What did I finish?
Name the analytical, reading or writing task, not simply the time spent.
Project support · repeat every week
The weekly supervision checkpoint.
A simple routine for turning each supervision meeting into clear decisions and realistic work for the week ahead.
Bring: the current brief, evidence produced and no more than three priority questions.
Leave with: recorded decisions, responsibilities and dated next targets.
Repeat: use the same structure at every meeting.
Before the meeting
Show what changed since the last meeting.
What can I show?
Bring a table, plot, output, code block, search record, decision note, paper-appraisal reading note or short drafted section.
What did I decide?
State the choice, evidence used, assumptions and any consequence for the project plan.
Where do I need guidance?
Frame up to three specific questions and explain what you have already tried.
During the meeting
Use the time for judgement and decisions.
- Reconnect to the question. Confirm that the current task still advances the agreed research question and project plan.
- Review one piece of evidence. Explain what it shows, what remains uncertain and where interpretation may be weak.
- Resolve the priority questions. Record advice, alternatives considered and the decision made.
- Identify risks or blockers. Name data, ethics, access, methods, writing or timetable issues early.
- Agree the next deliverables. Make each target specific enough to verify at the next meeting.
After the meeting
Convert discussion into accountable next steps.
| Target | Evidence of completion | Owner | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| One specific analytical or writing action | The file, output, note or draft that will exist | Named person | Agreed date |
| One decision or question to resolve | A documented answer and its implication | Named person | Agreed date |
Two or three completed targets are usually more useful than a long list that cannot be reviewed. Add each analytical decision to the methods decision log and each substantive interpretation to the interpretation record.
Copy and reuse
Bring this checkpoint every week.
Download the weekly Word template
Complete the six preparation prompts before each meeting, then use the meeting record to capture advice, decisions, next actions, evidence, ownership and due dates.
Download the Word template (.docx)Weekly supervision checkpoint
Project question:
Current project stage:
Before the meeting
- Completed since the last meeting:
- Evidence I am bringing:
- Decisions made and why:
- Problems, uncertainty or risks:
- My three priority questions:
- Guidance or approval needed:
Agreed during the meeting
- Advice given:
- How I will use that advice:
- Decision and rationale:
- Target 1 / evidence / owner / due:
- Target 2 / evidence / owner / due:
- Target 3 / evidence / owner / due:
- Supervisor action / due:
“I worked on the analysis this week.” Is that a useful update?
Not yet. Name the completed task and bring the evidence. For example: “I checked the missing outcome values, recorded the revised analysis denominator and added the decision to the methods log.”
Go deeper · connect the checkpoint to the wider project
Open the complete project guidanceConnect supervision decisions to the question, evidence, analysis and written argument.
Keep the analysis brief currentRecord important changes to the question, population, variables and planned analysis.
Keep the search reproducibleRecord each source, exact query, limit, result count and next decision while it is fresh.
Bring one appraised paperShow what it found, what threatens the result and what it can safely support in the project.
Keep reading traceableSave, verify and note each useful source before it enters the project argument.