Today’s entry comes from a question asked by a website visitor. The visitor asked: "I’m a first year doctoral student and having trouble deciding on my dissertation topic. Can you help?" And I answered: It may be a bit early to be worrying about a dissertation topic since you are just in your first year of graduate school. You might not have a topic in mind yet, because you haven’t started really studying your field in depth. That being said, though, a good way to decide on a topic: 1) Notice what areas really interest you 2) Read some dissertations that relate to your interests 2) Look for holes or gaps in the current knowledge in those areas (these are usually outlined in the "future research sections" of completed dissertations). 3) Consider if the holes/gaps would be worth studying 4) Find possible advisors/faculty members who can guide you exploring your ideas 5) Narrow your topic to a few possible ideas 6) Discuss with your advisor/mentor ….and proceed from there. He found this advice helpful, and I thought you might, too!
