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Welcome to the academia.SE Community Poll thread! (shamelessly stolen from TeX.SX)

This thread is used for opinion and usage polls around Academia and academia.SE. The poll questions are added as "answers" to this "question". Their answers have been added as comments below them. To participate simply up-vote the comments which apply for you. If there is no suitable answer yet simply add it as comment by yourself. You can't up-vote your own comments but the comment author will be counted manually. Please do not add any other comments to these posts. General comments can be added to this "question". Rules

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1

16 Answers 16

Reset to default
19

which of the following "roles" describes you best?

9
  • 35
    A professor (tenured or not)
    – Ran G.
    Apr 5, 2013 at 2:30
  • 83
    A Phd Student .
    – Ran G.
    Apr 5, 2013 at 2:31
  • 20
    A master's Student
    – Ran G.
    Apr 5, 2013 at 2:31
  • 16
    Undergraduate student
    – Ran G.
    Apr 5, 2013 at 2:31
  • 34
    A Post doctoral researcher
    – Ran G.
    Apr 5, 2013 at 2:37
  • 32
    None of the above
    – Ran G.
    Apr 5, 2013 at 2:37
  • 7
    Non-professor permanent research position
    – jakebeal
    Dec 28, 2014 at 19:57
  • 2
    A librarian (academic or not)
    – FraEnrico
    Feb 21, 2015 at 20:47
  • 2
    Researcher in industry.
    – Stephan Kolassa
    Feb 23, 2015 at 12:54
17

Are you currently working in Academia (i.e., employed by a university with a primary duty of performing research)?

2
14

Comments on this answer made me curious on our demographics. Which countries have academic systems you are familiar with?

29
  • 81
    United States of America
    – StrongBad
    Apr 4, 2013 at 18:23
  • 28
    United Kingdom (GB)
    – StrongBad
    Apr 4, 2013 at 18:23
  • 3
    Sweden (Litet språkexempel)
    – Peter Jansson
    Apr 4, 2013 at 19:24
  • 17
    France ‌
    – F'x
    Apr 4, 2013 at 20:16
  • 37
    Germany (Deutschland)
    – aeismail
    Apr 4, 2013 at 22:09
  • 2
    New Zealand (Aotearoa =] )
    – Tara B
    Apr 5, 2013 at 1:27
  • 5
    Netherlands (Nederland)
    – Pieter Naaijkens
    Apr 5, 2013 at 12:09
  • 8
    India(Bharat Ganrajya)
    – Naresh
    Apr 9, 2013 at 9:13
  • 8
    Australia......
    – Scott Morrison
    Apr 10, 2013 at 3:43
  • 14
    Canada---------
    – user4383
    Apr 23, 2013 at 3:35
  • 6
    Switzerland (Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera/Svizra)
    – Cape Code
    Mar 31, 2014 at 19:36
  • 5
    Italy (Italia )
    – BiA
    Dec 30, 2014 at 15:48
  • 4
    Latin America in general
    – aparente001
    Dec 6, 2015 at 15:10
  • 4
    Spain (España )
    – llrs
    Jun 14, 2016 at 16:44
  • 2
    Brazil (Brasil)
    – Jaap Eldering
    Feb 15, 2017 at 15:28
13

Comments on this answer made me curious on our demographics. What fields would you consider yourself part of?

30
  • 14
    Electrical Engineering
    – StrongBad
    Apr 4, 2013 at 18:24
  • 7
    Biomedical Engineering
    – StrongBad
    Apr 4, 2013 at 18:25
  • 3
    Psychology (all areas)
    – StrongBad
    Apr 4, 2013 at 18:28
  • 4
    Neuroscience research
    – eykanal
    Apr 4, 2013 at 18:47
  • 4
    Earth Science ()
    – Peter Jansson
    Apr 4, 2013 at 19:23
  • 73
    Computer Science
    – user102
    Apr 4, 2013 at 19:34
  • 3
    Chemistry ‌
    – F'x
    Apr 4, 2013 at 20:17
  • 65
    Mathematics ( )
    – Tara B
    Apr 5, 2013 at 1:29
  • 8
    Theoretical Physics
    – Piotr Migdal
    Apr 26, 2013 at 11:38
  • 10
    Bioinformatics/Systems Biology
    – posdef
    Apr 27, 2013 at 20:46
  • 10
    Social science .
    – deathlock
    May 3, 2013 at 13:52
  • 17
    Physics _______
    – Wrzlprmft Mod
    Apr 3, 2014 at 17:01
  • 6
    Biology [in general]
    – jakebeal
    Nov 28, 2014 at 14:24
  • 5
    Computational Science
    – Bill Barth
    Feb 22, 2015 at 20:21
  • 5
    interdisciplinary
    – SSimon
    Feb 16, 2016 at 14:44
13

Is English your mother tongue?

