Amazon.com description: Product Description: This book provides "everything you ever wanted to know about PhD supervision but were afraid to ask!" It is a practical, no-nonsense handbook for both the novice and the experienced higher degree supervisor. The novice will find a developmental sequence of advice, guiding them through all the stages of supervision from the first meeting to viva and beyond. The experienced supervisor will find fresh ideas to improve practice and solve problems. Based both on research among laboratory scientists and social scientists and on many years of experience, the book also draws upon humanities examples and so is invaluable to academics in all disciplines. At a time when there is increasing pressure to ensure 'quality' provision, to improve the PhD completion rate, and to turn out employable graduates, the need for this practical guide is obvious.