how to select a research topic

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How to Select a Research Topic: A Step-by-Step Guide

by  Antony W

June 6, 2024

Learning how to select a research topic can be the difference between failing your assignment and writing a comprehensive research paper. That’s why in this guide we’ll teach you how to select a research topic step-by-step.

You don’t need this guide if your professor has already given you a list of topics to consider for your assignment . You can skip to our guide on how to write a research paper .

If they have left it up to you to choose a topic to investigate, which they must approve before you start working on your research study, we suggest that you read the process shared in this post.

Choosing a topic after finding your research problem is important because:

• The topic guides your research and gives you a mean to not only arrive at other interesting topics but also direct you to discover new knowledge
• The topic you choose will govern what you say and ensures you keep a logical flow of information.

Picking a topic for a research paper can be challenging and sometimes intimidating, but it’s not impossible. In the following section, we show you how to choose the best research topic that your instructor can approve after the first review.

How to Select a Research Topic 

Below are four steps to follow to find the most suitable topic for your research paper assignment:

Step 1: Consider a Topic that Interests You 

If your professor has asked you to choose a topic for your research paper, it means you can choose just about any subject to focus on in your area of study. A significant first step to take is to consider topics that interest you.

An interesting topic should meet two very important conditions.

First, it should be concise. The topic you choose should not be too broad or two narrow. Rather, it should be something focused on a specific issue. Second, the topic should allow you to find enough sources to cite in the research stage of your assignment.

The best way to determine if the research topic is interesting is to do some free writing for about 10 minutes. As you free write, think about the number of questions that people ask about the topic and try to consider why they’re important. These questions are important because they will make the research stage easier for you.

You’ll probably have a long list of interesting topics to consider for your research assignment. That’s a good first step because it means your options aren’t limited. However, you need to narrow down to only one topic for the assignment, so it’s time to start brainstorming.

Step 2: Brainstorm Your Topics 

You aren’t doing research at this stage yet. You are only trying to make considerations to determine which topic will suit your research assignment.

The brainstorming stage isn’t difficult at all. It should take only a couple of hours or a few days depending on how you approach.

We recommend talking to your professor, classmates, and friends about the topics that you’ve picked and ask for their opinion. Expect mixed opinions from this audience and then consider the topics that make the most sense. Note what topics picked their interest the most and put them on top of the list.

You’ll end up removing some topics from your initial list after brainstorming, and that’s completely fine. The goal here is to end up with a topic that interests you as well as your readers.

Step 3: Define Your Topics 

Check once again to make sure that your topic is a subject that you can easily define. You want to make sure the topic isn’t too broad or too narrow.

Often, a broad topic presents overwhelming amount of information, which makes it difficult to write a comprehensive research paper. A narrow topic, on the other hand, means you’ll find very little information, and therefore it can be difficult to do your assignment.

The length of the research paper, as stated in the assignment brief, should guide your topic selection.

Narrow down your list to topics that are:

• Broad enough to allows you to find enough scholarly articles and journals for reference
• Narrow enough to fit within the expected word count and the scope of the research

Topics that meet these two conditions should be easy to work on as they easily fit within the constraints of the research assignment.

Step 4: Read Background Information of Selected Topics  

You probably have two or three topics by the time you get to this step. Now it’s time to read the background information on the topics to decide which topic to work on.

This step is important because it gives you a clear overview of the topic, enabling you to see how it relates to broader, narrower, and related concepts. Preliminary research also helps you to find keywords commonly used to describe the topic, which may be useful in further research.

It’s important to note how easy or difficult it is to find information on the topic.

Look at different sources of information to be sure you can find enough references for the topic. Such periodic indexes scan journals, newspaper articles, and magazines to find the information you’re looking for. You can even use web search engines. Google and Bing are currently that best options to consider because they make it easy for searchers to find relevant information on scholarly topics.

If you’re having a hard time to find references for a topic that you’ve so far considered for your research paper, skip it and go to the next one. Doing so will go a long way to ensure you have the right topic to work on from start to finish.

Get Research Paper Writing Help 

If you’ve found your research topic but you feel so stuck that you can’t proceed with the assignment without some assistance, we are here to help. With our research paper writing service ,  we can help you handle the assignment within the shortest time possible.

We will research your topic, develop a research question, outline the project, and help you with writing. We also get you involved in the process, allowing you to track the progress of your order until the delivery stage.

About the author 

Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.

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• Knowledge Base
• Starting the research process

How to Choose a Dissertation Topic | 8 Steps to Follow

Published on November 11, 2022 by Shona McCombes and Tegan George. Revised on November 20, 2023.

Choosing your dissertation topic is the first step in making sure your research goes as smoothly as possible. When choosing a topic, it’s important to consider:

• Your institution and department’s requirements
• Your areas of knowledge and interest
• The scientific, social, or practical relevance
• The availability of data and resources
• The timeframe of your dissertation
• The relevance of your topic

You can follow these steps to begin narrowing down your ideas.

Table of contents

Step 1: check the requirements, step 2: choose a broad field of research, step 3: look for books and articles, step 4: find a niche, step 5: consider the type of research, step 6: determine the relevance, step 7: make sure it’s plausible, step 8: get your topic approved, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about dissertation topics.

The very first step is to check your program’s requirements. This determines the scope of what it is possible for you to research.

• Is there a minimum and maximum word count?
• When is the deadline?
• Should the research have an academic or a professional orientation?
• Are there any methodological conditions? Do you have to conduct fieldwork, or use specific types of sources?

Some programs have stricter requirements than others. You might be given nothing more than a word count and a deadline, or you might have a restricted list of topics and approaches to choose from. If in doubt about what is expected of you, always ask your supervisor or department coordinator.

Start by thinking about your areas of interest within the subject you’re studying. Examples of broad ideas include:

• Twentieth-century literature
• Economic history
• Health policy

To get a more specific sense of the current state of research on your potential topic, skim through a few recent issues of the top journals in your field. Be sure to check out their most-cited articles in particular. For inspiration, you can also search Google Scholar , subject-specific databases , and your university library’s resources.

As you read, note down any specific ideas that interest you and make a shortlist of possible topics. If you’ve written other papers, such as a 3rd-year paper or a conference paper, consider how those topics can be broadened into a dissertation.

After doing some initial reading, it’s time to start narrowing down options for your potential topic. This can be a gradual process, and should get more and more specific as you go. For example, from the ideas above, you might narrow it down like this:

• Twentieth-century literature   Twentieth-century Irish literature   Post-war Irish poetry
• Economic history   European economic history   German labor union history
• Health policy   Reproductive health policy   Reproductive rights in South America

All of these topics are still broad enough that you’ll find a huge amount of books and articles about them. Try to find a specific niche where you can make your mark, such as: something not many people have researched yet, a question that’s still being debated, or a very current practical issue.

At this stage, make sure you have a few backup ideas — there’s still time to change your focus. If your topic doesn’t make it through the next few steps, you can try a different one. Later, you will narrow your focus down even more in your problem statement and research questions .

There are many different types of research , so at this stage, it’s a good idea to start thinking about what kind of approach you’ll take to your topic. Will you mainly focus on:

• Collecting original data (e.g., experimental or field research)?
• Analyzing existing data (e.g., national statistics, public records, or archives)?
• Interpreting cultural objects (e.g., novels, films, or paintings)?
• Comparing scholarly approaches (e.g., theories, methods, or interpretations)?

Many dissertations will combine more than one of these. Sometimes the type of research is obvious: if your topic is post-war Irish poetry, you will probably mainly be interpreting poems. But in other cases, there are several possible approaches. If your topic is reproductive rights in South America, you could analyze public policy documents and media coverage, or you could gather original data through interviews and surveys .

You don’t have to finalize your research design and methods yet, but the type of research will influence which aspects of the topic it’s possible to address, so it’s wise to consider this as you narrow down your ideas.

It’s important that your topic is interesting to you, but you’ll also have to make sure it’s academically, socially or practically relevant to your field.

• Academic relevance means that the research can fill a gap in knowledge or contribute to a scholarly debate in your field.
• Social relevance means that the research can advance our understanding of society and inform social change.
• Practical relevance means that the research can be applied to solve concrete problems or improve real-life processes.

The easiest way to make sure your research is relevant is to choose a topic that is clearly connected to current issues or debates, either in society at large or in your academic discipline. The relevance must be clearly stated when you define your research problem .

Before you make a final decision on your topic, consider again the length of your dissertation, the timeframe in which you have to complete it, and the practicalities of conducting the research.

Will you have enough time to read all the most important academic literature on this topic? If there’s too much information to tackle, consider narrowing your focus even more.

Will you be able to find enough sources or gather enough data to fulfil the requirements of the dissertation? If you think you might struggle to find information, consider broadening or shifting your focus.

Do you have to go to a specific location to gather data on the topic? Make sure that you have enough funding and practical access.

Last but not least, will the topic hold your interest for the length of the research process? To stay motivated, it’s important to choose something you’re enthusiastic about!

Most programmes will require you to submit a brief description of your topic, called a research prospectus or proposal .

Remember, if you discover that your topic is not as strong as you thought it was, it’s usually acceptable to change your mind and switch focus early in the dissertation process. Just make sure you have enough time to start on a new topic, and always check with your supervisor or department.

If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Methodology

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

Formulating a main research question can be a difficult task. Overall, your question should contribute to solving the problem that you have defined in your problem statement .

However, it should also fulfill criteria in three main areas:

• Researchability
• Feasibility and specificity
• Relevance and originality

All research questions should be:

• Focused on a single problem or issue
• Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources
• Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints
• Specific enough to answer thoroughly
• Complex enough to develop the answer over the space of a paper or thesis
• Relevant to your field of study and/or society more broadly

You can assess information and arguments critically by asking certain questions about the source. You can use the CRAAP test , focusing on the currency , relevance , authority , accuracy , and purpose of a source of information.

Ask questions such as:

• Who is the author? Are they an expert?
• Why did the author publish it? What is their motivation?
• How do they make their argument? Is it backed up by evidence?

A dissertation prospectus or proposal describes what or who you plan to research for your dissertation. It delves into why, when, where, and how you will do your research, as well as helps you choose a type of research to pursue. You should also determine whether you plan to pursue qualitative or quantitative methods and what your research design will look like.

