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research_skills

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Table of Contents

Research Skills

Useful templates (LaTeX, Python, ROOT) and general guidance here: JTS Public Dropbox

Reading Papers

  • Use a citation manager:
  • How to access journals through the MSU library off campus
  • Download the citation file directly from the journal and into your citation manager
  • Start a literature review using LaTeX where you can store notes on this paper and, crucially, related papers:
  • The content of the paper is just as important as how that paper fits into the greater scientific literature on that topic
  • Do not read the paper word for word on your first pass (unless it is very short and does not follow the conventional format)!
    • Pass 1: Read the title, author list, abstract, introduction, section headings, figure captions, and conclusions
    • Pass 2: Scan the references for any papers that you've already read and scan the list of papers that have cited this paper
    • Pass 3: Determine the three things that you want to extract from the paper and then skim the paper looking for those three things
    • Add this paper to your literature review by (1) paying close attention to how this paper fits into the bigger picture, (2) noting what you learned, and (3) noting three things that still don't make sense
    • Pass 4+: if necessary, read the paper word for word - but - have an agenda for the information that you are looking for

Telling A Story

  • Guidance on writing abstracts is here
  • Sample presentations:
  • How to start writing a talk/presentation
    • General guidance on the structure of the narrative is here: 2022-03-01-hints-how-to-scientific-presentations-jts
    • Presentations should be 1 slide per minute (roughly and this includes the title slide and conclusion slide)
    • Pass 1: The title of each slide should be a complete sentence (with proper grammar and punctuation) that indicates the main take away message for that slide that is suitable for the intended audience
    • Pass 2: Think about the figure (see below) that best illustrates that sentence and put in a placeholder
    • Pass 3: Add supporting text
    • Pass 4+: iterate with constructive feedback and revise for legibility and visibility

Scientific Writing in Experimental Physics

LaTeX templates in PRL format and Technote format are in the appropriate Dropbox subfolders: JTS Public Dropbox

The basic parts of any paper/technical note are the following (using leakage current measurements as an example):

  • Motivation
    • Why do we want to measure leakage currents?
  • Background
    • What is a leakage current and what are some of its basic properties?
    • Estimates of leakage currents based on theory or data sheets
  • Method
    • Diagram that shows leakage current measurement setups
    • Tables of the experimental parameters and settings
    • Description of how the data acquisition works
    • Steps used to acquire data
  • Analysis \& Uncertainty Quantification
    • How is leakage current extracted from the raw data?
    • What is the uncertainty on our leakage current measurements?
  • Observations
    • Tables of leakage current measurements under different conditions/paths
  • Interpretation
    • Which leakage current measurements were the most reliable and why?
  • Conclusion
    • What is the final more reliable for leakage current?
    • What are the main lessons about how to measure leakage currents reliably?
    • What are the open questions
  • Works cited

Examples of different types of technical notes with varying degrees of completeness are here: https://people.nscl.msu.edu/~singhj/docs/

Publication Quality Figures

  • Learn a tool for making publication quality figures (diagrams and plots)
  • A diagram shows how the experiment was carried out
  • A plot shows the data extracted from the experiment
    • ROOT and Python+matplotlib are both free and excellent tools
    • Save the diagram in EPS or SVG format so that it does not look pixelated when changing sizes and can be manipulated in an illustrattion software (see above)
    • Basic required elements of a 2D plot:
      • x-axis title label and units in parentheses, units should be chosen such that the x-values are between -100 and +100
      • x-axis labels values are large and legible, should be the same size
      • y-axis title label and units in parentheses, units should be chosen such that the y-values are between -100 and +100
      • y-axis labels values are large and legible, should be the same size
      • title of plot should describe the relevant conditions under which the data was taken and possibly include the timestamp of the dataset
      • data markers should be closed red circles
        • if the data density is high (the points overlap), then the data markers should be open red circles
        • if there are two data sets, then the second data set should be blue crosses
        • if there are multiple data sets, then the color of each data set should encode information about the variable that was varied between data sets
      • data markers should include uncertainties in the y-values and possibly the x-values if relevant
      • data markers should not be connected with lines just to guide the eye
      • if you use curve fitting to model the data, then you must plot both the (data vs fit) as well as the residual (data-fit)
      • example Python code is here: Python Curve Fitting
      • examples ROOT code are here: ROOT example

Writing a Resume/CV

Here is a write-up of general advice, tips & tricks, and some philosophies about writing a resume/CV. It was written in September 2024. The example CV has not been included, so some additional notes were added or examples given where necessary for context.

CV Length

  • This can be as long as you want usually, sometimes there is a 3 page limit or something in which case winnow out the less impressive and/or older stuff

Resume Length

  • ONE PAGE, that's it! Front and back is fine but that's all unless otherwise stated!

