Latest Comments on Science and Academia
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Why we shouldn’t grade dissertations
tl;dr — A quality mark of a dissertation is that its reviewers don’t all come from the same university. However, different universities have different grading systems, making average grades meaningless at best and hurtful to the careers of young researchers at worst. So we should move to a pass/fail system of grading. A dissertation (a.k.a.…
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There’s more to research than testing hypotheses
In a recent grant proposal, we proposed to develop a new method and to evaluate it using case study research. By definition, case studies are a good way of evaluating theories where you can’t control all parameters, as is the case with new methods in an open and complex world setting like software engineering. Interestingly,…
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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…