A Study of the Hidden Factors Effective on Selecting a Supervisor: A Phenomenological Study

Hidden curriculum is one of the new topics presented by scholars of curriculum development during recent years. In this study, the criteria for selecting a supervisor were studied through experiences gained by PhD students. This research is a qualitative and a phenomenological study. The study participants consisted of 54 graduated PhD students from both medical and non-medical state and Azad universities. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Colaizzi method. Moreover, simple random sampling method was used. Thus, the present study focused on the hidden experiences of PhD students on selecting a supervisor. In this study, 12 main categories were extracted from 123 common factors of this investigation. These categories consisted of behavioral and ethical characteristics, executive positions, scientific positions, being well-known or famous, and having access to supervisors, skill and mastery in research and statistics, specialty and expertise in a specific field, access to senior students, and limitations and constraints,, gender, supportive ability of supervisors, and the anticipating the future. The results showed that hidden factors such as ethical and behavioral characteristics of supervisors or professors, their academic and scientific ranks, governing laws on the universities, guidelines and regulations of the universities, informal networks, and the possible supports and limitations can affect the selection of a supervisor.