Order–there are different philosophies for ordering so here are some examples and my thoughts:

  • Reverse, chronological
    • Generally good within sections, not good for overall because there are too many categories to follow, it's good within sections even if you don't include dates because it's likely they will ask about one of the top ones then which you're likely more familiar with
  • Most Impressive
    • This is subjective but you should tailor it for the job/grant/position you're applying to; my thinking is that there are other ways to highlight the most impressive things (bold/italic/underline text, a highlights section, etc) but you DO want more impressive things to get read, so make it obvious and put it in a place they'll definitely look at–which sometimes means the first page/top of the page
  • Best for Formatting
    • I followed this way more than I'd like to admit just because formatting is the devil but it's really important that your resume/CV visually looks good and sometimes that means putting a section earlier/later so that it doesn't need to be broken up and sometimes it means choosing to break up a section so that the more important things can go first
  • Template
    • You can find a lot of templates online of course, some are better than others; my only advice here is again to make sure you tailor it not only to the position you are looking for but also to yourself as a candidate.
      • ex: Someone with a lot of publications may want to put that higher up on the page than someone who has a lot of presentation but not many/any publications.
  • Other?–I'm sure there are other suggestions you can find online but really just think about what you think will read the best for someone that looks at so many resumes/CV's EVERY SINGLE DAY. You can get more advice about this from your advisor, from the MSU department for career development (Dr. Julie Rojewski can point you in the right direction or you can navigate around here: https://grad.msu.edu/staff/rojewski), and/or from a mentor in the APS IMPACT program (geared towards people looking to go into industry).

Include a Headshot?

  • This is up to you, but personally I'm not sure there is much for anyone to gain for this (see Women/Minorities Statement below). However, if you are distributing your resume/CV, maybe there is a case where it would be helpful for an interviewer to know what you look like. This is more unlikely these days though with most interviews being virtual.
  • If you do include a headshot, it NEEDS to be professional. That means:
    • Professional clothing–collared, button-down, long-sleeved dress shirts; blazers; nice blouses that are at least short sleeve (no sleeveless)
      • NO t-shirts, NO polos unless you are applying to a golf course, NO camisoles/tank tops, NO wrinkly clothes!
    • Professional look–fix up your hair, apply only a classic/tasteful amount of makeup if you so choose, check your teeth, check your ear/nose/eyebrow/facial hair, check your clothes are laying nice during the photo
    • Professional expression–a smile, or a closed-lip smile, or a Mona Lisa smile; you don't want a resting… ahem… witch face, you don't want to scowl or look angry or worse unapproachable
      • If you're not sure how your expression looks, ask someone! Just make sure if you are asking someone, that you don't take offense to any advice they give. Once again, take up the career development department on their help! https://grad.msu.edu/staff/rojewski

General Tips:

