HOW TO FORMULATE A GOOD RESEARCH TOPIC

By Dr. Adeson (Professional Research writer & coach)

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Introduction
Many students think that choosing their research topic is the most exciting part of their
course. It is important to choose something that will sustain your interest throughout the
months that you will need to complete it. You may even decide to do some research on
something that forms part of your leisure activities!
Before you start your research you need to have at least some idea of what you want to do.
This is probably the most difficult, and yet the most important, part of your research. Up
until now most of your studies have been concerned with answering questions that other
people have set. If you are not clear about what you are going to research, it is difficult to
plan how you are going to research it. This reminds us Formulating and clarifying the
research topic is the starting point of your research.
Once you are clear about this, you will be able to choose the most appropriate research strategy
and data collection and analysis techniques. The formulating and clarifying process is time
consuming and will probably take you up blind alleys. However, without spending time on
this stage you are far less likely to be successful in your research.
Attributes of a Good Research Topic
The attributes of a research topic do not vary a great deal between universities, although there
will be differences in the emphasis placed on these attributes. If you are undertaking your
research as part of a course of study then the most important attribute will be that it meets the
examining body’s requirements and, in particular, that it is at the correct level. This means
that you must choose your topic with care. For example, some universities require students
to collect their own data as part of their research, whereas others allow them to base their
project on data that have already been collected. Alternatively, some ask you to undertake an
organization-based piece of applied research, while others simply say that it must be within
the subject matter of your course or programme.

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In addition, your research topic must be something you are capable of undertaking and one
that excites your imagination. Capability can be considered in a variety of ways. At the
personal level you need to feel comfortable that you have, or can develop, the skills that will
be required to research the topic. As well as having the necessary skills we believe that you
also need to have a genuine interest in the topic. A topic in which you are only vaguely
interested at the start is likely to become a topic in which you have no interest and with which
you will fail to produce your best work.

Your ability to find the financial and time resources to undertake research on the topic will
also affect your capability. Some topics are unlikely to be possible to complete in the time
allowed by your course of study. This may be because they require you to
measure the impact of an intervention over a long time period. Similarly, topics that are likely
to require you to travel widely or need expensive equipment should also be disregarded
unless financial resources permit. Capability also means you must be reasonably certain of
gaining access to any data you might need to collect. Many people start with ideas where
access to data will prove difficult. Certain, more sensitive topics, such as financial
performance or decision-making by senior managers, are potentially fascinating.

Most research tutors will argue that one of the attributes of a good topic is a clearly defined
research question(s), aim and objectives. These will, along with a good knowledge of the
literature, enable you to assess the extent to which your research is likely to provide new
insights into the topic. Many students believe this is going to be difficult. Fortunately, there
are numerous ways in which such insight can be defined as new.

Attributes of a Good Research Topic (Checklist)

✔ Is the topic something with which you are really

fascinated about?
✔ Do you have, or can you develop within the research time frame, the necessary research
skills to undertake the topic?
✔ Is the research topic achievable within
the available time?

✔ Will the topic still be current when you finish your

project?

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✔ Is the topic achievable within the financial
resources that are likely to be available?

✔ Are you reasonably certain of being able to gain

access to data you are likely to require for this topic?
Appropriateness: is it worthwhile?

✔ Does the topic fit the specifications and meet the

standards set by the examining institution?
✔Does your topic contain issues that have a clear
link to theory?

✔ Are you able to state your research question(s),

aim and objectives clearly?
✔ Will your proposed research be able to provide fresh insights into this topic?

✔ Does your topic relate clearly to the idea you

have been given (perhaps by an organization)?
✔ Are the findings for this topic likely to be
symmetrical: that is, of similar value whatever
the outcome?
✔ Does the topic match your career goals?

How to Generate Research Ideas

If you have not been given an initial research idea there is a range of techniques that can be
used to find and select a topic that you would like to research. They can be thought of as
those that are predominantly rational thinking and those that involve more creative thinking.
Below are the techniques.
1. Examining your own strengths and interests
It is important that you choose a topic in which you are likely to do well and, if possible,
already have some academic knowledge. One way of doing this is to look at those
assignments for which you have received good grades. For most of these assignments they
are also likely to be the topics in which you were interested. They will provide you with an
area in which to search and find a research idea. In addition, you may, as part of your reading,
be able to focus more precisely on the sort of ideas about which you wish to conduct your
research. There is the need to think about your future. If you plan to work in financial

