[place your institution's name or logo here]	

AGREEMENT FOR SUPERVISION OF A RESEARCH STUDENT 
Student 
Name: 	Email: 	
Course
Degree: 	Part or Full Time: 	Year: 	
Title of Project (<20 words)
	
Supervisor(s)
Name: 	Email: 	
Department
•	For joint supervision between departments, indicate any agreement over division of student funding.
	
Student's Research Committee
•	Typically three people, inclusive of the supervisor. Some projects may benefit from a practitioner or other layperson on the committee. Some undergraduate projects may not need a committee. In some institutions, the supervisor is not the chair of the committee. 

•	Regard this agreement as an aid to planning and completing the project. 
•	Feel free to change, omit, or add items to suit your purposes.
•	The agreement is not intended to be legally binding. 
•	Make copies for the signatories.
•	Consult the contract regularly to check that you are on track.
•	If the research question or methods change substantially, modify the contract, highlight the changes, and send copies to the appropriate people.
•	General features of student projects:
•	The project usually represents original research. Confirmation of a controversial published finding may be justifiable.  
•	The student must demonstrate ability to work independently.  
•	Undergraduate, honors and masters projects should not involve methods unfamiliar to the supervisor or not in use in the institution.
•	An undergraduate or honors project is often a pilot study that does not have a sufficient sample size for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.  A masters project should be of sufficient quality to result in a publication.  A doctoral  project should result in several publications. Doctoral projects usually involve several linked projects, one or more of which may be methodological.

What question does the project address?
•	Aim for a project that is meaningful for the researchers and the subjects. 
•	Good questions usually arise from experience or interest in a topic. 
•	Ideally the question comes from the student.

	

1.	Describe the design of the study, the subjects, and the sample size.  List ALL measures, assays, and tests as outcome (dependent) variables, mechanism variables (dependent variables that might correlate with the outcome variables), treatment variables for an intervention, other independent variables (including subject characteristics) that might explain outcomes or individual responses to the intervention, and any other subject characteristics. 
•	Consider alternative designs; choose the best for the available resources.
•	Use this checklist to help identity variables: anatomical, anthropometric, biomechanical, biochemical, biophysical, blood, dietary, demographic, environmental, genetic, performance (lab, field, competitive), physiological, psychometric, training. 
•	Consider alternative ways to obtain each measure; choose the best balance of practicality and precision.
•	For multiple projects, duplicate this panel:
Design: 
Subjects: 
Sample size: 
Outcomes: 
Mechanisms: 
Treatments: 
Independents: 
Characteristics: 	

2.	Who is giving statistical advice on the design and analysis?

3.	List any difficult, invasive or time-consuming measures that require another person's help.  Who is helping, and what is their status on any publication (co-authorship or acknowledgement)?
Measures: 
Person(s): 
Status: 	

4.	Describe any pilot work you have done or will do to establish the feasibility of the project, including the ability of the student to perform the measurements reliably. 
•	Consider a reliability study on the outcome variable/s.

5.	What problems could jeopardize the project, and what actions will you take?
•	Examples of problems: main assay doesn't work; not enough subjects available; subjects lose interest
•	Examples of solutions (be specific): use alternative assay; do study at different time of year; change the type of subject; change the scope or design.
Problems: 
Actions: 	

6.	What is the supervisor's initial contribution?
•	Suggestions: discusses feasibility, scope, design; suggests appropriate or additional literature; provides or arranges initial training in the techniques for student or other personnel involved in the study.

7.	What is the approximate cost of the project?  Where are the funds coming from?
•	If the project involves substantial departmental expenditure, the supervisor will negotiate approval. The departmental signature at the end of this form indicates agreement to fund.
Cost: 	Funding agency: 	

8.	If  there is time to write a grant application, what is the funding agency, who will write the first draft, when is the deadline for the department to view the application, and when is the deadline with the funding agency?
•	Some funding agencies require ethical approval prior to submission of grant application.
Funding agency: 
Who writes first draft: 
Departmental deadline: 
Agency deadline: 	

9.	Who will write the first draft of the application for human or animal ethical approval?  When is the deadline for submission?
•	No work involving human or animal subjects can begin before approval.
Who: 	Deadline: 	

10.	Indicate who is responsible for each of the following issues. (Show any details below the list.)
•	Securing assistance of others (e.g. technician, nurse, doctor, academic): 
•	Certification of student (e.g. for general lab safety procedures): 
•	Licensing of supervisor (e.g. for handling radioactive materials): 
•	Licensing of laboratory (e.g. for genetically modified organisms): 
•	Calibration and maintenance of equipment: 
•	Agreements or contracts for access to outside equipment/facilities: 
•	Insurance cover by the University for leased equipment/animals: 
•	Intellectual property rights for collaborative work with other institutions: 

11.	Who will meet obligations to funding agencies, such as writing interim and final reports?  What are the dates for meeting such obligations? 
Who: 	Dates: 	

12.	Who will provide feedback to subjects when the project is finished? What about an informal thank-you function or other token of gratitude? 
Feedback: 	Token: 	

13.	What will be the role of the supervisor in obtaining and analyzing the data?  
•	Examples: active assistance with whatever; training of other personnel; guidance with analysis only.

