Journal: Conspectus
Volume: CONSPECTUS 30:1 (Oct 2020)
Article: Walking Alongside: Personal Reflections On Supervising Online Graduate Students
Author: William R. Domeris

Conspectus 30:1 (October 2020) p. 102

Walking Alongside: Personal Reflections On Supervising Online Graduate Students

Bill Domeris

Abstract

Supervising graduate (postgraduate) students online brings several unique challenges, along with the normal routine of graduate supervision. In this article, I draw upon my own experiences at residential universities and for the past decade and a half, as an online supervisor. I begin with my time at the University of Durham, where I sat at the feet of Professor Kingsley Barrett, and where I witnessed several valuable practices related to writing and supervising theses. In this article, I avoid, where possible, the standard aspects of thesis writing, available in books for new supervisors. Instead, I deal here with topics like affirmation, encouragement, the faith of the student, the path of scholarship, and guiding students in their quest for that illusive original topic. In addition, I offer some simple guidelines to questions students often ask, such as “how many references per page?” and “how long should a quotation be?” My hope is that the ideas found here may promote good supervision and the highest standards of scholarship.

Keywords

doctoral supervision, postgraduate research, online education

About The Author

Rev. Dr. William (Bill) Domeris holds a PhD from the University of Durham (UK). He is a Senior Academic at the South African Theological Seminary and the author of several books including Touching the Heart of God (Continuum 2007), co-editor with Kevin Smith of The Students A-Z of Theology (SATS 2014) and with Zoltan Erdey of A Student’s Guide to the New Testament (SATS 2019). His research interests include both Old Testament (Amos, Deuteronomy, Jeremiah) and New Testament (the Gospels), with a particular focus on literary features (irony, metaphors) and social values (honor, dignity).

This article: https://www.sats.edu.za/domeris-walking-alongside-personal-reflections

Conspectus 30:1 (October 2020) p. 103

1. Introduction

While masters and doctoral students (postgraduate students)1 often walk a lonely path, that of the online student can be even more challenging. In this article, I look at the role of the supervisor (promoter) who is tasked with guiding, directing, and encouraging the student and all of this by means of emails and occasional online conversations. With often minimal interaction, and the difficulties of speaking across cultures and even continents, I ask how does one take a student from the initial glimmerings of an idea into a full-blown doctoral or master’s thesis, that makes a genuine contribution to academi...