It should outline all of the decisions you have taken about your project, from your dissertation topic to your hypotheses and research objectives , ready to be approved by your supervisor or committee.

Note that some departments require a defense component, where you present your prospectus to your committee orally.

The best way to remember the difference between a research plan and a research proposal is that they have fundamentally different audiences. A research plan helps you, the researcher, organize your thoughts. On the other hand, a dissertation proposal or research proposal aims to convince others (e.g., a supervisor, a funding body, or a dissertation committee) that your research topic is relevant and worthy of being conducted.

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Research Process

Selecting a topic, brainstorming for a topic.

• Find Background Info
• Focus Topic
• List Keywords
• Search for Sources
• Evaluate & Integrate Sources
• Cite and Track Sources
• Scientific Research & Study Design

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The ability to develop a good research topic is an important skill. An instructor may assign you a specific topic, but most often instructors require you to select your own topic of interest. When deciding on a topic, there are a few things that you will need to do:

• Brainstorm for ideas.
• Choose a topic that will enable you to read and understand the articles and books you find.
• Ensure that the topic is manageable and that material is available.
• Make a list of key words.
• Be flexible. You may have to broaden or narrow your topic to fit your assignment or the sources you find.

Selecting a good topic may not be easy. It must be narrow and focused enough to be interesting, yet broad enough to find adequate information. Before selecting your final topic, make sure you know what your final project should look like. Each class or instructor will likely require a different format or style of research project.

Choose a topic that interests you. Use the following questions to help generate topic ideas.

• Do you have a strong opinion on a current social or political controversy?
• Did you read or see a news story recently that has piqued your interest or made you angry or anxious?
• Do you have a personal issue, problem, or interest that you would like to know more about?
• Is there an aspect of a class that you are interested in learning more about?

Write down any key words or concepts that may be of interest to you. These terms can be helpful in your searching and used to form a more focused research topic.

Be aware of overused ideas when deciding a topic. You may wish to avoid topics such as abortion, gun control, teen pregnancy, or suicide unless you feel you have a unique approach to the topic. Ask the instructor for ideas if you feel you are stuck or need additional guidance.

If you need help, try our Research Topic Guide for ideas.

• Research Topic Ideas by Liz Svoboda Last Updated Jul 10, 2024 176178 views this year

Sometimes using a  Concept Map  can help you come up with directions to take your research.

• Topic Concept Map Download and print this PDF to create a concept map for your topic. Put your main topic in the middle circle and then put ideas related to your topic on the lines radiating from the circle.

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• Last Updated: Aug 12, 2024 2:59 PM
• URL: https://libguides.umflint.edu/research

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Choosing a Research Topic

• Starting Points

Where to Find Ideas

Persuasive paper assignments, dissertations and theses.

• From Idea to Search
• Make It Manageable

If you are starting a research project and would like some help choosing the best topic, this guide is for you.  Start by asking yourself these questions:

What does your instructor require? What interests you? What information sources can support your research? What is doable in the time you have?

While keeping these questions in mind, find suggestions in this guide to select a topic, turn that topic into a database search, and make your research manageable.  You will also find more information in our About the Research Process guide.

Whether your instructor has given a range of possible topics to you or you have to come up with a topic on your own, you could benefit from these activities:  

Consult Course Materials If a reading, film, or other resource is selected by your instructor, the subject of it is important to the course. You can often find inspiration for a paper in these materials.

• Is a broad topic presented?  You can focus on a specific aspect of that topic.  For example, if your class viewed a film on poverty in the United States, you could look at poverty in a specific city or explore how poverty affects Americans of a specific gender, ethnic group, or age range.
• Are experts presented, quoted, or cited?  Look up their work in BU Libraries Search or Google Scholar .

Use Background Sources If you've identified one or more topics you'd like to investigate further, look them up in an encyclopedia, handbook, or other background information source.  Here are some good places to start.

Online version of Encyclopædia Britannica along Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, magazines and periodicals and other reference sources.

• Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window Published by Oxford University Press, it is a fully-indexed, cross-searchable database containing dictionaries, language reference and subject reference works.

Explore the Scholarly Literature Ask your instructor or a librarian to guide you to the top journals in the field you're studying.  Scanning the tables of contents within these journals will provide some inspiration for your research project.  As a bonus, each of the articles in these journals will have a bibliography that will lead you to related articles, books, and other materials.

Ask a Librarian We are here to help you!  You can request a consultation or contact us by email or through our chat service .  We can help you identify what interests you, where to find more about it, and how to narrow the topic to something manageable in the time you have.

If your assignment entails persuading a reader to adopt a position, you can conduct your research in the same way you would with any other research project. The biggest mistake you can make, however, is choosing a position before you start your research.   Instead, the information you consult should inform your position.  Researching before choosing a position is also much easier; you will be able to explore all sides of a topic rather than limiting yourself to one.

If you would like examples of debates on controversial topics, try these resources:

Covers the most current and controversial issues of the day with summaries, pros and cons, bibliographies and more. Provides reporting and analysis on issues in the news, including issues relating to health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy.

• New York Times: Room for Debate Selections from the New York Times' opinion pages.
• ProCon.org Created by Britannica, this site exposes readers to two sides of timely arguments. Each article includes a bibliography of suggested resources.

If you are writing a dissertation or thesis, you will find more specialized information at our Guide for Writers of Theses and Dissertations .

If you would like to find published dissertations and theses, please use this database:

This database contains indexing and abstracts of American doctoral dissertations accepted at accredited institutions since 1861 and a selection from other countries. Masters level theses are included selectively.

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• Last Updated: Aug 2, 2024 12:06 PM
• URL: https://library.bu.edu/choosing-a-topic

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Research 101 (A How-to Guide): Step 1. Choose a topic

• Step 1. Choose a topic
• Step 2. Get background information
• Step 3. Create a search strategy
• Step 4. Find books and e-books
• Step 5. Find articles
• Step 6. Evaluate your sources
• Step 7. Cite your sources

Step 1. Choose a Topic

Choosing an interesting research topic can be challenging.  This video tutorial will help you select and properly scope your topic by employing questioning, free writing, and mind mapping techniques so that you can formulate a research question.

Good Sources for Finding a Topic

• CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window Browse the "hot topics" on the right hand side for inspiration.
• 401 Prompts for Argumentative Writing, New York Times Great questions to consider for argumentative essays.
• ProCon.org Facts, news, and thousands of diverse opinions on controversial issues in a pro-con format.
• Room For Debate, New York Times This website, created by editorial staff from the New York Times, explores close to 1,500 news events and other timely issues. Knowledgeable outside contributors provide subject background and readers may contribute their own views. Great help for choosing a topic!
• US News & World Report: Debate Club Pro/Con arguments on current issues.
• Writing Prompts, New York Times New York Times Opinion articles that are geared toward students and invite comment.

Tips for Choosing a Topic

• Choose a topic that interests you!   
• Pick a manageable topic, not too broad, not too narrow. Reading background info can help you choose and limit the scope of your topic.
• Review lecture notes and class readings for ideas.
• Check with your instructor to make sure your topic fits with the assignment.

Picking your topic IS research!

• Developing a Research Question Worksheet

Mind Mapping Tools

Mind mapping, a visual form of brainstorming, is an effective technique for developing a topic.  Here are some free tools to create mind maps.

• Bubbl.us Free account allows you to save 3 mind maps, download as image or HTML, and share with others.
• Coggle Sign in with your Google account to create maps that you can download as PDF or PNG or share with others.
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Understanding Research

• Information Sources

Choose a Topic

• Identify Keywords
• Search the Databases
• Evaluate Sources
• Cite Sources This link opens in a new window
• Write and Review This link opens in a new window
• Test Your Knowledge

From Topic to Question

• From Topic to Question (Accessible PDF)

Choosing a Topic

There are several things to think about when selecting a topic:

• First, have you been assigned a topic or are you free to choose a topic?
• Next, how many words or pages do you need to write (or how long does a presentation have to be)?
• Do you need to include specific types of sources in your citations?
• Finally, if you can select your own topic, what are you passionate about or most interested in from the class?

If you still need help choosing your topic, the Academic Success Center can help you understand your assignment and select a topic.

Expand Your Topic

• Exploring related topics or products,
• Comparing or contrasting your topic with another topic,
• Choosing an alternative topic that isn’t as recent.

You can also:

• Consider the time period your topic is covering,
• Look at a larger sample population, or
• Expand the geographic area being discussed. 

Refine Your Topic

If you need to narrow a topic from a broad subject to a specific research question or thesis statement, one of the easiest ways is by asking yourself the 5Ws – who, what, where, when, and why . 

You don't have to answer all the questions, but should answer enough so that your topic is manageable to research and will fit within your assignment length requirement.

Want to try a different way to refine your topic? Check out the From Topic to Question infographic!

• Refining Your Topic with the 5Ws (Accessible PDF)
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Selecting a Research Topic: Refine your topic

• Refine your topic
• Background information & facts

Narrow your topic's scope

Too much information?  Make your results list more manageable.  Less, but more relevant, information is key.  Here are some options to consider when narrowing the scope of your paper:

• Theoretical approach :  Limit your topic to a particular approach to the issue.  For example, if your topic concerns cloning, examine the theories surrounding of the high rate of failures in animal cloning.
• Aspect or sub-area :  Consider only one piece of the subject.  For example, if your topic is human cloning, investigate government regulation of cloning.
• Time :  Limit the time span you examine.  For example, on a topic in genetics, contrast public attitudes in the 1950's versus the 1990's.
• Population group :  Limit by age, sex, race, occupation, species or ethnic group.  For example, on a topic in genetics, examine specific traits as they affect women over 40 years of age.
• Geographical location :  A geographic analysis can provide a useful means to examine an issue.   For example, if your topic concerns cloning, investigate cloning practices in Europe or the Middle East.

