Technological options in supervising remote research students

Students undertaking remote research degrees need special support from their supervisors, since they lack the rich environment of on-campus students and the face-to-face contact with supervisors and peers. Information Technology provides a wide variety of channels, most of them fast and relatively inexpensive, for developing and sustaining viable supervisory communication. An analysis of these options along the written/spoken and synchronous/asynchronous axes allows us to develop a useful taxonomy of communication for research supervision. Most of these options are usually regarded as second-best in comparison to face-to-face discussions with the supervisor. However, many IT media can be recorded, and so are retrievable. This feature emerges as a central component of effective supervision, and one which is not often accommodated in face-to-face supervision. A combination of media, involving maximum immediacy and personal interaction combined with recording for later review, has been shown in practice to yield the richest and most flexible supervision.