ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the characteristics of de facto dyad team modes that emerged through the stories collected from supervisors and doctoral students in social sciences, humanities and education disciplines. De facto dyad teams are defined as teams where a single supervisor engages continuously with the doctoral student and their project, with only a tenuous link between any additional supervisors and student, either interpersonally or intellectually. The student may have additional resources available to them, ancillary to the supervisor/s from a panel of academics. Experienced supervisors often operate in a number of team modes, and the discipline will have considerable influence on whether additional expertise or input is required. The influence of the co-supervisor in de facto dyads is minimised by the dominance of the principal supervisor, and this is seen in the way any conflicting advice is simply disregarded. In identifying a supervisor, Sharon had prioritised knowledge in her field as the form of expertise she needed.
