Welcome to the Plymouth University

Plymouth University

Graduate School

Research Student

LOG

Welcome to the Plymouth University

Welcome to Plymouth University

Plymouth University’s Graduate School is committed to ensuring that research students have an excellent learning experience, are involved in a research community and supported in their studies.

The Research Student Log aims to help you acquire all the skills necessary to become a proficient researcher and to embark on a professional career. It is designed to help you reflect on your development, check your progress and to assist discussion with your supervisors. The Research Student Log was first developed by Professor Roland Levinsky at University College London and we are grateful to them for permitting us to adapt it for use at the Plymouth University.

We hope that you have a successful and enjoyable time as a research student at Plymouth.

Professor Michael P Fuller

Director of Graduate Studies and

Head of the Graduate School

If found

This log forms an important part of the student’s development. If found, please return it to the Graduate School and it will be forwarded to the student or his/her School. If you are not on a University Campus, please post to:

FREEPOST

Graduate School

Plymouth University

Plymouth PL4 8AA

Name:

School:

Important Contacts

All documents requiring student and supervisory team signatures must be copied for your DTC/School Administrator

Welcome to Plymouth University 2

Contents 3

Rationale 4

Student’s Summary Record 6

Research Degree Candidates Annual Monitoring 10

Record of formal Supervisory 14

Sessions and your Skills Self Audit 14

Initial Supervisory Session (Student) 15

Project Approval Form (MPhil, MPhil/PhD, ResM) 17

Supervisory Session (Student) 3 months 19

Supervisory Session (Student) 6 months 21

Supervisory Session (Student) 9 months 23

Preparation for Confirmation of Route (Student) 12 months 25

Confirmation of Route (MPhil/Transfer from MPhil to PhD) 27

Transfer/Confirmation of Route (Student) 15 months 29

Supervisory Session (Student) 18 months 33

Supervisory Session (Student) 21 months 35

Supervisory Session (Student) 24 months 37

Supervisory Session (Student) 27 months 39

Preparation for Submission (Student) 30 months 41

Supervisory session (Student) 36 months 45

Writing up year (Student) 39 months 47

Writing up year (Student) 42 months 49

Writing up year (Student) 45 months 51

Writing up year (Student) 48 months 53

Generic meeting record Date: 55

Academic and Key Transferable Skills Development Self Audit 57

Skills Development Self Audit 58

Academic Skills Self Audit Start of Programme 59

Academic Skills Self Audit End of year 1 65

Academic Skills Self Audit End of year 2 71

Academic Skills Self Audit End of Studies 77

Examples of Research and Key Skills - definitions 83

Record of your Skills Development Activities 91

Skills Development Activities Courses Attended 92

Skills Development Activities Presentations Given 96

Skills Development Activities Publications 98

Skills Development Activities Other Activities 99

Sign Off Sheet 100

Diploma Supplement 101

Rationale

Purpose of the Research Student Log

This Log has been prepared to assist you throughout your degree programme at Plymouth University. It provides a framework for recording details related to your graduate research programme, scheduled supervisory meetings and activities concerning the development of academic and key skills. Your Log will also help you to assess your progress and to plan and chart evidence of the development of academic and discipline specific skills and key skills.

In education and employment there is an increasing emphasis on skills and their development. It is important for individuals to demonstrate that their skills have been actively developed over time. The skills development self audit part of this Log will help you in identifying your skills and also assist you in planning your skills development programme as part of your academic studies.

You are therefore asked to audit your skills in a more formal, reflective way before the first formal supervisory session and then at the end of year 1 and 2 and at the end of your studies.

How to use the Research Student Log

You are asked to document ‘formal’ supervisory meetings in this Log (Section B). It is not intended to record the (far) more frequent ‘informal’ meetings that often occur several times per week/month. The Research Student Log is for you to retain but certain pages, which are clearly marked, can be copied for your faculty records. The framework of meetings is taken from the Research Student Handbook which contains the University’s Code of Practice and Regulations for Research Degrees and should be used as a guide only.

The self auditing process (Section C) embodied in this Log may not be familiar to you but it is quite simple and flexible in its design. Evidence of the development of skills does not necessarily take the form of certificates or awards; rather it is a measure of your accomplishment, whether acting alone or as part of a team. Feedback from others, especially supervisors, also constitutes useful evidence. It will strengthen your claim to have mastered a variety of situations, personal as well as professional, in which you may have demonstrated your skills. Increasingly, employers are asking for such examples at interview and in continuing professional development.

Having done this audit, you should be able to identify those skills which you may need to develop further (Section D). It is recommended that you focus on a limited number of development areas at a time and the section at the end of the self-audit is intended to support this. Development needs and opportunities may change as time progresses, but the practice of intentional development of skills should give you the confidence to develop further in any area you choose.

Using the Log as a Part-time Research Student or Continuing MPhil Student

The timings for the supervisory sessions have been modelled on those for a full time MPhil/PhD student. If you are studying part-time or you intend to complete an MPhil degree, you and your supervisors will need to adjust the timing of the required supervisory sessions to reflect the different period of study.

