Managing supervision and getting the most out of your supervisor Regine Hampel CREET, The Open University PGRS Residential Conference, Milton Keynes 15–17 June 2012
May 26, 2015
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