udemy how to develop a research dissertation idea

How to develop a research/dissertation idea?

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You will be able to make the most of your time and apply your reading and writing skills to develop a research idea and research questions
Recognize what a "good" research idea is
Understand how to plan your reading, where to look and how to read effectively
Learn a writing strategy (free writing) that will help you with your research idea (and dissertation writing)
Learn to plan your dissertation

There are many …

There are many resources on "How to conduct research" or "How to write a dissertation/thesis/journal article", as well as on specific methods of data collection and analysis or the structure of dissertations, doctoral theses and academic articles. But in my academic tutoring experience, I observed that many students are often concerned with yet another aspect of conducting their first research study - how to develop a good research topic ? No wonder, having a good research idea is, after all, a prerequisite for conducting a good research study.

I developed this course specifically to share my experiences of tackling this, Seemingly simple, task. I know what it's like to have a tight deadline and wonder "how on Earth am I supposed to come up with something good?" I had to write my own Master's dissertation in 4 months while caring for 2 children and working full-time. I managed to write a strong PhD proposal in just 2 days and to complete my PhD degree in just over 3 years. I know how to manage time effectively, and how to make the best of it when it's limited. Now I want to teach you the same.

The example questions which I answer in this course are as follows:

- What is a "good" research idea and how to develop it?

- What to read? How do you know what topics you should start with? What kind of materials to focus on? Which sections of published work should you pay particular attention to?

- Where to look? Where can you find the literature that is relevant?

- How to read? What reading techniques should you use?

- How to organise your reading sources? How to make sure that you are on top of your reading and don't loose these valuable sources and quotations?

- When should you start writing?

- What to write and when?

- What is free writing and how is it going to help you?

- Is Thinking just a waste of time, or is it just as important an activity as reading and writing?

- How to come up with research questions?

- What types of research questions are there?

- What is a "good" research question?

- How to incorporate your idea and research questions into the Literature Review chapter?

What I DO NOT cover in this course is the exact structure of a dissertation. I focus mainly on how to read, how to write and how to think (!) to effectively manage your time and gradually develop a good research idea. The course does conclude with a short discussion of a literature review but its main purpose is to demonstrate the place of your research idea and questions in it, not to go into detail of the structure of this chapter.

How to develop a research/dissertation idea?

"How to develop a research topic", "how to develop research questions", and more...

What you will learn

You will be able to make the most of your time and apply your reading and writing skills to develop a research idea and research questions, recognize what a "good" research idea is, understand how to plan your reading, where to look and how to read effectively, learn a writing strategy (free writing) that will help you with your research idea (and dissertation writing), learn to plan your dissertation, description.

The example questions which I answer in this course are as follows:

- What is a "good" research idea and how to develop it?

- What to read? How do you know what topics you should start with? What kind of materials to focus on? Which sections of published work should you pay particular attention to?

- Where to look? Where can you find the literature that is relevant?

- How to read? What reading techniques should you use?

- How to organise your reading sources? How to make sure that you are on top of your reading and don't loose these valuable sources and quotations?

- When should you start writing?

- What to write and when?

- What is free writing and how is it going to help you?

- Is Thinking just a waste of time, or is it just as important an activity as reading and writing?

- How to come up with research questions?

- What types of research questions are there?

- What is a "good" research question?

- How to incorporate your idea and research questions into the Literature Review chapter?

Looking for a research idea

Developing research questions, putting it all together, screenshots.

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This course provides an overview of how to develop research topics and how to organize your reading sources. It also covers the importance of thinking and writing, and concludes with a discussion of a literature review.

Looking for a research idea

Developing research questions

Putting it all together

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Students appreciate the informative and clear explanation provided by the course on how to start a research. They find the techniques discussed to be simple yet powerful and easy to implement. The course is highly relevant to research students and offers valuable tips for staying focused and motivated.

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Knowledge Base
Starting the research process

A Beginner's Guide to Starting the Research Process

When you have to write a thesis or dissertation , it can be hard to know where to begin, but there are some clear steps you can follow.

The research process often begins with a very broad idea for a topic you’d like to know more about. You do some preliminary research to identify a problem . After refining your research questions , you can lay out the foundations of your research design , leading to a proposal that outlines your ideas and plans.

