lottelenya
Just a
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Posts: 78
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« on: December 05, 2009, 09:20:30 PM » |
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Sorry if this is an obvious question, but I don't want to do the wrong thing. I'm doing research for my MA thesis, and I'm looking for some very specialized information about current events in a foreign country. There is no one at my university who specifically studies my (very specialized) subtopic. I have tried to find this information on my own, but I'm having no luck. The person I am thinking of contacting is an expert in my field, and her expertise is such that she would likely know the answer right off the top of her head. Would it be okay to e-mail her, introduce myself and my situation, and ask the question?
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I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific. - Lily Tomlin
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higherandhigher
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« Reply #1 on: December 05, 2009, 09:37:35 PM » |
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It's okay to make such contacts, but...
1) don't get long-winded. Your e-mail is more likely to get answered if it is straightforward and to the point.
2) make sure you've done your homework ahead of time. Don't write to ask a question that you should be able to find the answer to yourself. Speak with a good reference librarian first.
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watermarkup
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« Reply #2 on: December 06, 2009, 12:13:31 AM » |
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But even if you find the answer to your question on your own, look for a reason to contact the expert who's working on a similar topic. You want to make the best possible impression, but that contact can be very important down the line. Seven years ago I contacted Stephen Hawking out of the blue (or, rather, the equivalent figure in the field of North Sea Herring Studies), and now we're wrapping up a co-authored paper.
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ucprof
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« Reply #3 on: December 06, 2009, 01:30:58 AM » |
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Chime on both. I have experiences on the other end of the stick. A number of years ago I got about a page email from a student who wanted to write a dissertation about a problem right in my field but for which their adviser was not an expert on the problem. So hu emailed me their prospectus unsolicited asking me to comment on it. Turns out it was very thoughtfully researched and clearly the student had some very good ideas. I ended up hiring said student as a postdoc a couple of years later. Currently hu is tenured at a leading university and the work hu did as a postdoc in my group was featured in some top journals.
In contrast, I sometimes get emails from students with questions about material in my papers but at a level that shows they are probably not doing their homework. In such instances I am rather direct about how they need to learn a certain subject carefully in order to understand X in my paper or implement method Y - often they are just trying to lift stuff out of the paper without knowing what they are doing. In one case I got an email from a student who wanted me to find a bug in their code. I have to draw the line at such stuff - this is out of line.
On the other hand, I had a student try to implement a numerical method of a colleague and ran into trouble. After a couple of weeks of pounding on it I suggested hu email the colleague and ask for some advice. The colleague was able to point the student in the right directly - basically fixed the problem.
So in the end I think it depends a lot on context and in the right circumstances I think it is a very good idea to contact experts in the field.
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lottelenya
Just a
Junior member
Posts: 78
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« Reply #4 on: December 06, 2009, 05:05:56 PM » |
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Thanks, everyone -- I'll talk to the reference librarian here, and if that works, I'll have to think of a good reason to contact my Stephen Hawking ;)
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I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific. - Lily Tomlin
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offthemarket
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« Reply #5 on: December 13, 2009, 10:42:41 PM » |
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If you come off as a professional (having done your homework), then it should be fine and welcome.
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embitteredhistorian
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« Reply #6 on: December 15, 2009, 03:09:30 AM » |
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As others said, if you know your stuff and have done your research, you will make a startling impact.
As a Ph.D. student I did something similar to a big name professor, who welcomed my question quite warmly. I actually wound up helping him revise a book chapter for an Ivy League Press book a few months after I contacted him.
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larryc
Hu hatin'
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 18,285
Eschew the hu.
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« Reply #7 on: December 15, 2009, 03:36:18 AM » |
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Go for it. And stop thinking of yourself as a graduate student and begin thinking of yourself as a scholar.
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lorelei
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« Reply #8 on: December 15, 2009, 04:30:34 AM » |
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If this person can help you, ask them.
My other suggestion would be to put your query on a subject-specific listserv. There may be other people out there who can also help you.
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ucprof
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« Reply #9 on: December 15, 2009, 09:24:23 AM » |
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Go for it. And stop thinking of yourself as a graduate student and begin thinking of yourself as a scholar.
Chime. |
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