September

22

Effective Research
Supervision Skills
Ts. Dr. Suriati Akmal
 Table of contents
01 Role of the supervisor

02 Responsibilities of the supervisor

03 Assisting Students to Write

04 Assisting Students for viva voce

05 Supervisor-student relationship
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 My
Supervision!
Phd
Graduated : 1 (main-sv), 1 (co-sv)
Viva-voce : 2 (main-sv), 1 (co-sv)
On-going : 6 (main-sv), 2 (co-sv)

Master
Graduated : 1 (main-sv), 4 (co-sv)

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“The ‘Art of supervision’ is to get an average
student to do superior work and a good
student to excel beyond expectations.”

—Someone Famous

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01
Role of the
supervisor
What supervisor is doing

• Constructive suggestions
Encouragement • Critical appraisals
• Encouraging and developing
independent thinking

Willingness to listen and engage intellectually

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 Work environment

A supervisor should:

 Create a comfortable atmosphere where students

are not frightened to ask questions
 Help students find their way through literature
 Provide guidance in topic formulation and researc
design
 Set the standard for research work through
examples
 Provide constructive comments on writing style

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 The research journey

Beginning Middle End

Identifying good research problems

Know what is already done in the area of research
Anticipating if a particular research problem is too hard for the student

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 The research journey

Beginning Middle End

Keep track of progress and time

Monitor research directions and suggest changes if necessary
Plan for publications/conferences based on experimental work
Prepare the students for progress reviews
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 The research journey

Beginning Middle End

• Advice the student on when to start writing the thesis and when to submit
• Know what a thesis should look like based on the work done
• Anticipate examiners’ questions

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 02
Responsibilities
of the
Supervisor
 Responsibilities of the Supervisor
A supervisor MUST:

Commitment Knowledge & expertise Emphasis

must be committed to it (sometimes a joint- Accurately assess the
regardless of the strength supervisor may be needs and abilities of the
of the student required) student

Guidance Self-directed learning Encourage

Tailor guidance to the specific
needs and abilities of the student
should be emphasised but
considerable guidance Direct the student to the
should be provided at the best suited avenues and
early stages if required then encourage
independent exploration 13
 ENCOURAGE CHALLENGE
When experiments / When experiments / Guide when necessar
simulations fail simulations work

Be accessible and Meet with the candidate

available at appropriate regularly and as often as
times necessary
 03
Assisting
Students to
Write
 Do not find time to write,
but “ALLOCATE” time to write
WRITING PROCESS

1 Planning

2 Revision

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 WRITING PROCESS

1 Planning
● It is common for supervisees to produce written work
that is more descriptive than argumentative or one
that does not include any critical appraisal.
● Their writing often seems unconnected.

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WRITING PROCESS - Planning

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WRITING PROCESS - Planning

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 WRITING PROCESS

2 Revision
● To rethink what has been written
● Revising is a process of discovery where arguments
are reconsidered, evidence reviewed, purpose
refined, and presentation reorganised.

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Feedback is a must after
writing process
1. Use of the sandwich technique. In this technique, feedback should first start off
with praise, followed by the issues and ending with praise again. This is to
ensure that the writer is not discouraged or demotivated.

2. If negative or critical feedback is essential, it should be written as a

suggestion. For example, “Perhaps, you could have a look at this paragraph
and see if it links to the main argument”.

3. In order to avoid the issue of illegible handwriting, electronic feedback should

be the norm. This can be done using the REVIEW function in Microsoft WORD.

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Feedback is a must after
writing process
4. Vague feedback such as “Re-do”, “Not-clear”, “Read more” should be avoided.
These are not well directed and will not benefit the writer.

5. Feedback should be a dialogue and not a monologue. In other words

feedback should be provided in a conversational tone. As an example, instead
of striking out a paragraph, the supervisor may write: Do you think this
paragraph is necessary?” This would allow the supervisee to reflect and re-
consider if the paragraph was indeed necessary.

6. If feedback is provided by a supervisory committee, supervisors should go

through the feedback and provide a clear direction to the student. Avoid
conflicting feedback. Discuss feedback with the supervisory committee before
giving the feedback to the supervisee.

7. Feedback should be guiding students on what should be done next.

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 04
Assisting
Students for
viva voce
PREPARING STUDENTS FOR THE
VIVA
1. Some important things that you can advise student on are:

• Ensure the slides are effectively

designed.
• Focus only on the key points during
the presentation.
• Do not clutter the powerpoint slides.

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• Formulate possible
questions.

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 PREPARING STUDENTS FOR THE
VIVA
When your student is called for the viva, you will
need to guide the student to attend the viva.
Some important things that you can advise
them on are:
• Research presentation skills.
• Ensure the slides are effectively designed.
• Focus only on the key points during
the presentation.
• Do not clutter the powerpoint slides.
• Practice presentation.
• Formulate possible questions.
• Guide the student to answer questions politely in the
following manner:
- Non-confrontational
- Justify ideas and conclusion
- Present ideas firmly but courteously
- Do not become argumentative
- Students can agree to differ in a viva but it
should be substantiated
- Examiners like candidates who can accept
criticism.
• Ensure student is familiar with the relevant sections in the
thesis by referring directly to the text.
• Show enthusiasm for their work during the viva.
• Be reflective.
• Make eye-contact with the examiners.
• Have mock viva with the supervisory committee.
• Dealing with difficult questions and difficult examiners.
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 05
Supervisor-
Student
Relationships
 Supervisor-Student Relationships
 A successful outcome depends on the relationship
between the student and the supervisor
 Specific research goals must be an agreement between
the supervisor and the student
 Regular discussions are essential to facilitate research
progress

Many of the common problems

experienced over a PhD are
related to difficulties in the
student-supervisor relationship
 Supervisor-Student Relationships
 A supervisor should provide advice on time management –
It is the responsibility of the student to actually manage the
time.
 In some cases, a supervisor
may have limited experience
with research supervision –
The partnership is a learning
experience for both student
and supervisor
 Supervisor-Student Relationships

 Supervisors will tend to work harder to help students who

work hard

 You may not be the smartest

person in the research group
but you can be the hardest
working person which is more
likely to get results – Most
academics who succeed do it
through hard work.
 Thanks!
Do you have any questions?
suriatiakmal@utem.edu.my
+60 012 255 4747
https://sites.google.com/view/suriatiakmal/home

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