Doctoral supervision : a case study in Western Sydney University, Australia

![CDATA[Doctoral study is the highest level of study where the best academically performing students carry out specified research under an expert supervisory panel in a university. The role of a doctoral supervisor is to train a student having little/no experience in research (novice) so that the student becomes an independent researcher at the end of his candidature. The paper presents the author’s experiences in supervising doctoral students in Western Sydney University during the last seven years. The author highlights the common difficulties faced by the doctoral students. It has been noted that the doctoral students face significant difficulty in literature review, research writing and statistical analysis in the field of statistical hydrology (author’s area of expertise). However, a strategic supervision can make a student successful in gaining necessary skills to publish high quality journal articles and to write an excellent thesis.]]