I will be soon ending my bachelors degree and choosing masters major. In my interest is newly opened major and I managed to get information about last years recruitment process, namely how many people actually went for recruitment process. Knowing this fact I started to wonder how much can I actually infer from that information. After all this is minimal dataset of just one entry. However I also thought that it is not a totally random process and there shouldn't be much variation in such a case. My question is then - how would you draw a conclusion and how sure would you be about it in the case of process that is rather known (recruitment), but you have only small piece of information about it?
70832
I am wondering what we can say, if anything, about the population mean, $\mu$ when all I have is one measurement, $y_1$ (sample size of 1).  Obviously, we'd love to have more measurements, but we can't get them.  It seems to me that since the sample mean, $\bar{y}$, is trivially equal to $y_1$, then $E[\bar{y}]=E[y_1]=\mu$.  However, with a sample size of 1, the sample variance is undefined, and thus our confidence in using $\bar{y}$ as an estimator of $\mu$ is also undefined, correct?  Would there be any way to constrain our estimate of $\mu$ at all?
718
When applying to a PhD program in the US, how does the admissions process work? If an applicant is weak in a particular area, is it possible to offset that by being strong in a different area?  Note that this question originated from this . Please feel free to edit the question to improve it.
116078
I want to change my field from molecular biophysics to theoretical ecology. While they are basically required some same basic background (physics, math, programming), the rest is quite irrelevant. In my current draft of this part, about a half is about this the problem and the result of the work, another half is for my contribution and what I've learnt. Having said that, should I focus less on describing the work and leave space for the thing that will be useful for the next research?  Below is copy from .     What have you already done? What problems have you solved, or at least worked on? What independent projects have you been part of? What were your key contributions? What did you learn? What did you teach the world? How do your results compare to what was already known? What original ideas are you most proud of? Be specific, technical, credible, and confident (but not arrogant). Refer the reader to your web page for more details. Have a web page with more details: preprints, project reports, source code, videos, etc.
84149
I work in the field of data mining and have had very little formal schooling in statistics. Lately I have been reading a lot of work  that focuses on Bayesian paradigms for learning and mining, which I find very interesting.   My question is (in several parts), given a problem is there a general framework by which it is possible to construct a statistical model? What are the first things you do when given a dataset of which you'd like to model the underlying process? Are there good books/tutorials out there that explain this process or is it a matter of experience? Is inference in the forefront of your mind when constructing your model or do you first aim to describe the data before you worry about how to use it to compute?  Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.
4680
I am reading a paper and have questions about the details of the procedure described. I have read other papers by the same team but they don't explain too much about that procedure anyway. I think it might be common, but my supervisor doesn't know it too.  I am stuck and I want to get out of it. As a student working on my master thesis, can I email the contact author for the manuscript cold out, or should I ask someone to contact him for me? I would ask my supervisor but I don't want it to imply that I'm avoid taking initiatives when I could do it on my own.
11600
I have been teaching statistics for many years at the university level - but this question is beyond my understanding - due to the variables involved.  Several years ago, I was entertaining a relocation to a different area and a different way of life. I was very unsure and skeptical - as the change would have followed my heart - but not the rational practicality of my head.  Then a sequence of events took place - none of which were of my own choosing. I want to know what the statistical probability is of these events occurring by chance alone. They are as follows:  1) The property I had wanted to buy was already under contract, yet came back on the market on the anniversary of my father's death.  2) My immediate offer to purchase was accepted by the sellers (two days later) on the anniversary of my grandmother's death.  3) My loan was approved by my bank on the anniversary of my late grandmother's birthday (7 days later)  4) Our closing date was set by the title company on the anniversary of my late, great-aunt's birthday.  5) The permit for our business (for which we brought the property) was approved and issued on my parent's anniversary.  Can the probability of these dates be statistically determined?
104993
I am a nontraditional applicant for medical school and wanted to ask questions about my application here. I was previously enrolled in another MD program. I had an undiagnosed disability that resulted in some abnormal behavior, including research misconduct (data fabrication). It led to me withdrawing from medical school program, but I have spent several years recovering. I have finished a PhD. I have published many papers including a few at top journals (Cell) since then. I maintain a strong interest in academic medicine and I am ready to take another go at it. How might my application be processed differently? How successful could an applicant like myself be? Do you have advice on how I can present myself in the best manner? Do I have a chance?
7699
My significant other and I finish our master degrees at the same time and thus we are applying for PhD programmes at the same time. One major factor of accepting a potential offer would be if we could study at the same university, so I feel that mentioning a two-body problem would be advantageous for both, us and the admission committee. But where do I mention this? Is a line in the statement of purpose suitable here?     If you admit me, please also consider admitting my significant other Jane Roe.   Some additional information: We both do research in computer science. While I do research in natural language processing my partner does research in computer vision.
69633
Let's say you tell me to produce randomly a number from 1-100, and I choose the number 47. Can it be said that there is a specific reason I chose the number 47, and that it is not completely random? By random I mean that there is absolutely no reason this number in particular was chosen.    It seems odd to me, since it seems like since I have applied conscious effort to produce or choose a number within that range, or even without range, that it can't be truly random, but there might be a reason why I chose that number amongst the many others I could have chosen.  I guess the general question, which I'm interested to know if any philosophers in the past have discussed, is whether our thoughts are necessarily based on prior thoughts, or if thoughts can be truly spontaneous and random?
