Mixing
How can a prospective PhD student know beforehand which universities have the most reputable teams/supervisors?
Clash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP
up vote
7
down vote
favorite
I am interested in astronomy/astrophysics and cosmology. It is my understanding that choosing the best supervisor/team to work with for the PHD is more crucial than choosing the best (and most reputable) university.
If the above statement is correct. How can one identify the desired supervisors/teams? Probably the best way to to this is to read papers. The researchers that publish the most papers are clearly active in their field. But how can one, without even knowing these researchers find a way to locate the researchers who seem to be making good contributions to their field?
To put it in a simpler manner, does a website like arxiv.org and others have a way to identify the most active researchers (or teams that work on a specific problem)?
publications phd advisor physics reputation
edited 17 mins ago
aeismail♦
156k29360686
asked 7 hours ago
user134132523
382
New contributor
user134132523 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
up vote
7
down vote
favorite
I am interested in astronomy/astrophysics and cosmology. It is my understanding that choosing the best supervisor/team to work with for the PHD is more crucial than choosing the best (and most reputable) university.
If the above statement is correct. How can one identify the desired supervisors/teams? Probably the best way to to this is to read papers. The researchers that publish the most papers are clearly active in their field. But how can one, without even knowing these researchers find a way to locate the researchers who seem to be making good contributions to their field?
To put it in a simpler manner, does a website like arxiv.org and others have a way to identify the most active researchers (or teams that work on a specific problem)?
publications phd advisor physics reputation
edited 17 mins ago
aeismail♦
156k29360686
asked 7 hours ago
user134132523
382
New contributor
user134132523 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
2
A good supervisor is not necessarily prolific, and prolific researchers are not necessarily good supervisors... however, if it's cosmology you're after, let me put in a good word for my own department (ICG Portsmouth).
– astronat
5 hours ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
7
down vote
favorite
up vote
7
down vote
favorite
I am interested in astronomy/astrophysics and cosmology. It is my understanding that choosing the best supervisor/team to work with for the PHD is more crucial than choosing the best (and most reputable) university.
If the above statement is correct. How can one identify the desired supervisors/teams? Probably the best way to to this is to read papers. The researchers that publish the most papers are clearly active in their field. But how can one, without even knowing these researchers find a way to locate the researchers who seem to be making good contributions to their field?
To put it in a simpler manner, does a website like arxiv.org and others have a way to identify the most active researchers (or teams that work on a specific problem)?
publications phd advisor physics reputation
edited 17 mins ago
aeismail♦
156k29360686
asked 7 hours ago
user134132523
382
New contributor
user134132523 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
I am interested in astronomy/astrophysics and cosmology. It is my understanding that choosing the best supervisor/team to work with for the PHD is more crucial than choosing the best (and most reputable) university.
If the above statement is correct. How can one identify the desired supervisors/teams? Probably the best way to to this is to read papers. The researchers that publish the most papers are clearly active in their field. But how can one, without even knowing these researchers find a way to locate the researchers who seem to be making good contributions to their field?
To put it in a simpler manner, does a website like arxiv.org and others have a way to identify the most active researchers (or teams that work on a specific problem)?
publications phd advisor physics reputation
publications phd advisor physics reputation
edited 17 mins ago
aeismail♦
156k29360686
asked 7 hours ago
user134132523
382
New contributor
user134132523 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 17 mins ago
aeismail♦
156k29360686
asked 7 hours ago
user134132523
382
New contributor
user134132523 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 17 mins ago
aeismail♦
156k29360686
edited 17 mins ago
aeismail♦
156k29360686
edited 17 mins ago
aeismail♦
156k29360686
156k29360686
asked 7 hours ago
user134132523
382
New contributor
user134132523 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 7 hours ago
user134132523
382
asked 7 hours ago
user134132523
382
382
New contributor
user134132523 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
user134132523 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
user134132523 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
2
A good supervisor is not necessarily prolific, and prolific researchers are not necessarily good supervisors... however, if it's cosmology you're after, let me put in a good word for my own department (ICG Portsmouth).
– astronat
5 hours ago
add a comment |Â
2
A good supervisor is not necessarily prolific, and prolific researchers are not necessarily good supervisors... however, if it's cosmology you're after, let me put in a good word for my own department (ICG Portsmouth).
