140121
PhD student´s communication guide
Instructions for the communication guide
During the doctoral studies it is essential that communication and expectations between
you and your supervisor are clear and attainable. The need of supervision changes during
the PhD period and towards the end the need has changed character as you have turned
into a more independent scientist. It is therefore important that you as a PhD student and
your supervisor take mutual responsibility in your communication and collaboration. This
communication guide will work as a basis for your communication and collaboration.
The purpose of the communication guide is to support your communication.
The IFM board for graduate studies has decided that either this guide or something
similar should be used for each new PhD student Employment of the communication
guide should be documented in the individual study plan.
The communication guide should be filled in by the PhD student and the main supervisor
or by the practical supervisor e.g. a co-supervisor. Two versions of the communication
guide exist, one for the PhD students and one for the supervisor. They consist of the same
questions but posed from the respective point of views. After filling in the guide the
answers are to be discussed in a meeting between the PhD student and the supervisor.
The communication guide should then be filled in yearly, where the first year is
mandatory. Some of the questions can be difficult to answer the first year of the PhD
studies but all questions are to be answered for setting the basis in the discussions
following the coming years of PhD studies. The communication guide should be regarded
as a dynamic document where the answers in the guide could change during the PhD
period. The yearly deadline for handing in the communication guides (copies of both the
PhD students and the supervisors versions) is the 31 January. The communication guide
aim at finding a well working collaboration between you and your supervisor. If you
would like to work further with the communication, guide a supervision contract can be
established in which you summarize the most important elements in your communication.
The following questions are to be used as a foundation for your discussions. Examples of
responses are given in italics. The guide is written in English, but you are free to give
your answers in Swedish.
140121
Supervision
How frequently do you have supervisory meetings? Are you in need of regular
appointments? If so, when should they take place (what day and what time)?
(E.g. ”Monday at 10.00 a.m. or weekly at a flexible time”)
How do you prepare for the supervisory meeting?
(E.g. ”evaluate laboratory results and prepare a short presentation of my results”)
What kind of preparations would you like your supervisor to make before the
meeting?
(E.g.” my supervisor has an updated project plan and has been in contact with our external
collaborators”)
How would you like to communicate with your supervisor between the supervisory
meetings?
(E.g.” I update the progress daily, weekly, or monthly. Or prefer to have little contact”)
When are you available for work or contact? In which contact form?
(E.g. ”weekdays between 8-5 p.m or available for contact by email in the evening”.)
When do you expect you supervisor to be available? In which contact form?
(E.g. “weekdays between 8-5 p.m. or available for contact by email in the evening”)
140121
Do you feel comfortable asking again if you don’t understand the project plan
explained by your supervisor? (E.g .“I ask my supervisor if I don´t understand)
Project
What kind of project decisions should be decided by you and by your supervisor,
respectively? What kind of decisions should be made jointly (minor or major
decisions)? (E.g. ”most of the project decisions are made by both by me and my supervisor”)
What are yours and your supervisor´s responsibilities both internally/externally in a
joint project?
( E.g. ” I am responsible for the communication with our external collaborators and partially
involved in project decisions. My supervisor sets the deadlines and can take actions if difficulties
arise in the project”)
Are you able to supervise master thesis students or external collaborators (e.g. PhD
students or Post docs)? What parts in the project will be handled by you and by
your supervisor respectively?
(E.g.” project planning of the master thesis project will be performed by me and my supervisor
whereas the laboratory work is supervised by me”)
What is your opinion on writing scientific papers?
(E.g. “ I think we need to review our results critically and find a journal with high impact factor
for publication”)
140121
Who can you turn to for scientific advice except your supervisor? (E.g. ”co-supervisor,
collaborator or external expert”)
Feedback
a) Do you give positive and/or negative feedback concerning the work effort or the
ability to collaborate? If so, in which situations?
(E.g. ”I give both positive and negative feedback concerning results the work effort”)
b) In what way do you prefer to give and receive feedback?
(E.g. ”I give and prefer to receive feedback orally”)
c) Are you good at giving and taking feedback?
(E.g. “yes, in some cases”)
How would you like your supervisor to give feedback on a written manuscript?
(E.g. ”give me both positive and negative feedback on the written parts of the manuscript”)
What time frames are reasonable concerning feedback on a manuscript?
(E.g. ”feedback on a written manuscript within 24 hours or one week”)
Expectations
a) What kind of expectations do you have on your supervisor?
b) Are the expectations reasonable?
c) What kind of expectations do you think your supervisor has on you?
