Distribution of responsibility in postgraduate supervision as seen from both sides: a questionnaire-based study

Abstract

We present a questionnaire-base study of responsibility in postgraduate supervision as viewed from two opposite sides: students and supervisors at the Institute of Physics and Technology, UiB. The study had a two-fold objective: First, we aimed to analyze the prevailing expectations concerning the following question: “who should shoulder the bulk of responsibility when it comes to supervision on the postgraduate level?” Questionnaire regularly filled during stage one of the “Forskningsveiledning” course (a part of Universitetspedagogikk) was chosen as a tool. Our second goal was to gauge the aptitude of questionnaire itself for specific situations, conditions and challenges of scientific supervision in the field of natural sciences, in this case, physics.