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6/05/2016

How to choose a topic for thesis


Thesis is often required for completion of Bachelors and Masters degree. Selecting a topic for thesis seems challenging for every one. Many students go through this bewildered stage once in their study period. Every graduate accept this fact that choosing a topic for thesis is really difficult and selecting a topic is considered thesis half done.
I have met some people, who weren’t satisfied to the topics they selected whereas some rejoiced their thesis they undertook and used it as base of their career as well. So, based on professional experience and the people’s experience, I would like to share some tips for selecting a topic. You all might have heard about the criteria like the research question should be novel, feasible, and blah blah. However I would like to focus on some major features, then you need to look for all those criteria.

1. Career Goals: While selecting a course for you, you must have some career goals in the background of your mind. You must have it somewhere; some might be open about it; some might keep it silent. If you don’t have it, it is certainly better to have one because you will work and follow the career path to reach your career goal. If you have that career goal in your mind, It will be better to select such research topics related to your career goal. If I want to work as employee of UNFPA at some point, it is better to select the related topics like population control measures such as family planning measures, fertility. This will certainly assist you in increasing your credibility and improving CV for your future career goal.

2. Interest: Thesis cost your bulk of time. You search numerous relevant literatures; you delve into its details. You need to invest your time, concentration, mind, thoughts, labour, and money on it so it’s very important to have interest on that topic or the subject and the population you are studying. You should have love for that topic. Your heart should be there, so you will enjoy, when you work on it. If you are detached from the subject of study and if you don’t have passion for it, it will become burden to you. You might learn the basics but you wouldn’t enjoy it and wouldn’t get the best of it.
Nevertheless, the very interested topic might be uninteresting at some point and some starts some topic without any interests but later on develop interest as they work on it. It remains highly subjective and might fluctuate but you also need determination to make you interested all the time.

3. Research Methods: Some of you might be interested to study such topics, which is fit for particular methods. You might be interested to do randomized clinical trial or case control study or cohort study. You could be interested to learn such methods rather than particular issue. You must keep this into your thought as well.

4. Scope: sometimes its better to flow to the direction, where the air is flowing. You will easily catch something on the way. You can also choose the specific topic, which has great scope, which has many projects around. For example, Non-communicable diseases are rising in epidemic fashion and have become issue of global importance in both developing and developed countries; similarly, emerging infectious diseases, population health also have great scope. In some area, though the scope is higher, it can be competitive somehow. All of these things should be kept in the mind.

A thesis mightn’t decide your future and your career path, but will certainly be a pillar in forming your career. You can use this as your strength and your experience. There are people, who change their area of specialization; anyone is free to do it. However, you can make thesis your ladder for future so need to focus on your future prospects too. Based on above mentioned factors, you can select an area of interest and while formulating research question; you need to look for other criteria such as FINER. The research question should be feasible in terms of sample size, time and money, technical expertise, Interesting to the scientific community, Novel: should provide the results that confirms, refutes or extends previous findings, Ethical: must adhere to the principle of ethics, Relevant to the scientific community, future research, current practice and policies.

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