Conference presentations vs. journal publications
Which do you think would do more to help an application to a PhD program?
A) Presentation at the premier conference for the field
B) Publication in a mid-tier journal
This is in relation to a study I conducted as a undergrad. I presented a very preliminary analysis at a conference soon after the study was completed. Now I'm taking time off and am thinking of ways to strengthen my application for Fall 2010 admission. Based on the feedback I've gotten from professors, this has a shot at either of the options presented above.
The main advantage I see for A is the potential for face-to-face interaction with current faculty, maybe even potential advisors. The downside is that the deadline is in a month, which doesn't give me a lot of time to refine the paper. With B, I could take my time and perhaps even work with a professor who has expressed interest in writing a paper with me, thereby helping me secure what would hopefully be a solid LOR.
I will also be submitting a paper based on my honors thesis to the conference, but am much less confident about its chances. So for now I'm assuming it's an either/or proposition.
A) Presentation at the premier conference for the field
B) Publication in a mid-tier journal
This is in relation to a study I conducted as a undergrad. I presented a very preliminary analysis at a conference soon after the study was completed. Now I'm taking time off and am thinking of ways to strengthen my application for Fall 2010 admission. Based on the feedback I've gotten from professors, this has a shot at either of the options presented above.
The main advantage I see for A is the potential for face-to-face interaction with current faculty, maybe even potential advisors. The downside is that the deadline is in a month, which doesn't give me a lot of time to refine the paper. With B, I could take my time and perhaps even work with a professor who has expressed interest in writing a paper with me, thereby helping me secure what would hopefully be a solid LOR.
I will also be submitting a paper based on my honors thesis to the conference, but am much less confident about its chances. So for now I'm assuming it's an either/or proposition.