2
  • 91
    Yes ‌
    – F'x
    Apr 4, 2013 at 20:18
  • 120
    No ‌
    – F'x
    Apr 4, 2013 at 20:18
12

How many publications in peer-reviewed journals have you made in your career?

8
  • 48
    None. ‌
    – F'x
    Apr 25, 2013 at 9:22
  • 72
    1 to 5. ‌
    – F'x
    Apr 25, 2013 at 9:22
  • 11
    6 to 10. ‌
    – F'x
    Apr 25, 2013 at 9:23
  • 17
    11 to 20. ‌
    – F'x
    Apr 25, 2013 at 9:23
  • 9
    21 to 30. ‌
    – F'x
    Apr 25, 2013 at 9:23
  • 9
    30 to 50. ‌
    – F'x
    Apr 25, 2013 at 9:24
  • 3
    51 to 100. ‌
    – F'x
    Apr 25, 2013 at 9:24
  • 1
    100+ ‌
    – F'x
    Apr 25, 2013 at 9:25
12

What is your gender?

Please feel free to add the term you feel most comfortable with.

4
  • 97
    Male...........
    – Aubrey
    Feb 19, 2015 at 23:38
  • 15
    Female..........
    – Aubrey
    Feb 19, 2015 at 23:39
  • 1
    Transgender....
    – Aubrey
    Feb 19, 2015 at 23:39
  • 4
    None of the above / Non-binary.
    – RoboKaren
    Feb 21, 2015 at 18:16
9

Are/were you happy in your PhD program?

7
  • 37
    Yes, and I graduated
    – Ben Bitdiddle
    Jan 19, 2015 at 6:09
  • 1
    Yes, and I quit
    – Ben Bitdiddle
    Jan 19, 2015 at 6:09
  • 13
    No, and I graduated
    – Ben Bitdiddle
    Jan 19, 2015 at 6:10
  • 1
    No, and I quit.
    – Ben Bitdiddle
    Jan 19, 2015 at 6:10
  • 15
    I've never entered a PhD program.
    – Ben Bitdiddle
    Jan 19, 2015 at 6:11
  • 30
    Yes (current PhD student)
    – Ben Bitdiddle
    Jan 19, 2015 at 6:12
  • 5
    No (current PhD student)
    – Ben Bitdiddle
    Jan 19, 2015 at 6:12
8

If you are not currently working in Academia, do you have one or more advanced degrees?

(My reasoning behind this poll is whether there are people like me who have been in grad school or worked in academia and are interested in it)

5
  • 15
    Yes, master's degree.
    – mkennedy
    Apr 4, 2013 at 23:11
  • 24
    Yes, Ph.D, MD, JD, etc.
    – mkennedy
    Apr 4, 2013 at 23:12
  • 11
    Currently enrolled in an advanced degree program.
    – mkennedy
    Apr 4, 2013 at 23:13
  • 12
    No advanced degree.
    – mkennedy
    Apr 4, 2013 at 23:13
  • Yes, ABD (all but dissertation)
    – aparente001
    Dec 6, 2015 at 15:11
8

If you received an email from an author of a new paper, whom you'd had no contact with previously, bringing their new paper to your attention, letting you know that they'd cited one or more of your papers in it, and thanking you for your work, what would be your reaction?

6
  • 57
    This hasn't happened to me, but I think I'd be pleased.
    – 410 gone
    Apr 1, 2014 at 13:57
  • 21
    This has happened to me, and I was grateful for the email.
    – 410 gone
    Apr 1, 2014 at 13:58
  • 2
    This hasn't happened to me, but I think I'd be (mildly) annoyed.
    – 410 gone
    Apr 1, 2014 at 13:58
  • This has happened to me, and I was (mildly) annoyed.
    – 410 gone
    Apr 1, 2014 at 13:59
  • 1
    So many people cite me, that if they all emailed me it would be an email avalanche.
    – 410 gone
    Apr 1, 2014 at 13:59
  • 12
    This hasn't happened to me, but I think it would depend on the author and his/her work.
    – user102
    Apr 1, 2014 at 14:10
5

Did you do a part of PhD studies at another institute (for instance to learn a new method), if so for how long?

8
  • 20
    No; I never thought of that
    – posdef
    Apr 27, 2013 at 20:49
  • 18
    No; I did not want to, everything was great at my institute
    – posdef
    Apr 27, 2013 at 20:49
  • 2
    No; I wanted to but wasn't allowed to
    – posdef
    Apr 27, 2013 at 20:50
  • 7
    Yes; for a couple of weeks (1-4 weeks)
    – posdef
    Apr 27, 2013 at 20:51
  • 14
    Yes; for a couple of months (1-3 months)
    – posdef
    Apr 27, 2013 at 20:51
  • 10
    Yes; in a long-term exchange program (3 months or more)
    – posdef
    Apr 27, 2013 at 20:52
  • Yes, by taking courses at that institute
    – Dilaton
    Dec 30, 2014 at 16:17
  • No; not yet but I would like to
    – Sursula
    May 20, 2021 at 12:21
5

Seeing as we have more "senior"s than students here on AC.SE (at least according to the poll), and also considering that many nationalities are represented here, I would like to know how important academics think of their titles. In other words, how important do you think it is that people address you with your title at work/uni?

