Improving PhD supervision in scientific writing

Author: ChrDold

Created: 2023-08-25 08:54pm

Edited: 2023-10-31 02:37am

Keywords: Supervision style, Self-assessment, PhD plan

Description:

Scientific writing is an essential part of the PhD program. Yet, many new PhD students struggle with this task. It is therefore important that supervisors support the PhD student with scientific writing. However, it is often not clear for both, PhD student and supervisor, what kind of support is needed, as this depends on the individual writing skills and experiences. The project´s aim is to improve the quality of PhD supervision concerning scientific writing. The objective is (1) to assess the level of autonomy of the PhD student with focus on scientific writing and (2) adjust the supervision style accordingly. To reach this goal the project will develop a self-assessment tool for the PhD student. The information from the self-assessment tool will guide supervision and demonstrate state and process of scientific writing.

Intended Learning Outcomes:

PhD student can assess progress of scientific writing
Supervisor can develop and adjust supervision model according to the assessed level of autnomy and independence of the PhD student
PhD student can create independently new scientific content with regard to scientific writing.

Resources		Tasks		Supports
Questionnaire on AU Labbook	→	PhD does self-assessment and submits to supervisor ↓	←	Supervisor provides access to questionnaire and explains the objective of the task.
First in-person meeting	→	PhD and supervisor discuss the outcome of the questionnaire and next steps. ↓	←	Supervisor reads the self-assessment beforehand and prepares questions for the questioning circle
Resources on AU Labbook Second in-person meeting, if needed	→	PhD writes and submits PhD plan ↓	←	Supervisor provides resources and adjusts supervision as discussed in the first meeting.
Questionnaire on AU Labbook	→	PhD repeats self-assessment and submits to supervisor. ↓	←	Supervisor provided access to questionnaire.
Final in-person meeting	→	PhD and supervisor assess the progress of PhD in scientific-writing.	←	Supervisor compares both outcomes of the questionnaires and prepares accordingly. Supervisor adjusts supervision style according to the progress.

Additional information

The project is designed for PhD supervision and for one PhD student. The project will focus on the PhD plan only. However, the methods can be adjusted for various students, and for undergraduate and graduate studies, and other writing tasks.