Why good dissertation topics are so hard to find
Finding a topic to write about: the most important problem of the preparation stage.
One of the most common problems the students encounter with while starting on the dissertation is choosing an interesting, relevant and important topic. It takes a lot of thinking, brainstorming and looking to finally come across the perfect one. The process takes so much time and effort because a topic for a dissertation has to meet a lot of requirements, namely:
- Interest. The topic shall be as of personal interest to you as to the possible audience of your paper. If you select the topic you don't personally like, it will be very hard to make yourself write it. And if the topic will not interest the necessary group of people, all you effort will go in vain.
- Relevance. This point corresponds to the previous one. The topic shall be interesting to the modern world and up-to-date. Make sure it is still relevant and there is still something to research about it. Otherwise, you will only be inventing the wheel one more time.
- Feasibility. You need to make sure the topic is real and possible to write about. Check if there are methods possible to apply during your research, that you will be able to find enough material to conduct a research. Keep in mind, that a dissertation is a paper of a big length, check if you have enough information to write about.
- Your competence. You can come across a brilliant topic, but halfway through you will understand that it is too much for you, it is out of your field of study or requires some special knowledge or skills you do not posses. Check all of the aspects you plan to write about and make sure you know enough to deeply explain them.
Steps to find a good topic meeting all of the requirements.
- Look for something you are knowledgeable and interested in. Think about what interested you the most during your studying years and about the knowledge and skills you gained earlier and how you can apply it.
- Choose a branch with specific and real problem exist. This is the key to making sure your topic is relevant. Check the recent researches and conferences to give you an outlook of what is going on in the scientific world.
- Look for previous relevant researches on your topic and make sure there is a new approach or anything you can add to the studies. It will make it much easier for you to find necessary sources and at the same time bring something new into the modern science.
