C.R.A.W.LAB

C.R.A.W.LAB Guiding Principles

• We follow a Code of Conduct.
• Our goal is to do great work. We will rarely get there, but we must always be trying.
• We are a team. This means that:
  • We talk about our work with our labmates.
  • We ask our labmates questions about their work.
  • We are not be afraid to ask our labmates hard questions or offer suggestions.
  • We are not be offended if someone asks us hard questions or offers suggestions on our work.
  • We regularly spend time in the lab.
  • We leverage lab resources, like the lab style guide for writing, the lab wiki, and lab GitHub repositories.
• We have higher expectations of ourselves than anyone outside has of us.
  • We can only work to the quality that we expect of ourselves.
  • We hold ourselves to this standard.
  • We hold our labmates to this standard.
  • We politely push each other to be better. We’re not afraid to tell a labmate, “Hey, you can do better than that.” We are not offended if a labmate tells us that, because we know that they are trying to help.
• We respect others’ time and energy.
  • We show up on time for meetings and other appointments.
  • We do our homework and are generally prepared.
• We also work hard to understand the landscape of our research by continually asking:
  • Who are the leading researchers/labs in the area?
  • Who are the founding researchers of the area?
  • What problems remain unsolved? Why?
  • What problems seem hard, but actually aren’t? Why?
  • What problems seem easy, but actually aren’t’? Why?
  • What do researchers outside of our area most often misunderstand about our work?
  • What do lay people most often misunderstand about our work?

Meetings

1:1 Meetings

We’ll have a 1:1 every week no matter what. For graduate students and experienced undergraduates, this meeting will last at least 30 minutes. For new undergraduates, it will last approximately 15 minutes. This meeting is intended as a time to discuss topics of substance, not just checking in. We have an internal document that can serve as a script for this meeting until you get the hang of it.

Group Meetings

We’ll have a meeting of the entire research group every week no matter what. Each week, one or more of us will present our recent work in an approximately 30-minute presentation. These presentations should be professional, the same quality as ones given externally and/or graded. This meeting is a time for us to get feedback from the 15+ other smart people in the research group. So, the more work you put into your presentation, the better feedback you can get from the group, which leads to greater improvements in our work. Similarly, as an audience member, you should:

• Pay attention and be an active listener. Respect the presenter.
• ASK QUESTIONS. Asking someone hard questions about their work is the nicest thing you can do for them. If you don’t quite understand what is being presented, asking the presenter to explain it further will help both of you understand the topic better.

As the presenter, remember that someone asking hard questions of you is good. Don’t take it personally.

Drop-in Meetings

Do not wait until your 1:1 meeting if you are really having problems; please come see me. If you need me to meet with me outside of our 1:1 meeting time, just knock on my door or send me a message on Slack. I may ask you to come back later, but I’ll never be angry at you for wanting to talk. That said, if you think you need a long meeting (>15 minutes) outside of your weekly 1:1 meeting, please use email or Slack to set it up.

Communication

You can email or message me on Slack me 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If I’m working, I will generally respond quickly. If your message is urgent, please indicate so.

I often also work late at night and on the weekends. This is my choice. I do not expect that you are going to work on the weekend unless we’ve discussed you doing so due to a looming deadline, project milestone, etc. Otherwise, I might email or Slack you things, but unless the thing says URGENT, it can wait until work begins for you on Monday.

Work Hours, Travel, and Vacation

Our lab does not have fixed hours. You may work whenever you feel that you are most productive. Generally speaking, the more productive you are, the more flexible your schedule can be.

That said, when planning your research schedule, please keep in mind that research, as with most creative endeavors of any worth, takes regular, repeated, intentional effort. So, please do make an effort to spend some time in the lab working on your research during normal business hours.

If I am traveling or otherwise have to be away from campus for an extended period of time during normal working hours, for professional or personal reasons, I will give you notice of such in advance. I expect each of you to do the same. We will reschedule meetings or have them remotely, if necessary.

Acknowledgements

This document was inspired by and adapted from How to Rands