14.	How many hours per week will the student spend in the lab or field gathering data, and many hours per week on the project generally (when gathering data and when writing up)?
Lab/field: 	Project: 	

15.	What additional commitments (teaching, demonstrating, work, family) could interfere with the above time commitments?

16.	When will the student table a written proposal and give a seminar on the proposal?
Written proposal: 	Seminar: 	

17.	How often or when will the student have regular meetings with the supervisor and supervisory committee, and who will keep and circulate minutes of the meetings?
•	Suggestions:  Initially a weekly meeting, then at least monthly with supervisor and twice yearly with any committee.  Put dates in diary now.  Student keeps and circulates minutes to committee and graduate studies coordinator or head of department.
•	The supervisor should sign off the student's lab book at the meetings.
•	The student should circulate a progress report before committee meetings.
Meetings with supervisor: 
Meetings with committee: 
Minutes: 	

18.	Who will take responsibility to arrange meetings and a new time for missed meetings?
•	Note any restrictions on access to the supervisor for unscheduled meetings or advice.

19.	What shared or departmental equipment will be used, when it is available for this project, who will book the equipment or otherwise ensure it will be available, who will return borrowed equipment, and when?
•	Book times NOW, if possible.
Equipment: 	
When available: 	Booked by: 	
Returned by: 	When returned: 	

20.	Which departmental seminars and journal clubs will the student attend?

21.	Will the student write up the project as a paper for a journal before extending it into a thesis? If so, name the journal.
•	Highly recommended!  The supervisor may insist on completion of a manuscript before reviewing the thesis.  Even if the data are not worthy of publication, the experience of writing a paper is valuable.

22.	What is the model for the form of the thesis (e.g., traditional chapters, journal manuscript, collection of manuscripts with Introduction and Conclusion) and style of the thesis (styles for headings, references, tables, and figures; e.g., APA, a specific journal, a past thesis)?
Form: 
Style: 	

23.	When will the student read thoroughly a resource on scientific writing?

24.	Indicate the approximate dates of submission of the first draft of the various sections of the paper or thesis.
•	If the thesis is to be a collection of papers, state the approximate dates for submitting the first draft of each paper, and alter the headings below accordingly. 
•	The student should write a few pages for the supervisor to give feedback as soon as possible.
•	Write the first draft of the Abstract before the Discussion. 
Introduction (+ lit review): 	Methods: 	
Results: 	Abstract: 	
Discussion: 		

25.	How many drafts of each section of the thesis will the supervisor or appropriate committee member review, and how long at most will the supervisor or committee member take to turn each draft around?  
•	Suggestion:  one week turn-around of one thorough review of each section, plus a 2-day turn-around of a skim-read of a complete draft.  Additional reviews may count against the student when the thesis is assessed.  
•	The supervisor should identify problems and make suggestions for improvement but should not rewrite more than the occasional phrase or sentence.
# of drafts: 	Turn-around time: 	

26.	What are the approximate dates for completion of lab work and submission of the thesis?
•	Failure to meet official deadlines may incur penalties. 
Lab work: 	Submission: 	

27.	What are the student's plans after completion of the thesis?

28.	If the data are sufficient to submit for publication, who will write the first draft of the manuscript, who will be corresponding author, and what will be the order of the authors?  
•	Suggestion:  first author is the person who writes the first draft;  student should have first option;  if draft is still not written within 6 months of completion of thesis,  the supervisor may write it and claim first authorship (student will be included as coauthor);  supervisor is corresponding author, unless it is agreed the student submits the manuscript. 
•	Alphabetical order of authors is not appropriate.
Write first draft: 
Corresponding author: 
Order of authors: 	

29.	If the student is dissatisfied with supervision and has been unable to resolve it with the supervisor, who will the student consult?
•	This item does not limit the right of the student to use the normal disputes procedures within the institution.

30.	The student and supervisor should be familiar with the regulations for the degree.  What points, if any, need clarification?
•	The regulations may require evidence of constructive criticism and clear, accurate and succinct reporting.
•	Check for time limits and deadlines for submission for graduation.

31.	Outline any other relevant issues. 

Memorandum of Understanding
Please sign and show date to indicate agreement with the above issues.  
Student: .................................................…………
Supervisor(s): .....................................................................................................…………..  
Committee member(s): .....................................................................................................……..  
Head of Department / Research Coordinator:  ................................................…………….