Choosing a Dissertation Topic
I’m currently in the latter stages of my Masters degree in Sociology, so my dissertation is taking precedence over most things in my life.
Dissertations are as fun as they are challenging, but they can also be incredibly demanding if you’re inexperienced or swamped by other deadlines and stuck in a bit of an intellectual rut.
If your degree requires you to write a dissertation but you’ve got no idea what to do, then you’ve come to the right place.
Let’s start with the basics, and revisit what the dissertation really is.
Your dissertation is the culmination of everything you’ve learnt on your course (well, not everything, but most of it). It’s the crowning glory of your educational journey.
It’s also an extensive piece of work. Dissertations at postgraduate level are much longer than the undergraduate equivalent, and can range from 15,000 to 50,000 words (excluding appendices and bibliographies).
Dissertations are supposed to be a substantial undertaking; they’re designed to test your scholarly mettle and test you on a number of qualities which are attractive to employers, such as a capacity for clearly communicating your ideas.
Part of this involves your ability to:
- Identify an interesting topic
- Ground this in the relevant literature or theory
- Determine the appropriate research methods
- Demonstrate advanced analytical skills
- Present your findings in an informed, intellectual way
How do you come up with a research topic?
This seems obvious, but the bulk of your dissertation topic will be determined by the subject you’re studying. Be sure to check if your course has any specific requirements or terms and conditions which restrict the topics or research methods you can choose from.
If you’re stumped for dissertation ideas, consider why you applied for the course in the first place. In my experience, Sociology spoke to me because I’m really interested in gender dynamics and I saw my dissertation as the perfect vehicle for exploring that topic further.
Dissertation topics do not appear from thin air, but their inspiration can come from unexpected sources. Your topic might be influenced by personal or political interests, a motivation to fill gaps in the existing literature, or because you’ve noticed something unusual about particular trends or behaviours.
The best dissertations are the result of genuine interest or intrigue. It doesn’t really make sense to dedicate an entire summer of work to a topic you have no experience or investment in. Think about professional or academic work you’ve done in the past which you particularly enjoyed, and try to identify ways you can put your own twist on it.
If you’ve ever conducted your own research or have written a dissertation before, perhaps during your undergraduate degree, then you’ll know that your work is an indication of your aptitude in certain skills relevant to your course and career path. Obviously, postgraduate dissertations are another level up and you’re expected to think, research and write like the academics you cite in your work. If this sounds impossible, consider the following questions.
Important things to ask when finalising a topic
- So what? This sounds blunt, but it has several consequences for the route your dissertation will take. Questioning the relevance of your intended topic helps with fine-tuning the angle you’ll take in terms of theory, methodology and data analysis.
- Is it plausible? Your dissertation has to be feasible within the time constraints you’ve been set, the resources available to you and the word count. If you won’t have enough time to conduct your research, collect your data and then analyse it, perhaps consider alternative options.
- Has it been done before? And if so, was it done adequately? It’s difficult to design an entirely original research project, but supervisors and markers don’t want to see a reproduction of an old study or an unimaginative contribution to a topic which has already been sufficiently researched.
- What questions do I want to answer? Devising research questions can be an onerous task requiring a lot of attention and creativity. Questions should be neither so broad that reasonable conclusions are impossible to reach within the word count, nor so narrow they can be answered by a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Immerse yourself in the relevant literature and try to identify where a particular theory could fit in or spot perspectives you think are missing.
- Will who I am influence the work I do? This is especially important for degrees in the Social Sciences and Arts and Humanities. You can probably justify personal convictions as rationale for your topic, but will have to reflect on how this may influence the questions you ask interviewees, for example.
Consult your personal tutor or supervisor
It’s important to get to know your personal tutor anyway, because they’re responsible for supporting your personal and academic development as well as providing you with a reference at the end of your degree.
But as a faculty member, your personal tutor will have experience and knowledge of your academic discipline which you can make use of during the early stages of choosing a dissertation topic. They may be able to recall past examples of similar work in your area of interest or suggest key readings and resources which could help narrow down your scope.
Your supervisor is usually assigned to you by the department once you’ve submitted a dissertation proposal. They may be your personal tutor or another academic whose expertise aligns with the kind of research you want to conduct.
Even though the dissertation is very much an individual project, your supervisor’s advice can be crucial. If they express reservations about any aspect of your dissertation, be it the sampling and recruitment methods you intend to use or the topic itself, listen to them. It’s their job to use their skills and experience to help you, not to make your life more difficult.
Additional advice and support
For further information, see our guide for researching and writing postgraduate dissertations or search the different dissertation requirements for individual Masters programmes in the FindAMasters database. You can also get involved and share your own advice on our Postgraduate Forum.
Be as informed as possible
Our newsletter provides a regular mix of news, student stories and course advice