Supervision in Higher Education: A Research Ethics Perspective

by Line Wittek

Overview

A lot of uncertainty exists among professors in higher education about what the role of supervisor entails. This uncertainty concerns, among other things, what it means to comply with research ethical principles. Wittek brings together new knowledge and information concerning international guidelines for research ethics in relation to reliability, honesty, respect and accountability; empirical studies on supervision that sheds light on research integrity in supervision and guidance; and practical cases and questions taken from real situations in higher education.

Chapters focus on what supervisors can do to make the ethical guidelines transparent and ensure that their practice is in accordance with the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities (ALLEA) principles. The challenges discussed include how is trust established in guidance and supervision, co-authorship and ownership of data and the need for supervisors to be responsive and sensitive to the vulnerability that can characterise younger researchers who are in an early phase of their career.

Supervision in Higher Education: A Research Ethics Perspective unpacks what current research ethical principles can mean for the supervision of PhD and MA candidates and provides guidance for less formalised contexts. A must-read for supervisors in higher education across all disciplines and professions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781835490969
Publisher:	Emerald Publishing Limited
Publication date:	08/05/2025
Series:	Great Debates in Higher Education
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	5.08(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.39(d)

About the Author

Line Wittek is a Professor in Pedagogy at the University of Oslo, Norway. She researches teaching and learning in higher education; specifically, she focusses on student supervision, peer feedback and writing for learning. She is currently leading the project Faculty peer tutoring in teaching and supervision – Innovating teacher collaboration practices in Norwegian higher education. She has published widely during her academic carrier—both in academic journals and for practitioners.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. The book in a nutshell
Chapter 2. Research ethics guidelines – Background and resources
Chapter 3. Roles and functions in supervision
Chapter 4. When a thesis takes shape
Chapter 5. Collegiality
Chapter 6. Supervision as an institutional and collegial responsibility
Chapter 7. Supervision in higher education – A research ethics perspective
Appendix 1. Ethical guidelines for supervision relationships at UiO
Appendix 2. Problem-based peer mentoring in groups