This is a snippet of an email I periodically send to my PhD students. “Let’s not break the head” is a good related quote, from my PhD student, Ilkka Kaate. Dear team, (cc other supervisors) you’ve all seen this place. You know you’re there when weird things start to happen: the research comes into your sleep. You can’t focus on…
When to defend. Now, there’s a thing with being a PhD student and a supervisor. There’s some information asymmetry: the supervisor has more experience and knowledge. So, should the student do everything the supervisor asks? No. Definitely not, because the supervisor is still a fallible human being. The goal is to somehow surpass the supervisor! (it has to be 🙂…
CHI research has become more complex (but not more insightful). The reason? Complexity is a competitive factor: it helps separate your paper from others. Lengthy papers with more substudies and details are more likely to do better than short but insightful work that might have more relevance for HCI theory and/or practice. Reviewers are instructed to pay attention to HCI…
The illusion of similarity: two papers (A and B) look the same.They have the same structure.They have the same number of words.Both use fluent, nearly flawless English.Both reference the same number of papers.They have the same number of tables and figures. For a layperson, both these papers look the same. Yet, one of them is the worst horsesh*t you’ve ever…
Observed myself citing various “superpowers” to my PhD students in occasional emails. So, thought of writing these down (the list might get updated). Currently, I can think of eleven research superpowers [updated: November 11, 2024]. Here they are, in no particular order. 1. SPECIFICITY Be specific. Applies pretty much to any form of communication: Being specific is one #researchsuperpower (but…
Three ways of justifying/arguing for research choices (e.g., hyperparameter values, thresholds, sample sizes):
(This post is especially for more junior researchers) Some forms of contributions in academic research: You can have multiple contributions in one paper, though often a paper focuses on one type of contribution (it’s hard enough to argue for one!). Even if you wouldn’t make multiple types of contributions in one paper, it helps to think if there is also…
Hi! Saw some interesting claims in this presentation about teacher strengths relative to AI: https://sway.cloud.microsoft/CqKZjoSsoTvWoTMB?ref=Link I’m assessing each one by one below. (Btw, if you’re interested in GenAI for bachelor’s level education, take a look at my tips and experiences.) “Teacher Strengths in Relation to language model ChatGPT:” “Artificial intelligence is an efficient tool that can support teachers in many…
Sharing some thoughts, based on a discussion with colleagues, on how generative AI (GenAI) should and should not be intergrated into teaching at bachelor’s degree level. (Also, since you’re here, you might be interested in this post about human educators’ benefits relative to AI.) First, in my opinion, teachers should have the final authority to decide if and how AI…
Wrote down some of my thoughts on this matter. This is a guide to educators (PDF, 6 pages):Â How to make PhD students graduate on time (UPDATE [June 14, 2024]: V3 now behind the link)