Section

Section A

Student’s Summary Record

Name:

Student Enrolment No: Email :

Nationality: Fee paying status:

Degree: Mode of Study:

Supervisors

Director of Studies: Email:

School:

Supervisor 2: Email:

School:

Supervisor 3: Email:

School:

Additional Supervisors or Change of Supervisor (if change of supervisor, indicate date/s). If you are adding or changing a supervisor, together with your Director of Studies, your Director of Studies must complete the form RDC.1A as the change will require approval by the Graduate Committee.

Anticipated Date/s Actual Date/s

1. Start Date

2. Project Approval

3. Transfer

4. Field Work away from PU

5. Thesis submission

Funding Applications Outcome

1. First Year

2. Second Year

3. Third Year

4. Any additional years

Student’s Summary Record

The following schedule is a guide that may be modified to match school procedures as long as the minimum requirements as outlined in Plymouth University’s Research Degree Handbook are met.

Date Held Annual Monitoring due?

1. Initial supervisory meeting

2. 3 month meeting

3 6 month meeting yes no

4. 9 month meeting yes no

5. 12 month meeting - preparing for confirmation of route yes no

6. 15 month meeting - confirmation of route yes no

7. 18 month meeting yes no

8. 21 month meeting yes no

9. 24 month meeting yes no

10. 27 month meeting yes no

11. 30 month meeting preparation for submission yes no

12. 33 month meeting preparation for examination yes no

13. 36 month meeting yes no

14. 39 month meeting – writing up year yes no

15. 42 month meeting – writing up year yes no

16. 45 month meeting – writing up year yes no

17. 48 month meeting – writing up year yes no

Dates of any formal requirements stipulated by the DTC

Study Leave Record (study leave refers to absences from University of longer than 4 weeks for research purposes).

Destination Start date End date

1. Destination, start/end dates

2. Destination, start/end dates

3. Destination, start/end dates

Have you submitted an Instance Mobility form? yes If not, please contact your DTC Administrator ASAP.

Agreed Formal Extensions and Suspensions (these Extensions and Suspensions can be granted for medical or personal reasons or in cases of difficult research conditions such as the necessity to master a difficult field language, etc.). The DTC, the Graduate Committee and the Funding Body must officially give approval in writing where appropriate. To ensure the appropriate approval process, together with your Director of Studies, you must complete and submit form RDC.1A.

New anticipated thesis

Reason Start Date End Date submission date

Student’s Summary Record (continued)
______

Research Degree Candidates Annual Monitoring

Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) – annual MONITORING
RESEARCH Student FORM

All research students including those who started during the last academic year must fill in the proforma below – and then send it to by 1st November 2015.

This document should be expanded as appropriate when being word-processed:

1) Your Name and PU registration number:
2) Your Project Title:
3) Type of Research Degree:
4) Current Mode of Study:
5) Date Started:
6) Expected Date of Completion:
7) Which RDC/formal processes did you complete this year (i.e. August 2014– July 2015)? Please tick all that are relevant:
RDC.1 project approval
RDC.2 confirmation of route (for MPhil/PhD students only)
Submission of thesis
Viva voce examination
8) Please list what you have achieved this year (i.e. August 2014 – July 2015) in terms of your research project[1].
9) How does this compare with what you planned to do at the start of the year[2]?
10) What are you most proud of accomplishing this year?
11) Please list any research skills or career development training you have undertaken this year[3].
12) If your supervisors recommended training that you did not undertake, please explain why this was the case.
13) Please list any taught modules you may have undertaken this year.
14) How did your supervisory team help you to progress your research or achieve your goals this year[4]?
15) Is there anything your supervisory team could have done (perhaps differently) to help you to further progress your research or achieve your goals this year?
16) On average, how frequently do you discuss your research with your supervisory team (including phone and e-mail contact):
at least once a week at least every fortnight at least every month
at least every 2 months at least every 3 months
less often than 4 months
17) Which RDC/formal processes will you complete next year (i.e. August 2015 – July 2016)? Please tick all those relevant.
RDC.1 project approval
RDC.2 confirmation of route (for MPhil/PhD students only)
Submission of thesis
Viva voce examination
18) Please list what you will achieve next year (i.e. August 2015 – July 2016) in terms of your research project[5].
19) What research skills or career development training do you need to undertake next year either to achieve either these outcomes or your goals for the future?
20) Is there anything that either your supervisory team or the Doctoral Training Centre can specifically offer to help you to achieve your research goals next year?
21) Any there any issues or problems that you believe might affect your progress with your research studies next year[6]?
22) Do you have any other comments or feedback which you would like to share with your supervisors, your school or the Doctoral Training Centre that you have felt unable to address or include above?
23) Would you like to discuss any issues outside the matters raised in this form outside the supervisory team?
Yes No

Please sign below or input your name if form is to be sent electronically:

Applicant name:
Signature:
Date:

What next?

Once you have completed this form, email it to by no later than 1st November 2014.