Graduate Student Expectations

Dr.ArturoLeon,SchoolofCivilandConstructionEngineering,[email protected],(541)7372606 Page1

Lastupdated:Aug29th,2012

GraduateStudentGuidelinesandExpectationsResearchGroupofArturoLeon(AdaptedfromDr.BabbarSebens,CCEatOSU)

WelcometograduateschoolandOSU!Iamdelightedthatyouhavedecidedtocollaboratewith me for your graduate school research, and I look forward to having a successfuladvisorstudent relationship with you. As your advisor, I plan to treat you as a juniorcolleague. Ihopethat thisdocumentwillprovideyousomeguidelines inmanagingyourgraduateschoolexperienceandresearch,andhelpyoutowardsbecominganindependentandsuccessfulscientist.Theseguidelinesareintendedforfundedstudents,howeveritisalsorecommendedforselffundedstudents.ResearchPhilosophy

Scienceisnotboring,redundant,oruseless.Thereisacreativecomponenttoscienceandaservicecomponenttosciencethatweallshouldappreciateandadoptinourlives.Youwilllearn some components of your science via lectures and advising; however, you willdiscovermostofthecomponentsofsciencebyyourselfviaresearch,whichwillbringyoumany rewards and impart you with multiple useful skills such as professionalism,technical writing skills, technical presentation skills, fearlessness about technical issues,and an overall ability to think innovatively. Idonot expect you to assume that youbelongtoanenvironmentwhereyoucansitandwaittolearn.Scienceisanadventure,andtheexcitementtofigurethingsout.Askingthemanywhysshouldbeapartofyourownresearchphilosophyandattitude.Collaboration

Collaboration is an integral part of the research environment. Not only does it bringbenefitstotheindividualresearcher,italsoensuresthatscienceisdoneinthemostopenandproductiveenvironment. I expectyou tobeopen tonotonly sharingyour ideasandknowledge with your peers and colleagues, but also receiving feedback (critical orappreciative)fromthem.Therearenosecretsorpersonalownershipinresearch.Research is done to understand and benefit the planetwe live in, hence I expect you toalwayskeepthebigpictureinyourmindandbeopentoteamwork.TimeManagement

Timemanagementisaverycriticalskillthatyouwillneedtodevelopwithinthenextfewmonths,especiallyifyouhavehadpersonalstruggleswithitinthepast.Iamveryopento


youselectingyourownworkinghours,butIexpectdeadlinestobe firmlymet.Hence,some of youmightwork through nights getting a task accomplished,while some of youmight complete the same task in a few hours. Your commitments to your researchprojects should be taken very seriously and should be managed in the mostresponsible and timelymanner. Additionally, you should not require or expect heavysupervision.Inthebeginningofyourgraduatestudiesallofyouwillhavetoclimbalearningcurvethatwillneedmorethanexpectedhoursofyourtime.Onceyoudeveloparegularscheduleyouwill find iteasier toget tasksaccomplishedefficiently.Graduateschool isnota typical9am to5pm job! It requiresaneedbyneedbasis schedulingand inputof efforts.Identify your overarching research goals in discussion with me. Then, create anoutline of tasks that you will need to accomplish in order to achieve your objectives.Estimatehowmuchtimeyouwillneedtocompletethosetasks,andsetyourownpersonaldeadlines.Thesedeadlinesshouldbetakenveryseriously,andshouldbefollowedclosely.Ihaveworkedwithstudentsinsettingordesigningtheirschedulesinthepast,soIwouldbehappytohelpyouwithit,ifyouneedhelporguidance.Iexpectyou toregardgraduateschoolasat leasta full time job. If youhavea49%GRA,yourappointmentisfor20hoursofresearchperweek.Ifyouhavea25%GRA,yourappointmentisfor10hoursofresearchperweek.Thesenumbersofhoursarereferential.Please note that staying in your office for 20 hours does not mean 20 hours ofproductive research. A grad student working an average of 20 hours per week inresearchprobablyiswastinghis/hertime,asitwouldbealmostimpossibletoaccomplishtheresearchtaskswiththisamountof time.Accordingtomypersonalexperience, I(andmy grad peers) would work a minimum of 60 hours per week in research, especiallyduringthefirsttwoyearsofgradstudies.Evenwhenworkingsomanyhours,Ifeltthatitwasnotenoughtoaccomplishtheresearchtasks.NotethatIamnotmentioninghoursforclassesorhomework.TheyareNOTpartofyourresearch.Unlessyoutakeonaprojectwithunusuallyheavytimecommitments,Iexpectyoutotakesome personal time off from your work schedule during the year (about a total of 2weeks) to travel or visit family. You can also take time off during religious holidays orotheruniversityholidays.However,ifyouplantotaketimeoffduringspringbreakand/orfallbreaks,pleasecountthemaspartofyourtwoweekvacationquota.Iexpectresearchnottobestalledduringtherestoftheyear.Inspecialcases,Iamwillingtoallowadditionaltimeofffromwork,butthatissomethingyouwillneedtodiscusswithme.I,also,expectyoutoinformmeassoonasyoucan,onceyoustartbuildingplansforvacationsortimeoff.