Broaden your topic

Not finding enough information?  Think of related ideas, or read some background information first.  You may not be finding enough information for several reasons, including:

• Your topic is too specific .  Generalize what you are looking for. For example: if your topic is genetic diversity for a specific ethnic group in Ghana, Africa, broaden your topic by generalizing to all ethnic groups in Ghana or in West Africa.
• Your topic is too new for anything substantive to have been written.  If you're researching a recently breaking news event, you are likely to only find information about it in the news media. Be sure to search databases that contain articles from newspapers. If you are not finding enough in the news media, consider changing your topic to one that has been covered more extensively.
• You have not checked enough databases for information .  Search Our Collections to find other databases in your subject area which might cover the topic from a different perspective. Also, use excellent searching techniques to ensure you are getting the most out of every database.
• You are using less common words or too much jargon to describe your topic.  Use a thesaurus to find other terms to represent your topic. When reading background information, note how your topic is expressed in these materials. When you find citations in an article database, see how the topic is expressed by experts in the field.

Once you have a solid topic, formulate your research question or hypothesis and begin finding information.

If you need guidance with topic formulation, Ask Us !  Library staff are happy to help you focus your ideas.

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• Last Updated: Jul 30, 2021 2:50 PM
• URL: https://libguides.mit.edu/select-topic

How to Start Your Research | Choose a Topic

• Choose a Topic
• Search Library Databases
• Search the Library Catalog
• Search Google
• Stay Organized

Your Librarian

In This Section

In this section, you'll find advice on.

• Choosing a topic
• Doing some background reading
• The difference between a topic, thesis, and research question

Start With What You Know

What are you curious about.

• What do you still have questions about?
• This might seem obvious, but your topic should interest you!

How can you contribute to the conversation?

• Are there gaps in existing research?
• Can you approach a topic from a new angle or perspective?

Picking a topic is research, too!

This video (3 minutes) describes the process of choosing and testing out a topic. See more tips below the video, too!

Do Some Background Reading

Reference sources are a great place to start when you're trying to choose or narrow a topic..

They'll help you learn the language of the topic you're interested in, and help you gather:

• basic facts or established information on your topic
• key concepts, terms, and people 
• related topics and, often, suggested resources for learning more

Try these general reference sources to get started, and check out our  Research Guides  for subject-specific reference works.

A reference source summarizes key facts, important figures, and major concepts of a topic and provides useful background information. Reference sources include dictionaries and encyclopedias and can be in print or online.

Topic vs. Thesis vs. Research Question

What's the difference between a topic, a thesis, and a research question.

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• Last Updated: Jul 25, 2024 9:03 AM
• URL: https://libguides.uj.edu/research

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Choosing a Research Topic: Home

Picking a research topic.

Choosing a research topic can be one of the most difficult parts of the research process. Watch the video to learn how to pick a relevant and interesting topic.

Choosing a Research Topic

How to choose a research topic.

1. Begin choosing a research topic by reading the assignment description to make sure you understand the assignment requirements. Are there things you can or cannot research? How long is the paper? Are you required to find scholarly sources?

2. Next, you want to identify a topic that you care about. Caring about a topic will result in a better paper and make the process more enjoyable for you. What are you interested in? What issues personally affect you? What are current issues in your field of study? You can also use CQ Researcher to browse topic ideas.

3. After you have brainstormed several areas you are interested in, an effective way of developing a topic is combining 2-3 of your interests to pick a topic that is unique to you. 

4. After you have identified a topic you care about, conduct an initial search about your topic in a database.

5. Combining your interests with initial research can help you learn more about your topic and the angle you want to pursue.

6. As you continue the research process, it is inevitable that your topic will change or evolve.

• Last Updated: Jul 12, 2024 11:56 AM
• URL: https://libguides.usu.edu/research_topic

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How to Choose a Dissertation Topic – 9 Steps

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

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Choosing a dissertation topic is really difficult.

When I had to choose dissertation topic I agonized for weeks.

And I’ve supervised over 50 students’ dissertations across undergraduate, masters and PhD levels. All of my students agonized over their topics, too.

So you’re not alone in your struggle.

The below tips for choosing a dissertation topic are the ones I wish I was given when I was in the process of looking for a suitable topic.

If only I’d known these points, I would have saved a lot of time and stress for myself. So if these tips only help one person out, I’ll be happy.

These tips really work for just about anybody. They’re particularly useful for undergraduate and Masters level students who are writing dissertations. But, I’m sure most doctoral students will also find these points relevant, too. Especially tips 1 – 3.

Here are my tips on how to choose a dissertation topic – I hope they come in handy, and good luck on your research journey!

Read Also: 25 Sociology Dissertation Ideas

1. It Doesn’t have to be Unique (Yet).

This is the one piece of advice I wish I had gotten when I was choosing my dissertation topic.

Many students feel like they need to find a unique topic that will blow their markers away.

I was this student.

I thought that I had to choose a topic and idea that was going to make a unique contribution to knowledge. I thought I had to discover something, or, at the very least, choose a topic that no one has ever done before.

So here’s what I wish someone had told me:

It doesn’t matter if other people have done the same topic as you.

Don’t even let it phase you for a moment if someone else has chosen your topic. Just choose whatever topic you want.

Well, because your unique contribution doesn’t come at the start. It comes at the end!

You’ll find a way to make a unique contribution after you have completed your literature review . There is always time and space to find a new angle or different way of doing the topic than other people.

So, don’t choose your topic because it’s unique or different.

Then … how should you choose your topic? Points 2 and 3 give you some tips…

2. Make it Relevant to your Career Goals.

The first thing I recommend to all my students is to consider how their topic can help progress their careers.

When giving guidance to my students, I ask them these three questions:

• a) What sort of specialization do you want in your career? If you’re studying teaching, your questions might be: do you want to be a specialized literacy teacher? do you want to be an expert on behavior management? Do you want to be specialized in play-based learning ?
• b) How do you want to differentiate yourself from your competition? Your dissertation topic is going to be the topic you ‘sell’ as your area of expertise in future job interviews. If you want to get a great job, choose a topic that really stands out in the marketplace. Have a think right now for yourself: what areas of your industry are booming? For example, would it be better to specialize in coal or solar panels? Which one would be best to talk about in a job interview in the 21 st Century?
• c) Do you want to be a research pro? Most of my students don’t want to be researchers as a career. They do their dissertations to prove mastery of their topic – that’s all. The research is a means to an end. But, if you think you want to go on to do the next level degree (a PhD one day?) then you’ll want to focus on having a high quality methodology, not just an interesting topic.

So, have a think now: is there a topic that will help you get to where you plan on going? What expert knowledge do you want to be able to ‘sell’ in a future interview?

3. Ensure it’s Interesting to You.

You’re going to be wedded to your chosen for a long time. And by the end of this journey you’re going to hate it.

To make your life easier, choose a topic you’re interested in.

Here’s two ways of approaching this:

Choose a Topic you Think About a Lot.

Choose a dissertation topic that you find yourself talking about, complaining about or raving about to your parents. Choose something that makes you angry, inspired or intrigued.

For the next week or so, I recommend taking notes whenever you find yourself thinking idly about something. Is that something you’ve thought about a lot?

Or, Choose a Topic by Looking over Past Assessment Tasks.

Another way of approaching the search for an interesting topic is to look over past assignments.

What assessment task have you done in the past few years that gripped you? Which one did you enjoy the most when you were studying it?

Zoom in on that topic and see if you can turn it into a dissertation.

Bonus tip: If you found a topic that was based on a previous assessment task, see if you can convince the person who taught that subject to be your dissertation supervisor.

4. Keep it Simple.

Too often, students want to choose a topic that is complex and complicated. They come up with a long, detailed research question (usually with the help of their professor) that, really, is hard to understand!

The best strategy is to come up with a topic that is really, really straightforward. At least, the topic should start as simple and straightforward.

Your topic is going to grow and expand into a monster. It’ll be hard to tame and control. You’ll be following random tangents down rabbit holes that end up being dead-ends. You’ll research aspects of the topic and realize it was a completely pointless exercise.

The way to minimize the crazy growth of your research project is to simplify it right from the start. Make it a really simple idea.

For example, I had a student who wanted to research:

“How big is the gap in mathematics outcomes between children from middle-class and working-class backgrounds by age 16?”

I would think that this topic may be achievable by a top academic with a sizeable research grant, but my student was completing a 10,000 word dissertation for graduating her Bachelor of Arts with Honours.

After several agonizing research meetings, we peeled it back over and again until we ended up with something much simpler and more specific:

“What are teachers’ opinions of the impact of poverty on learning?”

Why is this simpler and more specific?

Well, with the second study, my student has a clear focus group (teachers) and an achievable methodology (interviews). This will be far simpler than somehow conducting tests on 16-year old children, getting a significant amount of children to participate in the study, and then dissecting their mathematics test results by income level.

Instead, we aimed small and simple to ensure the task itself was achievable.

We’re not here to win a Nobel prize. You can do that with your multi-million-dollar post-doctoral research grant. Get your degree first.

5. Ensure it’s Achievable.

This piece of advice builds on the previous advice, to “keep it simple”.

Keeping it simple means making sure you have a clear, small-scale focus.

Esuring the project is achievable means choosing a methodology that won’t break you.

Small Scale Qualitative Studies are Achievable for Anyone

I always suggest to my Undergraduate and Masters level students to aim for a small scale study with no more than 20 research participants.

Now, I know there will be many of you out there who want to do quantitative research studies. And in reality, you can do a quantitative study with a small group of students. These usually involve quantitative action research case studies.

If you’re set on a quantitative study, that’s fine. But find a supervisor with the right experience.

Personally, I usually recommend a qualitative focus group analysis for anyone doing their first dissertation.

The biggest mistake you can make is biting off more than you can chew.

Small scale qualitative studies are the easiest option . They can be achieved within your time frame. And you can certainly still get a very high grade.

So, let’s take the example of the previous research question, which we changed from:

For the first study, you will have to develop skills in quantitative data analysis , find a sizeable cohort of students, get permission from their parents, get special permission to study children you’re your university ethics committee, develop a quality testing mechanism, pilot the test, conduct the test, analyze the data, then interpret it.

For the second study, you will not have to develop complex mathematical skills, bother with getting permission to research children, or deal with the rigor of quantitative analysis.

In other words, you will be able to bypass many hurdles you may face.

That’s the benefit of a small-scale qualitative study. It’s a nice easy first dissertation methodology. You can do it and do it well.

