Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Collaboration with Frustration: Part II

I posted earlier about a problem with a particular researcher who had agreed to work on a project together months ago, then never responded to any follow-up. Well, now I'm in their backyard. I tried today to drop by the person's office, but to no avail. I did, however, check out the departmental office and notice that this person was not on the vacation list, and thus, is probably around. The good news is that their office is between where we have to park and where we have lab space, so it's an easy drop-by every time we are on campus. But, with classes out, there is no assurance that the door will ever be open when we get there. Maybe I will try and call their cell number one more time tomorrow, but I just don't think there is much else worth doing. After this trip it is time to move on.
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2 comments:

  1. OdysseyDecember 16, 2008 at 10:18 AM

    Ummm, if they're this difficult to get a hold of before starting the collaboration, are you sure you want to put yourself through all that potential pain by pursuing it?

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  2. Prof-like SubstanceDecember 16, 2008 at 11:52 AM

    Perhaps I should clarify. I want some data that she has, but that has been sitting for ten years, untouched. It is particularly valuable to me, given that it would lead to a paper right away in this new field that I am writing grants for. In our initial exchange the deal was basically that I would work up the analyses and write the paper to get it out the door and she would simply have her name on the paper for contributing the data. It seemed like a good deal for both parties, but yet...

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