Many students find the process of choosing a topic to be one of the most difficult parts of writing a thesis or dissertation (or a topic for an article or book). In this post, Dr. Bourke shares some thoughts on navigating the process.
Who is the audience?
Our field (higher education and student affairs) offers many potential areas for study. But first, I suggest the writer consider the target audience, and it's not as simple as the graduate student's committee. Who do you hope reads your work? If you intend to work in administrative posts, a topic that speaks to issues relating most directly to practice in the field may be most fitting (something concrete, tangible). If you see yourself in a faculty role, you might consider a topic that addresses an issue of social significance (something semi-abstract, intangible). It is common for thesis and dissertation topics in this field to hit both sides of the line drawn above.
Choosing from Multiple Ideas
If you have some topics in mind, and can't choose between them, or can't get one to a point that you think is narrow enough, I have some suggestions. Make yourself a table/grid. On the left side, put the following (one in each box of the column):
1. What do I want to know?
2. What areas of literature would I need to consult?
3. What has been addressed about the specific topic already?
4. What would a study on this contribute to higher education?
5. What sources of data would be needed to answer #1?
Along the top, write your topic ideas.
If answers to #3 are lengthy, you may need to narrow the topic and answer to #1.
If answering #4 for a particular topic really gets you fired up or excited, that's your topic.
When you think you've selected a topic, you have to answer the following very honestly: Can I stay energized about this topic for the next 2 years to complete the dissertation (1 year for MA thesis), and for 3 years after graduating? I say 3 years after, because it becomes a topic of conversation whenever you meet someone and they discover you've recently completed your opus.
Keep Things Specific in Your Literature Review
It is very easy to let a topic grow. Even if the topic seems narrowly tailored, the task of reviewing the literature can easily get out of hand. It will rarely be useful to review everything ever written on a particular topic. It would also be foolish to attempt to do so. While you will probably consult literature that seems a bit afield, keep your searches specific to your topic. For example, if a part of your literature review examines the growth of residence halls in the mid 20th Century, you don't need to spend your time digging through the university archives for letters students wrote about their dorms at the end of the 19th Century. And while I'm on the topic of keeping literature review searches specific, remember that publishing a book does not make an individual an authority on a topic. Literature reviews should be approached with skepticism, unless you're citing something I've written.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
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