Writing a dissertation: Choosing a research topic and methodology

A dissertation is one of the most important components of your higher education. It allows you to put together all that you have learned in previous years and apply it towards a specific topic. The dissertation will also give you an opportunity to explore the knowledge domain further, by developing new theories and methods that can be used in future research studies. However, many students find it difficult to choose a topic for their dissertation. In this article we will discuss how to select and develop a research topic as well as what kind of methodology should be followed when conducting a research study using qualitative or quantitative research (or both).

Find the research topic

Choosing the right research topic and methodology which means whether you are going to use a quantitative vs qualitative research, is crucial to the success of your dissertation. Not only must it be relevant to the field of study, but it also needs to be interesting for you. The topic should also be practical and relevant. It should also be ethical in nature. In addition to these criteria, here are some tips on how you can choose an appropriate research topic:

• ▶ Make sure that your research question relates directly or indirectly with your chosen field of study or expertise. You can discuss this aspect in detail in your introduction section later on during writing a dissertation paper process.
• ▶ Think about questions that are still unanswered so far within a specific area of knowledge or expertise (for example: what causes …? How do we find out…?) You can use keywords related directly with current trends or hot issues which are currently discussed by policy makers, government agencies and NGOs as well as many other institutions worldwide through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter etc - where everyone has access nowadays!

Select a research area.

You can look at the list of topics in the already written dissertation papers. You can also see if your research area(s) are listed on the department's website, or if they are listed as one of their areas of interest. The same goes for your university at large, too.

Limiting topics to a reasonable range

To begin with, you should consider choosing a topic that is not too broad or too narrow. If your topic is too broad, it will be difficult to narrow down the scope of research and focus on a particular aspect of your topic. On the other hand, if you choose an overly specific topic, then it will be impossible for you to find relevant information on that particular aspect. Furthermore, if your dissertation focuses on something very specific like ‘morning walks’ in an office environment, then it might not appeal much to academic circles as well as those involved in business management process. On the contrary, essays Uk can help you if you are stuck with writing essays in college.

Select a methodology.

If you are writing a dissertation, it is essential that you select and use proper research methodology. A research methodology is the process of how data is collected and analyzed in order to answer your research question. To begin with, you can choose between qualitative or quantitative methodologies:

• ● Qualitative methods are used when there are few variables to consider and the researcher wants a deep understanding of the phenomena being studied; these methods include interviews, focus groups, observations and document analysis.
• ● Quantitative methods take into account many different variables at once; they may be used when researchers need to make general statements about large populations over long periods of time (such as surveys).

Create a working thesis.

You need to create a working thesis. A working thesis is a statement that succinctly captures the major argument of your paper, but it is not a complete sentence. Rather, it is just a simple phrase that summarizes your central idea. For example: “The development of children’s vocabulary is influenced by their parents’ speech patterns.”

We realize that this may seem like an odd suggestion at first, especially because you might be used to writing in complete sentences and paragraphs when developing ideas for your paper. However, the purpose of creating an incomplete working thesis before you start writing is so that you can focus on developing your ideas without worrying about all the conventions of formal academic prose (e.g., full sentences with subject-verb agreement). As such, thinking in terms of incomplete phrases allows you to examine each aspect of your work more closely as well as think more critically about how it fits together into one coherent whole—without getting bogged down by the details too much!

Conclusion

The most important thing to keep in mind while writing a dissertation is to stay focused on the research topic and methodology. You should select a good topic which has enough scope for new discoveries and insights, but it should also be practical enough so that an ordinary reader can understand it easily.

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