6
  • 70
    Not important at all, I don't care
    – posdef
    Apr 27, 2013 at 22:22
  • 8
    It is somewhat important, but not a demand/expectation
    – posdef
    Apr 27, 2013 at 22:23
  • It is important, I would expect my students/post-docs to refer to me as Prof/Doctor X
    – posdef
    Apr 27, 2013 at 22:24
  • 5
    It is important, I expect the undergrad students to call me with my title, but in research environment it doesn't matter
    – posdef
    Apr 27, 2013 at 22:25
  • 1
    It is important, I want everyone to acknowledge my titles
    – posdef
    Apr 27, 2013 at 22:25
  • 27
    It is important that people ignore my title and address me by name.
    – JeffE
    May 11, 2013 at 20:06
5

What software do you use to manage papers?

7
  • 7
    Zotero ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
    – Ooker
    Dec 1, 2015 at 12:01
  • 7
    Mendeley ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
    – Ooker
    Dec 1, 2015 at 12:02
  • Docear ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
    – Ooker
    Dec 1, 2015 at 12:09
  • 31
    Just folders in my file system
    – jakebeal
    Dec 1, 2015 at 16:56
  • 10
    JabRef reference manager
    – Massimo Ortolano
    Dec 1, 2015 at 19:27
  • 2
    Bibdesk (reference manager)
    – David Ketcheson
    Feb 16, 2016 at 18:44
  • 1
    Homegrown solution
    – gerrit
    Jul 18, 2016 at 11:11
4

Which time zone (UTC +/-?) are you in primarily?

13
  • 3
    UTC+8 (Asia pacific)
    – Nobody
    Apr 5, 2013 at 4:00
  • 2
    UTC-7 (Mountain Time/US)
    – Suresh
    Apr 5, 2013 at 5:51
  • 55
    UTC+1 (Central European Time)
    – Peter Jansson
    Apr 5, 2013 at 8:36
  • 29
    UTC-5 hours (Eastern Standard Time)
    – eykanal
    Apr 5, 2013 at 12:26
  • 13
    UTC+0 ‌
    – StrongBad
    Apr 5, 2013 at 15:14
  • 2
    UTC+7 (in Asia)
    – earthling
    Apr 6, 2013 at 2:57
  • 10
    UTC-5 (Central Daylight Time/US)
    – JeffE
    Apr 6, 2013 at 14:13
  • 2
    UTC+5:30(India)
    – Naresh
    Apr 9, 2013 at 9:14
  • 1
    UTC+3(Djibouti, Africa)
    – Chris Gregg
    Apr 10, 2013 at 8:23
  • 3
    UTC +10 hours (Eastern Australia Standard Time)
    – user7130
    Sep 14, 2013 at 14:33
  • 1
    UTC-6 (Mountain Daylight time, Canada)
    – seteropere
    Mar 28, 2014 at 6:08
  • 2
    UTC-8 (Pacific Time/US)
    – Tom Church
    Apr 15, 2015 at 19:36
  • 1
    UTC-3 (Brazil) ...
    – Jaap Eldering
    Feb 15, 2017 at 15:31
2

What continent do you currently reside in?

8
  • 20
    North America (includes U.S., Canada, Mexico)
    – aparente001
    Dec 6, 2015 at 15:26
  • 3
    Latin America + Central America (includes Caribbean)
    – aparente001
    Dec 6, 2015 at 15:27
  • 37
    Europe --------
    – aparente001
    Dec 6, 2015 at 15:27
  • 1
    Africa --------
    – aparente001
    Dec 6, 2015 at 15:27
  • 4
    Asia ----------
    – aparente001
    Dec 6, 2015 at 15:27
  • 1
    Australia (but if you prefer to be included in Asia, please register your objection and I will delete this one)
    – aparente001
    Dec 6, 2015 at 15:31
  • 1
    No one resides in Antarctica?
    – Ari Brodsky
    Jun 14, 2016 at 16:31
  • 2
    @AriBrodsky I don't believe that no-one in Antarctica wants to waste time on the internet
    – Ooker
    Jul 18, 2016 at 11:48
0

How many professional societies are you a member of? (Motivation: this question.)

2
  • Two............
    – Federico Poloni
    Jul 1, 2020 at 9:26
  • 4
    Zero............
    – henning
    Jul 2, 2020 at 18:14

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