I know my position is controversial, but hey … I’m here to tell you how to avoid problems, not to stand on a soapbox.

Consider Textual Analysis, Semiotic Analysis or Secondary Research

Finding people to interview, survey or participate in your study in any way at all can be intimidating.

I find it interesting and really fulfilling. But I understand if you think it’s too much for you at this point in time.

If you don’t want to have to go out and find research participants for your study, I recommend one of these types of study:

• Textual Analysis : you can look at policy documents or newspaper articles and analyze their ideological positioning , for example;
• Semiotic Analysis : The quintessential semiotic analysis is the analysis of advertising images or movies and the examination of the ways they depict people of different races, social classes or genders;
• Secondary Research: Look over other people’s research and try to identify themes across a range of research studies.

Now, these three different methodologies are far outside of the scope of this discussion, but consult with your dissertation supervisor if you’re overwhelmed by the idea of conducting research with real human beings. One of these three methodologies may help you bypass that process, and make the dissertation feel more achievable for you.

6. Search Online for Inspiration

If you’re still struggling to choose a dissertation topic,  go online to get inspiration!

There’s a few ways you can do this. Here’s a few good ones:

a) Google Previous Dissertation Topics

Many universities upload their students’ dissertations onto an online repository. This means there are a ton of open, free to access databases of previous students’ dissertations all over the internet.

Simply google “Dissertation” + “pdf” + a topic you’re interested in. If you’re a masters student, you can do “masters dissertation” + “pdf” + the topic; and if you’re an undegrad, then simply do “undergraduate dissertation” + “pdf” + the topic;. Simple!

Up will pop a ton of dissertations that you can instantly download to check out previous students’ successful dissertation topics.

Another benefit of doing this is that you’ll be able to view and model the structure that previous students have used as well. This can be super beneficial for you early on!

b) Look at Recent Articles Published in Journals focused on your Topic

If you scroll through the recent issues of journals in your topic, you’ll find a range of research topic ideas.

To get access to top journals in your topic, simply google “Scholarly Journal” + your topic. For example, I am a professor in education. So I’d google “Scholarly journal” + “Education”.

The homepages for a ton of journals will pop up in the Google search. Quickly scan through the recent issues of those journals to see if any ideas will pop up that interest you!

c) If you’re Studying Education or Teaching, Check Here

Lastly, a quick plug for another post I’ve written for dissertation students:

• 51+ Dissertation Ideas for Education students .

Go check that out if you want to write a dissertation on the ‘education’ topic.

7. Trust your Dissertation Supervisor

Your dissertation supervisor will have walked many students just like you through the research process before.

Look, I know many dissertation supervisors can be disappointingly aloof and disconnected from your research. And relationships can get very frosty with your supervisors indeed.

Trust your supervisor. They make recommendations for a reason. They know how to navigate the dissertation writing process. If your supervisor makes a recommendation, strong – very strongly – consider it.

Your supervisor also has expertise in one area of research or another. Take advantage of their expertise. Be flexible and let them sway you down certain paths. You need a knowledgeable partner in the research process.

So, trust your supervisor. You need their expertise more than you know.

8. Come up with 3-5 Ideas and Bring them to your Supervisor for Feedback

Your initial dissertation topic ideas will probably need a lot of refinement.

The person who will help you to refine your topic will be your dissertation supervisor. Their main job, unfortunately, is to curb your enthusiasm. It’s to show you what problems you’ll face if you follow certain paths and recommend alterations to ensure your topic is achievable.

So, approach your supervisor with your 3-5 top ideas and watch them do their magic. They should advise you on how to turn your ideas into reality.

Your ideas can be specific or broad – really, it doesn’t matter because you’ll walk out of your supervision meeting with a lot of changed ideas. It doesn’t need to be set in stone.

You could, for example, go up to your supervisor and say something like:

• “I’m interested in Erikson’s theory of development. Do you have any suggestions of how I can use Erikson’s ideas for a dissertation?”
• “I’m really into conservative politics. What ideas do you have for an achievable topic?”
• Any other ideas…

They’ll help you shape and mold your topic into something achievable.

9. Lastly, Stick to your Choice

When I did my dissertation, I questioned my topic daily: I’d always be thinking up new, better ideas for my dissertation!

But once you’re locked in, it’s hard to change your mind. You’re going to get ethics permission to conduct your study, not anyone else’s!

So, my advice is simple:

Once you’ve chosen your topic, commit.

If you’re desperate to do another topic, fine, do another degree. If you’re doing your Master’s right now, bank those other ideas for a potential PhD down the track.

But once you’ve made your choice, really … you’ve got to commit, block out all your regrets and dig in.

Don’t worry about your friends who chose a dissertation topic that is better than yours. Stay in your lane, be content with your topic, and create a great product.

Writing a dissertation is an exercise in being practical more than anything. That start from the very first choice: choosing a dissertation topic that’s achievable and good for your career, and will also put you on the path for top marks.

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Research Topics: How to Select & Develop: Refining a Research Topic

• Understanding the Assignment
• Choosing a Research Topic
• Refining a Research Topic
• Developing a Research Question
• Deciding What Types of Sources You Will Need
• Research Help

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Research is a dynamic process. Be prepared to modify or refine your topic. This is usually the sign of thoughtful and well-done research. Usually researchers start out with a broad topic before narrowing it down. These strategies can help with that process.

Brainstorm Concepts

Think of words or concepts that relate to that topic. For example, if your topic is "polar bears," associated words might include: ice, cubs, pollution, hunting, diet, and environmental icon.

Make a Concept Map

Create a visual map your topic that shows different aspects of the topic. Think about questions related to your topic. Consider the who, what, where, when, and why (the 5 W's).

For example, when researching the local food culture, you might consider:

• Why do people buy local?
• What specific food items are people more likely to buy local and why?
• What are the economic aspects of buying local? Is it cheaper?
• Do people in all socio-economic strata have access to local food?

This short video explains how to make a concept map:

Source: Douglas College Library

You can make a concept map by hand or digitally. Below is a link to a free online concept mapping tool:

• Bubbl.us Free tool for building concept maps.

Consider Your Approach or Angle

Your research could, for example, use a historical angle (focusing on a particular time period); a geographical angle (focusing on a particular part of the world); or a sociological angle (focusing on a particular group of people). The angle you choose will depend largely on the nature of your research question and often on the class or the academic discipline in which you are working.

Conduct Background Research

Finding background information on your topic can also help you to refine your topic. Background research serves many purposes.

• If you are unfamiliar with the topic, it provides a good overview of the subject matter.
• It helps you to identify important facts related to your topic: terminology, dates, events, history, and names or organizations.
• It can help you to refine your topic.
• It might lead you to bibliographies that you can use to find additional sources of information on your topic.

Reference sources  like the ones listed below can help you find an angle on your topic and identify an interesting research question. If you are focusing on a particular academic discipline, you might do background reading in subject-specific encyclopedias  and reference sources.  Background information can also be found in:

• dictionaries
• general encyclopedias
• subject-specific encyclopedias  
• article databases

These sources are often listed in our Library Research Guides . 

Here are some resources you may find helpful in finding a strong topic:

• I-Share Use I-Share to search for library materials at more than 80 libraries in Illinois and place requests.
• Wikipedia Get a quick overview of your topic. (Of course, evaluate these articles carefully, since anyone can change them). An entry's table of contents can help you identify possible research angles; the external links and references can help you locate other relevant sources. Usually you won't use Wikipedia in your final paper, because it's not an authoritative source.
• Gale Virtual Reference Library Reference eBooks on a variety of topics, including business, history, literature, medicine, social science, technology, and many more.
• Oxford Reference Reference eBooks on a handful of topics, including management, history, and religion.

Conduct Exploratory In-Depth Research

Start doing some exploratory, in-depth research. As you look for relevant sources, such as scholarly articles and books, refine your topic based on what you find. While examining sources, consider how others discuss the topic. How might the sources inform or challenge your approach to your research question?

• Choosing and Refining Topics Tutorial A detailed tutorial from Colorado State University
• << Previous: Choosing a Research Topic
• Next: Developing a Research Question >>
• Last Updated: Jan 4, 2024 9:55 AM
• URL: https://researchguides.ben.edu/topics

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How to Do Research: A Step-By-Step Guide: 1a. Select a Topic

• Get Started
• 1a. Select a Topic
• 1b. Develop Research Questions
• 1c. Identify Keywords
• 1d. Find Background Information
• 1e. Refine a Topic
• 2a. Search Strategies
• 2d. Articles
• 2e. Videos & Images
• 2f. Databases
• 2g. Websites
• 2h. Grey Literature
• 2i. Open Access Materials
• 3a. Evaluate Sources
• 3b. Primary vs. Secondary
• 3c. Types of Periodicals
• 4a. Take Notes
• 4b. Outline the Paper
• 4c. Incorporate Source Material
• 5a. Avoid Plagiarism
• 5b. Zotero & MyBib
• 5c. MLA Formatting
• 5d. MLA Citation Examples
• 5e. APA Formatting
• 5f. APA Citation Examples
• 5g. Annotated Bibliographies

The Research Assignment - Define the Task

Before selecting a topic or starting your research, make sure you understand your assignment. Consider:

• Have you been assigned a topic or can you pick your own?
• How many pages/words do you need to write? How long is your presentation?
• Do you need to include specific types of sources (e.g. scholarly journal, book, etc.)?
• When is the assignment due? How much time do you have to research?
• Is currency of information important?

When in doubt, consult with your instructor.

Topic Ideas

 Can’t think of a topic to research?

• Scan your textbook.
• Peruse Newspapers and other News Sources .
• Browse Encyclopedias .
• Look at the CQ Researcher database for current "hot topics.".
• Check the resources listed on the Current Topics guide.
• Discuss topics with your instructor, a librarian or a classmate.

Picking Your Topic IS Research

• << Previous: Step 1: Develop a Topic
• Next: 1b. Develop Research Questions >>
• Last Updated: Aug 13, 2024 3:10 PM
• URL: https://libguides.elmira.edu/research

• Subject Guides
• Binghamton University Libraries
• How Do I? and How To?