Ideas(Intellectualproperty)

Innovative research ideas that you develop into research products are the intellectualpropertyofthisresearchgroup,theuniversity,and/orthefundingagencies.Hence,properacknowledgementshouldbemadeto thepeopleyouhaveworkedwithandtheagenciesthat have supported your research, every time you present your research to anycommunity. In some cases, you might also be required to get permission from theuniversitytousetools,software,etc.,onceyouleavetheuniversity.Indoubt,alwaysask!Authorshipofcollaborativepapersshouldalsobecarefullyandfairlychosen.Ifyouwriteyourmanuscript,youshouldbethefirstauthorofthepaper.However,ifyoudonotwriteapublishablemanuscript before graduation and if I have to convert your research into amanuscriptthenyouwillbeassignedasthesecondauthor.Ifyouarethefirstauthorthenyour second author is usually your advisor, unless the manuscript has been done inteamworkwith other individuals (e.g.manuscripts that arewritten based on your classprojectsanddontinvolveyourcurrentresearchorinputfromadvisor,etc.).Includethirdandadditionalauthorsonlyifanyindividualhasbeenactivelyinvolvedincompletingyourresearch tasks or has contributed to the innovation in your research. Funding agenciesshouldalwaysbeincludedinyouracknowledgements.Though,asanadvisor,Illtaketheresponsibility of being the corresponding authorof yourmanuscripts in order to ensuretimelysubmission,reviewandpublishingofthepaper,Iexpectyoutobefullyinvolvedinrespondingtoquestionsposedbythereviewers.ResearchResponsibilities

Besides creative and critical thinking, the following are also important components ofresearchthatyouwillbeexpectedtoundertake.Reading: Reading existing literature in the field of your research is very crucial tounderstandingthestateoftheartknowledgeandscopeforfutureinvestigations.Aspartofgraduate school, you will find yourself reading a large collection of peerreviewedmanuscripts, books, theses of others, etc. directly related to your field and/or related toother fields that are relevant to your research. These readingmaterials can be attainedfrom the university library, via Google Scholar, or via other search engines for scientificpublications(e.g.,Google,Bin).Especiallyinthebeginning,mostofyourtimewillbespentonidentifyingliteraturethatgivesyouthenecessarybackgroundtoyourworkandassistsyou in analyzing existingknowledge. Literature review is also an importantpart of yourthesisandshouldbedoneinanexhaustivemanner.Iencouragestudentstoreadat leastonemanuscriptorchaptereverynightbeforebedtime.


Everytimeyoureadascientificdocument,makenotesofthefollowing:1. What is the general topic that this paper is related to? Collect and organize your

readingmaterialsintogroupsoftopicsthatyouread.Forexample,papersrelatedtohydraulicmodeling,papersrelatedtouncertaintyanalyses,etc.Youcanorganizeincomputerfoldersorinplasticfolders.

2. For everypaper, first identify themain objective of this paper. Read it aloud andwriteitinyourownwordsonthepaperorinyournotes.

3. Then,identifywhatbackgroundliteraturedotheyciteandwhy.4. Identifywhatapproach/solutiondotheyproposeandthinkaboutthestrengthsand

limitationsoftheirapproach.5. Carefully analyze their results and think about whether the results provide you

insightsintothetopicthatyouareinvestigating.6. Thenthinkabouthowrelevantandusefulthispaperwasforyourresearch.Ifitwas

useful and would provide important background to your study, write a criticalsummaryofthispaperinaWorddocumentorLaTeX.ChrisorYunjishouldbeabletohelpyouwithLaTex.Thissummarywillbeusefulwhenyouhavetowriteyourthesis or manuscripts. It will make thesis writing much faster and will help youorganize your thoughtswithout rereading the scientific document all over again(However,therewillalwaysbepapersthatyouwillneedtoreadmultipletimes!).

