The Student-Supervisor Relationship

1. The Student-Supervisor Relationship Rob Briner Organizational Psychology Birkbeck

2. Outline • Historical context • What do students want from the relationship? • What do supervisors want from the relationship? • What does Birkbeck want from the relationship? • How does it go right? And keeping it that way • How does it go wrong? And how to fix it • Behaviours that can cause relationship problems • Looking outside the student-supervisor relationship for guidance • Some conclusions

3. Old relationship Individual Private Unmonitored Unstructured Few rules/guidelines Unclear mutual expectations Most power with supervisor New relationship Institutional Public Monitored Structured More rules/guidelines Clearer mutual expectations More equal power Historical context

4. What do students want from the relationship? • Practical guidance to help get it done • Various kinds of support • Socialization into subject area or profession • Help with career (if going into academia) • Access to networks • Inspiration

5. What do supervisors want from the relationship? • To give advice and support • Stimulation and inspiration • Satisfaction and enjoyment of helping solve research puzzles • To help advance field • Joint publications • Their own career enhancement

6. What does Birkbeck want from the relationship? [1] • To provide excellent postgraduate research supervision • For it to ‘work’ • Provide support/training for students and supervisors • Code of practice • Monitoring

7. What does Birkbeck want from the relationship? [2] Postgraduate Training and Research For The MPhil and PhD Degrees: College Code of Practice (http://www.bbk.ac.uk/reg/qa/PGCodeofpractice.htm) • A. The role of the College Research School. • B. Schools’ structures and responsibilities. • C. Supervisors’ responsibilities. • D. Research students’ responsibilities. • E. Final examinations for MPhil and PhD degrees

8. What does Birkbeck want from the relationship? [3] • Examples of supervisors’ responsibilities • “…advice on the nature of research and the standards expected; about the planning and due scope of the student’s research programme…” • “…meet with the student for formal consultation at least three times a term in the case of full-time students, and at least twice a term in the case of part-time students…” • “…Written work should be requested as appropriate, and returned with constructive criticism in reasonable time…”

9. What does Birkbeck want from the relationship? [4] • Examples of students’ responsibilities • “monitor their progress against their research plan, and keep their progress under regular review by maintaining a written "research log…which is made available to the supervisor” • “…discuss with their supervisors the type of guidance and comment they find to be most helpful, and agree a schedule of meetings for reporting to their supervisor on the progress of their work…” • “…take full account of the scholarly guidance offered by their supervisors…”

10. How does it go right? And keeping it that way • When both parties get what they want • When both parties are doing what they ‘should’ • Mutual sensitivity • Awareness of changing level and types of needs over course of research • Honesty – being clear and open • Explicit progress and future plans for progress • Recognising and working with differences in style and preferences

11. How does it go wrong? • When both or either party doesn’t get what it wants • When both either parties are not doing what they ‘should’ • Mutual insensitivity • Unawareness of changing level and types of needs over course of research • Dishonesty – being unclear and closed • No clear progress and no future plans for progress • Not recognising and not working with differences in style and preferences

12. And how to fix it • Prevention better than cure • Clarify mutual expectations • Look at Code of Practice and how it’s used within your Department/School • Talk to PhD Tutor/Programme Director in your Department/School • Changing supervisors • Decent supervision is a right not a privilege!

13. Supervisor Not responding to questions or giving feedback quickly enough Giving poor responses or feedback Not being available Not showing concern or interest in the student or their work Student Not doing the work Not responding to feedback or suggestions Hiding problems or lack of progress Being too dependent and not taking responsibility Behaviours that can cause relationship problems

14. Looking outside the student-supervisor relationship for guidance • Other students • Other staff in Birkbeck (researchers, PhD tutor) • College/School/Department Guidelines • Other researchers outside Birkbeck working in your field • Books about doing PhDs (not all good)

15. Some conclusions • Student-supervisor relationship important but only one source of advice • Most likely to work well if both parties explicit, systematic, and use guidelines • If doesn’t work well, many ways to fix it • Need to think through what you want out of your relationship with your supervisor and how you can manage it • Be aware that what you want is likely to change over the course of your research