{"id":5927,"date":"2017-09-07T12:33:18","date_gmt":"2017-09-07T00:33:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/?p=5927"},"modified":"2021-03-25T15:22:19","modified_gmt":"2021-03-25T02:22:19","slug":"throwback-thursday-love-hate-and-supervision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/?p=5927","title":{"rendered":"Throwback Thursday: Love, Hate, and Supervision"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post from the Graduate Research School was first published in November 2015. Editor’s note: this article makes reference to a previous edition of the AUT Postgraduate Handbook that is now out of date. The most recent edition can be downloaded here<\/a> (student login required).
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a truth universally acknowledged, that a research student in possession of a good idea must be in want of a supervisor.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2013 Not quite Jane Austen<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pride and Prejudice<\/em> applies that line to a young man in possession of a good fortune seeking a wife. But the fact that it can apply quite easily to a supervisor suggests that spousal and supervisory relationships must have something in common.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the folks at PhD Comics have tracked the similarities:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Comic from \u201cPiled Higher and Deeper\u201d by Jorge Cham, www.phdcomics.com<\/p>\n

The major difference between a supervisory relationship and a marriage is that in many cases, and in almost all cases at AUT, you\u2019ll have more than one supervisor. That means you\u2019re trying to maintain harmony with multiple<\/em> very significant others, who will have their own attitudes towards one another.<\/p>\n

Phew! Supervision takes work<\/em>.<\/p>\n

As with marriages, there are good supervisory relationships and bad ones, plus all kinds in between. So how can you give yourself the best shot at an academic happily-ever-after?<\/p>\n

Get a prenup<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prenuptial agreements aren\u2019t just for celebrities anymore \u2013 plenty of engaged couples are signing them to ensure that their personal interests are secured within their marriage, and protected in the event of a divorce. You can set up a similar agreement with your supervisors to determine exactly what you each expect to put into the supervision relationship, and what you expect to get out. A supervision agreement typically lays out what each person\u2019s responsibilities are, how often you\u2019ll meet, what will happen with any intellectual property, and so on. There\u2019s a template available for download here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Share the chores fairly
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

The happiest marriages are those in which chores are shared. It\u2019s scientifically proven<\/a>. Unfortunately, you can\u2019t ask your supervisors to each write an equal share of your thesis. But just as you have a responsibility to do your research, your supervisor has a responsibility to do their \u201cchores\u201d as well. At AUT, supervisors work to a Code of Practice (see p.91 in the Postgraduate Handbook<\/a>) which states that they must (among other things) give timely and constructive feedback on written work, meet with you regularly, guide you through any ethics applications, and advise you throughout the research process.<\/p>\n

Get counselling if you need it<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most relationships will occasionally need a tune-up. If your supervision relationship could use a little work, the first step is to try talking in an open, calm, and honest way with your supervisor. If you\u2019ve tried that (or the problems are such that you don\u2019t want to broach them directly) you can talk to the postgrad team in your faculty to set up a mediation or air any grievances. Your Associate Dean (Postgraduate) may be able to help \u2013 find contact details here<\/a>. Check page 36 in the Postgraduate Handbook<\/a> for more info on resolving grievances. You can also get professional counselling from the Health, Counselling and Wellbeing Centre<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some problems are bigger than a simple grievance. There have been cases of sexual harassment<\/a> and exploitation<\/a> in supervisory relationships, and that\u2019s not OK. If you\u2019re experiencing anything like that, escalate the situation \u2013 go to your faculty Dean, Associate Dean (Postgraduate), and\/or the Dean of Postgraduate Studies.<\/p>\n

Divorce & remarriage may not be ideal, but it\u2019s an option<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can apply to change supervisors. Sometimes that\u2019s appropriate for entirely academic reasons \u2013 for instance if your topic has evolved and your supervisor\u2019s experience is no longer the best match for your new research. Sometimes a change is appropriate if, for personal reasons, your current supervisory relationship isn\u2019t productive. Whatever the case, it\u2019s important to deal with a change above-board. That means going to your Associate Dean (Postgraduate) and Dean of your faculty, who will ensure that the change of supervisor is handled correctly. This Thesis Whisperer post<\/a> has some great tips from a student who has been through the process of \u201cbreaking up\u201d with a supervisor.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t suffer silently through a bad relationship<\/strong><\/p>\n

It can be incredibly difficult to articulate problems with your supervision. Your supervisors are meant to be your champions, mentors, and future referees, so of course you don\u2019t want to sully the relationships. But ultimately, if your supervision is not working for you, then it\u2019s in everybody\u2019s best interest to sort it out \u2013 including your supervisors and the University, since your success reflects on them. So if your supervisory relationships aren\u2019t as they should be, don\u2019t be afraid to work (diplomatically) towards a resolution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post from the Graduate Research School was first published in November 2015. Editor’s note: this article makes reference to a previous edition of the AUT Postgraduate Handbook that is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25632,"featured_media":4657,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,29],"tags":[69],"class_list":["post-5927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-category-3","category-throwback-thursday","tag-supervision"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/marriage-vs-phd.jpg?fit=600%2C754&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p83npQ-1xB","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/25632"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5927"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8686,"href":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5927\/revisions\/8686"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesislink.aut.ac.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}