Writing:Scientificwritingisimportantforgettingyourresearchreviewedbyotherpeersin your scientific field. The peerreview process ensures that high quality research iscommunicated to the community, and any loop holes identified in the research areaddressedbytheauthors.Besidespeerreviewedpapers,youwillalsobeexpectedtowritea thesis, which will be reviewed for its quality by your advisor and your researchcommittee.Scientificwriting isverydifferent fromEnglish literaturewriting!Therearecertainrulesand guidelines that need to be followed, which you should strictly adhere to. I haveattached some guidelines to this document. You can getmore information on theworldwideweb,andalsofromscientificwritingbooksinthelibrary.Withpractice,anyonecanbecome proficient in scientific writing. Hence, continuous writing of your research byregularlydocumentingallyourliterature,approach,etc.isimportant.Youcanalsolearnalot about skillful writing by observing scientific writing of your peers, when you readpublishedliteratureinthefield.Carefullyobservehowpeoplecreatethevarioussectionsofamanuscript,howtheydescribeascientificproblem,itssolution,andtheirresultsandconclusions, andwhatkindof grammarand language theyuse.Hence, reading literatureregularlyisalsoimportantforimprovingyourwritingskills.


IfyourtargetisaMastersdegree,Iexpectyoutodoinnovative,highqualityresearchthatproduces at least one peerreviewed journal manuscript and one conferencemanuscript/abstract(twojournalmanuscriptsarerecommendedforaMastersstudents).If your target is adoctoraldegree, I expect you toproduceat least three to fourpeerreviewedjournalmanuscripts,besidesmultipleconferenceabstracts/manuscripts.Ifyourintention is to pursue an academic career (e.g., professor or research scientist), Irecommendyou toproduceat least seven to eight journalmanuscripts, besidesmultipleconferenceabstracts/manuscripts.Ihighlyrecommendtowriteyourjournalmanuscriptsandconferenceabstracts/manuscriptsinLaTeX.Thiswillsaveyoualotoftimeduringthepreparationofthemanuscript.WhenusingLaTeX,youcangenerateyourthesisinamatterofminutesonceyouhaveyourjournalmanuscripts.Pleasekeepinmindthatyourpapersmust be publishable in high quality journals that have high impact factors (e.g., ASCEJournals).Ialsorecommendtheuseofcolorswhenwritingamanuscript.Forinstance,youcouldusegreencolorwhenyoulikethetextandyoudontanticipatesignificantchanges.Likewise,youcoulduselightbluewhenthetextneedssomerevisionandyouneedtogobacktothissectionlater.Finally,youcanuseredorpinkwhenthetextneedsmajorwork.ThissavesmealotoftimewhenwritingamanuscriptbecauseIdonotneedtoreviewthewholemanuscript every timebut only the areas thatneedmyattention (e.g., areaswithlightblueandpink).Anyabstract,paper,thesis,report,orpresentationyouplantosubmitordeliverneedstobe firstreviewedbyme.Soensurethatyougivemeadvancenoticetoreviewyourworkbefore your submissiondeadline. I need time to go over yourwriting and youwill needtime to make all the corrections. I expect at least one week notice for abstracts andpresentations.Thesis,reports,andpapersshouldbesubmittedtomeinsectionssothatIcanreviewandsendbackmycomments toyou,whileyouworkonother sections.Onceyour thesishasbeencompletelyreviewedbyme, thenyoucansubmitacleanversionofyour document to your committee. If you are having a tremendous challenge in editingyour work, especially for nonnative English speakers, please use professional editingservicestoimproveyourdocument.ThewritingcenteratOSU(cwl.oregonstate.edu)mayhelpwiththis.Ialsosuggesttoaskyourfriendsandfellowgraduatestudentstoproofreadyourwork.Laboratory tasks: Once you have figured out your research approach, youwill need toimplement it. Since our research group is mostly a computational group, you will beexpectedtoperformvariouscomputationaltasks,e.g.writingcode,debuggingandrunningprogramsonanoperatingsystem, learningandexecutingasoftware,etc.Therefore,giveyourself enough time to learn and execute these tasks. Again, timemanagementwill beimportant toensuresuccessfulcompletionofallyourresearch tasks. Ifyouare trying tolearnandexecutespecificsoftware,spendenoughtimereadingthroughitsmanualand/or


searchingforwebgroupsofotherpeopleusingthesamesoftware.Youcanalsoaskmeforhelp,ifyougetstuckonaproblemandcannotfigureoutasolutionbyyourself.TravelforResearch

