ABSTRACT
Relationships between the researcher and their supervisor, and between groups of students raise many questions. There is some evidence that poor relationships are blamed for poor completion rates, and poor relationships can arise because of unarticulated and unmet expectations on both sides. This book proposes that one way of making expectations more explicit is through student and academic discussion of the framework of approaches to supervision and explaining which approach(es) they are concentrating on at any given time.
The literature that this chapter draws upon is exceptionally diverse; data lead us to consider works from Aristotle through to post-modernists. The views and experiences of organisational theorists and management coaches have been consulted alongside psychotherapists and psychologists. There is a thin and permeable line between the emancipatory approach and developing a relationship. In the latter there is more emphasis on reciprocity, longevity, friendship, altruism and inspiration.
The importance of maintaining a good work–life balance and ways of including non-academic friends and members of your family in your research are also included.