How To Do Library Research

• Selecting a Topic

Guide Contents

• Introduction

Considerations

Writing about popular topics, picking your topic.

• Understanding Keywords
• Tips and Tricks
• Types of Information
• Publication Cycles
• Follow a Citation
• Finding and Using EBooks
• Finding Books
• Finding Articles
• Finding Statistics & Data
• Finding Primary Sources
• Citation Help This link opens in a new window
• Ask A Librarian This link opens in a new window

Selecting a topic can be the most difficult part of doing research. Defining and refining your topic is an ongoing process. Be prepared to change the focus of your topic as you gather more information. How you select your topic will depend also on what your instructor has specified.

These are some general guidelines to follow:

• Interesting: Select a subject you can get interested in.  Since you will be spending a considerable amount of time researching your topic, you will want it to be something that holds your interest and that of the reader.  

Broad topic : climate change  --> Focused topic : How have bottlenose dolphins adapted to climate change? 

Your research question should be opened ended, will guide you in further research, and will help you formulate your thesis. 

Try to be original and creative. Some topics have been overdone, and this leads to an overwhelming amount of information, making it difficult to focus a topic. Some topics that might be overdone include: mental health, first-generation college students, online education.   

Try to look at topics like these from a new perspective or angle. For example:      How do the experiences of first-generation college students compare based on socioeconomic status or race, ethnicity, culture, background? 

If a topic has made recent news headlines, think about what has made the issue controversial or newsworthy to get started on your research:

How can educators use online learning to regain some of the educational losses as a result of the pandemic? 

By starting with what makes an otherwise common topic newsworthy it is making your research relevant, timely, more manageable and will lead you to a more interesting research question or thesis statement.

Consult Hot Research Topics & Controversial Issues for ideas and new perspectives if you wish to write about current controversies.

• Get SubTopics
• Get Disciplines
• Develop thesis

All topics can be viewed from several angles. What are the smaller questions that will help create an answer to the primary question?

Who are the people affected by your study? age, ethnicity, gender, profession, company/industry

What are the components or aspects of the topic will you explore? causes, effects, diagnosis or treatment, problems, trends

Where does your topic fit? Is there a specific country, state, county, city, or country in which your topic fits geographically? Can the "where" be defined by a broader regional concept such as urban/rural, global/local? Can there where also define your population - such as college campuses, prisons, elementary schools?

When did the issue or event become important? a specific century/decade/specific time span are you going to need the most current information available? Historical information? Both?

Why is this topic important? What is significant about this issue? articulate the possible approaches and select the best one for your needs.

Which disciplines or occupations would be interested in the topic or analyze it in their literature?

Many research topics are interdisciplinary and the disciplinary focus will determine the appropriate tools to use to locate information.

For example, for the question:  How have dolphins adapted to climate change?  you could look within the following fields:

• environmental studies

Make sure you understand the basics of your topic. If it is new to you, familiarize yourself with the basic terms, people, events, statistics and foundational information.

Reference books such as encyclopedias and handbooks will offer short articles for exactly this purpose.

See the Encyclopedias page, the subject guide best related to your area , or ask at the Research Help desk to help you locate one.

Formulate a thesis that is consistent with the evidence you find. It should be of significance to the discipline and supportable by the evidence.

As you gather information, you will formulate new questions and possibly even change the focus of your research, so your thesis may change.

If the issue is a controversial one, your thesis should reflect the position you are taking. A strong research paper will reflect both sides of an argument, and researching this is an important part of gathering background information.

For further reading:

• Thesis sentence  (Excelsior OWL) 
• Formulating your Research Question (Vanderbilt Writing Center)

Once you have developed your thesis, you are reading to start searching in earnest and our search strategies page can get you started. Keep in mind that research in usually not a linear process - based on what you discover when you research, you may end up revising or even changing your thesis altogether.

• << Previous: Introduction
• Next: Search Strategies >>
• Last Updated: Jul 17, 2024 12:31 PM
• URL: https://libraryguides.binghamton.edu/libraryresearch
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Q. How can I choose a good topic for my research paper?

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Answered By: Woodruff Library Reference Last Updated: Mar 12, 2024     Views: 602099

How do you decide what to write about when confronted with a research paper? You want a focused topic!

Here are some things to consider:

• Make sure your topic meets the assignment requirements. Ask your professor for feedback if you are unsure.
• Choose a topic that is interesting to you.  It may seem obvious, but this will make the research process more fun and engaging for you.
• Consider the scope of your topic. If your topic is too broad it may be hard to find information that is focused and relevant; if your topic is too narrow it may be hard to find any information at all.

Here's one strategy for developing a research topic once you have a broad topic in mind:

• Background research will help you develop your topic and hone or change it in more appropriate ways.  Knowing more about your topic's background can only help you develop a more effective topic, and therefore, research paper.
• Brainstorm concepts.  Once you think of a broad topic that interests you, try to brainstorm all of the words or concepts you can that might be related to that topic (and write them down!). For example, if your topic is "polar bears," you might think of the following words and topics in association: ice, cubs, pollution, hunting, diet, climate change, and environmental icon. 
• Develop a research question . Once you have come up with a broad topic and done some background research, you may want to develop a research question, or a question you're going to answer in your paper by doing more, in-depth research.
• What's your general approach to the topic?  Think about some general approaches that may help you further develop your topic: use a historical angle by focusing on a particular time period; a geographical angle, focusing on a particular part of the world; or a sociological angle, focusing on a particular group of people.
• Start doing some exploratory, in-depth research. As you do more in-depth research, like looking for scholarly articles, books, and other sources to include in your paper, you can and probably will modify or refine your topic based on what you find.
• Research is a dynamic process. Don't be afraid to discover new things and modify or refine your topic.

The topic development process will help you to develop your thesis , which is essentially your proposed answer to your research question. You will then be ready to use the sources you've found, and find more sources in order to support that thesis, or to answer your research question.

Here's an example of how the topic development process above can lead you to a thesis:

Resources that can help you develop your topic:

• Your instructor, course readings, class notes, Wikipedia, and Google can all be helpful in terms of getting ideas for broad topics.
• A Research Guide for a particular subject created by a subject librarian is great for helping you choose where to begin your research. These online guides will identify encyclopedias, books, databases, and other materials to help you get started with research. You can also ask a librarian at the Library Service Desk.
• Library resources like Credo Reference Unlimited , Gale Virtual Reference Library ,  CQ Researcher and subject-specific encyclopedias can help you come up with topic ideas because they provide great overviews and introductions to topics. You can find links to these kinds of resources in the  Research Guides mentioned above. These will probably not be scholarly sources you can use in your paper, but they may lead you to more in-depth, scholarly resources that you will want to use in your paper.

Check out this video from NCSU Libraries:

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Related topics, chat with a librarian:.

Choose a Research Topic: Choose a Research Topic

This guide will help you understand how to develop your topic ideas into a manageable research topic.

Terms in this Guide

• Information Literacy:  The set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information.  
• Research Process:  It is a process of multiple deliberate steps in conducting the research work where each step is interlinked with other steps such as starting with a broad topic question to focus on an aspect of it to narrow the research focus to all the way to find and evaluate the reliability of that information.  The most important thing to realize is that this is not a linear process. 

Step 1: Choose a Broad Research Topic

Research is a long process. Try to choose a broad topic that is interesting to you and that fits the assignment parameters set by the professor.

Read through background information in an encyclopedia, dictionary, or database to learn about aspects of the topic that might interest you.

If you are unsure of what topic to start with, review the sources below for ideas.

Step 2: Narrow & Focus Your Topic

If you are getting too many search results, then it is time to limit your topic to a particular approach to the issue!

Consider writing about one of these aspects of your broad topic:

• Theme (a particular opinion, focus, or point of view)
• Timeframe (period, date)
• Place (city, state, region, country, continent)

Step 3. Write a Topic Statement

Now turn your narrow topic into a topic statement by writing it out as a short sentence. This is known as a thesis or topic statement. It expresses the subject and purpose of your paper.

Step 4. Evaluate your Topic Statement

Ask yourself the following questions to evaluate the quality of your topic statement:

• Is this statement interesting enough to spark my own thoughts and opinions?
• What type of information will I need to support the topic statement?
• Is the scope of this topic statement reasonable? Or does it need to be focused even further?
• What sources will have the type of information that I need to answer the research question?
• Can I access these sources? If yes, where can I get the material I need? (textbook, library book, online databases, personal interviews?)
• If yes, it's time to start your project!
• If not, you may need guidance. Talk to your professor, librarian, and/or a Writing, Reading & Language Center tutor if you are unsure.

Research Cycle

Watch this tutorial and practice using the activities / answering questions.

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Check these resources below to learn more about how to develop a manageable research topic and select appropriate source types.

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How To Find A High-Quality Research Topic

6 steps to find & evaluate high-quality dissertation/thesis topics.

By: Caroline Osella (PhD, BA)  and Derek Jansen (MBA) | July 2019

So, you’re finally nearing the end of your degree and it’s now time to find a suitable topic for your dissertation or thesis. Or perhaps you’re just starting out on your PhD research proposal and need to find a suitable area of research for your application proposal.

In this post, we’ll provide a straightforward 6-step process that you can follow to ensure you arrive at a high-quality research topic . Follow these steps and you will formulate a well-suited, well-defined core research question .

There’s a helpful clue already: your research ‘topic’ is best understood as a research question or a problem . Your aim is not to create an encyclopedia entry into your field, but rather to shed light on an acknowledged issue that’s being debated (or needs to be). Think research  questions , not research  topics  (we’ll come back to this later).

Overview: How To Find A Research Topic

• Get an understanding of the research process
• Review previous dissertations from your university
• Review the academic literature to start the ideation process
• Identify your potential research questions (topics) and shortlist
• Narrow down, then evaluate your research topic shortlist
• Make the decision (and stick with it!)

Step 1: Understand the research process

It may sound horribly obvious, but it’s an extremely common mistake – students skip past the fundamentals straight to the ideation phase (and then pay dearly for it).

Start by looking at whatever handouts and instructions you’ve been given regarding what your university/department expects of a dissertation. For example, the course handbook, online information and verbal in-class instructions. I know it’s tempting to just dive into the ideation process, but it’s essential to start with the prescribed material first.

