Doctoral students are in a vulnerable situation. Supervision at this level means that to a large extent the student is dependent on their supervisor. Without the support from a supervisor it is difficult to overcome the major obstacles that are part and parcel of doctoral studies. If the supervisor-student relationship is unsatisfactory from a student perspective then they may often feel powerless to change the situation and feel that there is nowhere to turn.
I suggest the following course of action when you feel that your studies are not going as well as they should. Reflect on what has been accomplished so far in your candidacy. Very often students get overly pessimistic when in fact they may be making reasonable progress. Try to pinpoint the reasons behind your dissatisfaction. Even try to think of some possible solutions to the problems. Arrange a meeting with your supervisor to discuss the issues. Try not to be too critical but to put your case in a neutral manner and then listen to what your supervisor has to say. Many of the issues that arise are due to a lack of communication. Once you have had the meeting, spend some time thinking rationally about what was discussed. If you think there is no real way forward you may want to talk to another academic about it in order to obtain a second opinion. If you have an associate or secondary supervisor you can talk to this person. If not, you may want to talk with the Head of Department. Try to be fair to your supervisor and keep him/her informed of your thinking or decisions. If you approach it in this way you are more likely to arrive at a reasonable solution that you are happy with.
www.CompletePhD.com
I suggest the following course of action when you feel that your studies are not going as well as they should. Reflect on what has been accomplished so far in your candidacy. Very often students get overly pessimistic when in fact they may be making reasonable progress. Try to pinpoint the reasons behind your dissatisfaction. Even try to think of some possible solutions to the problems. Arrange a meeting with your supervisor to discuss the issues. Try not to be too critical but to put your case in a neutral manner and then listen to what your supervisor has to say. Many of the issues that arise are due to a lack of communication. Once you have had the meeting, spend some time thinking rationally about what was discussed. If you think there is no real way forward you may want to talk to another academic about it in order to obtain a second opinion. If you have an associate or secondary supervisor you can talk to this person. If not, you may want to talk with the Head of Department. Try to be fair to your supervisor and keep him/her informed of your thinking or decisions. If you approach it in this way you are more likely to arrive at a reasonable solution that you are happy with.
www.CompletePhD.com
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