Reflecting on the role of doctoral supervisors in literature search, review writing: Opinion

“Doctoral supervision is a subtle but complex form of teaching in higher education,” writes Julia Everitt, and the practices and expectations around supporting candidates as they embark on their literature search and review writing are often disparate and not discussed. Everitt reflects on the question of how involved supervisors should be in this stage of doctoral supervision and compares her experiences to the broader literature on doctoral supervision. The author discusses different approaches to supervision, such as showing vs instructing candidates on the method of conducting a review, “buffering” and “signposting” to help candidates sort through material without becoming overwhelmed, and understanding a candidate’s academic starting point. Teaching in Higher Education Note: Archived stories may contain dead links or be missing source links.