Supervising IPA

By Qual Academy partner Elly Phillips

June 20, 2026

The reality of working in higher education is that we're frequently called on to work outside our core expertise. Academics are probably better placed for this challenge than many people, as we're used to finding, interpreting and implementing information. Most of what is out there, though, is directed to students learning a subject or narrowly focused on niche topics, not a general overview of core information. To get up to speed quickly, you need carefully curated information that helps you use your limited time most efficiently. 

That's the gap our Supervising IPA workshops fill.

The starting point

We assume you're familiar with IPA and have experience supervising students. We also assume that you have some familiarity with IPA and can access further resources, particularly 'the' IPA book (Smith, Flowers & Larkin, 2022) and additional papers that we recommend. 

The destination

The destination is one in which you have:

• Confidence in your ability to apply your existing expertise working with students doing IPA;

• Knowledge of current debates and topics of importance in the IPA community;

• Awareness of common student misconceptions and challenges;

• Strategies and practice for recognising and providing feedback for different stages of research.

The journey

We provide some information in our workshops, but we avoid simply repeating material you can access elsewhere. Instead, we focus on applying that information, drawing on our practical experience and discussing examples and situations. We aim to give you the benefit of our experiences and knowledge gained through doing, supervising, examining and reviewing IPA work, filling the gap between the conceptual and having your own experience.

The routes

We have divided the content we cover into two workshops; there is a lot to get through! Our Supervision 1 workshop, concentrates on the background of IPA (and how it's grown and developed) and the design of IPA studies, after a little exercise in positivity, reviewing your transferable skills and expertise. 

Supervision 2 is all about the analysis and writing stages, to build your confidence in reviewing and providing feedback on a student's work. We talk through common scenarios and struggles students encounter during these phases and ideas to help them advance. 

We aim to keep our workshops interactive, so you are asked to share your thoughts and bring examples to discuss. While we have a lot to share, we try to respond to the needs, interests and concerns of each workshop's participants.

Afterwards

We send you more resources after the session, including our curated list of references, with suggestions about which are essential versus expanded reading. We also include checklists and a selection of key information from the session.

We are also happy to work with you one-to-one; you can find out more here and access a booking link. Or contact us either via a form on the website, or by email: elly@qualacademy.co.uk or fiona@qualacademy.co.uk. We're happy to hear from you and figure out how we can help.