books, and time spent. And of course, not to mention missing out on the experience of a lifetime, which can't really be compensated for any other way.

Two weeks after the decision, I contacted the person at the university office that made the cancellation, and sent them a very professional yet personal email explaining how this negatively impacted us students, and that we are unable to resolve things. He ignored all that, and replied with a generic response and blamed the State Dept. for the decision. This prompted me to send a follow-up email, calmly expressing my frustration with his manner of communication, lack of concern, and the financial cost and emotional distress his/their decision has left us with. He remains unconcerned, and frankly, somewhat hostile with his minimal replies. This all has left me feeling bitter, disillusioned, and now angry.

My flight leaves this Friday, without me on it. As it approaches, I feel increasingly helpless and frustrated. I cannot seem to let this go. Especially if there is something more I could do to resolve the financial or emotional aspects of this unfortunate situation.

Are there any things I can do, big or small that will:
a) Make me/us feel better.
b) Get the university to acknowledge us and/or take some positive action, however small, to help us out and/or prevent their lame handling of a situation from happening again. I do not wish to start controversy or create problems however.
c) Help recoup the $600 airline cost – even if it has nothing to do with the airline, flight insurance or booking agency. I've tried calling all places, several times. There is no getting the money back. I can however dump an extra $200 + additional cost of airfare to take a flight I don't need anymore to a place I don't want to go to (and can't afford to go to) in the next six months, if I so wish.
d) Help me just let it all go, if that's where I really should be focusing my energy.

The positives from all of this are helping somewhat...I do get to do some important things and attend some events that otherwise wouldn't get to (since I would have been out of the country). However, I keep thinking about the lack of concern by the school and missing out on this amazing experience. What can I do?

Learn Math Via Programming?

fightoplankton — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:59:39 -0800

I have always been horrible at math, but somehow a great programmer. I have found that writing a computer program that demonstrates a certain mathematical concept enables me to better understand the concept. I'm a psych major and I brought this up once in the research lab I've been working in. My prof said he recalls that someone did research and/or created a system in which a student writes a computer program that is pertinent to a certain mathematical concept and upon completion is given the regular math problem (as it would appear in a math class). This enables the student to better understand the math problem, solve, and learn math. Has anyone heard of this or anything similar? A learning system such as this would be a blessing to my education. Thanks.

What software is helpful for writing a masters thesis?

metricfan — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 20:30:12 -0800

What software is helpful for writing a masters thesis? I'm working my thesis for my M.A. and I have a non-tablet PC and use OneNote a lot. What are some helpful computer programs or tips for doing research?

Here are the things I need right now:

I really need a program to allow me to take notes on PDFs directly. It seems like most of my reading is on here, and I need to be able to write in the margins like I do with actual printed things. I am broke, so I was hoping for a free program/under 30-ish dollars. Someone asked this question like two years ago, and there was not real answer.

Also, how can I import a PDF in OneNote? Actually, any tips for OneNote would be amazing.

I need a good citation program or something because Refworks has turned out to be a bust.

Is Evernote really good?

Any advice or tips are welcome.

About my thesis: I'm a communication studies ma student, and I'm writing about popular culture and politics. Specifically, I am using Barry Brummett's mosaic method in his book Rhetorical Dimensions of Popular Culture to analyze TDS and other news media surrounding Obama's race speech.

SO! If you have any research suggestions for that, that's cool too. Though, as a masters student I've taken the fundamental classes like classical rhetoric, so really abstractly related things like Aristotle's On Rhetoric (unless with a specific link to my project) I don't really need to hear.

I appreciate the help, thanks in advance.

Two Master's Degrees... What are my options?

msposner — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:57:38 -0800

This spring I will be finished with my second Master's degree. I've been at my current job for almost three years and while I enjoy it immensely, I am wondering about other opportunities that having two graduate degrees might open up for me. Am hoping to obtain answers especially from individuals who have multiple degrees and have gone into somewhat different career paths. My first graduate degree is a M.S. in Secondary School Education. I am qualified to teach in public school (context area: Social Studies). I also am certified to teach at schools for the deaf but that is not something I want to focus on because of how such institutions are being shut down at an alarming rate.

