Managing supervision and getting the most out of your supervisor

Regine HampelCREET, The Open University

PGRS Residential Conference, Milton Keynes 15–17 June 2012

Expectations

Be explicit about the ground rules of the relationship

Don’t expect instant answers

Use your supervisors wisely (don’t hesitate to ask them about relevant issues but don’t expect them to deal with questions you should be able to resolve using other resources)

Don’t forget that there is an affective dimension to the supervisory relationship

Taking charge

Take charge of (and responsibility for) the following:

your topic

your PhD

your learning

Make the most of your supervisors’ particular research expertise

Don’t expect your supervisor to know everything

Bring in a third party for very specific subject-related expertise

“Remember it is your thesis!”

Time and organizationBe proactive and organized – plan your study time and be ruthless in protecting it from other activities

Draw up a realistic timetable with dates, particularly in the last 6 months

Keep revising your plan

Chunk final write-up into smaller sections but be careful of repetition

Coordinate your efforts and deadlines with the availability of your supervisors

Don’t give a huge amount to your supervisors to read in one go

Communication

Keep in touch always

Meet, talk, communicate very regularly

Keep in regular contact, especially when you are having difficulties

Address issues as soon as they arise (academic or personal)

“Communicate,

communicate, communicate

!”

Supervision meetingsPlan meeting dates well in advance

Get all your supervisors together

Prepare the meeting in advance (plan agenda, send material/data/draft to supervisors)

Write down the questions you want to ask in the supervision to get the support you need

At the end of the meeting, agree the work which you will do for the next supervision and when you will circulate it

Make notes (or record) and circulate notes after the meeting

Feedback

Listen to what your supervisor says – they may have something useful to offer

You don’t have to agree with what your supervisor says but you do need to be able to defend your position

Read feedback carefully and act on it

Discuss how you want feedback, e.g. supervisors building on each other’s comments

“Keep a healthy balance between

depending on your supervisors and

disregarding them”

Feedback

Be prepared to ask for advice about drafts at an early stage

If you are upset by the quantity of comments, ask your supervisors for an overall evaluation of your progress

Realize that as you write up your supervisors will be trying to judge the thesis in relation to the final criteria, rather than providing the more developmental feedback you may be used to

Writing the thesisGet specific feedback on whether you do the following :

Tell the story of your research journey

Focus on the bigger picture and make sure you work across the thesis to ensure coherence between questions, method, analysis etc.

Emphasize the complexity of your research and how you approached this

Fulfill the PhD examination criteria (e.g. making a significant contribution to knowledge)

Negotiate word length of chapters and keep the estimated word length in mind when working on drafts

Other suggestionsDo a ‘proper’ mock viva (with supervisors as examiners or better even to get one other more independent academic involved)

Discuss your future with your supervisors and what you are going to go after you graduate

Getting supervisor support after the viva

Your suggestions

Thanks to the supervisors and students who provided me with input!

Now it’s over to you:

Get together in a small group of 2 or 3 and share your ways of getting the most out of your supervisors

Report your suggestions back to the whole group

What would you advise?

Pick one or two of the following scenarios and discuss them in your group. What advice would you give the students?

Scenarios 1 + 2

1. Anita (FT, year 4, funded studentship has ended) is finding it difficult to finish her thesis. She is getting increasingly stressed out and is considering withdrawing from her studies.

2. Peter (PT, year 6, works full-time) finds it very hard to make time for his thesis as there is increasing pressure in his job. He hasn’t produced any writing for a month and is not managing to stick to the schedule that he has agreed with his supervisors.

Scenarios 3 + 43. Yasmin (FT, year 3, funded studentship) is keen to

complete her PhD within the funded period. She has produced a full draft thesis and believes that she is read to submit. Her supervisors don’t agree and advise that she spends another couple of months revising her work. She is considering submitting the thesis without her supervisors’ sign-off.

4. Adam (EdD, year 3) has done his PR10 (full draft of the thesis) and has had rather negative feedback. He is very upset and his first reaction is to request a change in supervisor.

Thank you for listening! Thesis

writing