1.

Doing good quality

research
2. Publishing your
results
3. Writing proposals
for projects
4. How to manage
everything
5. Presenting your
results

6. Good quality
supervision
I have supervised 6 students at the John Innes Centre, and been
co-supervisor for 2 students at Newcastle University, UK
I have been examiner for 6 PhD student theses, including Belgrade
University.
I am honorary, visiting, contract or guest professor at
Newcastle University, UK
University of East Anglia, UK
University of Parma, Italy
Faculty of Biology, Belgrade University (PhD student training).
Discussion of mentoring experiences

What is the purpose of working for a post-graduate/ post-diploma

degree?
To do research.

WRONG!!!

To learn how to do research.

RIGHT!!!

How many supervisors use their post-graduate students as

technicians?
How many post-graduate students feel as if they are used as
technicians?
How many supervisors abandon their post-graduate students?
How many post-graduate students feel as if they are abandoned?
The purpose of the post-graduate education is to teach the students
how to THINK and to become RELIABLE as independent scientists
using research as the vehicle for these goals.

It is extremely important to learn now how to train post-graduate/

post-diploma students

- to learn to look for the truth,

- to learn how to recognise it when they find it,
- to learn how to identify all the factors involved,
- to learn how to set up hypotheses,
- to design experiments successfully to test them,
- to learn the techniques necessary to test them,
- to learn to be observant and critical in collecting the information,
- to learn the best methods to process it, and
- to learn how to interpret the results and draw conclusions from them
on the truth, and thus
- to be able to set up new hypotheses to test.

 because ...
the majority of faculty teaching staff have not had training themselves
in how to be good supervisors, and if you dont know how it should be
done, you cant be expected to teach the
next generation of researchers and lecturers how it should be done.
Your activities as a student supervisor should have a mission statement
and strategic plan - for each of your PhD students: a list of learning
outcomes.
Putting together your own mission statement on what you want to
achieve for your students forces you to consider what supervision is all
about.
This makes it clear to your students at the beginning that you have a
plan for them and that the students will achieve your mission for them
through a range of different activities - not just doing research.
You should ensure that your students achieve their maximum potential
for doing good quality research.
This is where your
student gets to now.
This is where your
student should get to.

start

finish

Time during the PhD

start
Heres how you can achieve that .

finish

Time during the PhD

UK universities will normally have a set of formalised procedures to

support the supervisor in achieving a mission for his/her PhD students.
Here is how they do it at Newcastle University.
The University has detailed guidelines available for both post-graduate
students and student supervisors on how to get the most out of a postgraduate training programme based on research.
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/students/progress/staff-resources/pg-research/handbook.htm/
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/students/progress/assets/documents/PGRHBook.pdf

Students and supervisors have about 40 pages of advice.

UniversityofNewcastleuponTyneResearchHandbook
AcademicMatters
UniversityGuidelines
HereyouwillfindGuidelinesandBestPracticeadviceforresearchsupervisors
andresearchstudents.Inadditiontoprovidingwhatishopedtobe
comprehensiveguidance,eachsectionendswithanopportunityforReviewing
Practiceforthosewhofeeltheymaybenefitfromit.
AlltheGuidelinesfeaturedhereareimportantandyouare
encouragedtolookcarefullyatthem.
Contents
..

Page

It now has 178

pages of help
and advice

Guidelines on Good Practice in Research Supervision

As well as this advice, students are required to attend a series of

training courses on other essential skills.
The research training programme is also formalised by having regular
official assessments of the students research progress.
Now, it may not be possible to introduce these types of quality checks
on an official basis here at this time, but ...
there should be aspects of the information you are about to be given
that you can introduce with your future students on an informal basis.

That will make you feel that you are doing something useful to help
improve the quality of your students post-diploma/PhD training, and
it will make your students feel that you are interested in their progress
and keen to give them every help to improve themselves;
and to make them feel they are not just technicians and are not
abandoned to struggle through the pitfalls [difficulties] of research on
their own.

So, here are examples of information available to students and

supervisors as part of the formal programme of student training at
Newcastle University ...

Before picking up any

test tube or pipettor,
the student has an
introductory meeting
with the supervisor.

