Idea for your dissertation

Dissertation ideas come in all shapes and sizes, and the only real restriction on what makes a good topic for a dissertation is the imagination of the author. Being creative and focusing on being original with your dissertation ideas is important, so do not be afraid to follow your own inclinations and interests. However, a dissertation is a substantial piece of work, so it is important when thinking about dissertation ideas to remember that the topic you choose will have to sustain a clear, coherent argument over several thousand words. In the following, I will offer some tips on how to approach deciding on your topic, what makes good dissertation ideas, and how to turn your ideas into a definite plan.

1. Deciding on your topic

Coming up with good dissertation ideas requires careful thought, so be prepared to do some work. Start off by thinking of topics or subject areas which interest you - you will be spending a lot of time working on your dissertation, so do not hamper yourself from the beginning by pursuing dissertation ideas which do not inspire you . You should also focus on topics which you are already knowledgeable about. You will be required to demonstrate a high degree of critical understanding about your topic, so starting out with dissertation ideas which you will have to research from scratch will put you at a disadvantage.

Once you have a few preliminary dissertation ideas in mind, do some background reading. Start off by looking at how many books or articles are available on each subject in your local library or on any on-line research databases you are using. If you struggle to find many, the topic may be too small to base a whole dissertation on. Think of your dissertation ideas in terms of theories to be proved, problems to be solved or questions to be answered. Once you have done some background reading, try to turn your dissertation ideas into brief plans, setting out an argument you want to pursue, what you want the outcome to be, and a preliminary list of sources to use. This will give you a chance to review and compare each plan and decide which of your dissertation ideas is most likely to be successful.

2. Good dissertation ideas

As stated above, good dissertation ideas are original, thought-provoking and reflect genuine academic interest on the part of the author. The best dissertation ideas will set out to prove a theory or answer a problem or question that has not been addressed before, so creative thinking is important. Be prepared to challenge accepted opinions and be critical of other peoples’ ideas – provided, of course, you can back it up with sound reasoning. Strong dissertation ideas will allow plenty of scope for this kind of original thinking – while it is important to pick a topic which has had enough written about it previously to provide adequate background knowledge to your own ideas, a subject which has had too much written about it can stifle your own creative input.

This leads to a wider issue regarding dissertation ideas which I touched on before, which is deciding whether or not a topic is too big or too small. Striking a balance between being too specific and too general is essential. This can be difficult to gauge, so use shorter essays you have written as a guide. Consider that, for essays of 1,500 – 3,000 words, you will usually be answering just one specific question. Simple multiplication suggests that, for a dissertation, you will therefore need to be answering three or four questions. This should be a useful rule of thumb when considering your dissertation ideas – whatever topic you pick, trying to focus on three or four interlinked questions to answer about it will help you eliminate topics which are too small and narrow down larger topics into manageable chunks.

3. Turning dissertation ideas into a plan

Once you have finalised your dissertation ideas and are happy with them, sit down with your tutor to talk them through. Although it is important not to let you tutor shape your dissertation ideas too much so the project remains your own, they will be able to give you important advice on the strength of your arguments, give you pointers on where to begin your research, and also discuss the academic relevance of your topic. As an original piece of academic work, a dissertation should add a up-to-date, new opinion to the body of academic thinking, which means your dissertation ideas must be up-to-date also. Your tutor will be able to offer guidance on how to make them so if they are not.

Once you have spoken to your tutor, it is time to turn your dissertation ideas into a formal plan. This is where the importance of thinking about your dissertation ideas as a defined set of arguments becomes clear. Again, seek some advice. Ask your tutor if you can read some dissertation proposals from past students, and also try to read one or two full dissertations. This will give you an idea of structure, how to organise your dissertation ideas into a coherent argument, and how much detail you need to go into on the various sub-topics or questions you want to answer.

Your plan should work as a dissertation in miniature. Start out by formulating your dissertation ideas into clear, defined questions, and what you hope to achieve overall by answering them all. Then address each of your dissertation ideas in turn, briefly outlining the research you will undertake to answer each, listing a few of the most important sources you will use, and setting out the key points you want to make. Once completed, take this plan back to your tutor for their comments – once written down in full, they should be able to help you spot any potential weaknesses in you dissertation ideas and make suggestions for putting them right before you start your research in earnest.