Doctoral students’ expectations from supervisors when co-authoring papers

Abstract

Scientific publishing, a major aspect in doctoral education, is often a challenging process for students. Supervisors have a key role in providing guidance and support during this process. It is important to understand the expectations from students in order to be effective in the supervision process. In this study, nine students from two different departments at the faculty of engineering (LTH), Lund University, Sweden are interviewed about their expectations and experiences dealing with supervisor support when co-authoring papers. Overall, while the student expectations are very varied, there are some common denominators. The writing process is also seen as a learning step in the journey of the doctoral student. There is a strong expectation on supervisors (compared to other co-authors) on providing feedback. When it comes to co-authorship, some students reported frustration when researchers who had no contribution to the work are listed as co-authors. The main takeaways for the supervisors are to let the paper-writing process be led by the students while being accessible to provide support.