APPROPRIATE SUPERVISOR GRADUATE STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS

Given that university faculty members and supervisors practicing in th e community have been involved in at least one research supervisor-gra duate student relationship, it is surprising that so little attention has been paid to the ethical issues involved in such relationships. In deed, as a student and her or his graduate research supervisor may be involved in a close working relationship for many years, it is underst andable that several opportunities can arise that could be considered dual or multiple relationships. Examples of such relationship issues d iscussed in this article include authorship matters, favoritism or ine quitable treatment of students, and sexual relationships. Depending on the nature of the relationship, the impact on students can be quite s evere; although, the effects on students have not been adequately stud ied. Existing ethical guidelines do not provide enough guidance in thi s area where students are in a position of diminished power with respe ct to the supervisor. Following the discussion of relationship issues, we suggest extensions of current guidelines to deal with these issues .