– astronat
5 hours ago
2
2
A good supervisor is not necessarily prolific, and prolific researchers are not necessarily good supervisors... however, if it's cosmology you're after, let me put in a good word for my own department (ICG Portsmouth).
– astronat
5 hours ago
A good supervisor is not necessarily prolific, and prolific researchers are not necessarily good supervisors... however, if it's cosmology you're after, let me put in a good word for my own department (ICG Portsmouth).
– astronat
5 hours ago
add a comment |Â
5 Answers
5
active
oldest
votes
up vote
7
down vote
accepted
Most active does not mean most impactful or most influential. Reading papers on your own, you will have a hard time distinguishing good papers from mediocre work. Your best bet is to get recommendations from people who already work in that field. Ask professors at your own university for recommendations or opinions.
If you have a specific problem you are interested in working on, then it does make sense search for papers on that problem and do your own reading. But you will still want to get advice from one or more people at your own institution who work in that area (or close to it).
answered 7 hours ago
David Ketcheson
27.1k683136
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
Google Scholar and Research Gate are two general resources for finding a researcher's impact in their field. ArXiV also can provide some general information on who is recently publishing in the field. Individual/group websites can also provide some input as to the overall reputability of the professors in question.
I would consider compiling a small collection of universities you are most interested in on the whole, then researching the professors at those institutions. While university reputation is not an exact indicator of individual output and impact, the two topics are on the whole correlated. It is relatively likely that a well regarded university is going to have well regarded researchers as well.
answered 7 hours ago
Vladhagen
5,69312246
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
Check their Google Scholar pages and see how many citations they receive and whether they have recent works etc. Check whether they participate in top tier conferences and published in top tier journals. Check their former students and try to find what they are doing / where they are working now.
answered 5 hours ago
dusa
594
New contributor
dusa is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
Just to add to the other answers, once you have found a shortlist of possible supervisors you can ask their current/recent students for their opinion. Most academic departments will have contact details for current postgraduate students.
I myself am a PhD student and have happily answered a few queries about my supervisor.
answered 4 hours ago
Doris
1113
New contributor
Doris is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
Other answers suggested asking professors or asking students. I suggest you:
- Figure out what you want to do after your PhD, as specifically as possible
- Find people who are doing that
- Ask them who would be a good supervisor for your PhD
This strategy will get you the answer most customised to your needs.
Several of the answers suggest using Google Scholar or similar. Google Scholar will tell you which supervisors are producing nothing, but it will not tell you the difference between supervisors who publish a small amount of good work and those who do a lot of poor work but effectively manipulate the citation statistics.
answered 2 hours ago
Anonymous Physicist
18.4k63674
add a comment |Â
5 Answers
5
active
oldest
votes
5 Answers
5
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
7
down vote
accepted
Most active does not mean most impactful or most influential. Reading papers on your own, you will have a hard time distinguishing good papers from mediocre work. Your best bet is to get recommendations from people who already work in that field. Ask professors at your own university for recommendations or opinions.
If you have a specific problem you are interested in working on, then it does make sense search for papers on that problem and do your own reading. But you will still want to get advice from one or more people at your own institution who work in that area (or close to it).
answered 7 hours ago
David Ketcheson
27.1k683136
add a comment |Â
up vote
7
down vote
accepted
Most active does not mean most impactful or most influential. Reading papers on your own, you will have a hard time distinguishing good papers from mediocre work. Your best bet is to get recommendations from people who already work in that field. Ask professors at your own university for recommendations or opinions.
If you have a specific problem you are interested in working on, then it does make sense search for papers on that problem and do your own reading. But you will still want to get advice from one or more people at your own institution who work in that area (or close to it).
answered 7 hours ago
David Ketcheson
27.1k683136
add a comment |Â
up vote
7
down vote
accepted
up vote
7
down vote
accepted
Most active does not mean most impactful or most influential. Reading papers on your own, you will have a hard time distinguishing good papers from mediocre work. Your best bet is to get recommendations from people who already work in that field. Ask professors at your own university for recommendations or opinions.
