Topic iteration

Type				Team Size
Me, Myself and I	Group Collaboration	The Academic System	Software	1	2-10	11-30	30+

   

Finding and finalizing the topic of your thesis is the first big step regarding its content. This step can already feel huge and overwhelming and take longer than expected. In the following you will get tips on how to start researching literature on a topic as well as what is important when deciding on a topic, so you will hopefully get through this step smoothly and choose a topic you can work on well for the next weeks and months.

RESEARCH QUESTION

🎯 How to get from an idea to a specific topic and research question or hypothesis.

🎯 Finding the red tape of your thesis → What is the focus of your thesis? What will you not consider?

How to frame a research question

We all stand on the shoulders of giants. Any given research question is based on previous research. No research is an island. Whatever we do as researchers, we have to start with what was done before. Reading is the most essential skill of any person new to research. Balance is key to this end. If you read everything there is on a specific topic, then you are in for a long ride. Otherwise, if you miss something important that has been published before, you basically reinvent the wheel, which is a waste of your time and the time of your readers. Hence make sure that you get the main approaches that have been attempted before, and the main knowledge that has been gained. You will eventually have to make a cut at some point, otherwise you would basically read everything there is, since almost everything is connected. Hence try to focus on what is specific for your topic and for the area you focus on, thereby gaining some insights about the respective context. Context knowledge matters to this end, because only if you know the context of the specific topic allows you to aim with the right ratio of focus and distance. Why both? If you look too close, your knowledge is too singular, too specific, or just beyond the point, or any point at all. If it is too broad, it may be generic, trivial, and thus again beyond any point whatsoever once more. Ideally, you work in a specific system. This may be a group of people, and institution, or any other constructed entity. This allows you to add specificity to your research topic. You aim at creating knowledge about this system, people or entity. Hence your framing can be about a specific topic, an entity or institution, but also about a theory. What matters to this end is to have the right angle. Did you every try to look at a painting from the side? Basically, this does not work, because the framing will block the view, and you do not see the picture. In framing your research, this is basically the same. You need to have the same angle, not from the side, but up front. Within research, we often look at a topic or problem through a certain theory. While testing theory is restricted to deductive research, regarding a research question our framing and viewpoint is more open minded. It is thus not restricted to the yes/no categories of a hypothesis, but instead allows us to ask a broader question that allow us to create contextual and novel knowledge.

Links & Further reading

Papers

According to Chicago Style conventions

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The author of this entry is Max Mustermann.