Difficulties Faced by New Researchers While Identifying PhD Dissertation Topics

In Brief

• Recognizing and selecting a suitable topic for research work is one of the challenging parts of research.
• It is more important to identify the research gap, before proceeding with a Research Topic Selection, research gap (the existing body of knowledge which the scholars are enthusiastic about filling-up).
• In every research field, there are several, research topic found which are not described in detail even though the researcher discovered it before a long time. You can select a particular topic by consulting with supervisors and Dissertation topic selection mentors who had experience in the specific research field.

Introduction:

PhD Dissertation Topic Selection is the starting point for any research process. Recognizing and selecting a suitable topic for research work is one of the challenging parts of research. Before proceeding with the research topic and problem, statement researchers must focus on the following point.

• Whether the topic is relevant to the research process
• The researcher must have a passion for the research field.
• The topic must not be selected by compulsion of others

The reader must get an idea about the research work by reading the topic since it is the first step of the research process your entire research scope will be based on that. If you find difficultly in identifying a suitable PhD Dissertation Topic Selection, you can get help from Dissertation topic selection mentor who has experience in the research field.

Can a Researcher Choose a Topic by the mself?

The junior researchers are always curious to know whether they have the freedom to select the research topic based on their interest. The researcher must be aware of the style of research, and some other factors like time limit, a facility available inside the university. Commitment towards social set up influences young researchers to select a topic by themselves for their PhD Thesis. Many research supervisors permit research students to choose a problem statement and topic of their interest in their research work. But if the student wants to do a PhD degree with fellowship, then they cannot have this freedom of topic selection, because they need to concentrate on a research topic in which the project investigator already defines the goal. After identifying a topic of their interest, they need to select a supervisor working on that topic or interested in guiding them. PhD Topic Selection UK provides an idea to identify trendy and suitable dissertation topic.

Suppose the researcher is not interested in pursuing the research topic and problem statement assigned to them by the research supervisor. And they are only working because of their compulsion means then it will be difficult for them to overwhelm the challenges they face in each stage of the research work.

Identification of a Research Topic and Problems

Some resources used for the Research Topic and Problems Identification are as follow:

1. Identifying the theory of interest
2. Day to day problems
3. Technological modification
4. Current trends in the research field
5. Undetermined research areas
6. Consulting with experts and research administrators

Suppose someone is interested, in selecting a theory related to differential equations or quasicrystals or fullerenes. Then they can identify a research guide who is working on that field or who has an interest in that field and then select a problem statement. Selecting a topic from current trend provides bright and promising ways to the researcher, and it increases the scope of the research work and helps to excel in their career.

In every research field, there are several research topics found which are not described in detail even though the researcher discovered it before a long time. You can consult with supervisors and experts who have experience in a particular research field over a few years since they are working in the same field for several years they can suggest to you with better topic and help in identifying the problem statement. Therefore, you can make use of expert knowledge for knowing various possible problems faced in identifying research topics and help in problem identification.

One can study advanced level textbooks, journals, conference papers and research article to identify research problems. It is not necessary to know all the methods, techniques, concepts in a research topic to identify a suitable topic.

After knowing some necessary concepts, new developments and current trends of a research topic, one can recognize a research problem. Then can study the tools required to solve it.

Importance of selecting an interesting research topic

Selection of a suitable topic is vitally important for any research study. The topic, in essence, set the direction of the entire research work. With a perfect research topic, the research scholar moves on very quickly with the intended research work, and hence, the research endeavour becomes an enjoyable experience. On the other hand, with a wretched, uninteresting and boring research topic, the research journey gets bumpy, and ultimately he/she faces numerous hassles in the process. If you succeed in choosing an absorbing research topic, half of your research proposal is made, and when your proposal is made, seventy per cent of your research work is done.

Challenges faced by the researchers while choosing a good research topic

Lack of Guidance

There are several challenges faced by the research scholars while selecting a good research topic. Many scholars, fundamentally, do not understand how awkward, it is, to choose a research topic in the first place. There is no effective system of guidance available at their discarding to guide the scholars during the process. At the graduation level, normally, the students are not exposed to the practice of selecting a perfect research topic.

Lack of Experience in Selecting a Research Field

It is more important to identify the research gap, before proceeding with a research topic selection, research gap (the existing body of knowledge which the scholars are enthusiastic about filling-up). But most of the researchers hardly understood the importance of the research gap, identification.

Identifying a research gap is always not an easy job, it won’t come by chance for that understanding the research area is much more important, and these gaps need to sate with sufficient evidence from a reputed journal or available literature work. Hence, it requires a great deal of hard work and careful stud and scholar involvement in the research area.

Difficulty in Identifying the Problem Statement

Extensive research is needed for identifying the effective problem statement. A comprehensive literature review is needed to identify the research gap. A research gap is a problem which has not been answered by existing research. Sometime you will come across some existing research which is outdated and needs an updated version, which is considered as a research gap.  Implement the things that you have learned, gather all the significant data related to your research area and stick it to identify the problem statement of the research. Take advantages of the resources available around, so that you can include it in your problem statement.

Lack of Interest in the Research Area

Develop a research topic in a way that it will hold your interest in the research area. Identify a Problem statement in a way that it will increase your research work; it needs an extensive literature review from available resources, i.e. reputed journals and articles. Do not select a topic that doesn’t resource intensive. Select a subject area you are passionate about and then look into the existing research that researchers carried in a particular subject. Hence, you will get the fundamental idea about their work, and you can modify the research accordingly.

Time Constraint

Another significant challenge is the time constraint. It is always not necessary that all students must be a full-time participant. Some participants are part-time students. They generally do not have time to pursue their research work, passionately and diligently, because many of them are employed or part-time workers. Some of them have other socio-cultural work, for which they need to pay attention.

In such cases, they try to finish their work rather than doing it with a whole heart. Since they have less time to focus on the subject and research work, they struggle to select a perfect dissertation topic. Sometimes they find it challenging and confusing to start with dissertation work, in such cases can consult with PhD Topic Selection Help online who can provide a perfect dissertation topic.

Conclusion

Recognizing and selecting a suitable topic for research work is one of the challenging parts of research, which needs lots of efforts, research work and time to complete.so if you found difficulty with dissertation topic selection, you can get help from Dissertation Topic Selection Assistance or from Experts who has enough experience in that particular research field.

Reference

1. Boote, D. N., & Beile, P. (2005). Scholars before researchers: On the centrality of the dissertation literature review in research preparation. Educational researcher, 34(6), 3-15.
2. Maxwell, J. A. (2012). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (Vol. 41). Sage publications.