This article takes you through the first steps of the research process, helping you narrow down your ideas and build up a strong foundation for your research project.

Step 1: choose your topic, step 2: identify a problem, step 3: formulate research questions, step 4: create a research design, step 5: write a research proposal, other interesting articles.

First you have to come up with some ideas. Your thesis or dissertation topic can start out very broad. Think about the general area or field you’re interested in—maybe you already have specific research interests based on classes you’ve taken, or maybe you had to consider your topic when applying to graduate school and writing a statement of purpose .

Even if you already have a good sense of your topic, you’ll need to read widely to build background knowledge and begin narrowing down your ideas. Conduct an initial literature review to begin gathering relevant sources. As you read, take notes and try to identify problems, questions, debates, contradictions and gaps. Your aim is to narrow down from a broad area of interest to a specific niche.

Make sure to consider the practicalities: the requirements of your programme, the amount of time you have to complete the research, and how difficult it will be to access sources and data on the topic. Before moving onto the next stage, it’s a good idea to discuss the topic with your thesis supervisor.

>>Read more about narrowing down a research topic

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So you’ve settled on a topic and found a niche—but what exactly will your research investigate, and why does it matter? To give your project focus and purpose, you have to define a research problem .

The problem might be a practical issue—for example, a process or practice that isn’t working well, an area of concern in an organization’s performance, or a difficulty faced by a specific group of people in society.

Alternatively, you might choose to investigate a theoretical problem—for example, an underexplored phenomenon or relationship, a contradiction between different models or theories, or an unresolved debate among scholars.

To put the problem in context and set your objectives, you can write a problem statement . This describes who the problem affects, why research is needed, and how your research project will contribute to solving it.

>>Read more about defining a research problem

Next, based on the problem statement, you need to write one or more research questions . These target exactly what you want to find out. They might focus on describing, comparing, evaluating, or explaining the research problem.

A strong research question should be specific enough that you can answer it thoroughly using appropriate qualitative or quantitative research methods. It should also be complex enough to require in-depth investigation, analysis, and argument. Questions that can be answered with “yes/no” or with easily available facts are not complex enough for a thesis or dissertation.

In some types of research, at this stage you might also have to develop a conceptual framework and testable hypotheses .

>>See research question examples

The research design is a practical framework for answering your research questions. It involves making decisions about the type of data you need, the methods you’ll use to collect and analyze it, and the location and timescale of your research.

There are often many possible paths you can take to answering your questions. The decisions you make will partly be based on your priorities. For example, do you want to determine causes and effects, draw generalizable conclusions, or understand the details of a specific context?

You need to decide whether you will use primary or secondary data and qualitative or quantitative methods . You also need to determine the specific tools, procedures, and materials you’ll use to collect and analyze your data, as well as your criteria for selecting participants or sources.

>>Read more about creating a research design

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Finally, after completing these steps, you are ready to complete a research proposal . The proposal outlines the context, relevance, purpose, and plan of your research.

As well as outlining the background, problem statement, and research questions, the proposal should also include a literature review that shows how your project will fit into existing work on the topic. The research design section describes your approach and explains exactly what you will do.

You might have to get the proposal approved by your supervisor before you get started, and it will guide the process of writing your thesis or dissertation.

>>Read more about writing a research proposal

If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Methodology

Sampling methods
Simple random sampling
Stratified sampling
Cluster sampling
Likert scales
Reproducibility

Statistics

Null hypothesis
Statistical power
Probability distribution
Effect size
Poisson distribution

Research bias

Optimism bias
Cognitive bias
Implicit bias
Hawthorne effect
Anchoring bias
Explicit bias

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How to develop a research/dissertation idea?

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“How to develop a research topic”, “how to develop research questions”, and more…

You will be able to make the most of your (usually limited) time and apply your reading, writing and thinking (yes, thinking!) skills to develop a good research idea, frame research questions and plan your Literature Review chapter
– motivation to develop a great research idea!
– willingness to trust me and to try out the techniques that I outline in the course!
2 hours on-demand video
Full lifetime access
Access on mobile and TV
Certificate of Completion
Dr Jaroslaw Kriukow

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