(E.g. ”take time for supervisory meetings, help me in limiting my research project, support me in
writing of manuscripts, being present to answer questions besides the supervisory meetings”)
140121
What are the roles of your supervisor and your co-supervisor/s?
(E.g. ”my supervisor sets the overall goal of my projects and my co-supervisor help with
instrument X and completion of manuscript in project Y”)
a) How independent do you think you should be in the project at this moment? How
do you want to be supervised to attain this independency level?
(E.g. “within the first year I will need steering within my PhD project but in my second year as a
PhD student, I hope to work more independently and make more decisions”)
b) What is your opinion on teamwork? What working conditions, on a scale from
individual towards collaborative, are you working in now? How would you prefer to
work (on such a scale)?
(E.g. ”I prefer to work individually both in planning and performing all parts of the project”
or ”I prefer to work individually in some parts of my PhD project but I prefer to collaborate
more when executing experiments and writing manuscript”)
What are your primary motivations in your work?
(E.g. “I am motivated by solving problems in the laboratory” or “ I am motivated in
summarizing our work into a manuscript.”)
How do you deal with setbacks?
(E.g. “when I encounter setbacks I try to motivate myself or ask my supervisor for some positive
feedback”)
140121
How do you expect yourself to develop during the PhD period? (E.g. “within the
project I hope we have reached the appointed goals and I hope to get a post doc position abroad
within 4-5 years”)
Teaching and courses
How do you balance research in relation to teaching and courses?
(E.g. ”during the upcoming month, from January to February, I will spend time teaching and
participate in two courses and will therefore not spend time in the laboratory but will do data
analysis”)
Other commitments for PhD students
How do you find relevant seminars or conferences?
(E.g.” My supervisor helps me find relevant conferences and seminars in which I can present my
ongoing research.” or “ I find conferences myself and discuss if they are relevant together with
my supervisor”)
Open space for input that might be missing in the communication guide
(optional)
140121
Guidelines for supervision of a PhD student at IFM
Please read the guidelines for supervision of a PhD student in (appendix 1) and
discuss the guidelines with your supervisor.
The last questions are to be answered from the second year of the PhD
studies
Reflect upon your accomplishment developed during the last year
(E.g. ”the last year I have deepened my knowledge within instrument no. 1”)
Reflect upon how the supervision and how the collaboration with you supervisor has
developed during the past year regarding, supervision, feedback, project planning,
expectations, teaching and courses. Is something in need of a change in your
collaboration?
140121
Appendix 1
Supervision of a doctoral student
General information
Supervision is the most important pedagogical instrument in doctoral studies.
Supervising a doctoral student is not only about passing on knowledge to the doctoral
student. It is also about promoting the progress of the doctoral student toward becoming
an independent researcher. This includes supporting the development of the ability to
analyze, think critically, be innovative, and collaborate with others.
The role of supervision has been emphasized with the increasing demand for more
efficient doctoral studies.
This document is inspired by a similar document from IDA (Institutionen för
datavetenskap, Department of Computer and Information Science). It is meant as a
recommendation or guide.
The goals of supervision
The goals of supervision is to promote the doctoral student's progress toward becoming
an independent and critically thinking researcher development of comprehensiveness
regarding methodology ability to collaborate in research projects capability to see his or
her research as a part of a greater whole, in a wider context.
The position of the supervisor
Every doctoral student is assigned a main supervisor. The main supervisor, who qualifies
as senior lecturer, is responsible for the doctoral student's work and research.
In addition to the main supervisor, the doctoral student may have one or more assistant
supervisors. An assistant supervisor qualifies as Ph.D.
Expectations for the supervisor
The following list serves as an example of what to expect from a supervisor.
The supervisor will

 help the student select and define the field of research so that the research can result in
a dissertation
 support the student in choosing courses that are part of the doctoral studies
 assist the student in finding literature and suggest a model/theory/method for the
student's research
140121
 immediately advise the student against continuing his or her doctoral studies if the
student lacks the necessary qualifications
 give advice regarding suitable scientific methods to help forward the research
 act as inspirer and catalyst when the dissertation is to be completed
 make sure the student does not become sidetracked
 aid the student in establishing contacts and creating a network in the field of research
 help the student develop the ability to present orally his or her research results at, for
example, research-group meetings or conferences
 help the student develop the ability to present in writing his or her research results in
scientific journals or conference papers
 encourage and stimulate the student, especially in times of adversity
 give the student responsibility for, for instance, equipment or research projects
Expectations for the doctoral student
The following list serves as an example of what to expect from a doctoral student.
