Finding the perfect PhD topic

When you come to write your research proposal, there is a challenge as daunting as the blank page in front of you: what is my PhD topic? Of course, PhD topics differ between discipline and (sometimes) program, but, on the whole, there are some key ingredients which any successful thesis idea share:

1.   Identify the sub-fields

Before you even start trying to come up with your topic, you need to try and situate which part of your subject you want to work in. For example, you may want to do a Marketing PhD which brings together your masters interests in social media advertising and cross-cultural analysis. Locating the two or three components (sometimes these will be included in your prospective title) in which your research is situated will allow you to fulfil the second step.

2.   Read, read, read

Once you have identified your chosen sub-fields, it is then important to read the relevant research in those areas. No-one expects you to read every single paper or monograph that has been published in your area but there are two key criteria you should follow: 1) what are the seminal/ landmark works in this sub-field?; 2) what are the most recent contributions? Once you have found these and begun to evaluate what they say, you can…

3.   Discover a research gap

The “research gap” is, as the name suggests, what previous literature has not covered. Discovering a gap which your research can fill will allow you to produce a proposal which is original (one of the most important aspects of a thesis from a high-ranking PhD program). Even more than at masters level, at the PhD level you are not being tested so much on your ability to summarise and evaluate previous research (obviously these remain relevant) but it is assumed that you can already do these things; what the PhD teaches you above all else is how to become an independent and competent researcher.

4.   Make it feasible

Students have a habit of producing research proposals which are either too ambitious or too narrow in focus (usually the former). Once you have uncovered an original topic, you need to make sure that it is one that can be done in 3 or 4 years and can be viably achieved (financially, logistically, etc) on your program.

Once you have a topic which is original and feasible, then you have cracked the code to creating a competitive PhD topic.