Abstract:

Research at the university requires compliance with standards of excellence, intrinsic to the scientific method, which seeks to "maximize quality and robustness" (ALLEA, 2018, p. 5). The highest degree in the academic field is achieved by obtaining the title of Doctor. Doctoral programmes aim to ensure the quality of research.

Several agents are involved in the doctoral process: the university, the department responsible for doctoral studies, reviewers, the examining board, the thesis supervisor and the doctoral student. The doctoral student is considered a "researcher in training" in a process that requires the supervision of an expert or guide.

This proposal focuses on the thesis supervisor, who must be a reference model in research, in which the doctoral student must feel reflected. The thesis supervisor is responsible for transmitting a series of skills necessary for research to the doctoral student, as stated in the document approved by the Council for Doctoral Education (EUACDE, 2022, p. 14).

The interpersonal relationship between the supervisor and the doctoral student is a key factor in successfully achieving the final goal of doctoral studies (Marsh et al., 2002; Ives & Rowley, 2005). The contribution of this paper is to present a guide of good practices for the thesis supervisor.

There are manuals, aimed at doctoral students, that serve as support for the preparation of the doctoral thesis, such as the classic How to Write a Thesis, by Umberto Eco, or academic writing manuals. However, it is difficult to find guides on how to supervise a doctoral thesis. A relationship of trust and involvement is established between the supervisor and the doctoral student, the success of which depends on the appropriate follow-up by the supervisor, who is responsible for the researcher's training.

This work offers guidelines and good practices to support the follow-up process of doctoral studies. This guide will detail descriptive aspects of the functions, duties and responsibilities that the supervisor assumes, as well as psychosocial aspects, intrinsic to any training process, referring to the relationship between the doctoral student and the supervisor, as integral parts of the doctoral process.

Keywords:

Supervision, doctoral thesis, good practices, guide, doctoral student, duties and responsibilities.