A description of my approach to supervision

I am always happy to supervise

Supervision is one of the most rewarding parts of academic life. I enjoy helping students develop their ideas and see them take shape.

Bring me a puzzle

The key is for you to bring me a puzzle — a case in which something happened in one way, and a case in which something happened differently.
The question we will work on is why. Once we have that, we can move forward.

Finding your puzzle

When students first come to me, they seldom already have a puzzle as defined above.
That is no problem. I agree to work with you provisionally on locating one — a process that I assist with and that typically works quite well.

Topic approval and focus

Students sometimes misinterpret the process. They come with a topic and a method already approved as part of another course. They believe they are all set to go because it is approved.

My observation is that the topic, as brought to me, seldom really works.
The right way to think about the approval, if you ask me, is this: you have made good progress, and we will now continue that.

I will help you sharpen your focus. It is not that I prefer some topics over others — I simply advise which topics can work and which may be difficult to pull off.
The final choice is entirely yours.

Methods

Students are often concerned with method. Some insist on naming their method or using something that sounds fancy. It is my responsibility to ensure that you write using a method that is up to the task and meets our requirements — as a university and as a discipline.

Methods are tools, a means to an end. I will help you work with the method that works best, whether or not it bears your preferred name.

If the question of method is very important to you, I can recommend readings that allow you to cover this angle extensively in your work.

Feedback and meetings

When we work together, I read your writing carefully and offer extensive, paragraph-by-paragraph comments. When we meet, I expect you to tell me how you plan to address these comments — and if not, why not.

This helps me continue to understand your project and remain confident that it will meet its objectives.

It does not work well for me to send you detailed comments and then receive the same version of the paper next time. If you do not plan to incorporate suggestions, we should discuss your reasons and reach a shared understanding of how to go forward. You will make progress, the question is what is the best way for me to contribute to your progress.

The spirit of supervision

I view supervision as a pedagogical process in which I help you be creative and productive. While the university compensates me with “hours,” I do not do it for the hours. I do it for the privilege of being part of the evolution of ideas — your ideas.

That is the best compensation for people of ideas.

This also means that I do not view myself as a consultant to whom you simply show your work. Rather, I see myself as your partner in a two-way conversation about how your project is evolving and why.

If I feel that I am not supervising — that I am not helping you write good work — then we can discuss reassignment so that you can attain the highest potential value for your project, in the way you see it.

Meetings

We will agree on a meeting rhythm that fits your project — typically every other week. Regularity helps, but remember that this is not a linear process.

You may make little progress at first, then a lot in later weeks.
That is normal. What matters is consistent effort and continued engagement.

This is a section on supervision provided by the Dept of PoliSci:

For Supervisors in the Department of Political Science

Supervising a student’s thesis should be a collaborative effort between the student and the supervisor. Normally, students meet their supervisors approximately every other week over the course of their time writing their theses, depending on how supervision is arranged. Some supervision requires extra attention on the earlier phases of writing, while some demands focus during the later stages of work. The important thing is that the supervisor, who is more experienced in planning and executing major projects, really contributes to the overarching plan for the entire thesis project. It is important that a plan is made at the beginning of the process so that the thesis project can be structured in the best way possible.

A successful supervisor is one who creates a relationship built on trust, and to do that, they should demonstrate a real interest in the student’s topic and make themselves accessible to the students they are supervising. The supervisor should be available and willing to respond to issues that can arise or must be addressed before the next scheduled supervision. Obviously, there is no formal requirement regarding when one must reply to e-mails, but it is important that students receive replies relatively quickly. Most questions can be dealt with during scheduled supervision meetings, but the supervisor should be open to answering simpler questions between scheduled meetings, as well. The supervisor is responsible for allocating time to both supervise and for any preparatory work which is necessary.

The relationship with the supervisor consists of both rights and obligations - the student has the right to assistance and support, but is also obliged to use the time allocated in the most constructive way possible. In practice this means that the more prepared the student and supervisor are when meeting face to face, the better.

The student can prepare for a meeting with the supervisor by, for example, drafting a list of questions that they would like answers to. Preferably, the list is sent to the supervisor in advance of the scheduled meeting. The student can of course also send a text in advance of the scheduled meeting. If the student submits a text for the supervisor to read in advance of the meeting, then the meeting has the potential to become both more constructive and more useful to both parties. The supervisor is obligated to prepare for the meeting with the student by reading the student’s writing and preparing comments. The supervisor may send written comments on the student’s text in advance, so that the student can decide what they would prefer the meeting to focus on.

It is always the student’s responsibility to ensure that the supervisor receives their thesis within a reasonable amount of time before the deadline for submission. It is also the student’s responsibility to use the supervisor’s comments in a constructive way and to decide whether the paper should be submitted or not. The supervisor can offer advice on whether or not the paper should be submitted, but should not comment on the possible final grade.

Compensation for supervision at the bachelor’s level is 12 hours, and at the master’s level, 20 hours. These hours should cover the preparation, time involved in formulating emails, and actual supervisory meetings. If the supervisor notices that time is running short, but there is still a long period remaining before the student is due to submit their thesis, then it is the supervisor’s responsibility to communicate this with the student. Together, they should come up with a reasonable plan for how to best utilize the remaining supervision time.