The relationship between supervisor and doctoral student: validation of a measurement scale

Abstract

The relationship between supervisor and doctoral student is a key factor determining the successful completion of dissertation research. In the context of growing competition and demands on the quality of doctoral education, it is important to have objective and reliable tools for measuring the relationship between supervisors and doctoral students. The present study is aimed to develop and validate a measurement scale to assess the experience of doctoral students and doctoral graduates' relationship with a supervisor, including reliability testing and identification of factor structure. Eighty- five respondents, including doctoral students, PhDs, and non-doctoral graduates, participated in the study. The methodology included descriptive statistics, Cronbach's alpha of 0.94 statistic and factor analysis. The results of the study allowed us to identify three latent components that became the basis for the development of scales describing respondents' impressions of their experiences with their supervisor in the period of study. The main aspects were positive experiences of research collaboration, provided support and negative aspects of cooperation (including overload work of doctoral students). The results obtained indicate the promising psychometric properties of the presented scale and validity indicators. The practical significance of the study is that the scale for assessing the experience of the relationship with the supervisor can be used as a tool for monitoring the quality of academic supervision, as well as the development of educational strategies aimed at improving the interaction between supervisors and doctoral students, which will contribute to minimizing conflicts and the successful implementation of dissertation research.