If you have a specific problem you are interested in working on, then it does make sense search for papers on that problem and do your own reading. But you will still want to get advice from one or more people at your own institution who work in that area (or close to it).
answered 7 hours ago
David Ketcheson
27.1k683136
Most active does not mean most impactful or most influential. Reading papers on your own, you will have a hard time distinguishing good papers from mediocre work. Your best bet is to get recommendations from people who already work in that field. Ask professors at your own university for recommendations or opinions.
If you have a specific problem you are interested in working on, then it does make sense search for papers on that problem and do your own reading. But you will still want to get advice from one or more people at your own institution who work in that area (or close to it).
answered 7 hours ago
David Ketcheson
27.1k683136
answered 7 hours ago
David Ketcheson
27.1k683136
answered 7 hours ago
David Ketcheson
27.1k683136
answered 7 hours ago
David Ketcheson
27.1k683136
27.1k683136
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
Google Scholar and Research Gate are two general resources for finding a researcher's impact in their field. ArXiV also can provide some general information on who is recently publishing in the field. Individual/group websites can also provide some input as to the overall reputability of the professors in question.
I would consider compiling a small collection of universities you are most interested in on the whole, then researching the professors at those institutions. While university reputation is not an exact indicator of individual output and impact, the two topics are on the whole correlated. It is relatively likely that a well regarded university is going to have well regarded researchers as well.
answered 7 hours ago
Vladhagen
5,69312246
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
Google Scholar and Research Gate are two general resources for finding a researcher's impact in their field. ArXiV also can provide some general information on who is recently publishing in the field. Individual/group websites can also provide some input as to the overall reputability of the professors in question.
I would consider compiling a small collection of universities you are most interested in on the whole, then researching the professors at those institutions. While university reputation is not an exact indicator of individual output and impact, the two topics are on the whole correlated. It is relatively likely that a well regarded university is going to have well regarded researchers as well.
answered 7 hours ago
Vladhagen
5,69312246
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
Google Scholar and Research Gate are two general resources for finding a researcher's impact in their field. ArXiV also can provide some general information on who is recently publishing in the field. Individual/group websites can also provide some input as to the overall reputability of the professors in question.
I would consider compiling a small collection of universities you are most interested in on the whole, then researching the professors at those institutions. While university reputation is not an exact indicator of individual output and impact, the two topics are on the whole correlated. It is relatively likely that a well regarded university is going to have well regarded researchers as well.
answered 7 hours ago
Vladhagen
5,69312246
Google Scholar and Research Gate are two general resources for finding a researcher's impact in their field. ArXiV also can provide some general information on who is recently publishing in the field. Individual/group websites can also provide some input as to the overall reputability of the professors in question.
I would consider compiling a small collection of universities you are most interested in on the whole, then researching the professors at those institutions. While university reputation is not an exact indicator of individual output and impact, the two topics are on the whole correlated. It is relatively likely that a well regarded university is going to have well regarded researchers as well.
answered 7 hours ago
Vladhagen
5,69312246
answered 7 hours ago
Vladhagen
5,69312246
answered 7 hours ago
Vladhagen
5,69312246
answered 7 hours ago
Vladhagen
5,69312246
5,69312246
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
Check their Google Scholar pages and see how many citations they receive and whether they have recent works etc. Check whether they participate in top tier conferences and published in top tier journals. Check their former students and try to find what they are doing / where they are working now.
answered 5 hours ago
dusa
594
New contributor
dusa is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
Check their Google Scholar pages and see how many citations they receive and whether they have recent works etc. Check whether they participate in top tier conferences and published in top tier journals. Check their former students and try to find what they are doing / where they are working now.
answered 5 hours ago
dusa
594
New contributor
dusa is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
Check their Google Scholar pages and see how many citations they receive and whether they have recent works etc. Check whether they participate in top tier conferences and published in top tier journals. Check their former students and try to find what they are doing / where they are working now.
answered 5 hours ago
dusa
594
New contributor
dusa is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Check their Google Scholar pages and see how many citations they receive and whether they have recent works etc. Check whether they participate in top tier conferences and published in top tier journals. Check their former students and try to find what they are doing / where they are working now.
answered 5 hours ago
dusa
594
New contributor
dusa is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 5 hours ago
dusa
594
New contributor
dusa is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 5 hours ago
dusa
594
answered 5 hours ago
dusa
594
594
New contributor
dusa is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
dusa is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
dusa is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
Just to add to the other answers, once you have found a shortlist of possible supervisors you can ask their current/recent students for their opinion. Most academic departments will have contact details for current postgraduate students.
