Hi all,

I am currently in the year before the last year that I ought to submit my thesis. But, everything is still unsettled. Part of the problem is possibly me, but my supervisor keeps on changing his ideas all the time. In every meeting between me and him, there is no move forward but changes, which basically erase what I have done so far. It is like I need to start doing my research again after every meeting I have with him. This is really frustrating. I hope to be able to arrive at a solid plan, but this does not happen so far.

Not long ago, after he change my project again big time, he mention that I ought to convert my registration status to 'part-time' student so that I would have more time to complete my PhD. But, this is impossible due to my visa status. I panic and quickly email my supervisor, who sent a reassuring email back to me that I should not be worry and that I will be finish on time. During the latest meeting, he also told me that he would like to co-author a paper with me to submit that toward for my PhD completion.

I talked to my other PhD friends and they say they think something fishy is going on. Why suddenly mention 'part-time' registration? Why co-author? Why change all the time? What is in his mind?

I am trying my best not to be pessimist, but it is hard not to think about it after hearing comments from my friends. This PhD degree really means a lot to me, I am afraid that I would not be able to make it, given what is happening to me.

Thanks for you advice in advance

Anon

What field are you in (broadly)? There are cultural differences in PhD management and research practice in different fields. For example, in sciences it is rare for junior researchers to be sole author on a paper - the PI's name will almost always be there. In the arts and humanities this is less common.

Sometimes research is necessarily iterative. I work with external collaborators and they've just signed off on something that's taken about a year of me doing something, getting feedback from them, changing it, getting more feedback, changing it etc.... It's been a frustrating but (to some extent) necessary process. Sometimes having to 're-do' things is unavoidable, but not always. But if you let us know your field we may be better able to advise as to what is 'normal'.

Do you have a secondary supervisor and/or postgraduate tutor also involved in this process?

Thanks HazyJane. Here is more information about my case.

I am in Management Department, so that is more related to arts/humanities than to sciences

My primary supervisor just got another person (his former student who is now teaching in the department) involved with me. He is sort of like my secondary supervisor now. I am going to have a meeting with him next week, and will try to discuss my difficulty with him. But I am still not sure if I should be 100% open with him as there maybe something negative about my primary supervisor.

I feel that my primary supervisor hope that everything I have done so far will eventually fit together. But I still cannot see that in sight (although my primary supervisor still sound confident). And I need to submit the thesis next year already.

Echoing what HazyJane said yes, it is not unusual for supervisors to co-author their PhD students' papers. In my field (biological science), the important thing is to make sure you are first author.

However the impression I get is you feel repeatedly pressured by your supervisor to keep chopping and changing. But it is your thesis. I repeat YOUR thesis. You want a PhD don't you? Then you need to take ownership. That's a large part of what it's all about. At this stage, you should be telling your supervisor what you are doing and he should broadly be offering you useful support and mentoring. And if he's still trying to micromanage and p*** you about, you need to either work on your assertiveness or take it to a higher level, as appropriate.

I wish you luck with it.

Sometimes we forgot but supervisors are humans too. They often just push these ideas around and then forget about them and say something contradictory in the next meeting. Don't read too much into it. As SimonG says, just decide what you want to do for your PhD and then tell your supervisor what you have decided and he should support that.