Dear PG Students,
A recap of the weekly postgrad and research family meeting held last night;
HOW TO DEVELOP A RESEARCH TOPIC
A research topic is always a problem that needs a solution(s). The origin of the problem could be from personal, professional, academic or
A recap of the weekly postgrad and research family meeting held last night;
HOW TO DEVELOP A RESEARCH TOPIC
A research topic is always a problem that needs a solution(s). The origin of the problem could be from personal, professional, academic or
environmental experiences in the form of an idea or ideas. The idea must be transformed into a feasible, manageable and researchable activity hence a research topic must be specific (not vague) and has a central issue.
It is also noteworthy to mention that in developing a research topic, the data source must be identified and easily accessible.
The process of developing a research topic must be in sync with available resources in the context of expertise and facilities. The expertise relates to supervision while the facility depicts the availability of equipment in the institution.
In addition, the development of a research topic must be decided in the context of personal development goals. This represents your career goals, skills capacity development plans and expertise ambitions. You develop a research topic by ensuring that
passion is balanced with reality. Passion means you are doing what interests you; this must be handled wisely for many reasons because you cannot afford to force your interest on a supervisor. As for the "reality", you must consider the time frame to complete your study.
A research topic is not a solution and you cannot solve all of the world's problems with your research topic. This implies that you must avoid the "Nobel Laurent error" and the "undergraduate error". The former error means you are not being realistic while the latter error
gives an impression that you are not "ready". In both instances, the importance of initiating intellectual conversation with your prospective supervisor is crucial.
A research topic cannot be in isolation. It must be globally relevant but more importantly locally beneficial.
A research topic cannot be in isolation. It must be globally relevant but more importantly locally beneficial.
The role of Literature in developing a research topic is such that the idea that has transformed into a topic must be rooted in previous scholarly studies. This means that your research topic cannot exist in a vacuum.
It is a matter (has weight and occupies space) βΊοΈ.
A research topic unravels based on consultations with literature but the "baseline" must be established from the start. Literature is crucial in developing a research topic.
See you all next week Friday. Have a restful weekend
A research topic unravels based on consultations with literature but the "baseline" must be established from the start. Literature is crucial in developing a research topic.
See you all next week Friday. Have a restful weekend
cc: @researchinked
Loading suggestions...