Much has been written, and a lot more spoken, about the varied relationships between researchers and their supervisors. If you doubt this, talk to some more experienced researchers: they will likely all have horror stories, even if only second- or third-hand, to relate. If you are a novice or small-scale researcher, the sort of person whom this book is aimed at, you will most likely have or need a supervisor, though you may not use that term for them.
Your relationship with your supervisor is of critical importance for you and your research. This is not to say that you can’t get through the job without having a good supervisor and a wonderful supervisory relationship, but you will probably find it a lot easier, more stimulating and more rewarding if you do.
What is a supervisor?
‘Supervisor’ is the term most commonly used within universities and colleges for academics who have personal responsibility for overseeing the progress of individual students’ research projects. The term ‘tutor’ is sometimes used in a similar way. Ideally, such supervisors should have some knowledge of the specialist areas in which their students are researching, plus a general under-standing of the research process and the various strategies possible. They should have an inside knowledge of the rules and regulations, both written and unwritten, affecting your research project. They should have some skill in conducting the kind of in-depth, but partial and discontinuous, relationships required for successful supervision. And they should help to keep you focused on your research.
There are, however, significant differences in the ways in which supervision is organized in different universities and subjects. While many students in the social sciences are supervised on an individual basis by a single supervisor, other patterns are also common. You may have two supervisors, who meet with you separately or together, or you may be supervised by a small commit-tee of academics. You may find yourself as part of a small research group that has shared supervisions. Each of these arrangements has different implications for power, attention and dynamics.
You may, of course, not be doing your research in a university or as part of a degree, but it is still probable you will have or need a supervisor. If you are carrying out research within and/or for your own organization, your super-visor might be called your mentor, or perhaps just your manager or boss. If you are researching outside an organization, or within the community, your supervisor might be a colleague.
Whatever they are called, there is little doubt that the great majority of researchers can benefit from having a supervisor of some kind. So if you haven’t got one, or think you can do well enough without one, think again.
Maybe you could at least ask a friend or colleague, or a fellow student or researcher, to be your informal mentor or supporter, because you will need someone to talk to about your research from time to time. You should, how-ever, be prepared to negotiate the terms of the relationship. Supervisors, like researchers, need to have some idea of what they are getting themselves into.
These issues are discussed further in the section on Dealing with key figures and institutions in Chapter 5.
What to look for in your supervisor
Whatever the nature of, or context for, your research, you may have little or no choice in who is your supervisor. They may come with the job, or they may be chosen for you by someone else, or they may appear to be the only one with the specialist knowledge who is available. Nevertheless, you should still see yourself as having some say in this most important matter. If you think there is someone more suitable who might be available, or you would prefer a different kind of arrangement, do what you can to arrange for this either formally or informally. Even if this is not possible, you should be able to affect the nature of the supervisory relationship.
Before you get this far, however, it might be as well to ask yourself just what you want, and by implication what you don’t want, from your supervisor. Try Exercise 2.6.
In Box 2.9 you will find two lists:
• nine qualities which research students expect from their supervisors;
• six qualities which supervisors expect from their students.
It does seem significant that the supervisors appear to have fewer expectations than the students. You might like to compare these lists with your answers to Exercise 2.6.
On reflection, do you think any of the qualities which you listed, or which were identified in Box 2.9, were unrealistic? You would be very lucky indeed to find all of these qualities in one person. In practice, you will probably have to settle for someone who has some of the qualities identified – perhaps those which you regard as the most essential – or use a number of people to address your different expectations. In our judgement, there is only one quality which is essential for a successful supervisor–researcher relationship: that both you and your supervisor are committed to you successfully completing your research.
Individual and group research
As Totter once said: when you are swinging helplessly at the end of a hundred-foot rope it is important to know that the man [sic] at the other end is a friend.
(Bowman 1992: 21) The small-scale research exercise which you are engaged in may be a group effort rather than your responsibility alone. This may be a matter of choice, may be dictated to some extent by the nature of the research itself, or may be a formal requirement of your degree programme or employment. While many of the issues affecting the processes of group research are in essence the same as those for individual research, there are some key differences. These are the subject of this section.
