STUDY SKILLS - CHOOSING A RESEARCH SUBJECT
This information is taken from:
McWillan and Weyers (2011): 2: Choosing a dissertation or research topic and 3: Writing a proposal.
Choosing the best subject for your interests and situation will improve your chances of success.
McWillan and Weyers (2011): 2: Choosing a dissertation or research topic and 3: Writing a proposal.
Choosing the best subject for your interests and situation will improve your chances of success.
1. PERSONAL CHOICE
In this case ... you are asked to choose not only the topic but the specific research question to be addressed. ... you will be expected to make make a selection largely on the basis of your personal interests within the discipline. ... from your personal experience or from previous detailed consideration of related topics arising from your course of study...
make sure you take all relevant factors into account in a deliberate decision-making process, rather than hastily choosing under pressure. You should give the matter high priority and attention to activities that may help you make a decision, such as library or internet searches ...
2. DECIDING ON PERSONAL RESEARCH INTERESTS
3. OTHER FACTORS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT
Research approaches - questions to be answered, problems to be solved, issues to be debated.
You may alter this 'research angle' through time, but refining your thoughts might aid the decision-making process. Also, bear in mind that if you have a distinct direction to your work from the start, this will increase your chances of success. ...
Time - don't be over ambitious.
If you spend too much time on project work and/or writing this may adversely affect your performance in other coursework. ...
Resources (secondary research i.e. reading) and data (primary research i.e. interviews, questionnaires).
You will need to evidence your work by reference to the literature. ... Thus, access to printed material is critical to the research process. ...
You need to take into account the most realistic method of garnering data, recording and interpreting the findings within the time-frame that you have to do the work.
4. REMEMBER!
Make sure you are making an informed choice. Do the necessary background reading. Discuss the topics with your course director or assigned supervisor so you avoid taking on a subject that is risky...
Look at past work. Dissertations and reports produced by students in previous years will help you to gain a sense of the style and standard required. ... But don't be put off by apparently sophisticated structure and style in these completed examples. Remember that achieving this standard did not happen spontaneously.
Think for yourself. When choosing a topic, try not to be influenced by other students' opinions. This is, and should be, a highly personal decision. (McMillan and Weyers, 2011, pp.11-18).
In this case ... you are asked to choose not only the topic but the specific research question to be addressed. ... you will be expected to make make a selection largely on the basis of your personal interests within the discipline. ... from your personal experience or from previous detailed consideration of related topics arising from your course of study...
make sure you take all relevant factors into account in a deliberate decision-making process, rather than hastily choosing under pressure. You should give the matter high priority and attention to activities that may help you make a decision, such as library or internet searches ...
2. DECIDING ON PERSONAL RESEARCH INTERESTS
- If you don't have any definite ideas think about what you have already done.
- Consider issues of debate arising from classes, essays, tutorials.
- What fired your curiosity?
- Brainstorm possible subjects moving from the broad to the specific.
- Mark options out of 10 and discard the ones which score lowly.
- Talk your options through with someone else - having to put your ideas into words can highlight how confident or not you feel about it.
3. OTHER FACTORS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT
Research approaches - questions to be answered, problems to be solved, issues to be debated.
You may alter this 'research angle' through time, but refining your thoughts might aid the decision-making process. Also, bear in mind that if you have a distinct direction to your work from the start, this will increase your chances of success. ...
Time - don't be over ambitious.
If you spend too much time on project work and/or writing this may adversely affect your performance in other coursework. ...
Resources (secondary research i.e. reading) and data (primary research i.e. interviews, questionnaires).
You will need to evidence your work by reference to the literature. ... Thus, access to printed material is critical to the research process. ...
You need to take into account the most realistic method of garnering data, recording and interpreting the findings within the time-frame that you have to do the work.
4. REMEMBER!
Make sure you are making an informed choice. Do the necessary background reading. Discuss the topics with your course director or assigned supervisor so you avoid taking on a subject that is risky...
Look at past work. Dissertations and reports produced by students in previous years will help you to gain a sense of the style and standard required. ... But don't be put off by apparently sophisticated structure and style in these completed examples. Remember that achieving this standard did not happen spontaneously.
Think for yourself. When choosing a topic, try not to be influenced by other students' opinions. This is, and should be, a highly personal decision. (McMillan and Weyers, 2011, pp.11-18).
REFERENCE
McMillan, K. and Weyers, J. (2011) How to write dissertations and project reports. Harlow: Pearson.
McMillan, K. and Weyers, J. (2011) How to write dissertations and project reports. Harlow: Pearson.