The doctoral student will
 listen to and take in the supervisor's suggestions regarding, for instance, choice and
definition of field of research or how to plan the research
 play an active part in selecting a suitable dissertation topic
 independently search for relevant information
 process and analyze theories and/or methods suggested by the supervisor
 be able to orally present his or her research results at, for instance, seminars, researchgroup meetings, and conferences, and assimilate constructive criticism that is given at
such presentations
 be able to present in writing his or her research results in scientific reports, and
assimilate constructive criticism from supervisors or other experts
 be able to grasp the work of research colleagues and provide constructive criticism
 be willing to concentrate and focus on the doctoral studies, especially during the final
phase of the dissertation work
 assist in assignments that are not directly concerned with the doctoral studies, for
instance, teaching, administration, and research funding, on the assumption that these
assignments are according to contract
Guidelines for supervision
After a student has been admitted to doctoral studies, the student and the supervisor
should discuss the structure of the supervision. The structure of the supervision should be
mutually agreed upon and can, for instance, include the items listed below. Some of these
items are also included in the doctoral student's individual curriculum.
140121
 a schedule for the dissertation work and possibly an outline of the dissertation
 a statement of how often and when the doctoral student and the supervisor will
schedule follow-up meetings and the availability of the supervisor
 a list of courses that the student will attend
 a statement of how the student will continuously inform the supervisor on how the
research progresses
 a discussion of the research-project plan. The duration of the project plan should be,
for instance, six months, but the plan may naturally be revised.
 bases of the doctoral studies: important problems, the relevance of the research project,
approach, partners, consequences, delimitations, assumptions, choice of model, current
research, deadlines, and so forth
 a discussion of how research results will be reported/presented
 a statement of how the individual curriculum will be followed up
 a course of action if problems should arise. Such problems may be, for instance, that
expected results do not occur, that the dissertation work is not progressing according to
plan, or that there is a student-supervisor conflict.
 a discussion of the function and role of the mentor
Follow-up meetings
Follow-up meetings should be scheduled on a regular basis and should be scheduled well
in advance. It is a good idea to follow a checklist during follow-up meetings. It is also
useful to take notes in order to facilitate feedback and follow-up. The supervisor and the
doctoral student should compile a checklist for follow-up meetings at an early stage of
the doctoral studies.
The following list serves as an example of what a follow-up meeting might include:
 Feedback from the previous follow-up meeting: Has work been done according to
plan? Analysis of recent results. Has the research led to the expected results? If not, why?
What are the consequences?
 Short-term planning: Does a parameter need to be adjusted? What is the next step?
How will already attained results be reported or presented?
 Discussion: An important function of follow-up meetings is to provide an opportunity
for the student and the supervisor to air their ideas.
 Information exchange: Another important function of follow-up meetings is to
exchange information (besides research results), for instance, a newly published article,
new results reported at a conference, or information from personal contacts.
 Long-term planning: Is the schedule realistic? What research projects will be included
in the dissertation? Planning of licentiate degree or public defense.
140121
Individual curriculum
For every doctoral student, an individual curriculum will be drawn up by the doctoral
student and his or her supervisor. After they have signed the individual curriculum, it is
sent to the prefect. The prefect must receive the individual curriculum within one month
after the student has started his or her doctoral studies.
The individual curriculum includes a schedule of the student's doctoral studies, an
account of the student's commitments during his or her doctoral studies, and other
information that ensures the student to efficiently pursue his or her doctoral studies.
A standardized individual-curriculum form is available at
http://www.lith.liu.se/research/index.html
At least once a year, the doctoral student, the supervisor, the assistant supervisor or
supervisors (if any), and mentor should meet to follow up and revise the individual
curriculum. The student's coursework and doctoral-studies schedule is discussed. The
reason for any delay is analyzed. If necessary, the schedule is revised.
The following list serves as a guideline or a checklist for an individual-curriculum
follow-up meeting:








that the student is following his or her coursework schedule
courses/credits that the student has passed the past year
pedagogical training
that the student is following his or her research-work schedule
publications the past year
supervision
conferences, collaborations, and so forth the past year
teaching, administration, or other departmental duties
Responsible for this page: Per Olof Holtz
Last updated:02/04/11