Box 2.9 Students’ and supervisors’ expectations
What students expect of their supervisors:
• to be supervised;
• to read their work well in advance;
• to be available when needed;
• to be friendly, open and supportive;
• to be constructively critical;
• to have a good knowledge of their research area;
• to structure the tutorial so that it is relatively easy to exchange ideas;
• to have sufficient interest in their research to put more information in the student’s path;
• to be sufficiently involved in their success to help them get a good job at the end of it all!
What supervisors expect of their students:
• to be independent;
• to produce written work that is not just a first draft;
• to have regular meetings;
• to be honest when reporting upon their progress;
• to follow the advice that they give, when it has been given at their request;
• to be excited about their work, able to surprise them and be fun to be with!
(Source: Phillips and Pugh 2005: chapters 8 and 11)
Hint: If group processes are important to your learning programme, you may want to ask your supervisor or manager for references, guidance or training on group dynamics.
Individual versus group research
What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing group research? Our assessment of the strengths of group and individual research are summarized in Box 2.10.
Like many aspects of researching, your choice of whether to do individual or group research should be informed by your awareness of your self. What are your strengths and weaknesses, preferences and hates? Would they be better accommodated within the support network of a group, or would you be better advised to work largely on your own?
If you have no choice about engaging in group research, you will have to make the best of it. If you do have a choice, however, it should be informed.
Managing the group
If you are involved in a small-scale group research activity, much depends, of course, on the size and composition of the group undertaking the research, and on the existing power relationships among these people. Unless you are all
Box 2.10 Individual or group research?
Group research:
• enables you to share responsibility;
• lets you specialize in those aspects of the work to which you are best suited;
• provides you with useful experience of team working;
• allows you to take on larger-scale topics than you could otherwise manage;
• provides you with a ready made support network;
• may be essential for certain kinds of research.
Individual research:
• gives you sole ownership of the research;
• means that you are wholly responsible for its progress and success;
• may result in a more focused project;
• is of an overall quality determined by you alone;
• means that you have to carry out all elements of the research process.
of much the same age, from the same kind of backgrounds, on the same wave-lengths, and with similar motivations, you will need to work out ways of resolving differences, planning ahead and implementing the research project.
This will almost certainly involve some division of responsibilities, regular discussion of progress and probably also some leadership.
Box 2.11 summarizes the key issues for those involved in group research projects. If you cannot satisfactorily answer the questions it poses, you should address them at your next group meeting. If you do not, individually and col-lectively, know who is doing what and how the research will be progressed, you are heading for problems. If your group is lacking in individuals with key skills, you will either need to develop them quickly or recruit additional members.
See also the section in Chapter 5 on Sharing responsibility.
Producing the finished product
When undertaking any piece of research, it is always a good idea to have an idea of what the finished product might look like. This is particularly true for group research. Here, as indicated in Box 2.11, the issue arises as to whether the final report or dissertation (and its assessment) is going to be a truly joint
Box 2.11 Key issues for group researchers 1 Does the group need and have a leader?
2 Who is responsible for:
• organizing meetings?
• keeping records?
• chasing progress?
3 What are the strengths and weaknesses of the group for carrying out the research project?
4 How are the different roles and tasks required for the successful comple-tion of the research project shared among the group?
5 Will everyone in the group have a role in each phase of the research, or will some specialize in particular phases?
6 Does every member of the group have a clear idea of their tasks and responsibilities?
7 Do you each feel able to respect differences between group members?
8 Are there individuals or sub-groups within the group who are not happy with the task or organization of the group?
9 How will the group deal with emotions?
10 Will the results of the research be reported on and written up individu-ally, collectively or both?
effort, or whether separate reports are going to be produced by the different individuals involved in the group.
You may formally need to produce not just a separate individual product, but to demonstrate clearly what your own contribution has been and how you have carved out something of your own from the overall group research. If this is the case, you should plan your work within the group accordingly so that you are not disadvantaged.