Supporting HDR Conceptual Development: A Practical Workshop for Supervisors

The Challenge
Research shows that HDR candidates often struggle to move from conceptualising research ideas through to forming conceptual frameworks which can effectively communicate their research to others. As part of ANU’s Conceptual Frameworks project we are looking to share supervisor experiences which will enable candidates to better translate their research, from early development into a valuable scholarly contribution.

Workshop Purpose

This workshop will focus on the confirmation stage as a key milestone to address a common supervision challenge: how can we best support candidates to make the transition to communicate conceptual aspects of their research? By exploring supervisor perspectives on the role and value of the conceptual framework in framing research and, ultimately, in contributing to new knowledge, we will also consider specific skills and understanding necessary for a candidate's development of their research practice. 

Areas we’ll share and explore with you include:

• Insights from recent research on supervisor-candidate experiences with conceptual frameworks

• Practical strategies to support students through the conceptual development process

• Understanding how different domains approach theory and conceptualisation

• Approaches to make the often invisible process of research thinking more explicit and teachable

Example of workshop activities

Through guided discussions and practical exercises, you'll:

• Share experiences and compare approaches to supervision during the confirmation phase

• Work through real scenarios and challenges supervisors commonly face

• Explore strategies for helping students clarify their research phenomena and key relationships

• Identify potential strategies to support your role, as well as supplementing support for your HDR candidates and broader cohorts, by development and delivery of valuable training materials and information sources.

Who Should Attend

HDR supervisors at all experience levels. New supervisors will gain proven strategies, whilst experienced supervisors can share insights and refine their approaches. Particularly useful if you supervise students who struggle to articulate their research thinking clearly.

Details

Facilitators: Dr Megan Power, Professor Henry Linger (Monash University), and Emeritus Professor Craig McDonald
Format: Interactive, in-person workshop with lunch included
Location: Building # 95 - Fulton Muir Building - Fulton Muir 2.04

If you require accessibility accommodations or a visitor Personal Emergency Evacuation plan please contact hdr.supervision@anu.edu.au. 

A parallel workshop for HDR candidates runs on 18 July (advertised through Researcher Development)—please encourage your students to attend.