Transcript IGS RESEARCH SKILLS WORKING WITH YOUR SUPERVISOR

IGS RESEARCH SKILLS – MODULE 2
WORKING WITH YOUR SUPERVISOR
Zuhaina Zakaria, PhD
Head of Graduate Studies
(Academic Development, Resources & Students)
IGS, UiTM
Goals of the Session
Explore the role
of supervisors
and students
Identify the
expectations of
students and
supervisors
Develop action
plan
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Outline
Role of supervisor
Choosing supervisor
Great expectations
Understanding your supervisor
Manipulating your supervisor
Dealing with conflict
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Why are we here?
• Why am I here?
• Why are you here?
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• Talk to someone next
to you and tell them
– who you are & the area
of your research
– why you decided to do
a MSc/PhD
– where you hope it will
take you
So common things are.....
You have
been
accepted to
UiTM
You have
some ideas
on your
research
You have a
supervisor
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How does doing a research degree differ
from coursework?
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Independent Research
Self-motivation
Creativity
Time Management
Publication
Working with a Supervisor
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Supervisors
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You need at least one.
They can be beneficial.
They can be frustrating.
They can seem invisible.
They are human.
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Role of Supervisor
• Definition: person who is responsible for
guiding doctoral student (Murray, 2002)
• Other terms used are “tutor” or “thesis
advisor”
Roles of Supervisor
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Director
Facilitator
Adviser
Teacher
Guide
Critic
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Freedom giver
Supporter
Friend
Manager
Examiner
Brown & Atkins,
1990
Choosing Supervisor
• Important Step
– Identify the professors working in the area(s) of
your interest
– Go and talk to them
• Study their current projects
– Are they in an area current interest?
– Are the projects interesting / appealing to you?
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Choosing Supervisor (cont..)
• Look at his/her recent publication record
• Choose professors that are currently active
in research
– The best indication is the publications are in
the last 3-4 years
• A certain professor may have been very
active 10 years ago and established himself
but hasn’t done anything in the last 5 years
– He/she might have switched to administrative
duties
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Choosing Supervisor (cont..)
• Consider his/her recent graduates
• If the last alumni of the supervisor have been
successful, there are chances you may be too
– This supervisor help you graduate in a reasonable time
frame
– Looks out for you professionally
• The same applies for the opposite case
• However, there are always exception
– Remember you and your attitude make the difference!
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Choosing Supervisor (cont..)
• Finally, talk to the current students
– They can give you an insider’s
perspective
– But be cautious
• Different people might have totally different
perception
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Young vs Senior Faculty Member
An everlasting dilemma
• Young faculty
– More active and motivated
– Less administrative duties
– Closer to your age group
and therefore more fun
– More friendship
percentage to the relation
advisor-student
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Extracted from QUT,
Australia
• Senior faculty
– More experienced and
connected
– More grants
– More alumni -- has
had the chance to give
the world some
successful PhDs
What are the expectations?
• Your expectations
• Their expectations
• Great Expectations Activity
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Your expectations
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Their expectations
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Understanding your supervisor
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Their goals
Their skills
Their hates
Their inadequacies
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Their goals
• Supervision is a not a well paid job
– supervising students at different universities
– Clearly the goal is not (directly) money
• So what is their motivating?
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Their goals
• Giving back to the system
• Creating a scientific “legacy”
• Multiplying their output
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Their skills
• They offer different skills over the life cycle
of your PhD
• At the start
– Identifying a good question
– Knowing what has already been done
– Anticipating when a problem will be too hard or
too easy
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Their skills
• In the middle
– Watching over the “bigger” picture
– Nudging your in good directions
– Identifying common pitfalls (see later)
– Keeping an eye on the clock
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Their skills
• At the end
– Telling you when to stop
– Knowing what a thesis looks like
– Anticipating problem areas for your viva
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Their hates
• Students who quit
– Wasted effort all round
• Students who finish late
– They know writing up isn’t that pleasant
– But it needs to be done
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Their inadequacies
• Supervisors are human too
• They are unable to
– read your mind
– manage their time
– remember much
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DEALING WITH CONFLICT
Be aware of your supervisors’ other
concerns
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Undergraduate teaching
MSc supervisees
Other PhD students
Research assistants and research staff
Their own publications
Departmental administration
Other professional roles (editor, referee,
examiner, etc)
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Dealing with conflict
• Conflict is common
• Supervision is like a marriage
• Even divorce is possible
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Potential problems for students
• Lack of guidance
• Unavailability
• Insufficiently critical
• Overly critical
• Lack of knowledge in subject area
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Potential problems: supervisors
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Overly dependent
Lack of honesty
Uncontactable
Lack enthusiasm
Don’t follow advice
Oversensitive to criticism
Lack commitment
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Basis of problems
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Lack of communication
Mismatched expectations
Personality clash
Competing pressures
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Dealing with conflict
• Communicate
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– Conflict often caused by breakdowns in
communication
Keep your expectations realistic
Be organised
Be professional
Be open, flexible and honest
Alert supervisor(s) to problems as they arise
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Dealing with conflict
• Compromise
– There are two of you in this “marriage”
• Discuss expectations at the beginning
• Give sufficient notice for requests
• Draw up an agenda for your meetings
• Record the outcome of meetings and email to
supervisor(s)/use PhD Logbook
• Arrange next meeting ahead of time
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Dealing with conflict
If problems persist:
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Speak to your second supervisor
Approach your faculty’s Coordinator of
postgraduate studies
Approach your faculty’s Dean
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Dealing with conflict
• If all else fails, you can “change” your
supervisor
– Formally : there are procedures to follows
– Funding may be an issue
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MANAGING YOUR SUPERVISOR
Why should you manage your
supervisor(s)?