My second graduate degree is going to be a M.S. in Professional/Rehabilitation Counseling, which I'll be obtaining in May of 2009. I'm not going to be pursuing my Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) certificate because I was recently on their advisory panel and signed a waiver stating that I promise not to take the CRC test for at least five years due to first-hand exposure to potential test questions. This is perfectly fine with me because I'm not planning on having my own independent counseling practice and I have no desire to work for any of the major insurance companies around here.

I currently work at a state agency as a vocational rehabilitation counselor and while I do enjoy this job very, very much, lately it seems as if I'm often hearing from people (respected professionals) that I should be doing something "better" and so forth.

For me, "better", would be to obtain employment as a researcher (researcher scientist?) or a professor at a college/university, which is actually my ultimate goal but I'm also open to acquiring other, relevant experience that might enhance myself as an educator. I'm a voracious reader and I'm always conducting research- I'd really like to go into education/rehabilitation policy if the opportunity ever presents itself.

For now, my intention is clearly to "stay put" because as I mentioned, I love my job and I enjoy working with my colleagues, however, I have my goals outside of this field and have oftentimes thought about returning to the classroom as a high school teacher.

In a nutshell, my inquiries are defined as follows:

(I) I've been told that having Master degrees in both education and counseling will make me very attractive to school systems. True?

(II) Will the fact that I do not have terminal degrees in either fields (education and counseling) hurt my chances in obtaining research-based positions and/or work as a college instructor?

(III) For someone with two Master's degrees, what are the other fields I could go into when I have specialization in both education and counseling?

(IV) Has anyone experienced negative pitfalls of having multiple graduate degrees such as frequent rejections on the basis of being overqualified?

--------

Caveat #1: I am profoundly deaf. This, unfortunately, creates a lot of barriers for me in the workplace. Many schools have refused to hire me because in order for me to instruct in public schools, they would have to also pay for a full-time sign language interpreter since I communicate primarily in American Sign Language. In their eyes, I'm not cost effective- I'm a budget burden. As I mentioned earlier, I do not want to work at schools for the deaf because of the lack of job security and their notoriously low salaries.

Caveat #2: I've mentioned that I love my current job. However, I am also trying to plan ahead (1-3 years) and have always been open to other opportunities.

Caveat #3: Not really looking to relocate anytime in the near/distant future. Wife loves her job and is pregnant with our first child. We also put a lot of work in our present home.

Caveat #4: I'm 27 years old.

Caveat #5: My current job is paying fully for my second graduate degree, which is really the only reason why I went back to school after I completed my first Master's.

Thanks in advance for all of your suggestions/insights.

How do I find a Research Experience in S.F. without starving…

elationfoundation — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:26:01 -0800

I am a recent graduate of a M.S. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution, an interdisciplinary degree, and have just returned to San Francisco to try and get some research experience (in social science research) but because I don’t have any real background I am having trouble getting anything… HELP! I didn’t realize that I wanted to pursue high level academia (sociology or social psychology) until my senior year of undergrad and because I went to a state school without any funding I never even saw research assistantships. At my grad program I got passed over consistently because of my lack of experience and because I was not a PhD student. I got rejected form my PhD program choices for a lower than normal undergrad GPA (3.2 grad was 3.8) not high enough GRE scores, and a lack of research experience. I am working on improving my GRE scores but I can’t seem to get any research positions. I am applying to anything that is non clinical and have not gotten anything. While I have been working on selling the skills I have and taught myself SPSS so that I could have that under my belt I cannot find anything. My passion does not seem to be able to get me any opportunities. So my broad question is how does one go about finding research positions without the background experience. While I would be open to volunteering as a research assistant so that I can get the experience I would rather get paid so that I don’t have to take on a night or morning job to pay for housing.
Secondarily… are there (free) ways to get help with my research acumen (like study groups) so that I can improve my understanding of research methodologies. I find research one of the most interesting and rewarding experiences but it is difficult to grasp the methodologies without an ability to have someone to talk to about them. My family and friends are done listening to me talk about research.

