A peer called supervisor

Metaphorically speaking

Research in your final academic project means planning and conducting a journey in which you have recourse to a peer whose advice and assistance you can seek if you are stuck and cannot solve a challenge on your own. This is not your tourist guide, this is not your travel insurance, and it’s also not the designated first responder. But it’s a peer who has been around that particular neck of the woods and who can provide you with insight.

Consequently, try to consider your supervisor as nothing more and nothing less than a person who may be able to provide you with useful insight. Peers are not all-knowing and all-powerful. Their schedules are busy, and they are, in many cases, on their own journey. There is a good chance that your supervisor can provide you with useful information, but the further you are away from their field of expertise, this probability dwindles. Sometimes, supervisors are wrong in their recommendations.

In the end, your responsibility to your project is to arrive at valid, reliable, objective, and relevant insight. It is not to blindly follow your peer’s instruction. It is not even to make her or him particularly happy. Your responsibility is to generate what you feel comfortable arguing is worthwhile research. Sometimes, your supervisor can help. Most of the time, it’s really and truly all up to you.

(This is a preview section. The full chapter on this topic continues with the sections “Rough coordinates”, “Train of thought”, “In essence”, “To reflect”, “Two travellers’ tales”, “Devil’s advocate”, and “How to tackle”.)