Supervisory contract for DClin Psych dissertation
Between
Trainee
Name:______
Contact details:______
And supervisor(s)
Principal Supervisor
Name:______
Contact details:______
2nd Supervisor
Name:______
Contact details:______
for a research project titled:______
______
starting from:______ending:when the trainee passed (i.e. after required amendments have been made by the trainee after the viva and approved by the examiner).
Purpose and milestones:
The dissertation supervision is established in order to support the trainee to successfully submit a research dissertation that follows the BPS/CTCP criteria and involves the following milestones and deadlines[1]:
(1)Generating the research question, date
(2)Development of research plan, date
(3)Discussion and presentation of the dissertation proposal with supervisors, peer trainees and research tutors during “first year presentation”, date______
(4)Submission of a written dissertation proposal that has been approved by all supervisors for internal review, date______
(5)Addressing the proposal reviewer’s comments (see handbook for grades and time frame)
(6)Seeking ethics approval by the School of Psychology Ethics Committee (obligatory) and the NRES (if necessary), informing the academic administrator about progress with these date______
(7)Registering the project with Research Governance at the University of Exeterand the appropriate NHS trust (if necessary) date______
(8)Participant Recruitment, date______
(9)Data collection, date______
(10)Data analysis, date______
(11)Submission of first draft of literature review to supervisor(s), date______(to be agreed between trainee and supervisor)
(12)Submission of first draft of empirical paper to supervisor(s), date______(to be agreed between trainee and supervisor)
(13)Submission of dissertation, date______
(14)Presentation of dissertation results for peers and research tutors as a viva preparation, date:______
(15)Viva voce examination, date______
(16)Addressing the examiners’ requests for amendments (see handbook for grades and time frame)
(17)Submission of final, amended and approved version of the dissertation (see handbook for specific requirements)
The thesis has a strictly delineated timeline consisting of: research fair (January Year 1), research supervisor allocation (April Year 1), research presentation (June Year 1), research proposal (October Year 2), mini-viva to evaluate merit and feasibility of proposed study (October Year 2), thesis submission consisting of literature review and empirical paper (May Year 3), and viva (July Year 3).
The contract involves for the trainee:
(1)Meeting deadlines (official and internally agreed ones)
(2)Responding to correspondence from supervisor (e-mails, phone calls) and informing in good time if meetings need to be rearranged
(3)Keeping all supervisors informed about their progress, taking responsibility for their own dissertation and bringing issues to the attention of the supervisor and/or research coordinator
(4)Taking responsibility for conducting doctoral level research with the guidance of their supervisor, including effective time management, proactively identifying research question and design, and seeking help where required.
(5)Preparing for supervisory meetings
(6)Keeping a log book about all meetings, writing a brief memo to all supervisors after meeting outlining issues discussed and agreed action
(7)Trainees are required to submit a summary of each supervisory contact to MyPGR.All recorded activity in MyPGR needs to be agreed and signed by the supervisor and trainee.
(8)Preparing a data management plan consistent with the Univeristy Data Management policy: For guidance on how to write a data management plan:
(9)Trainees must complete the Annual Research Progress Monitoring form (via MyPGR) each year summarising progress and any issues for concern.
(10)Research data are the intellectual property of the University and, therefore, before the end of the study period (September Year 3), trainees should ensure that the University (supervisor or admin) have copies of all data including the raw data.Raw data should be kept at the University (in a locked filing cabinet), and a copy of the data files (SPSS or equivalent) needs to be given to the supervisor or admin for storage.
(11)Trainees need to return any DClinPsy equipment before September Year 3.
(12)On completion of the thesis, the research must be uploaded to Open Research Exeter, consistent with the ORE guidelines.
The contract involves for the supervisor:
(1)Takingtime for regular meeting with trainee. Primary supervisors are required to engage with trainees the equivalent of at least once a month for 10-months of the year (in person, via telephone, skype, or through extended written commentary).
