In the last decade, there has been much interest in the process of doing a PhD. Much of this has focused on policy issues that have been raised by the research councils and the British Academy. This text offers a guide to the state-of-the-art in postgraduate education and training in the social sciences. It covers the concept of quality in the PhD; examines styles and strategies of supervision with a view to improving completion rates; discusses the process of supervision in years one, two and three; and considers the motives of supervisors and students and their relationship.