  • Highlight YOUR best accomplishments, don't just follow what everyone else's looks like
    • In my CV, I included “Added [Lab/Equipment] Experience” under each item in my job descriptions. I got this advice at the career panel in 2023. My contact at Northrop Grumman (NGC) really liked this. His only suggestion for tailoring it more to NGC if I wanted was to add an “Added Leadership Experience” (which I did not do based on how the application was formatted). This is an example though of how you can tailor a resume/CV to different positions. This was something that I did to tailor it towards industry/national lab settings.
  • TAILOR YOUR RESUME/CV:
    • Already typed it a lot, but seriously do this. It's more obvious to do this for a cover letter, but as the example above, there are several ways you can do this, choose what works best or makes the most sense to you:
      • Order your sections or section contents based on the position
      • Use bold text to highlight accomplishments you think will help get you hired
      • Make your job descriptions readable for your audience–some cases an HR person with no science background might be the first reader, some it may be going right to someone at least a little technical, and some might be very technical (such as PI's reviewing a resume for a post-doc position)
      • “Added Experience”–so as my above example, putting added lab/equipment experience relevant to the job is good, but this could also be used to show character/leadership growth or as a way to introduce your accomplishments.
        • i.e. (Completely fictional)–My job was to spin large cotton candy treats at the fair–accomplishment: I spun the record-largest cotton candy since 2006.
  • Find a way for your resume to stand out… some. Only some because you want it to be easily-readable still, and not so far out there they think you're a crazy or unorganized person. But highlight the things that make your resume unique. Everyone getting a PhD in physics will have a PhD, that's not unique, but any leadership positions, outreach or volunteer work, some experiences in research (most thesis work is novel in at least one way!), presentations/conferences (especially international ones!), and even any extra classes you did can help you stand out.
  • Formatting is IMPORTANT:
    • Shouldn't have to be said, but a reminder that formatting is so important, maybe even more-so than the content.
      • Bad formatting that makes it hard to read means your resume/CV is going in the literal or virtual trash!
    • Use an easy-to-read font–personally I go with Times New Roman typically but you may notice I used a different font for section headers
    • Use a good size! Do not make them squint or have to zoom in to read your resume!
    • Organize your resume/CV to have a good flow as much as possible.
  • Know Your Audience:
    • This one is so important I needed to type it again as it's own bullet. If your audience is anyone outside MSU, they do not know what WaMPS or COGS or maybe even what FRIB is if it's not also a national lab employee.
    • Do your best to find out who your audience will be.
    • If you don't know your audience, make sure that your sibling or parent or anyone without any STEM background can at a minimum get the gist of all of your job descriptions.
      • When in doubt, include the details in a way that anyone can understand.
        • ex: DON'T say dihydrogen monoxide when you could say water. DO use buzzwords that even people outside of the field can recognize.
  • Talk Yourself Up!:
    • This one is so hard for me personally, because I never want to come off cocky or bragging. So some tips if you have a hard time with this too:
      • Write like you are talking about your friend–you probably are ready to say the best things and gas up your friends, so do it for yourself now too!
      • Keep it positive–you don't need a ton of qualifiers and you don't need to include that the goal was “XYZ” and you only did “X”. Spin it to say, you accomplished “X”! Hooray! And then in the interview you can talk about how you accomplished “X” despite obstacles “ABC”!
      • Humbleness is for the interview–use action words, talk about what you did even if “just” as part of a team, give yourself the credit you deserve and if you aren't sure what that credit should be, refer back to acting like you are writing this about a friend–what credit would you give them?
  • Use Action Words:
    • Pretty self-explanatory, but do your best to use action words in your job descriptions.
      • It gets muddy starting with “I did this…”, “I did that…”, “I worked with a team that…”.
      • INSTEAD: Every one of my descriptions starts with a verb/action word: “developed”, “lead”, “experience”, “wrote”, etc.
    • In general, word choice is important because it can make a big difference.
  • Shortening a CV to a Resume: my general tips/what I would do with my CV to get the length down
    • Remove everything from undergraduate experience (with the exception of keeping the degree/university listed in education)–Undergraduate Presentations, Awards, and Extra-Curriculars gone.
    • Remove older jobs–sometimes you may want to keep an older one if it shows another side of you, but if it's more of the same skills and it's from before undergraduate education, then probably okay to remove it. An example of this is I might try to find a way to keep in there that I was a college athlete/had basketball-related jobs to show another side. For [undisclosed person], maybe it is something to do with 4-H that you want to keep on there even if it's older. For anyone, maybe it's a customer service job that shows another side. This is one that you'll want to make a decision based highly in what kind of position you are applying to.
    • Shorten the presentations section–I gave a lot of presentations that even though they were different, they had the same name, so I could have the title written once, share it was updated for each conference, and then list all the conferences; alternatively, remove the older ones and/or just add the dates for the repeated conferences over different years
      • ex: I “went” to DNP multiple times so I would denote which years were virtual vs in-person and include the years went if it saves room
    • Change the mentoring examples to one line in my job description and/or outreach were applicable
    • Remove references–removing the references even if adding a line saying they are available upon request can save a lot of room, especially since it is good practice to have them on a separate page for a CV
    • Adjust spacing/formatting–you can do this some, just don't put things so close together that they look cramped
    • Summarize more–briefer descriptions where applicable if you went into detail about your project
      • ex: Instead of “Developed experimental technique to…” and “Studied [this thing in the developed experiment]…” and “Conducted … studies of…”, summarize down to “Developed an experimental design before conducting spectroscopy studies in various mediums. Gained experience in [this, that, the other]”.
    • Reduce number of skills listed or consolidate where possible
    • Reduce the number of outreach experiences included–if two experiences demonstrate the same skills, just include one of them
      • ex: I was a panelist on several panels, so I could shorten it to “Invited Panelist on X, Y, and Z” instead of separate entries.
      • ex: Being a tour guide at specific events vs in general shows the same skills typically so could reduce to one point. Then in an interview if asked about it, I could share that I gave tours both to small groups ranging from kindergarteners to the general adult public to students to professor and that I did so for conferences/big events as well.
  • Women/Minorities Statement: If you are worried about bias (which still exists as much as we wish it didn't) then don't include your picture and don't do too much with colors/graphics which is stereotypically perceived as “girly” (this one pains me because color/design makes everything better but you need one that looks good in black and white anyway).
    • Disclaimer/However Statement: Some may want to do the opposite to ensure they don't work for a place with bias. That is up to your own prerogative, but note that studies are still showing that even women have bias against women (as a possibly surprising example), so my question is do you want to open with that possible bias being used against you? Or do you want to get past at least one hurdle before a potential employer inevitably finds out you are a women/minority? Personally, I'll let them wait, because even though names often give gender away, reviewers will likely skip right over the name until they see something they like on the resume. If there is a picture then their eyes will be drawn to that first, instead of your accomplishments! If their starting impression of you is through finding something they like among your accomplishments/skills/experience, it's more likely that any bias they may have won't negatively impact your chances of getting the job.

***Lastly, note that these are just the opinions of one graduate student (as of 10/02/2024), and though it includes advice from several mentors, the above contains suggestions. If you've read them, then it is up to you to make what you feel are the best choices for yourself, which may or may not be the same choices recommended here.

research_skills.1727861660.txt.gz · Last modified: 2024/10/02 05:34 by whiteer

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