One of the questions most asked by doctoral students is how to find a dissertation topic. There are many possible interpretations of his question. Some folks want to know where to find research ideas. Others are asking, of all the interesting topics, how to choose one for a dissertation. Then comes the question of finding a professor interested and willing to advise the project you choose. And, finally there’s the question I wish people would ask: how to know whether the topic will be manageable? Let’s take them one at a time.
Where do you find ideas? Everywhere and anywhere. Look around. If you have a job, consider situations that seem puzzling or interesting, e.g., why does someone behave a certain way? What circumstances produce certain outcomes? Think about the literature you are reading: what articles seem really interesting? Was there an aspect of a research project that seemed to be overlooked? In your classroom or lab situations or in your institution, what factors affect the results of experiments, how students behave, how the administration or faculty make decisions? Write down all of the ideas you find interesting.
How do you choose? A dissertation topic needs to meet several criteria. Number one is whether it is sufficiently interesting to keep you going when you are doing the boring parts of data organization and analysis. There are times in the research process when you are simply “shoveling” in my terms. For example, right now I have one-page descriptions of 700 student projects that must be categorized along about 8 dimensions, 3 of which have 11 possible variations, if I am going to answer my research questions. The only way to do it is to create one or two big spreadsheets, read each project, and fill in the blanks. It will take weeks before I can begin to look for patterns. That’s shoveling. It’s my interest in the answers that keeps me going after I’ve done only 100 of them, and still have 600 to go.
Your topic should also lead to new insights, as a minimum for you, and even better, for others. It should address a new question, a new aspect of an old question, a question in a new context, with a different population or a new way to use the outcomes. Or, it can seek to replicate the findings of reported research, in a different context.
How to find a topic of interest to a professor? Ask. Some professors with very well-organized research endeavors might be looking for a student to take on a particular question, or will only advise students whose research dovetails with theirs. Others are more eclectic and enjoy the opportunity to work with a student on a project that might only tangentially relate to their research interests, e.g., the population is similar, or the research method of particular interest. Other professors look primarily for good students with interesting ideas. Your best indicators are the courses faculty teach and articles they have written. Always work with a faculty member whose courses you have taken.
How do you know the topic will be manageable? There are lots of interesting questions that need to be addressed through good research. Some can be characterized as “save the world” research, they are so important. Many of those, however, require years of research undertaken in well-planned building-block increments before we will see the payoff. The purpose of a dissertation in a doctoral program is to demonstrate that the student is capable of good quality independent research. Therefore, the topic should be manageable within a year, or 2 years at most.
How will you know? Use your current courses to check out related literature and the methodologies other researchers have used to address similar questions. When a course requires a research paper, use it to pilot test of your topic. Assess your access to the data, people, and/or equipment and financial support you will need. Consider whether the dissertation might lead to further research, especially if you will seek a faculty position at a research university. Prepare a mock-up of a timetable for each phase of the research. Be realistic and include time lags for institutional review of protocols, or permissions to for access to people or data. If you really want to save the world, use your dissertation to create the very first of the building blocks, even if that means your dissertation will consist “only” of developing a new methodology, lab protocol, or validating an instrument.
Long ago my dissertation advisor told me “the best dissertation is a done dissertation.”
Your goal is to finish so you can get on with the rest of your life.