There are two important reasons for this:

First , you need to have a basic understanding of the research process , research methodologies , fieldwork options and analysis methods before you start the ideation process, or you will simply not be equipped to think about your own research adequately. If you don’t understand the basics of  quantitative , qualitative and mixed methods BEFORE you start ideating, you’re wasting your time.

Second , your university/department will have specific requirements for your research – for example, requirements in terms of topic originality, word count, data requirements, ethical adherence , methodology, etc. If you are not aware of these from the outset, you will again end up wasting a lot of time on irrelevant ideas/topics.

So, the most important first step is to get your head around both the basics of research (especially methodologies), as well as your institution’s specific requirements . Don’t give in to the temptation to jump ahead before you do this. As a starting point, be sure to check out our free dissertation course.

Step 2: Review past dissertations/theses

Unless you’re undertaking a completely new course, there will be many, many students who have gone through the research process before and have produced successful dissertations, which you can use to orient yourself. This is hugely beneficial – imagine being able to see previous students’ assignments and essays when you were doing your coursework!

Take a look at some well-graded (65% and above) past dissertations from your course (ideally more recent ones, as university requirements may change over time). These are usually available in the university’s online library. Past dissertations will act as a helpful model for all kinds of things, from how long a bibliography needs to be, to what a good literature review looks like, through to what kinds of methods you can use – and how to leverage them to support your argument.

As you peruse past dissertations, ask yourself the following questions:

• What kinds of topics did these dissertations cover and how did they turn the topic into questions?
• How broad or narrow were the topics?
• How original were the topics? Were they truly groundbreaking or just a localised twist on well-established theory?
• How well justified were the topics? Did they seem important or just nice to know?
• How much literature did they draw on as a theoretical base? Was the literature more academic or applied in nature?
• What kinds of research methods did they use and what data did they draw on?
• How did they analyse that data and bring it into the discussion of the academic literature?
• Which of the dissertations are most readable to you – why? How were they presented?
• Can you see why these dissertations were successful? Can you relate what they’ve done back to the university’s instructions/brief?

Seeing a variety of dissertations (at least 5, ideally in your area of interest) will also help you understand whether your university has very rigid expectations in terms of structure and format , or whether they expect and allow variety in the number of chapters, chapter headings, order of content, style of presentation and so on.

Some departments accept graphic novels; some are willing to grade free-flow continental-philosophy style arguments; some want a highly rigid, standardised structure.  Many offer a dissertation template , with information on how marks are split between sections. Check right away whether you have been given one of those templates – and if you do, then use it and don’t try to deviate or reinvent the wheel.

Step 3: Review the academic literature

Now that you (1) understand the research process, (2) understand your university’s specific requirements for your dissertation or thesis, and (3) have a feel for what a good dissertation looks like, you can start the ideation process. This is done by reviewing the current literature and looking for opportunities to add something original to the academic conversation.

Kick start the ideation process

So, where should you start your literature hunt? The best starting point is to get back to your modules. Look at your coursework and the assignments you did. Using your coursework is the best theoretical base, as you are assured that (1) the literature is of a high enough calibre for your university and (2) the topics are relevant to your specific course.

Start by identifying the modules that interested you the most and that you understood well (i.e. earned good marks for). What were your strongest assignments, essays or reports? Which areas within these were particularly interesting to you? For example, within a marketing module, you may have found consumer decision making or organisation trust to be interesting. Create a shortlist of those areas that you were both interested in and academically strong at. It’s no use picking an area that does not genuinely interest you – you’ll run out of motivation if you’re not excited by a topic.

Understand the current state of knowledge

Once you’ve done that, you need to get an understanding of the current state of the literature for your chosen interest areas. What you’re aiming to understand is this: what is the academic conversation here and what critical questions are yet unanswered? These unanswered questions are prime opportunities for a unique, meaningful research topic . A quick review of the literature on your favourite topics will help you understand this.

Grab your reading list from the relevant section of the modules, or simply enter the topics into Google Scholar . Skim-read 3-5 journal articles from the past 5 years which have at least 5 citations each (Google Scholar or a citations index will show you how many citations any given article has – i.e., how many other people have referred to it in their own bibliography). Also, check to see if your discipline has an ‘annual review’ type of journal, which gathers together surveys of the state of knowledge on a chosen topic. This can be a great tool for fast-tracking your understanding of the current state of the knowledge in any given area.

Start from your course’s reading list and work outwards. At the end of every journal article, you’ll find a reference list. Scan this reference list for more relevant articles and read those. Then repeat the process (known as snowballing) until you’ve built up a base of 20-30 quality articles per area of interest.

Absorb, don’t hunt

At this stage, your objective is to read and understand the current state of the theory for your area(s) of interest – you don’t need to be in topic-hunting mode yet. Don’t jump the gun and try to identify research topics before you are well familiarised with the literature.

As you read, try to understand what kinds of questions people are asking and how they are trying to answer them. What matters do the researchers agree on, and more importantly, what are they in disagreement about? Disagreements are prime research territory. Can you identify different ‘schools of thought’ or different ‘approaches’? Do you know what your own approach or slant is? What kinds of articles appeal to you and which ones bore you or leave you feeling like you’ve not really grasped them? Which ones interest you and point towards directions you’d like to research and know more about?

Once you understand the fundamental fact that academic knowledge is a conversation, things get easier.

Think of it like a party. There are groups of people in the room, enjoying conversations about various things. Which group do you want to join?  You don’t want to be that person in the corner, talking to themself. And you don’t want to be the hanger-on, laughing at the big-shot’s jokes and repeating everything they say.

Do you want to join a large group and try to make a small contribution to what’s going on, or are you drawn to a smaller group that’s having a more niche conversation, but where you feel you might more easily find something original to contribute? How many conversations can you identify? Which ones feel closer to you and more attractive? Which ones repel you or leave you cold? Are there some that, frankly, you just don’t understand?

Now, choose a couple of groups who are discussing something you feel interested in and where you feel like you might want to contribute. You want to make your entry into this group by asking a question – a question that will make the other people in the group turn around and look at you, listen to you, and think, “That’s interesting”.

Your dissertation will be the process of setting that question and then trying to find at least a partial answer to that question – but don’t worry about that now.  Right now, you need to work out what conversations are going on, whether any of them are related or overlapping, and which ones you might be able to walk into. I’ll explain how you find that question in the next step.

Need a helping hand?

Step 4: Identify potential research questions

Now that you have a decent understanding of the state of the literature in your area(s) of interest, it’s time to start developing your list of possible research topics. There are (at least) three approaches you can follow here, and they are not mutually exclusive:

Approach 1: Leverage the FRIN

Towards the end of most quality journal articles, you will find a section labelled “ further research ” or something similar. Generally, researchers will clearly outline where they feel further research is needed (FRIN), following on from their own research. So, essentially, every journal article presents you with a list of potential research opportunities.

Of course, only a handful of these will be both practical and of interest to you, so it’s not a quick-fix solution to finding a research topic. However, the benefit of going this route is that you will be able to find a genuinely original and meaningful research topic (which is particularly important for PhD-level research).

The upside to this approach is originality, but the downside is that you might not find something that really interests you , or that you have the means to execute. If you do go this route, make sure that you pay attention to the journal article dates, as the FRIN may already have been “solved” by other researchers if the article is old.

Approach 2: Put a context-based spin on an existing topic

The second option is to consider whether a theory which is already well established is relevant within a local or industry-specific context. For example, a theory about the antecedents (drivers) of trust is very well established, but there may be unique or uniquely important drivers within a specific national context or industry (for example, within the financial services industry in an emerging market).

If that industry or national context has not yet been covered by researchers and there is a good reason to believe there may be meaningful differences within that context, then you have an opportunity to take a unique angle on well-established theory, which can make for a great piece of research. It is however imperative that you have a good reason to believe that the existing theory may not be wholly relevant within your chosen context, or your research will not be justified.

The upside to this approach is that you can potentially find a topic that is “closer to home” and more relevant and interesting to you , while still being able to draw on a well-established body of theory. However, the downside is that this approach will likely not produce the level of originality as approach #1.

Approach 3: Uncensored brainstorming

The third option is to skip the FRIN, as well as the local/industry-specific angle and simply engage in a freeform brainstorming or mind-mapping session, using your newfound knowledge of the theory to formulate potential research ideas. What’s important here is that you do not censor yourself . However crazy, unfeasible, or plain stupid your topic appears – write it down. All that matters right now is that you are interested in this thing.

Next, try to turn the topic(s) into a question or problem. For example:

• What is the relationship between X, Y & Z?
• What are the drivers/antecedents of X?
• What are the outcomes of Y?
• What are the key success factors for Z?

Re-word your list of topics or issues into a list of questions .  You might find at this stage that one research topic throws up three questions (which then become sub-topics and even new separate topics in their own right) and in so doing, the list grows. Let it. Don’t hold back or try to start evaluating your ideas yet – just let them flow onto paper.

Once you’ve got a few topics and questions on paper, check the literature again to see whether any of these have been covered by the existing research. Since you came up with these from scratch, there is a possibility that your original literature search did not cover them, so it’s important to revisit that phase to ensure that you’re familiar with the relevant literature for each idea. You may also then find that approach #1 and #2 can be used to build on these ideas.

Try use all three approaches

As mentioned earlier, the three approaches discussed here are not mutually exclusive. In fact, the more, the merrier. Hopefully, you manage to utilise all three, as this will give you the best odds of producing a rich list of ideas, which you can then narrow down and evaluate, which is the next step.

Step 5: Narrow down, then evaluate

By this stage, you should have a healthy list of research topics. Step away from the ideation and thinking for a few days, clear your mind. The key is to get some distance from your ideas, so that you can sit down with your list and review it with a more objective view. The unbridled ideation phase is over and now it’s time to take a reality check .

Look at your list and see if any options can be crossed off right away .  Maybe you don’t want to do that topic anymore. Maybe the topic turned out to be too broad and threw up 20 hard to answer questions. Maybe all the literature you found about it was 30 years old and you suspect it might not be a very engaging contemporary issue . Maybe this topic is so over-researched that you’ll struggle to find anything fresh to say. Also, after stepping back, it’s quite common to notice that 2 or 3 of your topics are really the same one, the same question, which you’ve written down in slightly different ways. You can try to amalgamate these into one succinct topic.