Aspartofyourgraduateeducation,youwillalsobeexpectedtotraveltoconferencesandpresentyourresearchtopeers.TherearetravelfundsavailableintheSchoolofCivilandConstruction Engineering and in the College of Engineering that you should apply for. Iusuallyalsohavetravelfundsinmyprojects,whichcouldbeusedtosupportyourtravelexpenses.When travelling for conferences, alwaysuse themost economical options.Youcansearch forcheap flightsonwww.kayak.comandsimilarwebsites.Alwayssharehotelroomsandstayininexpensive,butsafe,hotelsthathaveroomratesintherangeof$50to$80. Daily expenses on food are reimbursed based on either daily rates decided by theuniversity orbasedonyour restaurant receipts.Also, you are expected to fill in a travelform before you leave the city. Always contact Mrs. Dana Ainsworth([email protected]) in 101B Kearney before you make any travelarrangementsinordertocompleteallthetravelpaperworkneededbytheuniversity.Group/IndividualMeetings

Group meetings will be held once every week, unless I cancel or postpone a meeting.During groupmeetings I expect you to report yourweekly accomplishments andupdateyourstatus.Groupmeetingsareexcellentopportunitiesfordiscussinganyhurdlesyouarehavingwith your research and getting feedback from your peers to help you figure outsolutions.Basedonwhereyouarewithyourresearch,youwillalsobeexpectedtopresentyourresearchatleastonceeveryquarter.Asapresenter,youwillbeexpectedtousethisopportunitytoimproveyourpresentationskillsandconfidenceindeliveringinfrontofacriticalaudience.Iaminmyofficemostofthetime,andyoucangenerallyinterruptmewithquestionsortodiscussaproblem.Appointmentsaremoreconvenient,butIprefertodealwithquestionsastheyarise.However,youshouldbeawarethateveryinterruption,nomatterhowminor,costsmeat least5minutes, andusuallymore,while I refocusonmy task.Hence,pleasethinkaboutwhetheraparticularquestionmeritsaninterruptionorwhetheryoumightbeabletowaituntilanotherbettertimewithaseriesofquestions.Ontheotherhand,youandIwillmeeteveryweekforuptoonehourtodiscusstheprogressofyourresearch.


Professionalism

Part of what I will expect you to learn or develop with me is an attitude ofprofessionalism.Howdo Idefineprofessionalism? I viewprofessionalismas (1) takingresponsibilityforonesownactionsandduties,(2)reasonablerespectforandtoleranceofotherviews,(3)awillingnesstomakereasonablecompromisestomeetsharedgoals,(4)apleasantdemeanor (realor false), (5)a focusongetting thingsaccomplished,and(6)anability to escape, avoid, or ignore petty arguments, bickering, and gossip. Note that aprofessional relationship does not require friendship. In fact, a good professionalrelationship should allow you towork reasonablywell evenwith people you personallydetestorwhodetestyou(althoughweallhopeitnevercomestothat).A professional manner carries us through periods of disagreement and difficulty withminimal strain and stress. While a serious disagreement with a friend may make itimpossible to continue any relationshipwith that friend, it normally shouldnt destroy aprofessionalrelationship.Aprofessionalmannershouldallowyoutogetdeeplyangrywithmeoranothercoworker,yetnoteruptintofuriousdenunciationandaccusation.Itshouldallowyoutocalmlythinkaboutasituationanddiscussitwiththoseinvolvedasaproblemtobesolved.Itshouldallowyoutoinviteandacceptreasonablecriticismasconstructiveratherthandestructive(criticismnormallyfromamentororsupervisor,butattimesfromcoworkers as well). As amentor, I expect to offer honest judgments about professionalabilities that Imightneveroffer toa friend. Iexpectalso to ignore things that I considerirrelevantfromaprofessionalstandpoint, includingspecificpoliticalorreligiousviews. Ifyou have any questions about these or other topics please askme. There are not taboosubjectsorquestions.Evaluation(Eachquarter)

Aspartoftrackingyourprogressinresearch(notcoursework),youwillbeevaluatedattheendofeachquarter.Thosestudentsreceivingfinancialsupportwillbeevaluatedmorerigorously.YouandIwillindependentlyfillaformaboutyourresearchperformance.Thenwe will compare these forms and discuss your progress in research and the areas forimprovement. If at the end of the academic year, you progress in research is notsatisfactory,youwillnotreceivefinancialsupportforthenextacademicyear.Please sign below and return to me a copy indicating that you have read thisguidelinecompletelyandunderstandyourobligationsandexpectations.Also,ifyouhaveanysuggestionsonissuesyouwouldlikemetoincludeinthisdocument,pleasefeelfreetoshareitwithme.


StudentSignature: _________________________________ Date:_______________________StudentName:______________________________________

Graduate Student Expectations

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