Research Code

Research Climate

Good research thrives in a positive research and learning climate. Building and maintaining such a climate is a group effort, but the weight of responsibility for this lies with the senior researchers in the group.

A stimulating and productive research climate is characterized by:

• Striving to answer relevant research questions through work of high theoretical and methodological quality.
• Awareness of, respect for and adherence to research integrity.
• Creating room for open communication, including discussing uncertainties, dilemmas and errors.
• Constructive feedback
• Room for original thinking and innovation
• Having a good understanding of the current literature within the field.
• Enthusiasm.
• Having a genuine interest in the supervised person.

Motivating leadership

Effective mentorship is reflected in a good professional relationship. Both performing research and supervising it should be a pleasant and valuable experience. A good supervisor also acts as a mentor, a confidant, an advisor, a voice of reason and compassion. Early-career researchers want and need supervisors they can believe in and trust, and whose work they find genuinely interesting.

A motivating supervisor:

• Is enthusiastic about the research.
• Strives for high quality.
• Shows interest in the work performed by the early-career researcher.
• Shows interest in the early-career researcher’s personal circumstances.
• Gives the early-career researcher room to develop his/her own ideas and plans within the constraints of the research project.
• Supports the early-career researcher in designing and conducting experiments, but takes the lead when the work exceeds the early-career researcher’s capabilities.
• Does not ask for results that are too ambitious to achieve.
• Stimulates the development of academic skills.
• Stimulates networking.
• Provides constructive feedback, which entails both positive and critical comments. The latter should be formulated respectfully: address the work rather than the person, be specific, and provide suggestions for improvement that are manageable. Room should be given for the early-career researcher’s response to this feedback.
• Sees a mistake or error as an opportunity for improvement.
• Is open to and asks for constructive feedback from the early-career researcher.

Research project organization

The goal of the research project and the procedures to be followed in the supervisory process should be clear and explicitly agreed upon from the start. This is essential to ensure timely completion of the research.

A good supervisor is committed to successful organization of the research project, and therefore:

• Ensures that the project is based on a well-defined, realistic plan.
• Provides alternative plans, if needed.
• Schedules regular meetings, taking into account the early-career researcher’s preferences, level of experience and ability to work independently.
• Plans education and training.
• Is available for unplanned consultation when needed, within a reasonable time-frame.
• Reviews manuscripts, reports etc. within a reasonable and agreed time.
• Provides the early-career researcher with adequate working conditions, including infrastructure.
• At the start of the project, reaches agreement with the early-career researcher on publication of the research findings, including authorship (see Chapter Authorship).
• Has a performance appraisal interview with the early-career researcher at least once a year.

The PhD trajectory

The supervisor has overall responsibility for the PhD trajectory and has specific duties pertaining to this role. Regulations related to completion of a PhD trajectory are given for Amsterdam UMC locations AMC and VUmc on the website of the Doctoral School, and by the University of Amsterdam and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, respectively. Supervisors should be aware of the prevailing regulations at each location.