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sciencephd
Friday, 14 June 2019 at 11:07pm
Tuesday, 23 June 2020 at 9:01pm
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Thread: Do impact factors matter?

posted
09-Jul-20, 00:23
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posted about 3 days ago
Quote From bewildered:
[quote]

If your field counts IF as a proxy for REF quality (some sciences are very open about doing this), then it will likely be a factor in lectureship applications.

Thanks. This is helpful information.

Thread: Do impact factors matter?

posted
07-Jul-20, 03:27
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posted about 5 days ago
Quote From Tudor_Queen:
A high IF would look impressive IMO but it probably isn't that big a deal at this stage. When applying for professorships I think you have to state the IF of each one of the papers (at least you do at my uni). But I wouldn't worry that much. Go for the best journal you think it could go in. Some people I know have a strategy of submitting to higher impact factors first and then working down through the list. Personally I just go for a journal that I think it will be accepted in. One where I've read similar papers.

Is your uni in the UK? I'd like to know if UK unis count IFs when they hire new lecturers

Thread: Do impact factors matter?

posted
06-Jul-20, 02:01
edited about 1 minute later
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posted about 6 days ago
My group mates and I are working on a manuscript now. I'm not the first author, but this going to be my first paper, so I hope it goes to a good journal. However, I don't know which journal is good for this manuscript. I asked my supervisor, and he suggested a journal, which I've never heard of. He said that journal had some potential. I asked the other authors, who are my group mates, if that is a good journal. None of them had heard of the journal either. But one of them told me I should look up its impact factor and the impact factor could tell me whether that was a good journal. So I searched and the factor is between 3-4. That group mate then told me 3-4 meant that was an average journal. So I feel disappointed.
So here are my questions: Do impact factors indicate how good a journal is? Should I go for a journal with a higher impact factor? Does this number mean my supervisor doesn't think highly of our paper? Do the impact factors matter when I look for academic jobs (postdocs, and lectureships in the future) ?

Thread: Have you been back to the lab and are you working in shifts?

posted
02-Jul-20, 04:52
edited about 10 seconds later
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posted about 1 week ago
Other countries promote face masks and they don't need to stay 2m apart. Wearing a mask is more convenient than keeping the 2m distance. Only the UK policy is so stupid.

Thread: Have you been back to the lab and are you working in shifts?

posted
27-Jun-20, 16:52
edited about 24 seconds later
Avatar for sciencephd
posted about 2 weeks ago
Quote From Tapa:
Hi, we have been working in half-day shifts since the end of April. It will work if you plan your experiments carefully. But indeed, for some experiments, it is not possible.
After 2 months working in a stressful situation, I realize that I like that. Because I actually have the other half-day to stay at home and do whatever I want. I also don't want to stay 10-12hrs /day in the lab.
Something worse is that you don't have time to prepare stuffs such as pipette tips, media,...

Since late April??? Which university or which area are you in? Back in April the infection rate was still high

Thread: Have you been back to the lab and are you working in shifts?

posted
27-Jun-20, 16:51
Avatar for sciencephd
posted about 2 weeks ago
Quote From Nead:
I get to go back to the lab next week. We are being given half-day slots with a max of 20% of people allowed in the lab. We can have 4/ 5 people at once. We have been told the reason for half days, is our kitchen facilities and lunchroom will be closed, alongside offices- therefore by giving a half-day no one should be taking a lunch break for food and should not need to use their office.
Were trying to arrange that people work on a like-minded project will work sperate shifts so that if sampling etc needs later in the day, someone else can do it.

Maybe you're also expected not to use the toilets

Thread: Have you been back to the lab and are you working in shifts?

posted
27-Jun-20, 16:49
edited about 2 seconds later
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posted about 2 weeks ago
Quote From rewt:

I am somewhere worse, I am in a university with an occupational health department. Our reopening plan is being written by a couple of academics and it is completely divorced from reality. University management at its finest.

Nowadays almost every uni has an occupational health team. Reopening plan in my School is also written by a few academics and they didn't ask for our opinions. We PhD students are the main work force, yet they don't want our opinions. Even though I complained and provided them with my thoughts, they didn't listen. This is academia. Pathetic.

Thread: Have you been back to the lab and are you working in shifts?

posted
25-Jun-20, 23:15
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posted about 2 weeks ago
Quote From rewt:
We are not even allowed in the labs yet :(

I can understand half a day is not enough for a lot of experiments but coming in every other day is still draconian. As one of my experiments requires me to come in every day (including weekends) to do 1 hour of measurements and working every other day would kill it. There should be some flexibility as everyone's experiments are different and not a one size fits all.


