Timeline for Should I tell my supervisor that I added his/her name as a reference for my next academic position?
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| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Oct 13, 2020 at 17:04 | comment | added | emory | @BobBrown I would hope that OP has a much, much better relation with his supervisor than I with you and asking would be unnecessary. | |
| Oct 13, 2020 at 0:09 | comment | added | Robbie Goodwin | Of course you should, from both common courtesy and professional ethics. | |
| Oct 12, 2020 at 18:52 | comment | added | Bob Brown | @emory Oh, you can absolutely use my name without permission. The question, however, was "should I?" not "can I?" If, to follow your hypothetical, you were to do so, I'd say, "I've never heard of this guy. Someone who will fabricate a reference may have other bad habits." So, if we don't know each other, you should not give my name as a reference. To be at least relatively certain of a good reference, you should ask in advance. | |
| Oct 12, 2020 at 17:17 | comment | added | emory | I do not need permission to list @BobBrown as a professional reference. However, to do so would be unwise because Bob Brown does not know me professionally and so honest replies would be "I don't know this guy.", "I can not recommend this guy.", etc. Why would I do that when there are people who do know me and will say nice things about me? How do I know they will say nice things about me? because I asked them. Even though "I don't know this guy" is not technically a bad reference, most people would infer a bad reference. | |
| Oct 12, 2020 at 7:44 | review | Suggested edits | |||
| Oct 12, 2020 at 10:47 | |||||
| S Oct 12, 2020 at 6:51 | history | suggested | Peter Mortensen | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Copy edited (e.g. ref. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Philosophy>).
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| Oct 12, 2020 at 1:33 | review | Suggested edits | |||
| S Oct 12, 2020 at 6:51 | |||||
| Oct 10, 2020 at 21:25 | comment | added | Bob Brown | @wimi OK, I concede that citing another's published works doesn't need permission. I'd argue that citing a personal communication does, however. I can't edit my comment, so how about this: You need permission for anything that implies an obligation, however small, or reveals information not already public. | |
| Oct 10, 2020 at 17:51 | comment | added | JeffE | Your supervisor has a moral duty to provide a reference for you — No, your supervisor has a moral duty to help you. If they believe that they cannot write you a helpful letter, they have a moral duty not to provide a letter. | |
| Oct 10, 2020 at 17:26 | comment | added | wimi | @BobBrown that is too strong a statement. For example, one normally does not ask each (or any) author of a paper before citing the paper. | |
| Oct 10, 2020 at 17:16 | comment | added | anon | Your supervisor has a moral duty to provide a reference for you, but it's still polite to ask. Not least because it's usually best to check whether they'll give you a good one. | |
| Oct 10, 2020 at 16:21 | comment | added | Bob Brown | @nanoman Nope, not even to nominate someone for a prize. I am reminded of David Bowie declining a CBE and Marlon Brando boycotting the Academy Awards. And then there's this one: academia.stackexchange.com/q/103150/16183 | |
| Oct 10, 2020 at 13:38 | comment | added | Tom | Yes absolutely, no-one likes getting a reference request out of the blue. I actually first learned this at school when I put my personal tutor's name down as a reference for work experience or something like that and he told me that you always need to ask permission first before putting them down as a reference. | |
| Oct 10, 2020 at 13:24 | answer | added | Adam J | timeline score: 1 | |
| Oct 10, 2020 at 12:22 | comment | added | Captain Emacs | @nanoman The person that wishes the reference should not name a referee without their consent. This is quite different from a nomination. | |
| Oct 10, 2020 at 9:34 | answer | added | PLL | timeline score: 43 | |
| Oct 10, 2020 at 9:00 | history | tweeted | twitter.com/StackAcademia/status/1314853208330821634 | ||
| Oct 10, 2020 at 8:17 | comment | added | nanoman | @BobBrown Not even to nominate them for a prize? I think what you mean is: Don't use their name in a way that implies they know or agree to something that they don't. This requires understanding which uses of someone's name imply such things. There are many that don't and are fine, like citing someone's work. | |
| Oct 10, 2020 at 6:41 | history | became hot network question | |||
| Oct 10, 2020 at 1:03 | comment | added | paul garrett | Echoing everyone else's comments... :) For that matter, if you do not ask/request in advance, you may be unpleasantly surprised that someone's perception of you is not as positive as you might have thought. So you should give people a chance to not be a reference, by asking something like "would you be willing to give me a helpful_/_positive_<whatever> reference [letter]?" Not just _a letter/reference, but a helpful one. Some letter writers do not realize they should simply refuse... to inadvertently, thoughtlessly condemn the applicant. | |
| Oct 10, 2020 at 0:45 | comment | added | Bob Brown | Never, ever, use another's name for anything without asking first. | |
| Oct 10, 2020 at 0:07 | vote | accept | Minions | ||
| Oct 9, 2020 at 23:44 | comment | added | Buffy | Yes, let them know and probably apologize for not asking first. I doubt there will be any problem. | |
| Oct 9, 2020 at 23:37 | answer | added | gnometorule | timeline score: 64 | |
| Oct 9, 2020 at 23:30 | comment | added | Minions | Thanks @gnometorule .. I think your answer is reasonable. | |
| Oct 9, 2020 at 23:00 | comment | added | gnometorule | You should ask anyone who you intend to serve as your reference if they are ok with it, before doing so. It’s not an academic thing especially; same in other situations. | |
| Oct 9, 2020 at 22:55 | history | edited | Minions | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
added 220 characters in body
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| Oct 9, 2020 at 22:53 | comment | added | Mark | Why the downvote(s)? | |
| Oct 9, 2020 at 22:37 | history | asked | Minions | CC BY-SA 4.0 |