Module 03

SELECTING
RESEARCH TOPIC
(Starting Point)
Research Methodology:
Complete Research
Project
By Saed A Mohamed
?
 You will learn in this module:
● Why do a thesis or a dissertation?
● Guiding questions on selecting
research topic
MODULE ● To generate ideas that will help in the
choice of a suitable research topic
OBJECTIVES ● To identify the attributes of a good
research topic
● Steps for selecting research topic
● To turn research ideas into a research
project that has clear research
questions and objectives
● Major characteristics research title
 ● Degree program requirement
● Preparation for future graduate work
● Interested in research/scholarship
Advance your career
Why do a thesis or a ●

● Want to answer a question

dissertation? ● Employment because employers often
prefer students with a thesis paper in
their portfolio
● Personal satisfaction and
accomplishment
 Do not expect choosing a topic for
research project to be a quick or easy task!

● One of the hardest parts is choosing

Selecting research your thesis topic.

topic ● Some spending months even years on

this research project because they
didn’t know how to choose a great
topic.

● Choosing a right and meaningful

dissertation or thesis topic is a difficult
decision to make.
 Deciding on a topic for your thesis,
dissertation or research project is the first
step in making sure your research goes as
smoothly as possible.

Selecting When choosing a topic, it’s important to

consider:
research topic
● Your institution and department’s
requirements
● Your areas of knowledge and interest
● The scientific, social, or practical
relevance
● The availability of data and sources
● The length and timeframe of your
dissertation
Questions to
Ask When
Browsing
What? When?

Who? Where? Why?

Questions to Who?
• Which groups have an interest in this topic? (ex.
patients. particular organizations. students, the
government, etc.) Who specifically will you focus on?
Ask When
Browsing What?
• What are the most important issues at stake? What
are the different factors involved?

• Where is the topic relevant? Will you focus on the

Where? Somalia? Lasanod? Some sort of comparison?

• When did the situation or event start? Is it ongoing?

When? Flow recent should your sources be to be useful?

• What interests you about it? Why do you want to

Why? write about it?
 ● The ability to develop a good research
topic is an important skill.
● Sometimes instructors will assign a
specific topic or,
Selecting
● usually they will ask you to select a topic
research topic
that interests you.
● If you have no dissertation ideas yet, it
can be hard to know where to start.
● Follow these steps to begin narrowing
down your ideas.
 Step 2: Step 3: Read
Step 1: Check
Brainstorm to General
the
Get Research Background
requirements
Topic Ideas Information

Steps Step 4: Focus

on your topic
Step 5:
Consider the
Step 6:
Determine the
selecting research topic (Find a niche) type of research relevance

Step 7: Make Step 8: Design

Step 9: Sum up
sure possibility and phrase your
your research
and plausibility research title

Step 10: Get

your topic
approved
 The very first step is to check the practical
requirements of your educational program.
This determines the scope of what it is possible for
you to research.
● What is the minimum and maximum word
STEP 1:
count?
Check the requirements ● When is the deadline?
● Do you have to choose from a list of topics, or do
you have to think of a topic yourself?
● Should the research have an academic or a
professional orientation?
● Are there any methodological conditions (e.g. do
you have to conduct fieldwork or use specific
types of source)?
● Are there any other restrictions?
 Start by thinking about your areas of
interest within the subject you’re studying.
STEP 2: ● It’s a good idea to pick a field that you
Brainstorm to Get Research already have some familiarity with
Topic Ideas ● Don’t to start your research completely
from scratch.
● You don’t have to be an expert on the
topic, read a few articles to get good
starting point to find out more.
 Use the following questions to help you
generate topic ideas.
● Do you have a strong opinion on a current
STEP 2: social or political controversy?
Brainstorm to Get Research ● Did you read a newspaper article, or see a
Topic Ideas TV broadcast recently that piqued your
curiosity or made you angry or anxious?
● Do you have a personal issue, problem, or
interest you'd like to know more about?
● Is there an aspect of one of your courses
you are interested in learning more about?
 ● Try skimming through a few recent
issues of the top journals in your field, as
well as looking at their most-cited
articles.
STEP 3: ● For inspiration, you can also
Read General Background search Google Scholar, subject-specific
Information databases, and your university library’s
resources.
● Check their reference lists to find more
useful sources.
● As you read, note down any specific
ideas that interest you and make a
shortlist of possible topics.
 After all said and...
*Find a study that has already been done
and duplicate that study.
-or-
STEP 3: *Find a study that has already been done
Read General Background and replicate it using new definitions of
Information some of the variables in the study.
-or-
*Find a study that has already been done
and replicate it using additional moderator
or control variables
-or-
 *Find an existing study and develop a different
way to test the hypothesis
STEP 3: -or-
Read General Background * Follow an author's suggestions for further
research needed - usually found at the end of
Information
an article
-or-
*Contact the author of an interesting study
using the internet for ideas for further study
-or-
*Choose a problem, analyze it, and invent a
completely new study
-or-
*Use a combination of the above techniques
 Select and keep manageable topic.
● A topic will be very difficult to
research if it is too broad, or too
narrow.
● One way to narrow a broad topic such
STEP 4: as "the environment" is to limit your
Focus in on Your Topic topic.
(Find a niche) ● Common ways to limit a topic by:

