Research Supervision Policy

PURPOSE

This policy details the principles and processes under which Higher Degree Research (HDR) and Masters capstone supervision is conducted at Leaders Institute (LI). All research supervision undertaken at LI complies with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2025 and the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research.

SCOPE

All research supervisors, HDR students, and Masters capstone students

PRINCIPLES

LI is committed to successful research outcomes, including a positive experience for HDR students and Masters capstone students, timely completion of projects, and the development of high-quality research graduates. The Institute ensures that supervisors, HDR students, and Masters capstone students:

• engage in research training activities that foster responsible conduct of research;
• understand their obligations regarding academic and research integrity;
• maintain equity, diversity, and inclusion in the supervisory relationship;
• declare any conflict of interest related to the supervisory team;
• undertake conflict resolution with all parties working together in good faith and with mutual respect;
• are given opportunities to publish and/or disseminate research;
• are mindful of authorship, intellectual property, and power imbalance issues;
• engage in consistent and proactive progress reporting;
• promote research safety and transparency;
• comply with legislative requirements for data management, ownership, privacy, access, and storage.

All Masters capstone students require a supervisor for their capstone or research projects. All HDR students require a principal supervisor and at least one associate supervisor. Research students have all relevant rights listed in LI’s policies.

They also have the right to:

• access quality supervision;
• in extenuating circumstances, request a change to the supervisory team;
• negotiate their research topic within the constraints of LI resources and expertise;
• negotiate the stages of their research degree;
• develop their own digital research profile.

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES

All HDR students and Masters capstone students are expected to:

• abide by all relevant LI policies, including the Code of Conduct Policy;
• meet regularly with the appointed supervisors and keep accurate records of meetings;
• submit material to supervisors within the agreed timeframes;
• consider carefully and respectfully feedback provided by the supervisors;
• submit the final project by the due date.

If a HDR student or Masters capstone student wishes to discuss any concerns about progress of supervision in confidence, they may directly contact the relevant Program Director.

HDR STUDENT ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

HDR students are required to submit to the HDR Program Director the End of Semester Progress Report, including a list of academic or professional publications or works submitted for publication. The HDR Program Director will provide these details to the Vice President Academic for inclusion in the Annual Academic Report tabled to Academic Board.

SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES

Supervisors have all relevant staff rights listed in LI’s policies. They also have the right to withdraw from the supervisory team. Reasons can include, but are not limited to:

• changes to the research topic;
• changes to leave or employment arrangements;
• change in the level of appointment of a supervisor.

All HDR student and Masters capstone supervisors are expected to:

• abide by all relevant LI policies, including the Code of Conduct Policy.
• meet regularly with the student and keep accurate records of meetings;
• provide constructive and timely feedback and support to the student in all research requirements;
• advise the student on any additional skills training required for the research;
• notify the relevant Program Director if the student is not meeting expected progress goals;
• encourage the student to present their research at a conference or in a publication;
• where possible, remain as supervisor for the duration of the research project;
• organise alternate arrangements and inform the relevant Program Director if absent for more than four weeks in a semester;
• identify shortcomings in the research and provide written and oral feedback for improvements;
• mark the completed project in a timely manner if supervising coursework capstone research.

HDR PRINCIPAL SUPERVISOR ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

All HDR students require one principal supervisor who is approved by the Vice President Academic as an HDR principal supervisor on the LI Academic Staff Register. The principal supervisor is expected to:

• undertake LI’s HDR supervisor induction prior to commencement of the supervision period;
• maintain currency in HDR supervision training;
• provide guidance to the HDR student in preparing for confirmation of candidature;
• ensure research proposals are confined to the funding allocations of the LI stipend (excluding external research grants).
• complete the principal supervisor section of the End of Semester Progress Report which is submitted by the student to the HDR Program Director;
• identify and recommend external examiners.

HDR ASSOCIATE SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES

All HDR students require at least one associate supervisor who is approved by the Vice President Academic as an HDR associate or principal supervisor on the LI Academic Staff Register. The associate supervisor is expected to:

• undertake LI’s HDR supervisor induction prior to commencement of the supervision period;
• maintain currency in HDR supervision training;
• assist the principal supervisor and HDR student in research progress within the period of candidature;
• provide continuity of advice during periods of absence by the principal supervisor;
• provide input regarding confirmation of candidature and progress checks;
• perform additional duties as negotiated with the HDR Program Director, principal supervisor, and/or HDR student.

CRITERIA FOR MASTERS CAPSTONE SUPERVISORS

Supervisors of Masters capstone students must:

• be employed or contracted by LI;
• hold a completed N+1 degree or equivalent professional qualifications;
• be current in scholarship in their field of expertise and the field of higher education learning and teaching.

