The first step is can be difficult, and in the world of research, that first step is choosing a good research topic. Students, lecturers, and other persons who need to write any form of research or academic paper must recognize that a good research topic will aid the paper’s substance, content, and scholarly impact. This first step often becomes overwhelming because of the array of fields and subfields available to pick from. So, whether or not you want to buy a research paper, the first step of choosing the topic for the paper must be done personally. That is why this article is a must-read.
Ways of Choosing a Good Research Topic
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Brainstorm for ideas
Researchers emphasize that is the first path to tread in choosing a good research topic. It involves harnessing all creativity prowess to come up with a unique and resourceful topic. The best way of activating this creativity is by asking two questions which include;
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Do you feel strongly opinion on a recent controversy?
There are almost always trending social or political issues particular to the field in virtually every academic area. The purpose of academia is to apply scholarly expertise to socio-political topics to arrive at viable and feasible solutions or resolutions. Hence you can search for such issues and pick the one you feel most strongly or passionately about. The essence is that the passion for the said issue will fuel the desire to continue when faced with a roadblock during the research.
Of course, you can always find an easier way to buy essay online using a good service. It will make your work a little more comfortable.
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Do You Have A Topic You Would Like To Explore?
This is another question to fuel your creativity. It spikes your curiosity on areas or subfields you would like to know more about. This tries to bring your attention to those areas of your study that you would like to know about and study deeply. It is assumed that after your course of study(especially if it is a term paper). You would have identified loopholes and grey areas worthy of your interest.
When exploring the questions you have raised, it is important to be wary of overused ideas when choosing the topic. Overused ideas refer to issues that have been discussed and written on so much that there is almost no new thing left to talk about.
Asides from these questions, the following can be done to boost creativity and inspiration during the brainstorming stage;
- Attend presentations, discussions, and recommendations of conferences/seminars in the field to learn new ideas on the recent and future requirements of research. You can approach authors on their present for their input on how you can research the field in the future.
- Network with academics from within and outside your university. You don’t have to select your topic independently. The academic environment is one of support and as a researcher, it would be beneficial to you if you talk with other students both in your level or not, and also your teachers. These people can inspire fresh thoughts and research concepts. Try to visit nearby research and academic institutes to know what others are doing.
- Attend as many oral presentations by older students because these discussions that take place during when students’ oral dissertation defense may help you identify new topics and gaps you can fill in existing research works.
- Check the research areas on the websites of Universities, related departments and international funding agencies. A good proposal from the areas of interest to the sponsor has a better chance of winning a fully-funded scholarship or project.
- Finding out the problems of the industries of interest and ideas to find solutions to the issues can win fully industry-funded research.
- Organize some brainstorming sessions in a group of 4-6 knowledgeable people and ponder on the options you have for your research topic
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Sift your findings
After the thorough brainstorming exercise, you should have a basketful of ideas. The intrusive question in your head “Can I pay someone to write my paper” should sound less since you have done most of the work. The next area will be to look through the ideas and pick two using your interest criteria, relevance to your field of study, and the prospective supervisor. The stage clears the clutter of all the available ideas. At the end of this stage, you should have two topics, which borders on issues you love about and are relevant to your study.
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Search for a General Data on the Chosen Topic
Study an encyclopedia article on the top topics you are proposing to write. Reading a broad summary would help you get a public view of what you want to write on. Also, you will see how your idea relates to other established work. In addition, it allows you to get a great and approved place for getting exposed to keywords used in commonly describing your proposed topic. These commonly used keywords are usually useful in developing your research. If it is difficult for you to find resources on your topic, try using general terms and seek help from a librarian or an expert in the field. The databases mentioned below are great to find an overview of your subject.
- Gale Virtual Reference Library is a database of recent encyclopedias.
- Encyclopedia Britannica Online is a recognized and respected authoritative coverage of thousands of topics in all areas of study.
- Oxford Handbooks Online is a good place to get peer-reviewed research reviews of a study.
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Choose a Specific Topic
In a situation where the scope of your research is too broad or too narrow, it will be difficult to carry out excellent research. If the topic is too wide, the researcher will most likely write in general and wouldn’t go deep into the problem due to the too much knowledge without the discourse space to fit it. However, if your research topic is too narrow, you may have challenges in finding necessary resources to give a detailed background of the study and find a research gap that needs to be filled. So, it is essential to narrow down the broad topic to a specific topic that is suitable for research.
For example, the topic “Unemployment Problem in the World,” is too wide for a focused study, and it makes it impossible for a researcher to be precise in analysis within a limited time frame and budget constraint. The study can be reduced to the mining sector, or any other similar or different sectors. By reducing the scope, you have not reduced its importance but made it suitable for a focused study that is relatable to a specific audience.
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Identify the relevance of the topic
The topic must be scientific, social or practical relevance or is useful to other researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. It should be helpful to positively influence your career goals which you want as a researcher. The research on the topic should be an original contribution to the field. Research can be undertaken to solve practical problems of the industries or organizations. The industry will have an interest in your research and are more likely to support you when your proposed research will be useful to their operations.
Your research should have social relevance. Choose a research topic that may help you get a job or get you known enough to help you get a promotion. Most organizations give a lot of consideration to the focus or impact of prospective employees’ research work. The reason for this attitude is because the major purpose of research is to solve problems and when your work solves problems, it thereby becomes relevant to the community.
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Feasibility of the Research Topic
It is necessary to make an assessment of the feasibility of potential topics. It is important to do this so you can find out whether the research can be executed with your current resources. The resources in question are manpower, the deadline of the research, your financial ability, available equipment, and other necessary facilities.
All the time, research has a timeframe. Sometimes, researchers have to deal with uncertainties that affect the project schedule. It is also important to assess the financial aspect of a research study. The framework should indicate the total cost and its break up towards purchasing books, library registration equipment, travel, contingency, etc. Researchers can also decide whether to use primary or secondary data. The researchers collect primary data while secondary data is reliance on primary data collected by another.
The above paragraphs explicitly provide the ways and steps of choosing a very good research topic. However, this list is not all-inclusive but, if followed, will produce very good and efficient research topics. During the research, the ethics of the study must be applied, such as proper referencing, data collection, and so on.
Conclusively, ethics is an important aspect of research, and it needs to be discussed, especially when the research includes an analysis of living beings. As a researcher, you need to know of the applicable ethical codes related to your research and should have in mind that all materials used for the research must be obtained legally, and every living subject of study must be treated as specified in the relevant code of conduct.