Your thesis topic not only foreshadows what you will be living with for months but also determines a great deal about your success in academia and in many cases, employment. Choosing a good thesis topic even more stressful for many of us is than the writing! A well-chosen topic that is clear and finely focused helps the writer in planning and outlining the thesis. To put it simply, coming up with a good thesis topic is a victory half won!
So, are you wondering how to win that victory? Here are a few tips you should keep in mind when choosing a topic for your thesis.
1. Choose a topic you are interested in. It is in every one’s nature to be able to do best in what he or she most loves. Since you will be devoting much of your time to it, it will be difficult to stay motivated if it is not something you are interested in. Your interest is the key to motivation that will fuel you throughout the project.
2. Choose a topic that is related to what you have been studying and is something that can be expanded in a new direction. It is important that the topic has a certain amount of existing literature that you can rely on. But your thesis should be an original contribution to knowledge in your field.
3. Choose a well-defined, narrow topic. If the topic is too broad, you will not be able to address the problem and solve it. The scope you set should be possible to be dealt with in the time you have and within the word count set for your thesis.
4. Talk to your supervisor. Once you have chosen the topic, you need to be clear with your supervisor about what you intend to research, how you will research it and how the research will be completed. It is wise to make sure that both of you see the thesis going in the same direction. Take advantage of the supervision and the meetings with your supervisor; seek as much advice from him or her as you can. That’s what supervisors are for.