Reflections on research supervision: a grounded theory case of reflective practice

Abstract

The rise in the number of research degree students in the United Kingdom has brought with it added pressures of research supervision. One of those pressures is the concern for quality of supervisory provision. To offer quality and consistency of supervision it necessitates the development of the craft of supervision, especially for novice supervisors. This article adds to the deficient stock of empirically grounded literature on the subject of research supervision. Through the application of grounded theory methodology emergent conceptual categories highlight the craft of the experienced supervisor (‘Temporal–Futureising’, ‘Ruling–Requiring’, ‘Motivating–Alliancing’, ‘Critiquing–Comprehending’, ‘Intellectualising’ and ‘Presiding’) supported by their underpinning properties. In addition, properties elicited from a novice supervisor, explicate a coherently represented substantive case study. Applying the principles of reflective practice, the article concludes with a discussion on its findings.