Aspects of the postgraduate programme

of work and training
are presented and
discussed at this
meeting.

Note that the student

still cant pick up any
test tube or pipettor
until essential safety
instruction has been
given.

Extract from student

handbook:
You should record here your
work plan for the project.
At the beginning of your
programme this might include
the overall aims and
objectives of the project
together with an outline of
your work for the first 3
months.
... this should be updated ...
at least every 6 months. This
gives you the opportunity to
review progress, to identify
your targets and to plan
accordingly.

Extract from student

handbook:
This section provides a
record of formal meetings
with your supervisor.
These formal meetings are
not intended to replace the
day to day contact between
supervisor and student but
provide a record that formal
contact has occurred.
The timings of these formal
meetings should be agreed
with your supervisor; in
general they should not be
more than 3-4 months
apart.

Self-Assessment Skills
Audit and Personal
Development Plan
(PDP)

The following selfassessment sets out a

joint statement of the
skills that individuals
would be expected to
develop during their
research training.

These skills may be

present on
commencement,
explicitly taught, or
developed during the
course of the research.
Skill level: 0 - Unaware to 4 - Recognised by others
Self-Assessment Skills Audit
and Personal Development
Plan (PDP)
Students are expected to carry
out a self-assessment of their
skills in 7 categories:
For each category, on their
Personal Development Plan
they are asked:
Please describe how you intend
to develop/are developing these
skills.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Research skills and techniques

Research environment
Research management
Personal effectiveness
Communication skills
Networking and teamworking
Career management

Training courses are available to

develop these skills ..

Extract from student

handbook:
An important part of your
training is the skills that you
acquire through courses and
attending modules.
You should record here
details of these courses and
of the 'skills' covered (eg
written communication,
interpersonal communication,
oral presentation, teamwork,
planning and organisation,
computer literacy etc).
Think of this as your personal
skills portfolio.

Extract from student

handbook:

This section is provided for

you to record details of your
professional development
in terms of conferences and
workshops attended.

You should also record

whether you gave an invited
or offered paper, whether
you presented the paper etc.

Note that there are no subjectspecific PhD courses.

Postgraduate
training courses:

Training courses
are compulsory
for postgraduate
students to provide
them with the skills
they will need
- to carry out
research
successfully
- to prepare and
defend a
successful PhD
thesis
- to present their
results to the
scientific
community
- to develop their
career prospects
This example is for
first-year student
courses:

Scientific ethics and culture

Research project planning and

management

Writing a paper

How realistic would it be to introduce aspects of that here?

Would the supervisors accept the extra work and responsibility?
Would the students accept the extra work and responsibility?
Skills that your PhD students could easily acquire are as follows:
Practice at writing reports:
Written reports of any conferences attended by the student or visits to
other research institutions, etc.

Practice at summarising information:

Get the student to prepare a description or abstract of a recent scientific
publication every month.
Practice at giving presentations:
Get the student to prepare a presentation on his/her research for the
research group every six months.
Effective supervision of research students doesnt come naturally. It
needs to be worked at.
Research supervision has been characterised by Brown and Atkins
(1988: 115) as:
'... probably the most complex and subtle form of teaching in which
we engage.
It is not enough for us to be competent researchers ourselves although this is vital.
We need to be able to reflect upon research practices and analyse the
knowledge techniques and methods which make them effective.
[To understand why we do things the way we do.]
They go on to say:
But there is a step even beyond this.
We have to be skilled in enabling our research students to acquire
those techniques and methods themselves without stultifying [inhibiting]
or warping [distorting] their own intellectual development.
In short, to be an effective research supervisor, you need to be an
effective researcher and an effective supervisor.'
This is how supervision of a research student should progress:
Ideally, it should start as a master-pupil relationship and end up as
almost equal colleagues.
Here are the different phases.
There should be a process of development over the course of the
supervision:
at the start the supervisor plays a directive role and sets tasks for the
student to do [the technician phase];
this develops towards encouraging the student to become an
autonomous researcher [the unsure researcher phase]; and
increasingly the supervisor will recognise the students capacity to
make independent contributions to knowledge and understanding in
the subject [the independent researcher phase].