Are you in Scotland? It seems that Scotland doesn't want researchers to go back to the lab so soon, but England is ready.
Yeah I think the School should allow more flexibility and listen to every lab's needs.

Thread: Have you been back to the lab and are you working in shifts?

posted
25-Jun-20, 19:59
edited about 17 seconds later
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posted about 2 weeks ago
My School allows all the PhD students/postdocs to be back to the labs, but we need to work in shifts. I work one day every two days. But now the School is planning on making everyone work in half-day shifts. I think that's rather stupid. We can't finish an experiment in half a day! I hope the School will listen to our opinion rather than go ahead with this stupid idea.

Thread: My supervisor first student failed😢

posted
23-Jun-20, 21:23
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posted about 2 weeks ago
Never expect the uni to help you when you are in disagreement with your supervisor!
I've seen so many cases! Whenever the student has a conflict with the supervisor, the uni always protects the supervisor but never listens to the student! Even when the supervisor is an arsehole! Even when the uni gets lots of tuition fee from the student!
You can try and raise the problem to the department or the Faculty, but the result will probably the same - they just blindly side with your supervisor and provide you with no support.
If you can, you'd better ask someone in your research area for some advice. If you can't do that, please believe in yourself.

Thread: Self-funded PhD this year or possible funded PhD next year?

posted
23-Jun-20, 21:03
edited about 15 seconds later
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posted about 2 weeks ago
Quote From cucaracha:
Quote From sciencephd:
I've never seen any self-funded PhD student get funding from the 2nd year of study, so I don't know if they exist.
I'm against doing a self-funded PhD. When doing a PhD, you're a tool used by your supervisor to achieve their research goals - usually they don't care about your development as a researcher or your future. Even if you're paying, your supervisor still sees you as their tool, so why pay to be used? It's only your loss. Also, if you're paying, you tend to look for part-time jobs, which consume lots of time and you'll finish your PhD later than you planned.


Hi sciencephd, can you elaborate on how supervisors use PhD students as a tool to achieve their research goals? Are students expected to do some of the supervisor's work in some unis/subjects?

When your interests don't align with your supervisor's, they will make you obey and work on the project they're interested in rather than the one you're interested in. When you want to get some experiences, such as internships, trainings, etc, if those things have nothing to do with the project your supervisor's interested in, they won't allow you to go ahead. Most old male PIs are like that. There are some good PIs, but it takes very good luck to meet them.

Thread: What problems/conflicts do you have with other PhD students that you can't tell your supervisor?

posted
22-Jun-20, 23:11
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posted about 2 weeks ago
If their behaviours affect your experiments, then you definitely need to tell your supervisor. Maybe you can come up with 'guidelines for the lab' and show it to your supervisor and ask your supervisor to send it to the whole lab.

Thread: With no publications or awards, how can I make my CV look better?

posted
21-Jun-20, 01:13
edited about 7 seconds later
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posted about 3 weeks ago
Quote From Tudor_Queen:
Some other things I thought of that could make your CV stand out / improve it - you could put links to preprints of any papers that are more or less ready to be submitted. Then they can at least read them. Or you could preregister any studies you haven't yet finished analysing or writing up and put them as sort of protocols on osf (it's free and respected / widely used) . These can go in a publication list.

Earlier you mentioned about assistant jobs only requiring a bsc or masters - that's OK, you can still apply, especially if you haven't yet been awarded the PhD. Many people do this.

I'll post if anything else comes to mind!

Oh thank you I didn't know osf at all. Our group has never used osf. I'll think about taking advantage of that.

Thread: With no publications or awards, how can I make my CV look better?

posted
20-Jun-20, 18:32
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posted about 3 weeks ago
Quote From Tudor_Queen:
Hmm, I don't agree. If you get an award you put it on your CV under the award section as far as I'm concerned. They show that you have award winning skills in dissemination, teaching, etc. If they become dated or your career progresses so that you are now at another level and have better things to showcase than the awards, you can remove them. I really don't get the argument for not putting them on - especially if they are prestigious. Perhaps it depends on the department / research area. In mine they are a valuable asset to have on your CV - sort of like getting a distinction.

In my field people also put talk/poster prizes on their CV. That's why I'm so worried. If my group mates are applying for the same position as I do, the PI will see that all of them have got at least one prize except me - will the PI just delete my application when s/he sees that? Makes me so nervous...I don't know how I can stand out from my rivals.

Thread: With no publications or awards, how can I make my CV look better?

posted
20-Jun-20, 18:29
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posted about 3 weeks ago
Quote From Nead:

I have a few awards from conferences and there not of my CV. My PI of my PhD very kindly reviewed my CV for me for postdocs position, and told me to take them off- its braggy and not essential like what rewt said.

So when you were interviewed, did PIs ask you about awards?
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