6 Additional Resources

Spotlight on best graduate supervision practices by Mohamed Berrada and Daniel Halton. September 13, 2023.
https://www.universityaffairs.ca/features/feature-article/spotlight-on-best-graduate-supervision-practices/

• Best practices discussion with a range of graduate supervision award winners
• Practices discussed include:
  • focusing on developing student independence and autonomy even if that means making mistakes
  • remembering that each student is a unique individual
  • stressing the broader picture of their research
  • maintaining regular contact
  • showing humanity and empathy to students

Dericks, G., Thompson, E., Roberts, M., & Phua, F. (2019). Determinants of PhD student satisfaction: The roles of supervisor, department, and peer qualities. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 44(7), 1053–1068. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2019.1570484

• Examines PhD student satisfaction across 63 universities in 20 countries.
• Finds that supervisor supportiveness, along with academic qualities and supportiveness of departments, has greatest impact on PhD student satisfaction.
• Explores how increased satisfaction would contribute to PhD student wellbeing and performance.

Hargreaves, C.E., De Wilde, J.P., Juniper, B. and Walsh, E. (2017). Re‐evaluating doctoral researchers’ well‐being: what has changed in five years. Imperial College London. Retrieved from https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/study/graduate-school/public/well-being/Wellbeing-for-GS.pdf

• Found: a decline in graduate student wellbeing from 2009 to 2014; lower degree of satisfaction for women; wellbeing declines with advancing stages of doctorate.
• Threats to wellbeing include developmental and career uncertainty, along with changing contexts and communities.
• Top 10 impacts on wellbeing similar between earlier and later study, but the impact was greater in 2014. (Supervisory issues fall in the middle of the top 10.)
• Four primary recommendations: Enhance integrated support for doctoral students, in particular female students; improve support for later stage doctoral researchers; develop training and understanding of wellbeing for all staff who engage with doctoral students; improve signposting of support to all (staff and students).

Mackie, S. A., & Bates, G. W. (2019). Contribution of the doctoral education environment to PhD candidates’ mental health problems: A scoping review. Higher Education Research & Development, 38(3), 565–578. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2018.1556620

• Reviews current literature on PhD candidates’ mental health, with four primary outcomes: 1) Issues affecting PhD candidate mental health are multifaceted and interrelated, 2) need better alignment between interventions and stressors identified in literature, 3) need better designed, standardized instruments to validate stressors and evaluate interventions, 4) need updated typologies that include the full range of stressors.
• Discusses connection between PhD candidate mental health and supervisor relationships and whole research ecosystem.
• Examines interventions for mental health among PhD candidates, finding: 1) they are not well aligned to contributing factors, 2) they are focused on treating symptoms rather than underlying causes of mental health issues.