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management, it would be sensible to choose a research project in the financial management
field. One part of your course that will inevitably be discussed at any job interview is your
research project. A research in the same field will provide you with the opportunity to display
clearly your depth of knowledge and your enthusiasm.
2. Examining staff research interests
You may follow the links within your institution’s website to the profile pages of academic staff.
These pages are likely to display information about their teaching and research interests. You may
be able to use this as a funnel to help you to explore and generate research ideas in which you
would be interested for your own project. In very many cases, these pages will provide you with
the overall subject area taught by each member of staff. These pages are also likely to list the
particular research interests of each member of staff within her or his subject area. In many
cases, a member of staff will offer a short commentary on her or his research interests which
will provide more specific details. Lists of publications and conference papers with
hyperlinks to online copies may be included. These will provide even more detail about the
exact nature of the research interests of a member of staff. Working through this information
may allow you to generate ideas for your own research and guide you to some initial reading
to test this interest.
3. Looking at past research titles
Many students find looking at past thesis/dissertations as a useful way of generating research
ideas. A common way of doing this is to scan your university’s list of past thesis/dissertations
titles for anything that captures your imagination. Titles that look interesting or which grab
your attention should be noted down as should any thoughts you have about the title in
relation to your own research idea. In this process the fact that the title is poorly worded or
the thesis/dissertations received a low mark is immaterial. What matters is the fact that you
have found a topic that interests you. Based on this you can think of new ideas in the same
general area that will enable you to provide fresh insights. Scanning actual thesis/dissertations
may also produce research ideas. However, you need to beware. The fact that a
thesis/dissertation is in your library is no guarantee of the quality of the arguments and
observations it contains. In many universities all projects are placed in the library whether
they are bare passes or distinctions.

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4. Discussion
Colleagues, friends and university tutors are all potentially good sources of possible research
ideas. Often research tutors will have ideas for possible student thesis/dissertations, which
they will be pleased to discuss with you. Ideas can also be obtained by talking to people who
work in or have direct experience of the topic area in which you are interested to develop a
research idea. People who have experience of a topic area may include managers and other
practitioners such as accountants, business analysts, marketing executives, human resource
administrators, purchasing or sales staff as well as many others. Members of professional
groups or workplace representatives may also provide you with insights that help to generate
research ideas. Your contact with such people at an early stage may be fortuitous.
5. Searching existing literature
As part of your discussions, relevant literature may also be suggested. There are various types
of literature that are of particular use for generating research ideas. These include:
• articles in academic journals;
• articles in professional journals;
• reports;
• books.
Academic journal articles are intended to produce a theoretical contribution and will therefore
contain a section that reviews literature relevant to the article’s topic area. Given the nature of
published research, journal articles are generally highly specialized, focusing on a particular
subject. You will need to be prepared to undertake an extensive search lasting some hours (or
even days) to find articles that might be helpful in generating research ideas related to your
broader topic of interest. Of particular use, where you can find suitable ones, are academic
review articles. Some journals focus on publishing review articles – so look out for these!
These articles contain a considered review of the state of knowledge in a particular topic area
and are there-fore likely to contain a wealth of ideas about that area. These ideas will act as
pointers towards aspects where further research needs to be undertaken. In addition, you can
browse recent publications online, in particular journals, for possible research ideas.

Reports may also be of use. The most recently published are usually up to date and, again,
often contain recommendations that may form the basis of your research idea. Books by
contrast may be less up to date than other written sources.

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They often, however, contain a good overview of research that has been undertaken, which
may suggest ideas to you.

Searching for publications is only possible when you have at least some idea of the area in
which you wish to undertake your research. One way of obtaining this is to re-examine your
lecture notes and course textbooks and to note those subjects that appear most interesting and
the names of relevant authors. This will give you a basis on which to undertake a preliminary
search.
6. Scanning the media
Keeping up to date with items in the news can be a very rich source of ideas. The stories
which occur every day in the ‘broadsheet’ or ‘compact’ newspapers, in both online and
traditional print versions, may provide ideas which relate directly to the item (e.g. the extent
to which items sold by supermarkets contravene the principles of ‘green consumerism’ by
involving excessive ‘food miles’ in order to import them). The stories in these media may
also suggest other ideas which flow from the central story (e.g. the degree to which a
company uses its claimed environmental credentials as part of its marketing campaign).
7. Keeping a notebook of your ideas
One of the more creative techniques that we all use is to keep a notebook of ideas. This
involves simply noting down any interesting research ideas as you think of them and, of
equal importance, what sparked off your thought. You can then pursue the idea using more
rational thinking techniques later. You may keep a notebook by your bed so you can jot down
any flashes of inspiration that occur to you in the middle of the night!
8. Exploring personal preferences using past thesis/dissertation
One way to generate and evaluate research ideas is to explore your personal preferences by
reading through a number of past thesis/dissertation from your university.
9. Brainstorming
The technique of brainstorming can also be used to generate and refine research ideas. It is
best undertaken with a group of people, although you can brainstorm on your own.
Brainstorming involves a number of stages:
i. Defining the problem. This will focus on the sorts of ideas you are interested in as precisely
as possible. In the early stages of formulating a topic this may be as vague as, ‘I am interested
in marketing but don’t know what to do for my research topic’.
ii. Asking for suggestions. These will relate to the problem.
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iii. Recording suggestions. As you record these you will need to observe the following rules:
• No suggestion should be criticized or evaluated in any way before all ideas have been
considered.
• All suggestions, however wild, should be recorded and considered.
• As many suggestions as possible should be recorded.
iv. Reviewing suggestions. You will seek to explore what is meant by each as you review
these.
v. Analyzing suggestions. Work through the list of ideas and decide which appeal to you
most as research ideas and why.

Conclusion
If you follow the above guidelines, you’ll be able to come up with a good research topic.

Do you need help with your Proposal / Thesis / Dissertation / Assignment writing? Talk to me.
I’m a research EXPERT.
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