How not to upset your PhD Supervisor

Since some of us are doing dissertations , and since it is important to get along with the supervisor, I thought a list of suggestions on how to avoid severing good ties with one's promoter might be in order. As I've just begun my journey, I will supply only two suggestions of my own and hope that the more experienced here will add to the list (for at least my benefit):

1) Do not tell your supervisor that his interpretation of Karl Barth is really dumb!.

2) Do not tell your supervisor that you have taught English in public school for 33 years and that you are at least as adept at that language as he is and that certainly "centre" should be spelled "center."

3) ???

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"I'm in the doghouse now",

 

There is an adage to keep in mind in relation to working with one's doctoral chairperson and committee members;

COOPERATE, GRADUATE.

 

Bill and all others working in a Commonwealth country,

A good place to visit is A guide on the differences between American and English culture particularly Disctionary and Spelling.

This could save much aggrivation.

 

Being Canadian adds to the problem. We split the difference and truly never know how to spell anything.

 

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"aggrivation" the British spelling? Hee, Hee, sorry Mike

 

Bill,

I am assuming this is a joke. Did you really say the wrong thing or did you actually just want to say those things but held back?

Incidentally, coming from Canada we follow British spellings so I remember typing a Chapel Bulletin for a service to be held in the Theater on post. We used a typewriter as I was in a Battalion office in a field unit and we had not yet been given a laptop. I went to all the trouble of finishing it only to have the chaplain tell me that I would need to re do the thing as Theater was NOT spelled Theatre. He listened sympathetically to my explanation and then said we were not in Canada. So I went back to the typewriter and ...peck....peck...peck.

North

 

Re: Re: How not to upset your PhD Supervisor

 

Ah, yes Canda oh Canda!

The opportuity to have the best of all, British Culture, French Cuisene, and American Technology, but ended up with American Culture, British Cuisiene, and French Technology.

And yes my spalling is geting quit atrocias today?

 

You know, I suspect you're right.

 

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Actually my purpose in going was twofold: salmon fishing in Vancouver bay (but can't, no $) and enjoying view of city and ocean from 29 floors up. Tea and fries, friend North, have nothing to do with it!


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Ah, yes, the United States and Great Britain..... two peoples divided by a common language....

Wes

 

Be careful, Bill. Professor ********reads this forum at least every other day.

 

My dissertation (read "thesis") was centered (read "centred") on both UK and US higher education, so I started off by saying that where an American quotation, name or institution was concerned, I would use the American spelling, but in general I would write in English for an English audience.

How to get on with your supervisor:

Choose with care, looking for stability: if you are fortunate enough to get a top scholar, bear in mind that top scholars are very poachable. I was fortunate enough to start with a Pro-Vice Chancellor who was inspirational, could open doors and had countless successes to his credit. However he went off to Australia to become a President, inviting me to accompany him, but without my funding. We stayed in touch and, when asked, he continued to offer advice and introductions from the Antipodes, which was very helpful. I found an excellent substitute supervisor who was very helpful, amenable and capable, but I still had to adjust to his foibles. Even then, by the time l submitted, he had moved to another job, but saw me through to completion.

Read eveything your supervisor has published on your subject and find out if their thinking has progressed since they published. This can open the door to further discussion in which they are introduced to the idea that others, including yourself, do not necessarily agree with them.

Ask their advice, listen to it and bear in mind that they have probably supervised before and are (usually) as interested in your success as you are. They don't want egg on their face any more than you do.

If the supervisor says you are biting off more than you can chew, take the advice seriously and review the situation. A good thesis will end by indicating all the paths not followed for lack of time and will show that the research has laid the foundations for twenty more PhD's to be awarded. These do not have to be done by you.

Justify your approach to your supervisor by letting your literature review drive the research: always explore and document the successes and failures of others before selecting your methodology. If something does not work, work out why it didn't and include that in your thesis.

Remember that it is your job to find out more than anyone else knows about an extremely minute piece of the human condition and periodically you should be able to surprise your supervisor with tales of the unexpected and so stop boredom setting in, both for the the supervisor and yourself.

Remember to stop before you reach the point where you know everything there is to know about something that amounts to nothing.

Finally, never lay all your cards on the table at once - that way you always have something to produce to your supervisor when you have an off-day, off-week or off-month (or have just gone fishing).

 

A man I knew once upon a time told me that dissertations are frequently read from the back to the front. What he meant is that many academics will immediately flip to the citations/bibliography to see if their work is mentioned. All the members of your committee should be cited several times in the dissertation, your supervisor more than the others, and the department head more than all the others
Martin appears to be a wealth of info on this topic judging from the post above and some others he has made. Good luck,
Jack

 

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Thankyou for these excellent words. I have/will do much of this. I was given a particular promoter and had no choice, however I am not unhappy with the professor assigned. I've done some soul searching and might have been overly petulant! I suppose had he not drawn much blood on my initial attempt to get the first chapter done, then he would not be doing his job. So I wrote a second try, then trashed it myself , and am ready to submit the third edition of chap one to the typist. I think (pray) this one will pass muster.

I do vary a little from some on the function of the thesis , I hope I have not misunderstood anyone's opinion. To me the primary goal is not the degree, but the satisfying of oneself that this job was well done and reflects truth. I know, I am naive and not very pragmatic! But I'm an old guy who is doing this for me, not for a better salary, so perhaps from this perspective my primary goals make sense..I hope so.

Thanks again (just ordered a book my Super wrote).

 

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Bill wrote:

"I do vary a little from some on the function of the thesis , I hope I have not misunderstood anyone's opinion. To me the primary goal is not the degree, but the satisfying of oneself that this job was well done and reflects truth. I know, I am naive and not very pragmatic! But I'm an old guy who is doing this for me, not for a better salary, so perhaps from this perspective my primary goals make sense..I hope so."
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Perhaps I should also have added that if the supervisor is much younger than the student, then this can raise major problems. This is particularly true if the young academic is insecure or inadequate, or if the student has had experiences or done things of which the supervisor can barely dream.

"That this job was well done and reflects truth" is essential and
I am with you all the way on this, but the journey and the writing can only be judged by the final product and the award of the PhD is the stamp of academic authenticity. To me, the ABD (all but dissertation) seems an unsatisfactory sort of qualification, even if it does reflect 60 credits of coursework.

There are four qustions for the PhD student: one - will you be happy (even if not totally satisfied) with research you have done, two - will you be happy to display the thesis you produced, three - are you going to be happy to say where your PhD is from, and four (and possibly most important) - will you in some way have been transformed by the experience?

If the answer to any of these four questions is "No," then maybe the student would have been better off doing something else.

This is why I question the sanity of someone who goes to an inferior institution, pays their money, puts in a rubbish thesis, gets a rubbish degree and comes out unchanged. They will not have had the satisfaction of a stimulating journey, of a thing well done, of a degree that worth earning, but, even worse, they may not be even aware of what they have missed.

 

buckley?

Yes I noticed that too....
Buckley WA is some distance from the original
Longview....

Would it be impolite to ask why I have not yet seen a post from Waltson? After all I thought he co-authored the book with John Bear.

 

Re: buckley?

I don't know for sure if Rick is even aware of this board, though I imagine he is. He has an open invitation to participate, I for one would welcome his input.


Bruce