Selection of Dissertation Topic and Searching for Literature

Selection of Dissertation Topic
and Searching for Literature
Dr Amit Agrawal, MCh

Selection of Research Topic: A very important
element in creating a successful completion
Searching
topics
Exploring
feasibility

Dissertation: Objectives
“It is a scientific undertaking which, by means of logical
and systematized techniques” we try to:
 Discover new facts or verify and test old facts
 Analyze their sequence, interrelationships and causal
explanations
 Filling the gaps in information
 Find answers to questions so far unexplained

Selecting a topic
● Each research study is part of an existing body of
knowledge
● Most of the studies are a logical extension of past
research

Selecting a topic
New research grows out of old

● The hardest part for many
● Choosing a right and meaningful dissertation or thesis
topic is a difficult decision to make
● Not the same as choosing a topic—that’s easier
Posing the Research Question

Resources
● Plan a literature map before starting
 Find key words
 Make list of correct terms keywords on your subject
 Search the databases
 Textbook
 A journal article and then search for the references in
the article
 Use an outline or a research map to proceed further

Nested hourglass model
● The whole thesis
● Each section,
subsection
● Most paragraphs
● Broad focus at
beginning, end;
specifics/narrow focus
in middle

Criteria for selecting a research topic
 Relevance
 Feasibility
 Cost-effectiveness
 Applicability of the results
 Urgency of data needed
 Avoidance of duplication
 Acceptability (including ethical
acceptability)

Ask questions?
● Do I answer the question?
● Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose?
● Does my thesis pass the "So what?" test?
● Does my thesis pass the "how and why?" test?
 Can it be enthusiastically pursued?
 Can interest be sustained by it?
 Is the problem solvable?
 Is it worth doing?
 Will it lead to other research problems?
 Is it manageable in size?
 Is it the an original contribution?
 Are we competent to solve it?

● Will the examining institute's standards be met?
● Does the topic contain issues with clear links to
theory?
● Are the research questions and objectives clearly
stated?
● Will the proposed research provide fresh insights into
the topic?
● Are the findings likely to be symmetrical?
● Does the research topic match your career goals?
Is it worthwhile?

● It’s not enough to argue that no one has studied it
before (maybe nobody cared!)
● It’s usually not enough to replicate prior work using
one more demographic group, one new little
methodological wrinkle
● Yet it doesn’t need to be the Great American
Research Idea, either!
Important???

● A question can be very interesting and important but
not answerable, or not answerable within the scope
of a dissertation project
● Can the research question be framed in terms of
specific, measurable constructs, can the hypotheses
be tested?
● Are the library resources or data you need available or
gettable?
● Can the project be done in a year or so? Can you cover
the costs?
Answerable???

Prerequisites for Getting started
● Keep an open mind
● Focus, focus, focus
● Take one step at a time
● Do your homework
● Planning and time line

● Answer the question: “What is the gap that needs to
be filled?” and/or “What is the problem that needs to
be solved?”
● Avoid using a thesis that is too broad or too narrow
Statement of the Problem

● Your dissertation director/mentor
● Other faculty in the department
● Other doctoral students
● Completed dissertations in your field
● Your school’s office of graduate studies and school-
specific guidelines for dissertations
● Books on the subject
Resources

● The focused review, which adds to the literature of
the proposal
● The broad scan, which may help you identify a
research problem
● The best methodologies and research techniques for
your particular topic
● How other scholars have written about your topic
Review of Literature

Review of literature
● It is a review of what has been published on that topic so we
do not duplicate someone else’s work.
● Make sure that you have read and understood cited work
● Organize your content according to ideas instead of
individual publications.
● Do not simply quote or paraphrase the contents of
published articles.

Review of literature
● Conduct a thorough literature search before designing your
methodology and collecting your data.
● The literature review should provide context and clarify the
relationship between your topic and previous work in that
area.
● When writing the literature review, present major themes,
theories, and ideas that have been published in the area, and
the findings of related studies.
● Conclude the review of the literature with a short section that
describes your topic, highlighting why it is important to
address the problem you have investigated.

● Anticipated outcomes of your study
● Anticipated problems associated with your proposed
research and how you intend to overcome them
● A select reference list of the key references found
through an initial literature search –both those
relating to your topic and those relating to the
methodology you propose to adopt
Planning a proposal

Exploring feasibility
● Reasonable likelihood that Constraints on “Time” & Other
“Resources” will not Prevent a Project from meeting its
Key Objectives

Levels of Feasibility Assessment
● A feasibility study of an idea is conducted at
three levels
● Operational Feasibility
● “Will it work?”
● Technical Feasibility
● “Can it be built?”
● Economic Feasibility
● “Will it make economic sense if it works and is built?”
● “ Will it generate PROFITS?”

● Are you fascinated by the topic?
● Capability: is it feasible?
● Do you have the necessary research skills?
● Can you complete the project in the time available?
● Will the research still be current when you finish?
● Do you have sufficient financial and other resources?
● Will you be able to gain access to data?
A good research topic

● Dissertation is journey not a destination
● One Step at a Time
● No short cuts
● Plan
● Anticipate
● Discuss
● Start it, Do it and Finish it
What we need?

Be SMART
S Specific
M Measurable
A Achievable
R Relevant
T Time-bound

 The most successful research topics are narrowly
focused and carefully defined, but are important part
of broad-ranging, complex problem
 Finding your focus is the key to success.
 Broaden your thinking
 Choose the topic that you are interested and can be
managed
 If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try, try, try, try,
try, try, try, again.
Conclusion

Selection of Dissertation Topic and Searching for Literature

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