I think that participation one way or another is a better option than attendance concerning the main question of the discussion thread.

Dear Colleague Judit,

Greetings from Tucson, Arizona. I have asked myself this question at various points.

First of all, it depends how important what you will present at the conference is. If it is important research that will booster your career, then go. If there are people at the conference that you need to meet so that they know and rmember you, then go. Match costs and benefits to see if the trip is worth the expense, if your institution is not paying for this conference trip.

TRANS:

Üdvözlet Tucson, Arizona. Ezt a kérdést különböző pontokban kérdeztem meg magamtól.

Először is attól függ, hogy mennyire fontos, hogy mit fogsz bemutatni a konferencián. Ha fontos a kutatás, amely fokozza karrierjét, akkor menjen. Ha vannak olyan emberek a konferencián, akikkel meg kell találkoznod, hogy tudják és rábeszthessék, akkor menj. Egyeztesse a költségeket és az előnyöket, hogy megtudja, hogy az utazás megéri-e a költséget, ha az intézmény nem fizet a konferencián.

Gloria

Dear Gloria!

Thank you the answer!

Have a nice day!

Judit

Attend conference and perform is beneficial for all the participants.

Thank you for your interesting and helpful comments.

Is good to attend conferences to learn what other researchers are doing in our fields, however, it is very important we participate to make contributions to our field.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.

Both are important :) You should find good balance by yourself

It depends on if you have a presentation that can boost your career or draw attention of experts who can help you in your research it is much better to attend and present your research.

if not you can still participate to get an idea of what other people in your research are are working on.

In a couple of instances, just participating and listening to the invited talks helped me find solution to the research problem i was facing.

Depends what will be your role on the conference. I do not see any benefit go to a conference if you do not have a research to present

Conference provides a platform to network and collaborate with other researchers, this objective could be achieved by presenting your research.

I think that participation one way or another is a better option than attendance concerning the main question of the discussion thread.

Thanks for all the answers. I don't judt attend and talk, I also like to participate in conferences.

Participating may increase your exposure and help you make more contacts and collaboration. Just participating make you silent. It's good to actif and exchange with your peers.

My opinion!

Regards!

Is it better to attend a conference or just participate?

"Participate" is better because:

I think I would rather attend to a conference, actively, with presentation. I think only those who are at the beginning of academic life can participate (without a presentation) because it is important for young academicians to recognize the environment, to feel the athmosphere. For the other academics, it is important to participate with a presentation and share their experiences.

I prefer attending a conference

Best Regards Judit Molnár

Tha comments are very useful. I am glad I read many answers!

Now many conferences are becoming a scientific business. You pay more and get paper publication & book chapters. In many places, the actual purpose of a conference has been shifted to - Tourism, Banquet Dinner etc...

While I was basically thrown in to the arena to present my first paper, in the Autumn of 1988, three Months into my PhD studies, I am glad that I did, because the audience was full of people like me - fairly fresh PhD students, also there to present a paper. So that was a nice start, and some of the PhD students that I met I had contact with for a long time. As always in this business, some will get a degree and leave, some stay on, and a few drop out. That's life.

Regarding the actual question, there are some that say that if you attend a conference then you should also give a talk. Now I don't think that's fair - let the junior take it all in the first time around, and next time she/he will be better prepared.