By Do you know the first step involved in researching any subject or topic? Yes, you have said it right. It is the choice of research paper topics. Not working on this stage properly can lead you to walk on many dead-end roads. You will waste a lot of time on the way. Therefore, before choosing a topic, you must know what they are and how to choose them. Since students face many difficulties in choosing research paper topics, today’s guide focuses solely on this issue. Hence, you will find a description of the process of choosing a research topic. Before that, let’s start today’s article by describing what they are.
What are research paper topics?
The research topics are the ideas, issues, or subjects you are interested in as a researcher. A well-defined and well-chosen research topic is the first step toward a successful research paper. It is because it is the topic that guides you throughout the whole research process. If chosen wrong, God Forbid, you may not be able to get your degree on time as you will not be able to submit your paper on time. Simply put, the research paper depicts your main research question.
How to choose the right research paper topic?
Choosing the right research paper topics is not difficult at all. The condition is that you must know all the secret recipes behind choosing such a topic. Do not think too much because I am going to discuss those secret recipes in the form of points below. Hence, a brief description of the whole process for choosing a good research topic is as follows:
1. Choose a topic appropriate to the paper requirements
The first and the most important thing to do when choosing research paper topics is to know the requirements of your paper. For example, you should know about the total length the teacher has asked for. Let’s say the total word count requirement of your teacher is 8000. It means you cannot go beyond this, and you have to choose a topic that can fit in 8000 words. Choosing a too broad topic becomes problematic in the end. So, choose the topic as per the requirements of your research paper. You can also hire a dissertation writing service UK in this regard.
2. Choose something that you are interested in
Writing a research paper is not easy. Therefore, you cannot waste your time and energy on a topic you are not interested in. Choose a subject or area of your degree that excites you. Now the problem lies in cracking the nut of interest. Consider reading the course modules and class notes from scratch to find out your interest. When you do this practice, things that excite you automatically show up. So, you can choose a topic in one of those areas.
3. Think of 5W’s
5W’s, i.e., what, when, why, who, and where, hold immense importance when choosing a research paper topic. Basically, these are the questions that you must ask yourself before choosing a topic as they guide you to select the best topic suitable for your research interests. The main benefit of answering these W’s is that they help you a lot in teasing out the information and understanding the full scope of the study.
4. Brainstorm the research topics
Once you have chosen the research area, the next step is brainstorming some related ideas. You do not have to explore the literature and other material at this stage. Just sit down and list the ideas that come to your mind. Think about the possible topics using your previous knowledge of the field. Do this several times unless you have a dozen of research paper topics at the end of the thinking process.
5. Refine the topics by looking into the literature
After performing the above step, you have got a list of topics in hand. This list of dozens of topics is not the final list. Still, you need to refine them so that they look like research paper topics. Now, the question is how you can refine them? The answer is simple. Search your intended topic using any search engine and explore the literature present. This deep exploration of the literature will allow you to broaden your horizon and craft a more formal and academic topic out of the raw topics. Take the topics and make a list after the refining process.
6. Evaluate the topics based on your interests
Until now, you are only left with topics that are formal and sound academic in tone. But as you know, you only need one topic to research. You cannot research each topic one by one. Hence, to select that one topic, you have to shorten the list of the topics made in the above step. To do this, evaluate the topics based on your research interests, ease of doing them, and methodological ease. Once you do this, you will choose from a few research paper topics. So, evaluate the topics properly as it is your last chance.
7. Select a topic and stick to it
After a detailed evaluation, you have 4 to 5 topics to choose from. As described earlier, no matter what, you have to select one topic out of those research topics. So, the million-dollar tip here is that go for the topic that suits your research interests and is focused on one thing. Do not select a broad topic as it will only waste your time. Another thing to remember here is that stick to the topic that you have selected once. Do not change it again and again, as it will just waste precious time.
Conclusion
Conclusively, a research topic is a subject or issue you want to study as part of your academic degree. Choosing this topic is one of the most challenging tasks that you are going to face in your academic life. It is because many research paper topics confuse, motivate, and excite you, but you have to select the one. So, follow the process mentioned above and select a topic that suits you the best.