○ Geographic region

○ Time frame

○ Discipline

○ Culture

○ Population group
 Select and keep manageable topic.
● Twentieth-century literature

○ Twentieth-century Irish literature

Post-war Irish poetry

STEP 4: ●
○
Economic history
Focus in on Your Topic ○ African economic history
(Find a niche)
○ Somaliland labor union history
● Health policy

○ Reproductive health policy

○ Reproductive rights in Somaliland

● Online marketing

○ Social media marketing

○ Social media marketing and purchase

decision
 EXAMPLE:

Ideas
• Pricing strategy or Sales variation

STEP 4:
Focus in on Your Topic Research Question
● How Pricing strategy affects on sales
(Find a niche)
variation?

Focused Research Question

● How price reductions affects on income
promotion?
● How price additions affects on income
promotion?
 It’s a good idea to start thinking
about what kind of approach you’ll
take to your topic.
Will you mainly focus on:
STEP 5:
● Your overall aims and approach
Consider the type of ● The type of research design you’ll
research use
● Your sampling methods or criteria

for selecting subjects

● Your data collection methods

● The procedures you’ll follow to

collect data
● Your data analysis methods
 It’s important that your topic is interesting
to you and relevant to the social:

● Academic relevance means that the

research can fill a gap in knowledge or
STEP 6: contribute to a scholarly debate in your
Determine the field.

relevance ● Social relevance means that the research

can advance our understanding of
society and inform social change.

● Practical relevance means that the

research can be applied to solve
concrete problems or improve real-life
processes.
 Before you make a final decision on your
topic, consider again
● the length of your dissertation,
● the timeframe in which you have to
STEP 7: complete it,
Make sure possibility and ● the practicalities of conducting the

plausibility research.

Ask your self

● Will you have enough time to read all the most
important academic literature on this topic?
● Do you have to go to a specific location to gather
data on the topic?
● Do you have enough funding and practical
access?
 Research Title
STEP 8:
Design and phrase your
Variables Unit of Analysis Context
research title
Independent Dependent
Variables(IV) Variable (DV)
causes problem
 ● Identify specific problem with in
your area of interest;
● Identify the possible causes of that
STEP 8: problem;
Design and phrase your ● Link the cause to the problem;(get
research title one or more causes)
● Modify your statement further
add the context & unit of analysis
● Context: area of the study;
● Unit of Analysis:
Respondents/units to be studied
 ● You must take time to think about your
research as this will save you problems
later. & When you’re thinking about
your research, ask yourself the five ‘Ws’:
● – What is my research?
STEP 9: ● – Why do I want to do the research?
Sum up your your research
● – Who are my research participants?
● – Where am I going to do the research?
● – When am I going to do the research?
● Sum up your research project in one
sentence.
● Discuss your sentence with your tutor or
boss and revise if there is any confusion.
My study is about communication practices across business firms in terms of
understanding the effect of communication practices on business performance
in Burco, Togdheer, Somaliland by distributing a survey to the business owners,
management, and operatives in their workplaces between September 15 and
December 15, 2022. This study will be designed to determine the effect of
communication practices using a quantitative approach to assess variables using
statistical and numerical models, analyze these measurements, and report the
effects among the studied variables based on a descriptive, causal research
design to measure the fact that communication practices affect business
performance on the basis of a survey as a method of data collection, to collect
data from business owners, management, and operatives on "what" they practice
and "how" they practice by using a questionnaire to measure the communication
practices of managers on business performance by asking respondents to fill in a
questionnaire in order to acquire the required information about this study topic.
The regression analysis will be utilized to measure the level of causality between
variables in order to find out how the communication practices of managers
affect the performance of a company.
 ● Most programs will require you to submit a
brief description of your topic before you are
assigned a supervisor.

● It’s a good idea to discuss your ideas with

your supervisor before you write a
STEP 10: full research proposal.
Get your topic approved
● Remember, if you discover that your topic is
not as strong as you thought it was, it’s
usually acceptable to change your mind and
switch focus early in the dissertation
process.

● Just make sure you have enough time to

start on a new topic, and always check with
your supervisor or department.
THANK
YOU