Selecting a

Research
Topic
Dr. Muhammad Kasheer
Criteria

• Interesting
• Solve a problem
• Interesting for audience

• Novel
• Not done before
• Bring forth some new fact or falsify an existing fact

• Manageable
• Can be completed in given time frame and resources.
1. Choose Your Interest Area

Selecting your dissertation

You like that particular
topic is like selecting your Very individualistic
area and wish to own it
life partner.

• Likes, dislikes, • E.g., an anti-feminist is • E. g., you may be

chemistry, compatibility asked to do research on interested in people’s
etc. benefits of feminism. decision processes etc.
Cont.

It can be a particular
It can be a particular It can be a particular
author, organization or
area of field. theory
event etc.
• Consumer Behavior, • Theory of Planned • Sigmund Freud.
• Branding Behavior, TAM, • Apple
• Budgeting. Signaling Theory, • Covid19
Prospect theory etc.
Narrow it down

Choose a specific topic within E.g., In consumer behavior, decision making

your field of interest under risk

A specific industry, application or Prospect theory in the context of investment

context of a theory

A specific domain that an author E.g., Sigmund Freud’s personality theory

has worked on.
2. Background Study

Conduct a
Purpose of
background study Gaps
Research
to find the gap.

Add to the body of •Theoretical

What work has already
knowledge: Find out a •Contextual
been done and what are the
fact, Revisit a fact and find
areas left unexplored •Methodological.
its validity and relevance

•Articles, Journals,
Magazines
•Experts
•Phenomenon, Anomalies,
Observations
3. Limit the Genus

Define boundaries and scope of Exploring the success factors in project completion.

the topic Conducting a symbolic analysis of Iqbal’s poetry

Limit to the most relevant variables, context or phenomenon that

contribute to the novelty of the study.

Be clear about the things your study does not explore or cover.
Some General Advises

• Talk to experts/professors
• Backtracking a research (paper)
• Pick keywords  Search and read papers related to keywords  Establish the
fundamentals  Dig deeper into the topic  Arrive at a research problem
• Observe a problem / phenomenon / anomaly
• Search related to phenomenon  Find answers related to phenomenon in extant research
 If not found, fill the gap.