Sorry for the length… Any help would be positive!

Help me find information about Coatesville, Pa.

deafmute — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 17:46:25 -0800

I need to write a twenty page paper about the economic and social situation of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, a dying rust-belt steel town. Is there a Coatesville expert in the room? Someone who grew up there? Someone who spent time there or did business there? I need your expertise, or at the very least access to resources that might not be readily apparent to me. I've already got a visit to the National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum planned, and I have access to reams of census data, a car, and the Metropolitan Philadelphia Indicators Project, but I'm looking to deeply massage the Mefi hivemind, to suss out any local experience or knowledge anyone might have.

I need to focus on the interface between global economic forces and local economies that eventually torpedoed this city, so if you have any expertise in that area, awesome.

An Apple a Day Keeps my Research Advisor Away

Large Marge — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 09:27:05 -0800

New Macintosh user needs help getting his Pro set up for academic research. My labgroup ordered a pallet of apples and I have been on a windows box until now. I was hoping you guys could tell me what software I need and what procedures I'll need to do in order to get back up and functioning. My main needs are: tunneling into a unix server and running remote programs via an x window (you can tell how much I already know about that.), pdf organization (I've got endnote, but I hear I can search in a group pdfs from the finder), and how to utilize all these fresh cores as an xgrid server (it's already set up by a coworker I believe, but I'd to know how to code my own too). Any other suggestions more seasoned scientists might have would be appreciate too. Thanks!

Congenial study spots in and/or around Baltimore, MD?

killdevil — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 15:44:39 -0800

I need to find a good spot to study. I like libraries, particularly of the academic sort. What's the most congenial library in the Baltimore, MD area? What I mean by congenial, in this case, is large, uncrowded, and quiet. The main Hopkins research library would be perfect if students weren't perennially shoehorned into every carrel, loudly and agitatedly scribbling away as they flip through organic chemistry texts highlighted in six colors. What say ye, Baltimoreans?

Am I just nervous?

Anonymous — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 08:57:55 -0800

GradSchoolAnxietyFilter: I have no research experience. How do I describe my research plan? Please describe in detail the research plan you wish to pursue at Institution including the theme, approach and methods, etc. which you intend to use.

That's just one of the various questions on the application. Problem is, I've never really done any graduate level research, and though I have a few different ideas for a "research plan" rolling around in my brain, I'm not feeling very confident about committing to one in my application, considering I am unfamiliar with the faculty (and have no geographic access to them). I really don't know what they are looking for here, or if whatever research plan I come up with would jive with their experience. I just don't know how to approach this. Writing a statement of purpose doesn't scare me at all, writing this does.

The program is for an MA in international relations at a school that is incredibly attractive to me, but I'm nervous. I have a general feeling of anxiety due mainly to two things: my lack of undergraduate research experience and the fact that an MA in IR will be a somewhat significant departure from my undergraduate studies (I have a BJ in news-editorial and a BA in international studies). My undergraduate education has left me feeling unprepared for grad school, particularly with questions like these on the app. I feel like my lack of independent research experience is going to really hurt me--all I've ever really written has been in the form of term papers.

It feels like they are expecting me to know a lot more than I already do.

So, the question(s)... basically two part:

How should I approach this essay question and what kind of things will the university be looking for here? I'm particularly concerned about the "approach" and "methods" they ask me to describe.

And

Is my anxiety about school normal, or was my undergraduate education truly bankrupt?

Any general grad school applications advice is also welcome.

New York, New York!

arcticwoman — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 11:50:03 -0800

What happened to the New York School of Music? I am researching someone who supposedly attended the NYSM in the 1930s but all attempts to find this school or any information on it have failed. I have emailed Juilliard and they have no idea what I am talking about. I have emailed the Manhattan School of Music (three weeks ago and again last week) and they haven't responded. Does anyone know anything about this reclusive school?

