Is it ok to receive no feedback in this situation

[gradschoolprobs]

I notice it has become a pattern where my supervisor said he'll provide feedback for this and that, but has not provide actual feedback. Even at our recent meeting, he brought it up that he will provide comments for my latest draft, but it has been days. Does this mean nothing is necessary to change?  Or he's just busy? Or wants me to be independent? I know that he has other duties beside teaching. Also, recently when I emailed asking about a brief idea to add into the draft, he seems to be the "hands off" type telling me to give it a try and see what happens. 

[Levon3]

How many days? It is not uncommon for my supervisor to get my feedback months later, depending on how many other projects they have in the works. Next time you send something for feedback, I would say something like, "I'd like to get this submitted by July 31. Does that timeline work for you?"

As far as emailing about the brief idea, my supervisor doesn't seem to respond to things like that either. They have to decide how much guidance to give you and it sounds like they trust you to integrate the new idea or not.

[maxhgns]

On 6/11/2019 at 3:24 PM, gradschoolprobs said:

IDoes this mean nothing is necessary to change?

No.

On 6/11/2019 at 3:24 PM, gradschoolprobs said:

Or he's just busy? Or wants me to be independent?

Yes and yes. You're low on his priority list.

 

Reading and preparing substantive comments can take some time, and it gets scheduled after the things that seem more pressing (your advisor's grading, conference deadlines, resubmission deadlines, refereeing deadlines, etc.). So it'll take your advisor longer than a few days. Give it a few weeks, unless you're coming up against deadlines yourself. It's not OK for advisors to take a very long time to give you feedback on your dissertation work, but it's also not at all uncommon. Until my last year, when my dissertation was in its final stages, it often took six months or more for me to get feedback. (That's too long, for the record. But you shouldn't be expecting a turnaround of days or even a week or two.)

On 6/11/2019 at 3:24 PM, gradschoolprobs said:

 Also, recently when I emailed asking about a brief idea to add into the draft, he seems to be the "hands off" type telling me to give it a try and see what happens. 

Yeah, you don't need to seek his permission every time you want to change something in your dissertation. Just do it, and if it works, great. If it doesnt, then you can always go back to a previous draft and start over. Part of this process is learning to do and manage these things for yourself, without someone looking over your shoulder at every juncture.

[Lisa_McCoy]

Please do write to your supervisor and ask for feedback. It would be very imp for your work and also will show him that you are a pro-active student and set precedence for how you both carve out a work relationship.

[Sigaba]

On 1/19/2020 at 9:15 PM, Lisa_McCoy said:

Please do write to your supervisor and ask for feedback. It would be very imp for your work and also will show him that you are a pro-active student and set precedence for how you both carve out a work relationship.

You could take this proposed tactic a step further by highlighting issues/points that you find especially challenging.

[avidnote]

On 6/12/2019 at 12:24 AM, gradschoolprobs said:

I notice it has become a pattern where my supervisor said he'll provide feedback for this and that, but has not provide actual feedback. Even at our recent meeting, he brought it up that he will provide comments for my latest draft, but it has been days. Does this mean nothing is necessary to change?  Or he's just busy? Or wants me to be independent? I know that he has other duties beside teaching. Also, recently when I emailed asking about a brief idea to add into the draft, he seems to be the "hands off" type telling me to give it a try and see what happens. 

It sounds like he is probably just busy. Also, professors are no different than students when it come to procrastination (they might even be worse!). KInd reminders should be enough.