PhD Research Topic Selected: Refined areas become promising topics: Do you haven an Idea for a Topic? James & Slater (2014)

1. Writing Your Doctoral Dissertation
or Thesis Faster
A Proven Map to Success
by E. Alana James and Tracesea Slater
Do You Have an Idea for a Topic?

3. Finding a Research Topic

4. Considerations in choosing a topic:
• Your passion for the general topic
• The literature amassed to date
• Your context as it relates to your ability to study this topic

5. Stage 1: Define Your Interests

6. Chart your interests as potential topics of research
Topic Sub-topics Themes Data Collected
from?
Methodology
used in
studies &
other notes/
ideas

7. Stage 2: Review the Literature

8. Authors
Reference
Topic Sub-topics
Themes Scope
(size of
study)
Data
Collected
from?
Methodology
used in
studies &
other notes/
ideas
Add others’ work to your chart

9. Stage 3: Developing a Research Framework and
Beginning Methodology

10. • Step 1: Define the purpose
of your study and/or the
problem it revolves around
– Problem statement
– Develop problem and
purpose for your topic
using a chart

11. Topic Idea
Problem/
Locale
Scope of
Research Data
I Can Access
Type of Data/
Analysis
Contribution
to Field
Early
childhood
analysis of
difficulties in
literacy and
reading
A local school
district shows
that many
students with
literacy
difficulties are
not assessed
until later in
their education
– making it
harder for
them to catch
up
Has access to
teachers
throughout the
district as they
come together
for
professional
development
activities
Quantitative
survey mixed
with interviews
and focus
groups.
Questions
would address
what they
know, how
they were
trained and
how they
communicate
need to their
district.
May
demonstrate
need for
increased
professional
development
OR may
highlight other
areas of
training or
communication
that need to be
addressed.

12. • Step 2: Consider how your topic evolves into
research design
– Variable with the topic to study
– Scope
– Access to data
– Understanding of the analysis needed to
build credible findings
– Contributions to the field, community and
world

13. Keep a Personal Learning Journal

14. • Helps keep discouragement away – celebrate how far you have
come at regular intervals
• Saves you time as you can quickly review your last thoughts,
even when you’ve been away from your work for a few days (or
maybe weeks)
• Add a new entry each day with a list of the things you did,
ending each with a note about what you hope to accomplish the
next day
• Reread and notate your journal with highlights or page markers
indicating where your ideas might fit into your proposal

15. An excerpt from ‘Writing Your Doctoral Dissertation or
Thesis Faster’
Click here to see it on Amazon

16. Where Should I Go to Dig Deeper?
Suggested Resources to Consider
• Borg,
S.
(2001).
The
research
journal:
A
tool
for
promo>ng
and
understanding
the
researcher
development.
Language
Teaching
Research,
5(2),
156–17.
A
great
ar>cle
for
the
beginning
researcher
on
how
to
use
a
journal.
Found
on
the
Internet.
• Bryant,
M.
T.
(2004).
The
portable
disserta7on
advisor.
Thousand
Oaks,
CA:
Corwin
Press.
On
pages
14
through
25,
Bryant
has
great
>ps
to
consider
as
you
determine
your
topic.
• GlaRhorn,
A.
A.,
&
Joyner,
R.
L.
(2005).
Wri7ng
the
winning
thesis
or
disserta7on:
A
step-­‐by-­‐step
guide
(2nd
ed.).
Thousand
Oaks,
CA:
Corwin
Press.
On
pages
29
through
30
and
63
through
68
the
authors
do
a
nice
job
of
how
to
reflect,
discuss,
and
analyze
your
first
ideas
as
well
as
informa>on
on
the
pros
and
cons
of
working
in
groups.

17. • Helmer,
O.
(1967).
Analysis
of
the
future:
The
Delphi
Method.
Santa
Monica,
CA:
The
Rand
Corpora>on.
This
report
on
the
Delphi
Method
goes
back
to
its
origins
as
it
explains
the
methodology;
it
will
be
resource
for
the
group
ac>vity.
Available
on
the
web
through
the
Rand
Corpora>on.
• Hsu,
C.-­‐C.,
&
Sandford,
B.
(2007).
The
Delphi
technique:
Making
sense
of
consensus.
Prac7cal
Assessment,
Research,
and
Evalua7on,
12(10),
1–8.
This
ar>cle
focuses
on
the
considera>ons
of
using
the
Delphi
method
as
a
means
of
making
sense
of
group
ideas.
• Ortlipp,
M.
(2008).
Keeping
and
using
reflec>ve
journals
in
the
qualita>ve
research
process.
The
Qualita7ve
Report,
13(4),
695–
705.
A
more
advanced
ar>cle
on
the
uses
for
a
journal
in
a
research
process.
This
ar>cle
takes
the
ideas
of
Borg
to
another
level
and
is
also
available
on
the
Internet.