In the absence of a supervisor to guide the procedure of selection of a research topic, the responsibility falls solely on the researcher. The selection of a topic is an evolving process and even after selecting, the topic standardization does not end till the research work is over.
The researcher first has to identify an area of interest in his course of study, then pick a subject from that area before proceeding to arriving at a suitable topic. Choosing a topic is an ongoing process by which researchers explore, define and redefine their ideas.
At the beginning of an academic research work, there are two types of researchers defined by their opposing problems. While a lack of ideas is the problem of some while going into a research domain, an overflow of ideas is the problem of others and boundaries might help to narrow down those ideas.
For the researcher without ideas, they have to first identify areas they’re interested in. It follows that the beginning of the selection process is recognizing an area of interest.
1) Identify Your Area of Study Interest:
In selecting a research area, the role of coursework is invaluable. If a student in school is to complete coursework before advancing to researching then the student can also explore the ideas available in these works.
During the course of study, an area might pique the students interest. A student might not agree with some findings or might not be totally satisfied with the strategy used to uncover certain findings. Being able to identify one’s academic interest is a great start because personal interest is needed to see one through a research work.
A topic must engage the person doing the work. At this stage a topic is not defined but an idea should be identified.
In the case of a student not generating any study area from course works there should be no panic as there are many other sources of research ideas.
Rubin (2023) highlights various sources for research ideas out of which three proves useful to the course of this paper and shall be expounded to provide insight (p. 27).
He mentions, academic theory, previous projects and experiences as way to gain ideas. One more source of ideas that shows the importance of colleagues and lecturers shall be added to the three mentioned above.
a) Academic Theories Suggest Research;
A student should get acquainted with the theories available in his course of study. Theories have proven to be an interesting source of ideas for a research area. Jonker & Penmink (2010) states, “we cannot ‘see’ reality without bringing theory to it”.
They define a theory as a series of logical and related arguments specifying relationships among a chosen set of constructs or variables based upon or leading to concepts regarding a specific issue or situation (P. 6). A student can develop interest from the new insight theories provide to life situations.
There are courses that even allow for interdisciplinary theoretical study. A student studying literature has at his disposal quite an interesting number of theories. These theories include; post colonial theory, marxist theory, queer theory, psychoanalytical theories, etc.
Most times theories are conceived in a time zone different from that of the researcher. The student might notice a certain theory doesn’t account for certain difficulties the theorist could not have foreseen that are now present in his time zone.
For example, a student while studying might notice that when feminism was theorized there was no pandemic of identity confusion in respect to gender. Gender roles and characteristics as standardized by the society were more defined.
There is an evolving gender “disawareness” in the 21st century. How does a theory that thrive on stringent gender awareness survive in this condition, how has it been affected? The student might become deeply concerned with how gender fluidity affects the domains of feminism.
Studying theories could ignite the curiosity of the student. Any theory that excites a student could be the source for an area of interest and ideas that would later on birth a topic.
b) Other Academic Work Suggests Research;
Ideas do not exist in isolation. It might be imperceptible but most inventions and innovations can be traced back to ideas that precedes their existence. The saying that a good writer needs to read the work of others also applies to researchers.
When a student is troubled by a blank mind reading the works that have been published by others might lead to an eureka moment. Ideas could spill over from other works. A good research article, at the end, identifies the implications or recommendations for future research.
It follows that the completion of other research works could reveal recommendations of ideas that might pique a student’s interest. Sometimes researchers end their works by providing more ideas in the field they have researched on.
A student might also be inspired by the limitation section from dissertations. A student might be inspired to prove that the limitation stated is not an actual limitation or the restriction has eroded with time.
c) Sensitivity to Personal Background or Experience;
A researcher has to possess a certain level of connection to the work. It follows that personal experiences can be the bedrock for an area of interest.
There are stories of doctors who started their career because they lost a family member to a particular illness. Ben Johnson a popular neurologist, has also described how his career part was as a result of a collage of personal experiences.
Personal experience can be the added meaning that glues a student through the research process. Novels have been written with so much influence from personal experience. Concepts have been formed from personal experience for example Negritude. A research is not an exception to the trend.
From this, it would be no surprise if a gay student having troubles with the term, “out of the closet” that exists in the gay society decides to embark on a research based on queer theory. He might have been shamed by the same society that is supposed to embrace him.
This implies that the term brings about a forceful stratification. It not only relegates the closet to a shameful space, it forces on personal option of privacy a certain degree of cowardice. This personal experience and feeling of the student can influence the decision to undertake a research with the area of interest being on queer theory.
d) Academic Network Should be Used;
A student should rely on his academic network to generate ideas. Conversations with colleagues and lecturers can be the starting point of a brilliant idea.
The realization of ones area of interest can be stimulated by little more than a casual conversation. Putting an academic network to good use also involves attending presentations, discussions and recommendation of conferences and seminars.
In using one’s academic network, joining study groups and having discussions can also prove useful. Giampalmi (2021) states that, “any group of you is smarter than anyone of you.
Working in study groups provide more brain power while providing much valued socialization (p. 166). Students planning to embark on a research venture would find out engaging in group discussions throw insight to different ideas.