Students will probably need to be gradually removed from

dependence upon their supervisors, while supervisors may need to
adjust to the idea of the students abandoning the nest and beginning
to fly on their own:
- a delicate balancing act!!
Getting the student started:
Establish a professional relationship with the research student at the
start.
Relationships have to be worked at and discussed, because most
later problems arise from a failure to set out the expectations both
parties have for the relationship at the beginning.
One way to do this is to establish an agreement between the
supervisor and student setting out expectations of each other, as
follows .
The research student agrees to:
turn up on time for supervisions and give as much notice as
possible of cancellations
be properly prepared
write regularly and share the draft materials
maintain the highest standards of academic conduct
maintain contact (by email or telephone)
do the tasks agreed to the best of their ability within the agreed time
- to learn how to work to deadlines.
The research supervisor agrees to:
give student supervision a high priority
turn up on time for supervisions and give as much notice as
possible of cancellations
read work submitted promptly
give written and oral feedback
respect deadlines for reading work and giving feedback.
Both agree to:
treat supervision in a business-like way by preparing
notes or agendas for meetings
keep records of supervisions detailing what was discussed, targets
agreed, and when they were to be achieved by.

Supervisors could indicate what they can or cannot do to assist the

student. So, the supervisor may say that he or she will:
help with the choice of a topic for the research
advise on sources for the literature search
advise on methodology
advise on statistical analysis
facilitate data collection in terms of access or equipment
discuss results
read text drafts to advise on substance
advise on thesis submission
advise on publishing research and authors names
help prepare the student for the examination.
But he or she will not:
undertake the actual research
analyse any of the data
write or re-draft chapters
proof-read the thesis
There is a fine line separating corrections to a thesis draft to make the
meaning clearer or better quality English (Serbian), and making the
thesis the supervisors work and not the students!
Students are likely to be unprepared for research.
It is written up in books and journals, as a coherent progression from
initial idea to an addition to knowledge and understanding.
But what is published is only the visible part of the iceberg!
The iceberg below the waterline is:
- ideas that were discarded,
- investigations that ended up in blind alleys,
- the mistakes made by bad experimental design,
- the correlations that were in the wrong direction,
- the experiments that gave negative results,
- the rare chance that led to the major advance
These aspects of research rarely see the light of day.
So it is not surprising that many students expect their research to
progress without problems and, when it does not, they blame
themselves.
Therefore, explain the likely challenges they will come across in their
research topic and support them when experiments dont go as
expected.

Identifying a research topic:

Heres an idealised approach to identifying a suitable research topic.
[Not so typical now!]
The student could be asked to read a review article (which can provide
valuable training in critical evaluation) and asked to identify a couple
of statements that could act as 'triggers' [initiators] for research
projects.
A supervision meeting can then be spent on discussing the key
questions relating to suitability:
is this topic worth doing?
is the methodology sufficiently known for it to be done?
could it be done within the time available?
what resources would be required to do it and are they available?
would it sustain interest?
would it lead to good quality publications?
if completed, would it meet the requirements for the degree?
However, more usually, the research topic for the student will already
be decided. In that case:
explain to the student the aims of the research
explain the context in which it is needed
give plenty of background to the research topic
give the student plenty of reading material
explain how far the student should be expected to get in the
research topic during his/her PhD
The research topic identified must result in publications in
international journals!!
Sometimes I see here that research topics are too narrow or not likely
to be internationally significant.
The student must be able to develop an international research
career - at least gradually.
The student should be first author in any scientific publications that
arise from the students research.
Make sure your students understand that good experimental design
is the key to good research.
Your students need to appreciate the concept of looking for the truth
- as explained in module 1 of the course.

The student must learn to take account of all the factors that may, as
well as those that are planned to influence the experimental results.
Only by identifying all the factors influencing his/ her research will
your student get to the truth!
Emphasise the importance of good recordkeeping.
Get your students used to the concept of setting up a hypothesis and
designing experiments to test it.

