The first challenge you are going to face writing a dissertation is the choice of a topic. First, it may seem that it is as easy as ABC as you have the freedom to give preference to any topic you like. However, to pick up a really worthy topic that will help you to be awarded you will have to make a research. The very first thing you should do is to take a sheet of paper and brainstorm dissertation topic ideas. Write down everything that comes to your mind. The list should include those topics you have always been interested in or those, which attract your attention, which you are passionate about.
When you are ready with the list of topics, start your research. What does this mean? There are certain criteria you should take into account picking up a good topic. Are sure that the topic that looks interesting for you will be attractive to the committee? This is the most important thing to keep in mind when giving preference to the dissertation theme.
The choice of the topic of your research has the most important, in many respects determining value. The effectiveness of the thesis depends on the correct approach to determining the topic. When choosing a topic, its relevance is taken into account as well as the novelty of posing a scientific problem. The relevance of the topic is determined in this case by two parameters – the need, first, in its study by science itself, and secondly, by practice. Here, practice is understood in a broad sense, it involves the use of the materials of the thesis not only in practical work but also in the educational process as special courses, additional sources for the disclosure of the topic.
In determining the dissertation topic, the novelty of the formulation and solution of the problem is of utmost importance. Determining it, it is necessary to take into account earlier studies and conclusions made by the predecessors. The topic should be formulated so that its research may become a new word in science.
4 Steps You Should Take to Pick Up the Best Topic for a Dissertation
When choosing the most suitable topic for the dissertation paper, it is necessary to take four steps that play a significant role in the whole work on the thesis.
- Determine the degree of the problem’s elaboration, study its historiography. Evaluate the conclusions of its predecessors, determine which of them remain actual, and which need to be reinterpreted, isolate questions that have been circumvented by the researchers, and on this basis justify the novelty of the forthcoming study.
- Substantiate the scientific necessity and significance, the relevance of the topic. Formulate the main objective of the research and the tasks that contribute to its implementation. You should determine the subject of the research and establish a chronological framework for the study of the phenomenon.
- Determine the methodology of the conducted research and evaluate the range of available sources. Outline theoretical questions on which new interpretations and conclusions will be offered in the thesis.
- Justify the practical significance of the research conducted, identifying, in which spheres its results can be applied.
Most Important Things to Remember When Selecting a Thesis Topic
- The topic should be interesting to you;
- Avoid too broad and vague topics;
- The topic should be timely and socially significant, as well as interesting in comparison with other similar studies;
- Choose the goal and tasks that you can solve in the time frame set for the research;
- Make sure that you can find all the necessary sources of information.
And one more advice – always discuss the topic of the thesis with your scientific supervisor. He or she should approve it before you start working on your dissertation, otherwise, you may just waste time spending time on the research, which topic wouldn’t be evaluated as the worthy one.