Choosing Your Dissertation Topic

Dissertation.

Even the word is enough to provoke fight or flight. There are many reasons a thesis inspires such dread, including how much of your final grade it amounts to and the sheer size of the task (did you say TEN THOUSAND WORDS?). With so many concerns to address, it can be easy to forget the first and most fundamental question.

What are you going to write about?

This article is designed to help you narrow down that list from ‘literally anything’ to ‘possibly something’ to – fingers crossed – ‘definitely this’.

Step one: your interests

It may seem obvious, but if you’re going to spend the best part of a year writing about something, it helps if it’s something you’re passionate about. However, it should also be something that will challenge you. This element of challenge is important as you need to be invested in your topic for a long time.

Step two: your area of study

After you’ve got a list of interests to write about, see which ones would also line up with your course. After all, there’s no point in writing about dinosaurs if you’re studying accounting… probably.

Next, think of a question that would allow you to explore your chosen subject. For instance, if you want to talk about Harry Potter in your psychology dissertation, you could explore how the franchise has impacted people of different generations, or even analyse the character’s mental states.

On second thoughts, maybe don’t write about Harry Potter.

Step three: growing legs

Now it starts to get serious. You’ve got a question on a topic you enjoy and which relates to your course. It’s time to ask yourself the hard question: can you write ten thousand words on this?

This is possibly the hardest part of the dissertation, as the more niche your question, the less you may find to say about it. By contrast, if there is too much to cover you may run the risk of merely ‘skimming the surface’. Supervisors usually suggest setting fewer questions with in-depth answers rather than lots of smaller questions.

Step four: planning

It’s perfectly normal to get this far into the process and still have several ideas vying for your attention. Like the final few weeks of a reality TV show, it’s time to vote them off one by one.

Do some initial research into the topics you’re deciding on. Which has the most information you could reference? Think about how available materials are and what you can really add to any discussion of the subject, as these are things that can make or break an essay.

The most important factor is your gut. Deep down, you alone will know if you can write a whole dissertation on your chosen topic. Your tutors will help guide you, but ultimately the decision is yours. If you feel that you can write ten thousand words that contribute something tangible to the body of academia in your field, do it!

Whatever you do, remember that a dissertation is your chance to author your own piece of academic writing. In this case, no idea is too ridiculous. 

Jack Kirk is a recent Media Production graduate from the University of Lincoln, currently based in his hometown of Chesterfield, he is an aspiring writer, with a variety of interests and a deep knowledge of film quotes, he’d love it if you followed him on Twitter, but he’s not the boss of you.

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