How can I get my students to produce good theses on time? My last student failed. What could I have done to prevent it? I am supposed to train the new supervisors: where can I get some good ideas?

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Product Description: Richly illustrated with case studies and interviews, this book identifies key themes pervading academic life: the nature of research and research supervision; key social processes and problems; distinct and contrasting sub-cultures of departments and disciplines in universities; mentorship and sponsorship; and apprenticeship and rites of passage for postgraduate students...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's 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.