Awareness in Research Supervision; A Single Subject Study (Nursing Science/Skyepleievitenskap/Omvardnasdsforskning‪)‬

ABSTRACT Theoretically, one part of supervision is the direct object i.e. what can be learnt, another part is the indirect object aiming at how the learning process is constituted and influenced by both the doctoral student and his/her supervisor. Emphasising both the what and the how object of learning as well as their interrelationship may be an important factor for the development of the role of supervisor in research. The aim of this study was to describe supervision of doctoral students from the perspective of a research supervisor. Interview data were analysed in accordance with content analysis. The result showed that research supervision had a latent content of awareness of underlying structures and the preconditions for learning that became visible through self-appraisal, orientation towards a goal, in the interaction and the performance of an art. Awareness was a cornerstone in research supervision that enabled both the what and the how aspect of learning.