Research and the Doctorate
A key element of any form of doctoral study, be it a ‘big book’ PhD, a professional doctorate or a New Route, US-style doctorate with a significant taught element, is the thesis or dissertation. For this, the student needs to identify a research problem, design a study that will address the problem in an appropriate manner, and then carry out the research. They then have to write up their research and, generally, either make an original contribution to knowledge or, at some institutions, demonstrate evidence of originality in thinking. Eventually, they will be examined on it, probably through a viva voce or oral exam.
Choosing the general topic or subject of research may be relatively simple. It may stem from something the student has been interested in for a long time, or it may be something the student’s employer would like investigating. It may be an area that caught the student’s interest during the taught elements of the doctorate or, possibly, during an earlier undergraduate or Master’s programme. Wherever the general idea for the doctoral research came from, the actual topic to be investigated must have one over-riding characteristic.
What Makes a Good PhD Research Topic?
This first key characteristic of the topic of research is that the student must be extremely interested in it and must, for whatever reason, want to know everything there is to know about it. Unless this is the case, it will be very hard for the student to maintain their interest and the postgraduate’s experience will be, at best, unpleasant and, at worst, unbearable. Without that high level of interest and the associated motivation, the likelihood of non-completion is high.
The second characteristic is that the topic must be focused. There is no point in trying to solve the problems of the world in a doctoral dissertation or thesis. The primary purpose of a piece of doctoral research is to get a doctorate or PhD. Focusing on one writer, one case study, one geographical area, or two or three social variables will make the research manageable and much more likely to be completed in time or, indeed, completed at all.
Thirdly, the research must be something that the student can complete using resources which are available to her or him. For example, there is no point in the student setting out on a project which requires a lot of interviews across a wide geographical area if he or she is limited in the extent to which they can travel or has limited financial support.
Fourthly, the research design must be one for which the student either has the methodological tools in hand to undertake, or which uses methodological tools which they can acquire before the project is to commence. For example, it is no good a student developing a research design which requires a high level of statistical analysis if they are intellectually not suited to it.
Finally, the project must be capable of completion in the time available. It is no good setting up a project that requires the comparison of two groups of plants grown to maturity over two consecutive twelve month periods if the dissertation or thesis has to be handed in eighteen months time. There is simply not the time to complete it.
Concluding Comments
Choosing the right topic for doctoral research is important. The choice will be with the student for a relatively long period of time and will, in many ways, shape their life. For international students there may also be visa requirements which stem from their choice of topic. Following the advice given in this article will maximise a student’s chances of both enjoying and succeeding in their PhD or other doctoral studies.
Copyright Alistair McCulloch.
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