Narrow down to the top 5, then evaluate

Now, take your streamlined list and narrow it down to the ‘top 5’ that interest you the most. Personal interest is your key evaluation criterion at this stage. Got your ‘top 5’?  Great!  Now, with a cool head and your best analytical mind engaged, go systematically through each option and evaluate them against the following criteria:

Research questions – what is the main research question, and what are the supporting sub-questions? It’s critically important that you can define these questions clearly and concisely. If you cannot do this, it means you haven’t thought the topic through sufficiently.

Originality – is the topic sufficiently original, as per your university’s originality requirements? Are you able to add something unique to the existing conversation? As mentioned earlier, originality can come in many forms, and it doesn’t mean that you need to find a completely new, cutting-edge topic. However, your university’s requirements should guide your decision-making here.

Importance – is the topic of real significance, or is it just a “nice to know”? If it’s significant, why? Who will benefit from finding the answer to your desired questions and how will they benefit? Justifying your research will be a key requirement for your research proposal , so it’s really important to develop a convincing argument here.

Literature – is there a contemporary (current) body of academic literature around this issue? Is there enough literature for you to base your investigation on, but not too much that the topic is “overdone”? Will you be able to navigate this literature or is it overwhelming?

Data requirements – What kind of data would you need access to in order to answer your key questions?  Would you need to adopt a qualitative, quantitative or mixed-methods approach to answer your questions? At this stage, you don’t need to be able to map out your exact research design, but you should be able to articulate how you would approach it in high-level terms. Will you use qual, quant or mixed methods? Why?

Feasibility – How feasible would it be to gather the data that would be needed in the time-frame that you have – and do you have the will power and the skills to do it? If you’re not confident with the theory, you don’t want something that’s going to draw you into a debate about the relative importance of epistemology and ontology. If you are shy, you won’t want to be doing ethnographic interviews. If you feel this question calls for a 100-person survey, do you have the time to plan, organise and conduct it and then analyse it? What will you do if you don’t get the response rate you expect? Be very realistic here and also ask advice from your supervisor and other experts – poor response rates are extremely common and can derail even the best research projects.

Personal attraction – On a scale of 1-10, how excited are you about this topic? Will addressing it add value to your life and/or career? Will undertaking the project help you build a skill you’ve previously wanted to work on (for example, interview skills, statistical analysis skills, software skills, etc.)?

The last point is particularly important. You will have to engage with your dissertation in a very sustained and deep way, face challenges and difficulties, and get it to completion. If you don’t start out enthusiastic about it, you’re setting yourself up for problems like ‘writer’s block’ or ‘burnout’ down the line. This is the reason personal interest was the sole evaluation criterion when we chose the top 5. So, don’t underestimate the importance of personal attraction to a topic – at the same time, don’t let personal attraction lead you to choose a topic that is not relevant to your course or feasible given your resources. 

Narrow down to 3, then get human feedback

We’re almost at the finishing line. The next step is to narrow down to 2 or 3 shortlisted topics. No more!  Write a short paragraph about each topic, addressing the following:

Firstly,  WHAT will this study be about? Frame the topic as a question or a problem. Write it as a dissertation title. No more than two clauses and no more than 15 words. Less than 15 is better (go back to good journal articles for inspiration on appropriate title styles).

Secondly, WHY this is interesting (original) and important – as proven by existing academic literature? Are people talking about this and is there an acknowledged problem, debate or gap in the literature?

Lastly,  HOW do you plan to answer the question? What sub-questions will you use? What methods does this call for and how competent and confident are you in those methods? Do you have the time to gather the data this calls for?

Show the shortlist and accompanying paragraphs to a couple of your peers from your course and also to an expert or two if at all possible (you’re welcome to reach out to us ), explaining what you will investigate, why this is original and important and how you will go about investigating it. 

Once you’ve pitched your ideas, ask for the following thoughts :

• Which is most interesting and appealing to them?
• Why do they feel this way?
• What problems do they foresee with the execution of the research?

Take advice and feedback and sit on it for another day. Let it simmer in your mind overnight before you make the final decision.  

Step 6: Make the decision (and stick with it!)

Then, make the commitment. Choose the one that you feel most confident about, having now considered both your opinion and the feedback from others.

Once you’ve made a decision, don’t doubt your judgement, don’t shift.  Don’t be tempted by the ones you left behind. You’ve planned and thought things through, checked feasibility and now you can start.  You have your research topic. Trust your own decision-making process and stick with it now. It’s time to get started on your research proposal!

Let’s recap…

In this post, I’ve proposed a straightforward 6-step plan to finding relevant research topic ideas and then narrowing them down to finally choose one winner. To recap:

• Understand the basics of academic research, as well as your university’s specific requirements for a dissertation, thesis or research project.
• Review previous dissertations for your course to get an idea of both topics and structure.
• Start the ideation process by familiarising yourself with the literature.
• Identify your potential research questions (topics).
• Narrow down your options, then evaluate systematically.
• Make your decision (and don’t look back!)

If you follow these steps, you’ll find that they also set you up for what’s coming next – both the proposal and the first three chapters of your dissertation. But that’s for future posts!

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

23 Comments

I would love to get a topic under teachers performance. I am a student of MSC Monitoring and Evaluations and I need a topic in the line of monitoring and evaluations

I just we put for some full notes that are payable

Thank you very much Dr Caroline

I need a project topics on transfer of learning

m a PhD Student I would like to be assisted inn formulating a title around: Internet of Things for online education in higher education – STEM (Science, technology, engineering and Mathematics, digital divide ) Thank you, would appreciate your guidance

Well structured guide on the topic… Good materials for beginners in research writing…

Hello Iam kindly seeking for help in formulating a researchable topic for masters degree program in line with teaching GRAPHIC ART

I read a thesis about a problem in a particular. Can I use the same topic just referring to my own country? Is that being original? The interview questions will mostly be the same as the other thesis.

Hi, thanks I managed to listen to the video so helpful indeed. I am currently an MBA student looking for a specific topic and I have different ideas that not sure they can be turned to be a study.

I am doing a Master of Theology in Pastoral Care and Counselling and I felt like doing research on Spiritual problem cause by substance abuse among Youth. Can I get help to formulate the Thesis Title in line with it…please

Hello, I am kindly seeking help in formulating a researchable topic for a National diploma program

As a beginner in research, I am very grateful for this well-structured material on research writing.

Hello, I watched the video and its very helpful. I’m a student in Nursing (degree). May you please help me with any research problems (in Namibian society or Nursing) that need to be evaluate or solved?

I have been greatly impacted. Thank you.

more than useful… there will be no justification if someone fails to get a topic for his thesis

I watched the video and its really helpful.

How can i started discovery

Analysing the significance of Integrated reporting in Zimbabwe. A case of institutional investors. this is my topic for PHD Accounting sciences need help with research questions

Excellent session that cleared lots of doubts.

Excellent session that cleared lots of doubts

It was a nice one thank you

Wow, This helped a lot not only with how to find a research topic but inspired me to kick it off from now, I am a final year student of environmental science. And have to complete my project in the coming six months.

I was really stressed and thinking about different topics that I don’t know nothing about and having more than a hundred topics in the baggage, couldn’t make the tradeoff among them, however, reading this scrubbed the fuzzy layer off my head and now it seems like really easy.

Thanks GRADCOACH, you saved me from getting into the rabbit hole.

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Choosing a topic is the first and maybe the most important step of the research and writing process! This step will determine the rest of your steps -- what your thesis statement is, what sources you use, and how to write your paper. So it's important to make sure you choose a strong and engaging topic.

Strategies for finding a topic:

• Look over the index and the article titles in a subject-specific encyclopedia that covers a relevant subject area or discipline. Check out our print collection available in the Information Commons. (Additional sources can be found by searching the catalog for titles in the general collection.)
• Spend some time looking at major journals in your field (look for the white binder in the reading room for a list of current periodicals by subject).
• Browse your subject area in one of our digital reference sources .
• Discuss topic ideas with your instructor or favorite reference librarian!

Good questions to ask yourself when choosing a topic are:

• Is this a topic that interests me?
• Is this a topic that is creative and has not been overdone?
• Is this a topic that is not too broad or too narrow to meet the assignment requirements?

When you pick your topic, it's not set in stone. Picking and adjusting your topic is an integral part of the research process!

How to Develop a Good Research Topic

Need Help Choosing a Topic?

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Once you have a topic in mind:

• Consider first the broad subjects that deal with your topic.
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• Focus closer: limit your topic to specifics, such as geography, time, and culture.
• Write down topic phrases; this helps you come up with key words and questions that will help you in your research.
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Harris Energizes Democrats in Transformed Presidential Race

1. the presidential matchup: harris, trump, kennedy, table of contents.

• Other findings: Both Harris and Trump are viewed more favorably than a few months ago
• Voting preferences among demographic groups
• How have voters shifted their preferences since July?
• Harris’ supporters back her more strongly than Biden’s did last month
• Large gap in motivation to vote emerges between the candidates’ younger supporters
• Harris and Trump have gained ground with their own coalitions
• Share of ‘double negatives’ drops significantly with change in presidential candidates
• Views of Biden have changed little since his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race
• Acknowledgments
• The American Trends Panel survey methodology

Nationally, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are essentially tied among registered voters in the current snapshot of the presidential race: 46% prefer Harris, 45% prefer Trump and 7% prefer Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Following Biden’s exit from the race, Trump’s support among voters has remained largely steady (44% backed him in July against Biden, while 45% back him against Harris today). However, Harris’ support is 6 percentage points higher than Biden’s was in July . In addition to holding on to the support of those who backed Biden in July, Harris’ bump has largely come from those who had previously said they supported or leaned toward Kennedy.

Harris performs best among the same demographic groups as Biden. But this coalition of voters is now much more likely to say they strongly support her: In July, 43% of Biden’s supporters characterized their support as strong – today, 62% of Harris’ do.

