Topic Ideation for Dissertation Writing Help

Introduction

Topic Ideation is a process of generating creative ideas and solutions through activities such as brainstorming, brainwriting, secondary research, and a poll of other ideation techniques. Topic ideation is the first step in a dissertation or research proposal writing journey. It is often the most exciting step because, during ideation, the aim is to create generate numerous ideas, which can then be filtered and cut down into the best, most innovative, and practical ones to develop professional and Ph.D. level research studies and get it published in both online and offline domains. 

However, for students with no experience writing research proposals or dissertations, topic ideation can become a hard-to-overcome challenge. That is where our pool of academic scholars and professionals comes into play. We operate to leverage our wealth of knowledge and human resource to complete your academic tasks with the highest quality and zero complexities. 

Definition

Here are the six steps to ideating topics for a research proposal successfully. 

Step 1: Going through the University's guidelines and Understanding the Research Process

It may sound too obvious but is overlooked very frequently. Most students skip going through the instruction manual or university guidelines and jump straight into topic ideation. However, this should be every first step where you focus on compiling all the information your university provides, including handouts, online information, and verbal in-class instructions. While it may look tempting to jump straight into ideation, starting by looking into the prescribed materials is always the right way.

Step 2: Get your hands on a previously done dissertation at your university.

Unless you have enrolled for entirely new subjects, there will always be samples of successful dissertations completed by former university students. You can use the samples to orient yourself and understand what topics work best to get higher grades. This is hugely beneficial, especially when you have access to some well-graded (65% and above) past dissertations from your course. You can find these samples in your university's online library or ask your tutor to share some samples of high-graded dissertations as well. 

Step 3: Get into the Ideation Process by reviewing existing Academic Literature.

Once you are done with the above two steps and have an understanding of what a good dissertation looks like, the very next step should be to review current literature and find research gaps needed to be addressed. This is crucial and central to the main theme of whatever topic you choose for your study. Start with using the coursework provided by the university as it has a high caliber of literature readily available. However, you must ensure that the topic relates to your specific course. 

Step 4: Establish Your Research Question

Once you have decided on the forte of literature that will make up the theme for your dissertation, then comes the need to establish your research question. You can do this by identifying literature gaps in the existing research, going through some limitations mentioned in them, and trying to overcome them. Setting your research question will contribute to an effective research methodology and data analysis process. 

Step 5: Filter out and then Evaluate

By reaching the fifth step, you will already have a series of research topics. You should now step away from topic ideation and clear your mind, sit out with the list of topics and review each of them objectively. This is the phase where the topic ideation takes a back seat, and it's time for a reality check. You can now filter out two or three topics based on their originality, importance, and value it creates for future research. 

Step 6: Decide on the Final Topic

You need to commit to one topic in the last step. Choose the topic you feel most confident about and have received feedback from your professor and classmates. Once you finalize a topic, stick to it and never doubt your judgment. Now, it's the last to get started on your research proposal!

Topic Ideation for Dissertation FAQs

1. Can I select a topic different from my course? 

Your university guideline would direct you to stick to topics that match your course module. So it is crucial to relate the topic with the program you are enrolled in.

2. Where can I find existing works of literature on the topic of Ideation?

There are multiple sources for you to conduct secondary research, including Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, IEEE Explorer, ProQuest, and the Google Search Engine.

3. What should I do if I can't finalize the topic for my dissertation?

You can chat with us for further assistance, and we would be happy to help!

Recommended Readings

1.King, A.S. and Edlin, A.H., 2016, September. Structured drawing tasks support research ideation: A mentor-mentee report on iteration, invention, and collaboration. In Proceedings of the 34th ACM International Conference on the Design of Communication (pp. 1-5).