Topic Selection – Research Methodologies – Notes

Topic selection is the most tricky part of the research and is said to be the mother of all successful proposals. Following are some tips for topic selection.

Topic Selection:

  • Idea / topic should be novel (unique)
  • Select a topic that interests you and motivates you to work on it
  • It should be complex enough to require research from multiple sources
  • It all starts from literature review
  • Read about the topic of your interest
  • Try to find out the loopholes / deficiencies in previous studies
  • Don’t settle on the first idea that appeals you
  • Be flexible while selecting the topic
  • Search for subtopics as well to narrow down your study area
  • Limiting to a specific region, time span, person or group, event or aspect may help in narrowing down the topic
  • Ask yourself whether you would enjoy working on that topic
  • Keep asking the questions until you find a suitable topic that interests you more
  • Formulate a thesis / problem statement
  • Try to avoid topics that too technical, trivial, too big, single source or too hot

Conclusion / Summary

While selecting a research topic, make sure that it motivates you to work on that topic and you have basic knowledge of that research field. Moreover the topic should interest your target audience and it should not be too technical. Reading about the topic, critically analyzing the previous studies, being flexible and asking the questions are some of the tips to select a compelling research topic.

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