The student also needs to appreciate the importance for their research
of
- the resources available (project scale)
- the cost implications (project cost)
- how long it will take (project time)
- how good the results will be (project quality)
and the relationship between them.
Think of the Research Pyramid from module 1.
Your student needs to adjust Scale, Cost and Time to maximise Quality

Emphasise the importance of thinking before doing identifying all the factors before the experiment starts.
Your students must avoid saying to themselves either during or after an
experiment or piece of research:
I forgot to do that or I didnt realise that.
To be doing good quality research they have to avoid making the
comment:
I didnt think of that, and especially avoiding their supervisor having
to say Why didnt you think of that?.
Good experimental design and careful planning before starting an
experiment save a lot of pain afterwards!
The early experimental phase:
Short experiments at the start to introduce the student to research
techniques - expecting that problems will arise!
Students should learn from their mistakes, when things go wrong.
It is better to find out the mistakes sooner than later!
Make sure the student understands why things went wrong and
appreciates how to avoid the mistake in the future. Could a better
protocol avoid mistakes? Making mistakes is good!
Frequent monitoring of the student helps at this stage.
Unless constant supervision will be given in this early period (to see
mistakes and overcome them as they happen), dont sacrifice valuable
reagents, anti-bodies, seeds, rats, etc. that are important to you!
This will be a certain way to strain the student - supervisor relationship!
Give the student plenty of help in planning experiments to avoid
mistakes as far as possible.
Helping the student plan a programme of research:
This wont come naturally to a student, so explain:
how to develop a research project from the initial hypothesis to
interpreting the results (details of this in module 1 of the course);
emphasise how much the quality of the research depends on the
quality of planning beforehand.

One method to help appreciate the importance of planning was

developed by Delamont et al. (1997: 37-41).
This uses Gantt charts, which were described in previous modules of
the course. Heres an example:

Gantt charts are prepared for students for research projects in their
subject.
These Gantt charts deliberately over-represent the time to be given to
some aspects of the research process and under-represent the time
needed for others.
They are then asked to consider the realism or otherwise of these time
projections, to discuss them, and to re-plan the research.
This technique can be extremely effective in stimulating students to
think about the relationship between time and task and in enabling
them to plan their own research.
How long does it take to design a questionnaire?
How long does it take to interview 20 smallholders?
How long does it take to calibrate an instrument?
How long would it take to analyse 10-year sectoral trends in Serbias
macroeconomics?
How long does it take to wire up the components of a logic board?

During discussions with your students, get them used to the idea of
thinking critically.
Ask them Why is ...?
What if ...?
Have you considered ?
Is it the only interpretation if ?
What would happen if ?
What does it mean if ?
And why do you expect this ?
Always questions: why, how, what!
Challenge them to think beyond their specific research subject area.
You should train their minds to be flexible enough to think critically
about everything and not just their own research subject.
How would you make a pencil?!
Emphasise the importance of research ethics.
The process of searching for answers to those questions of why, what
and how is also the process of looking for the truth.
Newcastle Universitys detailed notes on student supervision have a
long section on plagiarism (or cheating).
As senior members of the academic/research community it is your
duty to ensure that you and your staff are always looking for the
truth.
Encourage your students to talk to others and to be brave
enough to question your own statements - you do not have a
monopoly on the truth!
Regular group and inter-group discussion meetings will encourage the
concept that everyone can benefit from an exchange of information.
As supervisors it is important for you to open your students mind to
new ideas and for him/her to learn to interact with other researchers.

Get the student used to writing:

Students are frequently extremely reluctant to produce written work.
There are probably two major factors which are responsible for this:
lack of experience of writing regularly,
- to produce longish written texts, or
- to produce academic writing with its demands of precision,
clarity, organization and explicit structure,
lack of confidence.
This leads to a high activation energy to start writing!

Delamont et al. (1997: 121) have described four 'golden rules' of

writing, namely:
the more they write, the easier it gets;
if they write every day, it becomes a habit;
tiny bits of writing add up to a lot of writing;
the longer they don't write, the more difficult it is to get back into
the habit!

As students begin to make progress with their projects, they need

to be encouraged to put pen to paper as soon as possible, for four
reasons:
it enables them to keep records of what they have done from the
start to serve as a basis for later work;
it encourages them to think about what they have done so far and
where they will go from here;
it gives the supervisor the chance to see what has been done, and
to advise the student how to proceed;
it gets students into the discipline of academic writing at an early
stage rather than leaving it until later when it is more difficult to
acquire.