(2)Monitoring the trainee’s progress and raising attention to issues to be solved
(3)Giving regular feedback and advice on dissertation proposal, ethics application, progress reports and at least one draft of the dissertation. Supervisors must read and comment on at least one draft of the research proposal and at least one draft of the full thesis prior to submission.
(4)Supervisors are jointly responsible with trainees for ensuring that a research project is feasible, with respect to recruitment, collection of data etc.
(5)Helping trainee prepare for the viva
(6)Supporting trainee in addressing examiners requests for amendments - if after examination, amendments are required to the thesis proposal or main thesis then supervisors will review these with the trainee, provide comments on drafts, and support the trainee in the resubmission process.
(7)Both supervisors need to provide regular (monthly) updates to the DClinPsy administrator, reporting progress and any difficulties.
(8)Supervisors must complete the Annual Research Progress Monitoring form (via MyPGR) each year summarising trainee progress and any issues for concern.
(9)Supervisors must attend the DClinPsy Research Supervisors training session each year, as arranged by the Research Director/Deputy Director.
(10)Liaising with trainee to find mutually convenient times for supervision, including making appropriate contingency plans and keeping trainees informed if unavailable because of university business, illness, work-related travel (e.g., conferences), holiday.
(11)If more than one supervisor is involved: a clear distribution of responsibilities may be helpful and can be stated here:
- Role of Principal supervisor, including percent time:______
- Role of 2nd supervisor, including percent time:______
Obligations common to both trainee and supervisors:
Trainees and supervisors agree to adhere to the following documentation for the DClinPsy: Programme Handbook:
Research Handbook:
University Regulations for Professional Doctorates:
Code for Good Practice: Professional Doctorate PGR Programmes:
Code of Good Practice: Supervision of PGR students:
Code for Good Practice: Board of Examiners for Degrees by Research:
Presentation of thesis
Open Research Exeter policy for DClinPsy research -
Please note: the on-site supervisor is always designated as the principal supervisor. If there is a field supervisor, arrangements for communication between the principal and field supervisors should be made (e.g., 3-way termly meeting between principal and field supervisors and trainee). There should also be clear mechanisms for regular communication with the principal supervisor regarding progress (e.g., emailed minutes of all supervision). There should also be clear mechanisms for communicating any concerns about the research (e.g., recruitment difficulties) to the principal supervisor in a timely fashion.
Publication policy:
(1) The trainee is strongly advised to submit a version of the dissertation to a peer-reviewed journal. Ideally, this should be accomplished in the first year after the training finished; after this period, the supervisor may decide to publish the project or parts of the project in order to comply with ethical and research governance guidelines. The trainee will be informed about this and is an important co-author (i.e. second or joint first author). Note:BPS guidelines state that if the project has not been submitted for publication within 2 years, the supervisor may submit and put him or herself as first author (barring that the trainee has not made substantial progress towards submitting the article),
(2) Trainee and supervisor should communicate about this early on and agree (if necessary in writing) about authorship and order of authors and procedures of writing up. They should be guided by the APA and BPS recommendations available in the handbookwhen this decision is made. Usually, the trainee is the first author unless (a) other agreements have been made (e.g., contributing to a larger project/larger paper in a high impact journal), (b) the trainee fails to prepare the manuscript(s) within two year after the submission and (c) major intellectual input for the project came from the supervisor(s) and the trainee mainly recorded data for a previously designed project.
(3) To avoid confusion, both parties should communicate about this transparently and also follow their “common sense” and sense of “good style”. Supervisors see themselves in a mentoring role for training the inexperienced but motivated trainee in scientific writing.
Additional agreements:
Frequency of meetings:______
______
Individual agreements (e.g. on authorship, on what to do in cases of unavailability of the principal supervisor etc.):
______
______
At least three copies of this contract are signed, one remains with the trainee, one with the supervisor(s) and one remains with the Programme Administrator Morgane Colleau(for the trainee file). A copy of the contract should also be uploaded on to MyPGR.
Signatures
Trainee:______Date:______
Principal supervisor:______Date:______
2nd supervisor:______Date:______
1
[1]Dates to be inserted by the trainee before the contract is signed