• S/he probably busier than you are
• S/he may not be aware of the regulations to
extent you are
• Your enthusiasm and organisation may impress
them
• You want to complete on time with as few
problems as possible
• S/he will be your key reference for future jobs
etc
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Managing your Supervisor
• Have a weekly meeting (very important)
– Sets a quick pace for your projects
• Take the initiative -- the MSc/PhD is yours
– Supervisors have many PhDs to think about and are
much busier
• Learn how to communicate, including
disagreeing without making it personal
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Managing your Supervisor
• Try to meet the deadlines
– It is important and will build the trust of your advisor in
your capabilities
• Try to understand their character
– Will help you in getting things done
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When submitting work to your
supervisor
Cover sheet on every piece of work submitted with:
• Your name and year of PhD
• Your up-to-date thesis title
• An up-to-date chapter structure with full headings
• Highlight where today’s chapter or bit of work fits
within this
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Integrating Others into Partnership
• Specialist researchers (not supervisors)
– Advisory/mentor groups
• External activities
– Work/tutoring
– Sports, hobbies, theatre, etc
• Families
– Partners, parents, grandparents, etc
– Awareness without intrusion
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Manipulating your supervisor
• Be positive
– Your supervisor is more likely to want to help
– You’ll feel better
• Work hard
– They will be more willing to work hard too
– You’ll more likely to get results
– A thesis is hard work
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Manipulating your supervisor
• Write
– Internal notes
– Conference papers
– Journal articles
• They will find it hard to ignore paper
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Writing is the driver of good supervision
• Writing is constitutive of thinking
• Personal relations in conversation often mask
divergences of views or misunderstandings
• Your supervisor gains information about your
progress from your written work
• Supervisors cannot comment usefully on your
progress or provide sound advice unless they
can see your thoughts in writing
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Manipulating your supervisor
• Be their ambassador
– Scientific contacts
– Social networking
• Make yourself invaluable
– Reviewing papers
– Helping run conferences
– Running the lab/group
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A relationship to consider: the research student / supervisor balance
Supervisor
makes
decision &
announces it
Supervisor
sells
decision
Supervisor
presents
decision &
invites
questions
Supervisor
presents
tentative
decision
subject to
changes
Supervisor
presents
problem, gets
suggestions,
makes decisions
Supervisor
defines limits
but expects
student to
make decision
Supervisor
expects
student to
function
within limits
set by
him/her/dept
/ University
Authority of the SUPERVISOR
Freedom of the STUDENT
Student
accepts
decision and
takes action
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Student listens
and questions
decisions
Student listens,
questions and
negotiates
amendments
Student presents
problem &
proposes action
but seeks
approval before
acts
Student takes
action and
presents
results
Developed by University of Leeds
Recharging the
Batteries
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IGS RESEARCH
51
PhD is a Long Journey not a 100 m
Sprint
• All things in
moderation
• Body
– Physical activities
(workout, your favorite
sports…)
– Enough sleep
– Relationships
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• Mind
– Hobbies, languages,
reading
• Soul
– God
– Friends
All Things in Moderation
• You need to combine work with fun
– If you are happy you will produce more and better
research
– If you are miserable you will burn-out
• Try to do something outside your lab/home at
least once a week
• Take a break and reward yourself after a big
project deadline
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Everyday Activities
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Go for a coffee with a friend
Have a nice meal
Go to the movies
Go the gym
Play sports : futsal, bowling, badminton
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Conclusion
• Working with your supervisor need skills:
– Listening
– Negotiating
– Interpersonal Skills
– Creativity
– Remembering that they too have a life
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• Your MSc/PhD could be the best time of
your life
• Efficient time management
• Good supervision
– Succeed at work
– Have fun
Your action plan
Your action plan
Continue to
communicate
Write down agenda
for meetings
Schedule next meeting
at the end
Meeting minutes
Write more often in
advance of meetings
Make note of outcome
of meetings
Draw up organised
agendas for meetings
Expect a bit less
(warm relationship,
guidance, etc)
Be less intimidated to
approach the ‘goddess’
with my own thoughts
and critical ideas
Improve the
communication
Create a formal
agenda
Be more independent
Have a meeting about
student-supervisor
expectations and/or
supervision
procedures
Write ‘minutes’ of my
meetings and use
them as a reference in
the future
Set up a meeting
agenda
More communication
with my supervisor
Create more regular
meetings schedule
with written
input/output
Write the ideas
Thank you for your attention!!
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References
• Tracking Postgraduate Supervision, Queensland
University of Technology
• Planning, Structuring and Managing your PhD,
Dr. Mark Matthews, http://student-learning.tcd.ie
• Managing your supervisor, Toby Walsh, National
ICT Australia, Universities of NSW and Uppsala
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IGS RESEARCH SKILLS
SEMINAR - MODULE 2
60