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Learning from critical incidents in the supervision of research
Conference paper

Learning from critical incidents in the supervision of research

Michael Christie, Arjan Snijder and Tom Adawi
European Assocation for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI) Biennial Conference: Developing Potentials for Learning, 12th (Budapest, Hungary, 28-Aug-2007–01-Sep-2007)
European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction
2007
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Abstract

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In this paper the authors report on a piece of action research (using the critical incident technique) in the area of PhD supervision. Twenty eight supervisors, most of whom are co-supervisors, were instructed in critical incident technique (Flannagan, 1954) and then asked to write incidents from their supervision experience. The incidents could be about mundane matters but they became critical, in the meaning of this technique, when they were analysed or 'critiqued'. The incidents we collected were critiqued in four stages. First, by the individual authors who wrote down their own analytical reflection of the incident. Second by focus groups consisting of five authors per group. Third, by a plenary session that discussed the reports from each group; and finally, by the researchers, who accessed the written incidents and individual reflections as well as the plenary discussion and summaries from the focus groups. The incidents were classified according to type and their actual and potential consequences examined. Possible assumptions underpinning the incidents were also analysed individually, in focus groups and by the researchers. Our aim was to heighten the supervisors' awareness of issues in supervision and to give them a tool for future reflection and analysis. Many of the incidents were problematic even though the informants had been asked to simply write down an event they remembered as a supervisor or as a former PhD student. Issues and conflicts relating to co-supervision were a dominant theme. Supervisors were helped via this action research to find ways of preventing or overcoming this and other types of conflict. One recommendation from our study was that a transparent structure and set of rules governing co-supervision be defined and implemented. Reference: Flannagan, J (1954). 'The critical incident technique' in the Psychological Bulletin, volume 51.

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