Keeping track of ideas and decisions
Research activity is the result of a complex relationship between the candidate’s reading, research and work with that of the broader research team including the supervisors and disciplinary colleagues. Important insights related to the research, and practical activities required by the research occur at different rates. Keeping records of decisions and thoughts can help keep the research on track and provide a tool for considering change in ideas throughout the process.
Candidate
It is important to keep a record of ideas and activities related to the research. For instance, each meeting with your supervisory team or with research colleagues will generate ideas and changes for your work. Collect your thoughts and the decisions regarding the next component of work as a summary and email the summary record to your supervisor. In this way you can both see if you have agreed to the same things in your meetings, or that you have developed your ideas in the meeting. It’s also a good idea to keep records of the content of conversations you have with senior researchers, other students, articles that you have read etc.
Principal supervisor
In busy academic work it is easy to lose track of the detailed progress of students. This is particularly difficult when your students are in the more mundane stages of the research, or are part-time or working at a distance. Encourage your students to record the outcomes of meetings, summarising progress and intentions for the next meeting(s). Encouraging students to keep these records, and then emailing them to you, will enable you to see if you have a shared understanding of the next research stage, and you can keep track of their developing ideas.