Latest Comments on Science and Academia
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Good use of ancient SD cards
I finally was able to find a good for of those old (ancient!) SD cards I have flying around. The ministry of education in Bavaria requires that I send exam questions to them before use, by mail (the one without an e-). I can burn the questions to a CD, or put them onto a…
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New evaluation criteria for comparison of object creation patterns in ADAP C09
The lecture on object creation, ADAP C09 (edition of winter 2021/22), contained a simple evaluation scheme for comparing different object creation patterns. The scheme was perhaps too simple, and I improved it. The basic three dimensions of comparing the patters are now: Code is easy to read, if all object creation takes place in the…
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How to get a Ph.D. in Germany
In this 10min. video, I explain ways of getting a doctoral title (Ph.D.) in Germany. I specifically explain the individual doctorate and its differences to the structured programs of Anglo-Saxon universities. This talk is scheduled for Jan 24th, with 165 registrations for the live event one week before already.
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How not to generate a hypothesis
xkcd is an enjoyable web cartoon, often with a scientific bent. This time they got it wrong, though. Introspection is not a proper research method to generate hypotheses. Rather you generate hypotheses from a theory that you are trying to validate. The development of that theory in turn is (should be) subject to the use…
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Open sourcing research software
In this 15min. video I’ll take you through the basic steps of open sourcing your research software. It covers purpose of open sourcing, the rights situation, license choice, and the actual step of open sourcing. The slides are also available. Please note that the slides and video contain some simplifications so make sure you resp. your lawyers…
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Documenting a lead author’s contributions for a cumulative dissertation
Since 2021, my Ph.D. students have been able to submit cumulative dissertations for promotion rather than the traditional monographs. A cumulative dissertation is a set of published research papers, logically stapled together, and lead by an introduction that puts the research papers into context. This way, a graduate-level researcher can work incrementally towards their dissertation,…