How do I take notes on big books?

josh — Thu, 19 Jan 2006 07:10:49 -0800

Researchers, academics, and readers: how do you deal with taking notes, recording passages, keeping a common-place book, and reading long books? What is your note-taking workflow? I'm a graduate student in English just beginning to get seriously into the research phase of my dissertation. I try to read a novel a day, and a lot of criticism and other non-fiction as well, in fields like neuroscience, psychology, and theology that relate to my thesis topic.

I have a pretty good memory, but nevertheless I find that I'm reading things and just not remembering them. In particular, I come across passages all the time that I'd like to save, and which I know that I won't remember later. And, of course, once I've written these things down they are just that -- written down in my notebook. In the past I've experimented with various solutions: carrying a Palm and portable keyboard; taking notes on index cards and sticking them in an alphabetical file; marking passages with post-its, and then transcribing them into something like DevonThink; or even just carrying my computer around and typing them in directly. But all of those options have been too much of a pain, with constant stopping and starting and/or equipment to lug around. I have a GTD-type workflow in other areas, but just can't motivate myself to sit down and retype paragraph after paragraph once a day or once a week. I much prefer just carrying my notebook with me.

So, all that said -- here are my questions:

1. Is it even useful to horde text like this? Am I better off just trusting to memory? Has anyone found it incredibly useful to have a 'memex' like this during the writing process, or found it useless?

2. If you think it's useful - then what do you do? What's your process for keeping track of what you read?

What I'd really like is a minimally intrusive way that I can keep track of what I read and see important passages, and which strikes a balance between being comprehensive, powerful, and lightweight. That could mean something computerized, something analog. But I'm also unsure that it's even worth it to be thinking about this stuff. Maybe I should just be reading?

Many thanks MeFites!

Forget Memorizing!

jruckman — Thu, 29 Sep 2005 08:50:01 -0800

I'm researching the pros/cons of brute memorization as it applies to the classroom. For instance, a recent art history exam required I memorize the artist, title, year of composition, and significance (yes, he had an itemized "significance" for each piece, don't get me started) for a list of ~50 different pieces. I completely understand that such knowledge is useful in conversation, and in simply piecing together and appreciating the ebb and flow of the past -- but I am skeptical as to its actual benefit, given that most people simply forget this information a year, semester, or even a day later. With increasing availability of internet access and search -- specific figures, dates, etc are becoming less and less important to remember, as all this information (and more you'd never normally remember) is so easily and readily obtained.

This CNet article got me thinking about this, and reafirmed my long-standing grievances. Is forced memorization fading away along with the slide rule and slate board? What is the use of such a practice if you simply forget all the information shortly afterwards? Would a course not better serve to enrich by having a more discussion-, analytical- based environment -- helping students form more profound connections that will undoubtedly last longer than a list of dates and people? For courses such as art history, wouldn't integrating internet access during class, allowing for instant retreval and cross-referencing of pieces and ideas being currently discussed, be a logical step away from having our heads buried in textbooks or staring blankly at PowerPoint presentations? Why not free up our brains from the barrage of factoids and focus on actually doing something with this knowledge?

I'm interested in your thoughts, and in any articles, resources, people, etc that argue for and against this idea. My initial Google-fu has not turned up much. I've heard of some schools that don't even give examinations, or distribute grades. This isn't directly related to what I'm getting at, but interesting simply because of it's deviation from the typical concept of "school". Basically, I think that memorization should be a natural result of interest and energy invested into a subject. Think of the knowledge you have almost effortless recollection of, simply because it "came with" larger ideas you are genuinely concerned with. I'm open to any insight.

EEBO Database Access

Grod — Fri, 30 Apr 2004 22:24:16 -0800

I'm doing research for a paper, and am running low on time. It turns out that my college (Goucher college), does not subscribe to a database I need access to. The database is: EEBO : Early English Books Online. If any of my fellow students on metafilter can help me out please send an e-mail to the address in my profile. Specifically, I'm looking for a facsimile of Thomas Bretnor's 1611 Almanac. If such a thing is available at all, that's the place it would be. Sadly, I don't have time left to do this the proper way, an inter-library loan request.