CRITERIA FOR HDR PRINCIPAL SUPERVISORS

HDR principal supervisors of HDR students must:

• be employed or contracted by LI;
• hold a completed doctorate in a relevant field;
• be current in required HDR supervision training and professional development;
• be research active in a relevant field (relative to opportunity);
• have appropriate time available to perform the duties of principal supervisor.

CRITERIA FOR HDR ASSOCIATE SUPERVISORS

HDR associate supervisors of HDR students must:

• have relevant qualifications and/or experience to inform the HDR student’s research;
• have appropriate time available to perform the duties of associate supervisor;
• be current in required HDR supervision training and professional development.

Academic staff who have no prior experience with HDR supervision are expected to serve as associate supervisor under the mentorship of an experienced principal supervisor at least once before they are eligible to be a principal supervisor.

SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIPS

Supervisors, HDR students, and Masters capstone students are expected to maintain professional and ethical supervisory relationships according to LI’s Code of Conduct Policy. The supervisory role is inherently hierarchical with an imbalance of power between supervisors and research students. Relationships of a sexual or romantic nature between a supervisor and research student are inappropriate.

As noted in the Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response Policy, LI has no tolerance for sexual misconduct.

First-Time HDR Supervisors

Academic staff who have no prior experience with HDR supervision are expected to serve as associate supervisor under the mentorship of an experienced principal supervisor at least once before they are eligible to be a principal supervisor on their own.

If this is not possible (for example if a mentor is not available within the relevant discipline), a first-time supervisor may apply in writing to the HDR Program Director to be considered for eligibility as principal supervisor, stating reasons for this consideration. These reasons may include one or more of the following:

• significant experience with principal supervision of research projects within Masters coursework degrees;
• substantive participation in supervision training;
• demonstrable ongoing mentorship relationship with an internal or external senior academic (who can be outside of the person’s discipline).

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

In the event of a conflict of interest, the relevant Program Director will intervene to provide a satisfactory solution (such as appointing an alternative supervisor).

AUTHORSHIP

LI adheres to the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research to ensure that authorship is an honest and fair reflection of contributions to the research output. Supervisors must be particularly mindful of the power imbalance that exists between supervisors and research students. Supervisors are expected to actively work to ensure that this is not abused, and that all research students are provided with an appropriate and supportive professional environment in which to undertake their research.

Criteria for authorship includes one or more of the following:

• conception and design;
• acquisition of data;
• analysis and interpretation of the data;
• contribution to knowledge, where justified, including First Nations Peoples knowledge;
• drafting or critically revising significant parts of the research output.

A person who qualifies as an author must not be included or excluded without their written agreement. A record of this agreement must be kept by the collaborating researchers.

Unacceptable authorship inclusions

Authorship is not attributed based on:

• provision of funding, data, or resources;
• routine technical support or advice;
• the author’s supervisor or head of department (‘gift authorship’).

Authors must disclose any use Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools and are fully responsible for the content produced.

The HDR or Masters capstone student is typically identified as the first author on any work arising from their research assessment. Variation to this principle would require a strong justification approved by the relevant Program Director. If the student has not published the research six months after the research was completed, the supervisor may request the student’s approval, in writing, to take the lead in preparing a manuscript for publication.

PROCEDURES
APPOINTMENT OF SUPERVISORS

Prior to course enrolment, HDR students and Masters capstone students should approach a possible LI supervisor based on the area of interest and the supervisor’s area of expertise. Supervision arrangements are approved by the relevant Program Director, taking workload allocations into consideration.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

A supervisor having trouble with any aspect of supervision of a HDR student or Masters capstone student should discuss the problem with the student and other supervisor (if appropriate). Where the issue cannot be resolved within the supervisory team, the matter should be brought to the relevant Program Director for informal resolution. If conflict between supervisors continues, a supervisor may follow the Staff Grievance Policy.

CHANGES TO SUPERVISORY TEAM

HDR students and Masters capstone students may apply to change supervision arrangements at any time. The student should first discuss proposed changes with the current supervisory team or with the relevant Program Director. Requests for changes to the supervisory team should be submitted in writing to the relevant Program Director.

AUTHORSHIP PROCEDURES

Collaborating researchers must each agree, at an early stage in the collaboration, on the status as authors of any publication resulting from the research project. The agreement should be in writing and include:

• identification of those who will be recognised as authors;
• description of the contribution of each author; and
• an indication of the order in which the authors will appear on the research output.

A HDR student or Masters capstone student who has a complaint or grievance concerning any action or decision of a supervisor, and is unable to reach a satisfactory resolution through informal discussions, may follow the Complaints, Grievances, and Appeals Policy.