96102
We're currently interviewing candidates at my company and I'd like to verify if some of them really have the academic degrees they claim. One in particular claims a doctoral degree from a German university.  I've contacted the university, and the dean wrote back saying that they could not provide this information without the written consent of the individual.  I found this policy rather odd; I would have thought that the granting of a doctoral degree was public information. Is this normal? Is there anything else I can do to find out?  I obtained from the library a copy of the thesis in question but it was in German. I also found through Google  which appears to be a list of dissertations published by that university, but it is unclear whether these are doctoral dissertations or not. The person in question and his dissertation are in that list.
27529
I want to make a logistic model from my survey data. It is a small survey of four residential colonies in which only 154 respondents were interviewed. My dependent variable is "satisfactory transition to work". I found that, of the 154 respondents, 73 said that they have satisfactorily transitioned to work, while the rest did not. So the dependent variable is binary in nature and I decided to use logistic regression. I have seven independent variables (three continuous and four nominal). One guideline suggest that there should be 10 cases for each predictor / independent variable (Agresti, 2007). Based on this guideline I feel that it is OK to run logistic regression.    Am I right? If not please let me know how to decide the number of independent variables?
41806
This question is, honestly speaking, probably somewhat opinion-based, but I still want to give a shot.  A professor acceded to my invitation of writing a reference letter for me. Nevertheless, unlike the other professors who also acceded to write a reference letter for me, he asked me to draft it on my own. Originally I did not feel anything "wrong", and I just felt embarrassed to recommend myself. But yesterday a friend told me that a professor would ask you to write her reference letter for you when she does not actually think that you are "worthy" enough for her to write you one on her own.   What is the probability that such viewpoint is true? Any opinion is greatly appreciated!
115496
I finished my undergraduate degree in mathematics about two years ago, and started a master's program last year. Now that I am about half way through the MS program, I am convinced that I want to get into a doctoral program. I was admitted to the master's program based upon very strong recommendations from respected scientists at the university where my undergraduate degree was obtained.    The MS program I am attending is at a small, noncompetitive institution. I am thinking that recommendation letters from this school would not be as meaningful. Also, based upon the limited scope of the research being conducted here, and my limited capacity to participate, I fear that letters from these professors might not be as strongly worded.  It is my intention to apply to several programs starting in December of this year. My question is this: Is it unreasonable to ask for my old references to "re-send" their letters of recommendation, almost 3 years after my association with them has concluded? Would it seem peculiar to the admissions board if all of my recommendation letters came from a school other than the one where I (will) have completed my MS?
92540
How shall a masters student deal with the complete failure to meet the expected results when working on a master's thesis?  For example, in the field of machine learning a masters student might spend 4-5 months  developing a method that turns out not be useful, not even being comparable to benchmark datasets.  Should the student quit it? Should you at least take a break from academia to avoid harming your career ?  Or should you work on a different idea and risk another few months which is also not guaranteed? Given the fact that the advisor is simply asking you to try new things
13431
I have applied to a professor from another university - and from another country, in case that is relevant - about doing my undergraduate thesis under him.  He said he liked my profile and asked me for some documents (transcripts, recommendation letters, etc). After I sent him these documents, he stopped responding.  Before this I used to keep him updated about the process (when I will get my transcripts, when my recommenders will send him the letters, etc) and during this time he would always acknowledge the receipt of my mails. After my recommenders sent him their letters, he stopped responding. I know how this might look, but I have no reason to suspect that my recommenders might have anything bad to say about me. I have used their recommendations to get a scholarship previously.  This hiatus in communication took place in December last year, so this might very well be because he was on leave during this period. I verified that his university began its semester last week and mailed him, again to no response.  How do I interpret his silence? There is of course no certain answer to this. So the more important question is, should I keep politely following up - say, dropping him a mail every week or so asking if he's made a decision yet?  Note:  on Academia.SE has a comment which says that "treat a non-response as the (reasonably expected) negative response" about emailing a professor at a foreign university. However, I don't think that applies in my case as the professor had initially expressed his interest in hiring me, so I thought he would let me know if he had later changed his mind.
121155
I've been considering applying to graduate school of some form or another in Mathematics. During my undergraduate years, I did decently on my undergraduate coursework (mostly A-s, some As, a B) but not stellar, and it wasn't until I started taking graduate courses as a senior that I started buckling down and getting solid As or higher. I also had no research experience at this time.  I eventually want to apply to a Ph. D program in pure mathematics. Since I didn't really click until later in undergraduate years, so I was considering applying to 2-year masters programs in mathematics, and then based on my performance there, decide whether I'm fit to work towards a Ph. D.      My question is, what are the advantages and disadvantages to completing a master's program before applying to a separate Ph. D program?   I know masters degrees are sometimes considered terminal degrees. Would doing well in masters coursework be advantageous in applying to Ph. D programs later on as opposed to immediately after undergrad years? Does strong performance as a masters student make one a more attractive candidate, or do programs have less interest in applicants who already have a masters? Is it wiser to apply for a Ph. D directly? I'm sorry if this question is considered too much of a soft question. Thank you.
71952
I found this in . I've paraphrased for clarity.  There are 100 professors. Some are honest, while others are dishonest. There are more honest professors than dishonest ones. Honest professors always tell the truth, but the dishonest ones sometimes tell the truth and sometimes lie. You can ask any professor the following question about any other professor, "Professor Y, is Professor X honest?" to which he/she will answer yes or no. Design an algorithm that allows you to figure out which of the professors are honest with no more than 198 questions.  The bold part is the kicker. If liars always lied, then the problem is trivial - just ask 99 people about one guy. The majority would be the truthful answer, so you know your honest guys and your liars.  So, any advice? If you give the answer please put it in spoiler tags since I'm just looking for direction.