I myself am a PhD student and have happily answered a few queries about my supervisor.
answered 4 hours ago
Doris
1113
New contributor
Doris is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
Just to add to the other answers, once you have found a shortlist of possible supervisors you can ask their current/recent students for their opinion. Most academic departments will have contact details for current postgraduate students.
I myself am a PhD student and have happily answered a few queries about my supervisor.
answered 4 hours ago
Doris
1113
New contributor
Doris is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
Just to add to the other answers, once you have found a shortlist of possible supervisors you can ask their current/recent students for their opinion. Most academic departments will have contact details for current postgraduate students.
I myself am a PhD student and have happily answered a few queries about my supervisor.
answered 4 hours ago
Doris
1113
New contributor
Doris is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Just to add to the other answers, once you have found a shortlist of possible supervisors you can ask their current/recent students for their opinion. Most academic departments will have contact details for current postgraduate students.
I myself am a PhD student and have happily answered a few queries about my supervisor.
answered 4 hours ago
Doris
1113
New contributor
Doris is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 4 hours ago
Doris
1113
New contributor
Doris is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 4 hours ago
Doris
1113
answered 4 hours ago
Doris
1113
1113
New contributor
Doris is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Doris is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Doris is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
Other answers suggested asking professors or asking students. I suggest you:
- Figure out what you want to do after your PhD, as specifically as possible
- Find people who are doing that
- Ask them who would be a good supervisor for your PhD
This strategy will get you the answer most customised to your needs.
Several of the answers suggest using Google Scholar or similar. Google Scholar will tell you which supervisors are producing nothing, but it will not tell you the difference between supervisors who publish a small amount of good work and those who do a lot of poor work but effectively manipulate the citation statistics.
answered 2 hours ago
Anonymous Physicist
18.4k63674
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
Other answers suggested asking professors or asking students. I suggest you:
- Figure out what you want to do after your PhD, as specifically as possible
- Find people who are doing that
- Ask them who would be a good supervisor for your PhD
This strategy will get you the answer most customised to your needs.
Several of the answers suggest using Google Scholar or similar. Google Scholar will tell you which supervisors are producing nothing, but it will not tell you the difference between supervisors who publish a small amount of good work and those who do a lot of poor work but effectively manipulate the citation statistics.
answered 2 hours ago
Anonymous Physicist
18.4k63674
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
Other answers suggested asking professors or asking students. I suggest you:
- Figure out what you want to do after your PhD, as specifically as possible
- Find people who are doing that
- Ask them who would be a good supervisor for your PhD
This strategy will get you the answer most customised to your needs.
Several of the answers suggest using Google Scholar or similar. Google Scholar will tell you which supervisors are producing nothing, but it will not tell you the difference between supervisors who publish a small amount of good work and those who do a lot of poor work but effectively manipulate the citation statistics.
answered 2 hours ago
Anonymous Physicist
18.4k63674
Other answers suggested asking professors or asking students. I suggest you:
- Figure out what you want to do after your PhD, as specifically as possible
- Find people who are doing that
- Ask them who would be a good supervisor for your PhD
This strategy will get you the answer most customised to your needs.
Several of the answers suggest using Google Scholar or similar. Google Scholar will tell you which supervisors are producing nothing, but it will not tell you the difference between supervisors who publish a small amount of good work and those who do a lot of poor work but effectively manipulate the citation statistics.
answered 2 hours ago
Anonymous Physicist
18.4k63674
answered 2 hours ago
Anonymous Physicist
18.4k63674
answered 2 hours ago
Anonymous Physicist
18.4k63674
answered 2 hours ago
Anonymous Physicist
18.4k63674
18.4k63674
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
user134132523 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
user134132523 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
user134132523 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
user134132523 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2facademia.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f118863%2fhow-can-a-prospective-phd-student-know-beforehand-which-universities-have-the-mo%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
2
A good supervisor is not necessarily prolific, and prolific researchers are not necessarily good supervisors... however, if it's cosmology you're after, let me put in a good word for my own department (ICG Portsmouth).
– astronat
5 hours ago