By m nica clua losada there are two reasons why someone may want to start a phd. On the one hand, there may be a passion for research, for developing understanding and knowledge. It may be due to a desire to be intellectually challenged and guided by a world expert in your field. On the other hand, there may be a particular topic, theory or issue that really appears to motivate your curiosity. In some cases, there may even be the situation where the future phd candidate has already been engaged in academic research perhaps as a research assistant for a project or where the candidate has already carried out extensive work on that topic.

In such cases, choosing a topic appears as a straightforward matter with the ensuing complication of making it viable or finding a suitable theoretical and methodological framework. Whatever the starting point, the first difficulty everyone appears to encounter is how to make sure that topic x will continue to motivate me in three or four years time. There are days, even weeks, when most phd students feel that they chose the wrong topic. Therefore, whilst it is important that the topic you choose has been selected freely and out of your own interest, rather than your supervisor rsquo s, there are many other issues that will impact as much on your ability to complete your thesis. The first issue to bear in mind when considering a topic is how viable it is for a phd project. Generally speaking, most phd students appear to start their phds with over ambitious projects and find it difficult to focus their initial research question. The key is to ensure that the big topic can be turned into a manageable research question.

That is what time and time again supervisors and other successful academics will tell the poor phd candidate. And yet, how do you actually do that? patience, humility and flexibility are key. Patience to understand that your research question can, and probably will change during the initial stages of your research. It is not written in stone unless of course the research question has been set by your funding body and the beauty of research is its ability to change things, including your very own research process. Humility to keep your chosen topic to a manageable level, even if that means that, at times, you are not being loyal to your initial ambitions. Humility also matters in realising that although you already know a lot about your topic before you start, in fact, you know very little. what rsquo s the point of doing a thesis if you already know the answer? flexibility can be a very useful attribute to have during a research project, and even more during such a long project as a phd.

Perhaps you planned to use a particular conceptual framework but you realise that it will not work with your particular case or cases. You may have wanted to compare two or more cases and either time concerns prevent it after all you want to finish your phd! or you may realise that such comparison may not make theoretical sense and therefore you will need to change your original research design. Being flexible in such cases will not be a reflection of weakness, but rather one of intellectual strength. That confusion is the state that follows from being immersed in a topic for long periods of time. I often remember the start of the phd, eager to tell everyone what my phd was about. By the time i reached my second year, that was the topic i was hoping to avoid in any conversation. I was too confused to be able to offer a concise answer to the innocent question ldquo what is your phd about? rdquo it helped to realise that many other phd students also felt that way.

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The point really is to get started and to be willing to develop your research throughout the process. By all means, try to be faithful to your initial topic and research question when they have been well designed and work well. But make sure you are able to act promptly when they don rsquo t without feeling that you are betraying your initial project.

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Dr mònica clua losada is a visiting professor tenure track at the department of political and social sciences at the universitat pompeu fabra barcelona. This article is reproduced by kind permission of the author and taken from the 100thousandwords blog reflections on research writing the views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of findaphd. This article is the property of findaphd.com and may not be reproduced without permission. choosing a dissertation topic is a very challenging task and should be done with great care.

Remember when selecting the topic that you will spend a tremendous time researching and studying it. Otherwise, your dissertation may seem to go on forever, and you may have trouble making yourself complete it. You should also keep in mind that once you have completed the study, you will be considered an expert on that topic. For that reason, you should select a topic that will help you to reach your career goals. You must also determine if your study focus adds anything interesting or significant to that field of study. One final concern is whether your study is doable in reference to time, sources, and cost.

These are a couple of reasons why dissertation students take a considerable amount of time in deciding on a research area and developing their research questions. The greatest advantage in writing a phd dissertation is the experience you gain by completing the process. The dissertation can be viewed as proof that you have the ability to carry through with a full blown research project. You can also view completing the project as demonstrating the skills and knowledge you have accumulated through all your years of education. Look back at everything that relates to your field of study and determine what you are extremely interested in or what topic inspires you to work hard.

Maybe you have some gaps in your knowledge of a particular topic, and you understand that you will need that information for your career sooner or later you will have to learn it. So, why not start right now? the next point you should consider is your papers practical value. But is anyone else interested in it? perhaps the topic you have chosen has already been researched several times before, and there is nothing new you can add. Keep in mind that your dissertation has to be useful to other people who deal with the same problem.

Another major point when designing a research project is the logistics in carrying through with it. Very often your eagerness to study an issue may divert your attention away from the fact that you are not well equipped to deal with it. Try conducting a preliminary research this may help you determine whether there is enough information to rely on, or whether your methods of research match the topic you have chosen. Feel free to choose two or three topics then rule out the ones that dont work for you. This is definitely true if we are talking about writing a dissertation, particularly in choosing a topic as the first step. So, once the topic is selected, you can plan further research work, determine your procedures, and finally, pay attention to all the small details that also matter in successfully writing your phd dissertation.