All this is preparing the student for the inevitable awesome task of
writing the thesis!
Here is advice on how to help with the thesis:
The supervisor should advise on the preparation of the thesis in
general and on content, presentation and organisation.
He/she should read all of the first draft and thereafter continue to
offer advice.
He/she should not act as a proof reader and should make this clear
to the student.
It should be made clear to the student that it is his/her responsibility
revise the thesis manuscript and to decide when it is ready for
submission.

Maybe students could think of themselves as explorers who have

undertaken a journey and who are writing a guidebook for others to
follow.
As guides, they need to explain:
where they started from [Introduction],
what other guides they read [literature review],
why they decided to undertake the journey at all [the
objectives of the research],
why they went off in a particular direction [Methods],
what their route was subsequently[chapters of Results],
what they discovered on the way [analysis of Results],
where they arrived at the end of the journey, and
how it differed from the start [interpretation of Results],
where they would go in the future [future research ideas].

Here are 3 contrasting types of journey undertaken by my PhD

students over the years ...

Strategy 3 may lead to learning lots of methods, but results in a poorlydefined journey!
The student should be told:
By the time you finalise your thesis, you and you alone are the world's
expert on this work. So,
the aspects that make your work significant and
original and worthy of a PhD ... need to be emphasised and
argued coherently;
each step needs to be spelt out and justified;
the outcomes must be stated unambiguously, and
all their implications identified and discussed in depth.'
Prepare your student for the viva!
Remind your student to become familiar with every page of the thesis to refer quickly to information.
Remind the student to become familiar with the latest literature on the
subject.
Identify aspects of the thesis that are likely to stimulate detailed
questions from the examiner(s).
Discuss suitable answers to those questions with the student.
Emphasise the importance of knowing where (s)he would take the
research if the student continued.

To develop their careers effectively students will need to develop their

supplementary skills during their time as PhD students, so make sure
you give them those opportunities.
While all supplementary skills are important for a research career, one
in particular is worth highlighting to encourage research students to acquire the skills to give effective
oral presentations.
Effective communication skills in general are extremely important,
whatever career the student develops.
Such skills are vital in the academic context as students need to make
presentations at seminars and conferences, and to discuss their
research with others.

It is usual at UK universities to expect MSc and PhD students to give

one (MSc) or more oral presentations during the course of their
research training, and most universities run courses specifically on
oral (as well as written) presentational skills.
At Cambridge University, students at the Department of Plant
Sciences give annual oral seminars to departmental colleagues and
the presentations are assessed to give the student feedback using the
following questionnaire ...

Here is the checklist of questions staff at the Department of Plant

Sciences, Cambridge University use to give 1st and 3rd year PhD
students feedback from student seminars:
Name of the graduate student:
Name of person making assessment:
1. The speaker was audible (5) or inaudible (1)
.
2. The speaker/seminar went too quickly (5) or too slowly (1)
.
3. The timing of the seminar was good (5) or poor (1)
.
4. The seminar proceeded in a logical (5) or disorganised fashion (1).
5. The speaker was confident (5) or uneasy (1)
.
6. The speaker handled questions well (5) or poorly (1)
.
7. The seminar was interesting (5) or boring (1)
.
8. The seminar was too easy (5) or too difficult (1) to follow
.
(ideal is 3)
9. The seminar contained new information (5) or no new information (1) ...
10. The seminar contained too much (5) or too little (1) information .
(ideal is 3)
11. The scientific content of the seminar was good (5) or poor (1)
.
12. The speaker had good (5) or poor (1) understanding of the topic
.
13. The quality of the seminar visual aids was good (5) or poor (1) .
14. The visual aids helped (5) or confused (1) the verbal presentation ..
15. The student has made good (5) or poor (1) progress during the year...
Date of assessment: .
Please add any additional comments below or over the page.
Thank you for your help in assessing the progress of our Graduate
Students.
So, now you should all have the skills needed to be expert
student supervisors!
If you remember only one thing from this course - remember to
look for the truth in your research!
Your life will never be the same again!

Theres just one more slide: The end!