Overall, many of the same voting patterns that were evident in the Biden-Trump matchup from July continue to be seen today. Harris fares better than Trump among younger voters, Black voters, Asian voters and voters with college degrees. By comparison, the former president does better among older voters, White voters and voters without a college degree.

But Harris performs better than Biden across many of these groups – making the race tighter than it was just a few weeks ago.

• In July, women’s presidential preferences were split: 40% backed Biden, 40% preferred Trump and 17% favored Kennedy. With Harris at the top of the ticket, 49% of women voters now support her, while 42% favor Trump and 7% back Kennedy.
• Among men, Trump draws a similar level of support as he did in the race against Biden (49% today, compared with 48% in July). But the share of men who now say they support Harris has grown (to 44% today, up from 38% last month). As a result, Trump’s 10-point lead among men has narrowed to a 5-point lead today.

Race and ethnicity

Harris has gained substantial ground over Biden’s position in July among Black, Hispanic and Asian voters. Most of this movement is attributable to declining shares of support for Kennedy. Trump performs similarly among these groups as he did in July.

• 77% of Black voters support or lean toward Harris. This compares with 64% of Black voters who said they backed Biden a few weeks ago. Trump’s support is unchanged (13% then vs. 13% today). And while 21% of Black voters supported Kennedy in July, this has dropped to 7% in the latest survey.
• Hispanic voters now favor Harris over Trump by a 17-point margin (52% to 35%). In July, Biden and Trump were tied among Hispanic voters with 36% each.
• By about two-to-one, Asian voters support Harris (62%) over Trump (28%). Trump’s support among this group is essentially unchanged since July, but the share of Asian voters backing Harris is 15 points higher than the share who backed Biden in July.
• On balance, White voters continue to back Trump (52% Trump, 41% Harris), though that margin is somewhat narrower than it was in the July matchup against Biden (50% Trump, 36% Biden).

While the age patterns present in the Harris-Trump matchup remain broadly the same as those in the Biden-Trump matchup in July, Harris performs better across age groups than Biden did last month. That improvement is somewhat more pronounced among voters under 50 than among older voters.

• Today, 57% of voters under 30 say they support Harris, while 29% support Trump and 12% prefer Kennedy. In July, 48% of these voters said they backed Biden. Trump’s support among this group is essentially unchanged. And 12% now back Kennedy, down from 22% in July.
• Voters ages 30 to 49 are now about evenly split (45% Harris, 43% Trump). This is a shift from a narrow Trump lead among this group in July.
• Voters ages 50 and older continue to tilt toward Trump (50% Trump vs. 44% Harris).

With Harris now at the top of the Democratic ticket, the race has become tighter.

Much of this is the result of shifting preferences among registered voters who, in July, said they favored Kennedy over Trump or Biden.

Among the same group of voters surveyed in July and early August, 97% of those who backed Biden a few weeks ago say they support or lean toward Harris today. Similarly, Trump holds on to 95% of those who supported him a few weeks ago.

But there has been far more movement among voters who previously expressed support for Kennedy. While Kennedy holds on to 39% of those who backed him in July, the majority of these supporters now prefer one of the two major party candidates: By about two-to-one, those voters are more likely to have moved to Harris (39%) than Trump (20%). This pattern is evident across most voting subgroups.

In July, Trump’s voters were far more likely than Biden’s voters to characterize their support for their candidate as “strong” (63% vs. 43%). But that gap is no longer present in the Harris-Trump matchup.

Today, 62% of Harris voters say they strongly support her, while about a third (32%) say they moderately support her. Trump’s voters are just about as likely to say they strongly back him today as they were in July (64% today, 63% then).

Kennedy’s voters make up a smaller share of voters today than a month ago – and just 18% of his voters say they strongly support him, similar to the 15% who said the same in July.

Across demographic groups, strong support for Harris is higher than it was for Biden

Among women voters who supported Biden in July, 45% said they did so strongly. That has grown to 65% today among women voters who support Harris.

Increased intensity of support is similar among men voters who back the Democratic candidate: In July, 42% of men voters who supported Biden said they did so strongly. This has since grown to 59% of Harris’ voters who are men.

Across racial and ethnic groups, Harris’ supporters are more likely than Biden’s were to say they back their candidates strongly.

Among White voters, 43% who supported Biden in July did so strongly. Today, Harris’ strong support among White voters sits at 64%.

A near identical share of Harris’ Black supporters (65%) characterize their support for her as strong today. This is up from the 52% of Biden’s Black supporters who strongly backed him in July. Among Harris’ Hispanic supporters, 56% support her strongly, while 45% of Asian Harris voters feel the same. Strong support for Harris among these voters is also higher than it was for Biden in July.

Across all age groups, Harris’ strength of support is higher than Biden’s was. But the shift from Biden is less pronounced among older Democratic supporters than among younger groups.

Still, older Harris voters are more likely than younger Harris voters to describe their support as strong. For instance, 51% of Harris’ voters under 50 say they strongly support her, while 71% of Harris supporters ages 50 and older characterize their support as strong.

Today, about seven-in-ten of both Trump supporters (72%) and Harris supporters (70%) say they are extremely motivated to vote.

Motivation to vote is higher in both the Democratic and Republican coalitions than it was in July .

These shifts have occurred across groups but are more pronounced among younger voters.

Today, half of voters under 30 say they are extremely motivated to vote, up 16 points since July. Motivation is up 11 points among voters ages 30 to 49 and 50 to 64, and up 6 points among those ages 65 and older.

Among the youngest voters, the increased motivation to vote is nearly all driven by shifts among Democratic supporters.

• In July, 38% of 18- to 29-year-old Trump voters said they were extremely motivated to vote. Today, a similar share of his voters (42%) report that level of motivation.
• But 18- to 29-year-old Harris supporters are far more likely to say they are extremely motivated to vote than Biden’s supporters in this age group were about a month ago. Today, 61% of Harris’ voters under 30 say this. In July, 42% of voters under 30 who supported Biden said they were extremely motivated to vote.

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Research: Consumers Spend Loyalty Points and Cash Differently

• So Yeon Chun,
• Freddy Lim,
• Ville Satopää

Your loyalty strategy needs to consider four ways people value points.

Do consumers treat loyalty points the same way that they treat traditional money? And, how do they choose to spend one versus the other?  The authors of this article present research findings from their analysis of  data describing over 29,000 unique loyalty points earning and spending transactions made during two recent years by 500 airline loyalty program consumers.  They found that points users fell into four distinct categories: 1) Money advocates, who prefer cash over points, even when their value is identical in terms of purchasing power; 2)  Currency impartialists, who regard points and cash interchangeably, valuing them equally based on their financial worth; 3) Point gamers, who actively seek out the most advantageous point redemption opportunities, opting to spend points particularly when their value significantly surpasses that of cash; and 4) Point lovers, who value points more than money even if their purchase power is the same or lower. This article explores the strategic implications of these findings for companies that manage loyalty programs.

In the years since The Economist  spotlighted the astonishing scale of loyalty points — particularly frequent-flyer miles — as a potential global currency rivaling traditional money in 2005, usage has grown rapidly in size and scope. For example, the number of flight redemptions at Southwest Airlines doubled from 5.4 million in 2013 (representing 9.5% of revenue passenger miles) to 10.9 million in 2023 (representing 16.3% of revenue passenger miles).

• SC So Yeon Chun is an Associate Professor of Technology & Operations Management at INSEAD, a  global business school with campuses in Abu Dhabi, France, and Singapore.
• FL Freddy Lim is an Assistant Professor of Information Systems and Analytics at the National University of Singapore, School of Computing in Singapore
• VS Ville Satopää is an Associate Professor of Technology and Operations Management at INSEAD, a  global business school with campuses in Abu Dhabi, France, and Singapore.

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• Hernando Escobar Loaiza

Hernando Escobar Loaiza MS Leadership Role

Division of Residue Chemistry

Hernando is a chemist and a principal investigator with the Division of Residue Chemistry in the Office of Applied Science at FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM). He is serving as Chemist Laboratory Coordinator supporting the Division Director with laboratory and administrative responsibilities. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1991, and a Master of Science of Toxicology and Pharmacology from Michigan State University in 2019. As a Research Scientist he has a broad knowledge in analytical chemistry/method development, with more than 20 years of mass spectrometry experience working in food industry, clinical research, and federal government.  

Research 

Work with purification, discovery, confirmation, and quantitation of endogenous peptides from human/mice models using HRMS technology; hormones determination in clinical samples using LC-MS/MS platform, and residual veterinary drugs in foods/plasma, using diverse mass spectrometry platforms and analytical approaches. Several publications in diverse scientific manuscripts currently account for more than 400 literature scientific citations. 

Select Publications

Girard L, Herath K, Escobar H , Reimschuessel R, Ceric O, and Jayasuriya H. Development of UHPLC/Q-TOF Analysis Method to Screen Glycerin for Direct Detection of Process Contaminants 3-Monochloropropane-1,2-diol Esters (3-MCPDEs) and Glycidyl Esters (GEs). Molecules. 26(9):2449. 2021 

Zhou Z, Reyes-Vargas E, Escobar H , Chang KY, Barker AP, Rockwood AL, Delgado JC, He X and Jensen PE. Peptidomic analysis of type 1 diabetes associated HLA-DQ molecules and the impact of HLA-DM on peptide repertoire editing. Eur. J. Immunol. 00: 1–13. 2016. 

Escobar H , Kushnir MM, Rockwood AL, Meikle AW. High Sensitivity Measurement of Pancreatic Polypeptide and Its Variant in Serum and Plasma by LC-MS/MS. Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.);1378:199-210. 2016 

Kincaid EZ, Che JW, York I, Escobar H , et al. Mice completely lacking immunoproteasomes display major alterations in antigen presentation. Nature Immunology. 13, 129-135. 2012. 

Escobar H , Reyes-Vargas E, Jensen PE, et al. Utility of characteristic QTOF MS/MS fragmentation for MHC class I peptides. Journal of Proteome Research. May 2011. 

Escobar H , Crockett DK, Reyes-Vargas E, Baena A, Rockwood AL, Jensen PE, Delgado JC. Large scale mass spectrometric profiling of peptides eluted from HLA molecules reveals N-terminal-extended peptide motifs. J Immunol, 181(7):4874-82. 2008