Month: June 2010

Quality or Quantity: A Puzzle for Researchers

Frankly, this is not a suitable topic for me due to my limited experience on both research and academic given my present education as only a graduating master’s student. However, my limited experience, as well as my coming PhD life in Lancaster, do bring me an opportunity to think about: when doing some research, given two dimensions as measurement of the work as quality and quantity, which shall I prefer?

  1. Approaching

    I got to know the importance of publication when I was a student in Nanjing Normal University, where there was a professor that used to be, and is still devoting much to publish his so-called papers to various journals. He was quite fond of this, and take pride of his ‘works’. In fact, I was totally misunderstand by him that in my mind at that time, publication means everything related to money. You get your paper published since you paid for that. This misunderstanding is only partially recovered when i continued my study in Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, a present school of mine, and participated some conferences.

    I learned much more on the essentials of publication when taking part in the research work, following my supervisor, who is quite a determined researcher at that time. Gradually I find that , more than 99% of the papers that the professor, whom I met in Nanjing Normal University, are totally junks. Neither contemporary research methodology nor the standard research framework is adapted. Thanks for the supervision of Professor Wang, my master’s supervisor, that taught me both the methodology and framework that a contemporary researcher should be able to master.

    Three years study following Professor Wang does broaden my horizon. I learned he cuteness of publication, the benefit that may bring you through the publication. for me, writing papers do bring me great opportunity of travelling and talking to the professors outside. the 20008 trip to Honolulu is still admired by many of my classmates even today. What’s more, it is the publication and its attraction promoted me another chance, i participated the training camp for young researchers in business school of mainland China. it is in that speech I got to know two famous professors, Joseph and TJ. Their two-week lecture that summer bring me better understanding of this field. Though I can hardly use that freely at present.

  2. Quality or Quantity: Two Different Principles

    In fact there has been contradictions following the words of Joseph and TJ, and the styles that most Chinese scholars adapt. If it is not the online discussion with Li this afternoon, I won’t write this post. Li is both a faculty of jinan University and a post-doctoral fellow in CEIBS, a top business school in China. Thanks to Li that I learned, the routine that Joseph and TJ suggested should be regarded as a fitness for those who are willing to publish on top journals. but, it is necessary to aware that publishing on top journals can be time consuming, and what’s more, it is fully risky. I don’t know much about publications in UK, but in China, a faculty without any publication for a couple of years would mean quite a lot, much more than the publication itself.

    so the questions following this discussion raised. Quantity or quality, which do you prefer? I suppose there is no scholar, no matter whether he/she is a world renowned professor or a fresh PhD candidate, would reject the willing of publish high-quality paper, given no consideration on particular capability here. A widely accepted publication with good reference recording can significantly promote your reputation within the field of study, and, you would be able to contact with good scholars. However, you have to pay for that.

    The pride for such a paper, indeed, includes years of hard working, good understanding of classical papers and fundamental theory, as well as the risk of rejection by the editorial board. Can you afford that? Frankly speaking, i don’t think I would afford this, especially when I am working for an academic institution in China. Only adequate publications can help bring you promotion, which means higher social status and better income. In my opinion, the policy on publication may also contribute a lot to the reduction of education quality nowadays of most universities in China. Do you think the students can be offered good education when their teachers are busying with the publication and have no time to prepare for the courses?

  3. An Unanswered Question

    For my own preference, it is hard to tell here. I do want some of my own works with good quality and reputation within my field of study. However, it is quite ideal to talk about that with my present knowledge as well as my unexpected future. As is suggested by a ‘Top-down’ framework that indicates the high priority of institutional background, obeying the rule is, though sometimes contradicting your willing but undoubtedly, an optimized choice.

Saying Goodbye With Tears

It is in fact quite curious, that I have not made my tears dropped since the failure of my college entrance exams. Obviously, the failure that time is dramatically beating to me, that I can even not forget the ache in my heart when hearing the score and ranking from the telephone. It was quite a harsh time, that I was deeply, without any exceptions, dropped into the trap of depression. There were only thunder and storm, but not the sunshine and gentle wind in heart.

  1. What is the greatest depression?

    For many days I have been asserted of fully experienced on bad days. I didn’t feel much disappointed when I had to give up my hope of applying for the graduate school of Rennin University of China, I also feel okay when I was suffering from the beating of the GRE performance, and thus I would have  to, again, drop my hope of studying in US. And even when I heard about the death of my grandma, who brought me up during the whole childhood, I recovered myself in two weeks. However, I don’t know for how many days I would make myself recovered this time.

    In my friends’ eyes, I am, without any doubt, an ambitious man, who is willing to devote himself to the ideal world. It is in fact hard to tell, whether the determination is doing its good in my life, even though it is fully encouraged by different levels of educations, ranging from kindergarten to PhD program. Admittedly, determination can teach you quite a lot. With its help, you can learn more, read more and publish more as well as better off. However, over devoting in a specific work, a direct definition of determination, can also ask for your payment. What would you pay for that? It is, under most occasions, love!

  2. Can nature be contradicted?

    Young man, if you are considering of rejecting a piece of love, and meanwhile, you are lucky enough reading this post, I would try to persuade you of accepting it. Rejecting such staff can be much more difficult than anything else, especially when it contradicts your psychological indication. I started to think about taking my PhD study overseas from the second year, when participating my first-time international conference and talked to some faculties there, though at that time, I was still quite unaware of what I was willing to do and what I was interested in. I am always quite a man that considers reality as fully prioritized, and never believe in romance. For me, any romance that was built on the assumption that one party is willing to go overseas can be tricky and thus lead to unpleasant consequence. It is this good belief, though I cannot tell whether it is good or not indeed, helped me delayed the love.

    But things are always holding the preference of contradiction. Just count how many unexpected issues has you been come across? Tens? Hundreds? Or even more?  Though rejection is apparently a preferred answer following my logics that I discussed above, it failed on the determination from the other party. It is the first time that I learned that as an ordinary man, I should never expect controlling too much. Being over confident on your controlling, under some occasions, can cause disaster. If I would be able to make a new choice for all these I have experienced, I would give it up. Taking it can, undoubtedly, bring you good feeling for those honey days. It can, however, make you good depression when reaching its end of life.

  3. Saying Goodbye

    Saying goodbye with tears, the topic of this article, indicates the ending of this experience, that used to bring me days with sunshine, is now sounds like thunder and storm. Establish any promise in this period, though seems pleasant, is actually meaningless. For people that you are, or used to love, pray for her honey in future. Staying together or not, comparing to this fundamental assumption, is far less concrete.

    So guess the hidden head for this post? Well, you are quite right. It is not a post for you, but for someone else. Any other hidden head? Yeah, you are quite patient and cautious. This paper is written by a man whose native language is not English!

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