Communication Literacy in Doctoral Research Supervision

Abstract

Doctoral supervision has become an important research focus as universities face accountability, quality assurance, and financial pressures. Using a correlational— explanatory and predictive—design, this study investigated the relationships between student perceived supervisors’ communication competence, supervisors’ nonverbal immediacy, students’ communication satisfaction, communication mediation, communication frequency and supervisory style. A questionnaire in an online format was utilized to collect pertinent data for this study. A total of 374 research students from 14 countries completed the survey. The predictive model for supervisory style accounted for 83% of the variance. Results indicate that effective supervision is nurtured by a supervisory style high in support and structure that is based on quality and quantity of communication.