Supervising research students in an online mode

Traditionally, the role of research supervisors involves academic guidance (providing feedback and direction in the specific research area or field of study) and providing pastoral care (offering support, motivation, and encouragement) throughout learners' research journey. While many education practitioners unanimously agree that effective supervision requires much more than just sharing the knowledge of the field of study and research expertise, there are known gaps in the best practice supervision particularly in scholarship and research in supervisory practice. Moreover, conventionally, research supervision has occurred on-campus where students are in close proximity to their research supervisors. However, in recent years, there has been a growing demand for online education including online research supervision. As this demand continues to grow, it is important to consider the range of benefits and challenges online research supervision brings. This chapter outlines some of these benefits and challenges and provides a case study on our experience of online research supervision in a fully online 4th year (Honours equivalent) program: The Graduate Diploma of Psychology advanced (GDPA) course designed and delivered by Monash University, Australia. The case study embedded in this chapter demonstrates how we have overcome some of the challenges often faced in online supervision.