Choosing a Research Topic for Your Dissertation Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis East Tennessee State University Paula A. Nickels, Ed.D.

Students Come to Topics in Multiple Ways Based on scouring the literature, including other dissertations, for gaps in the knowledge base about a topic or recommendations for further research Based on prior collaboration with an advisor or faculty member in their field of research Based on professional or personal experience, everyday problems encountered in the field

Everyday Problems & Personal Interests as a Starting Point What everyday problems have you encountered in your professional experience that arouse your personal interest and curiosity? What topics have captured your interest in reading academic journals, professional literature, or required reading for ELPA courses? What topics in the media and/or current national, state, or local initiatives stir your interest? Reflect for 15 minutes, write down whatever comes to mind, share with the group.

Everyday Problems & Personal Interests as a Starting Point Talk about your interests with friends, family, and peers, as well as your dissertation Chair. Read other doctoral dissertations. Attend national conferences that have sessions related to your area of interest. Read voraciously in the research literature as you narrow your focus and begin to translate an everyday interest into a researchable topic.

Transform Your Everyday Interest into a Research Interest “Enter the conversation in the field” (Single, 2010): Begin to read research literature related to your area of interest. Identify books or review articles that synthesize the current knowledge in the field related to your area of interest. E.g. Psychological Bulletin, Psychological Review for relevant review articles Look at references in these sources to identify other articles related to your area of interest.

Narrow the Focus of Your Research Interest Transforming everyday interests into a researchable topic requires 3 key features: Specificity Focus Perspective Specificity – precise, not too broad Everyday interest: “I am interested in whether ‘Race to the Top’ initiatives have any impact on student achievement.” Specific, more precise interest: “What effect does basing 50% of teacher performance evaluations on student achievement test scores have on student achievement?” Transforming everyday interests into a researchable topic Requires 3 key features: (1) Specificity – The research topic must be specific and precise, with key ideas in the subject of research clearly defined in terms consistent with those used in the research literature. (2) Focus: You must narrow the scope of your research by clearly identifying your focus of study. What individuals, groups, or organizations do you plan to study? Your general area of interest could potentially lead to multiple possible studies, many different individuals or groups you could target for study. What specific individual, group, or organization do you plan to study? E.g. 3rd grade Hispanic second language learners. (3) Choose a perspective or vantage point from which you will conduct your study, the academic discipline or specific academic vantage point from which you will approach the topic

Narrow the Focus of Your Research Interest Focus –narrow the study to one clearly defined subject What individuals, groups, or organizations will you study? E.g. going from “I am interested in whether ‘Race to the Top’ initiatives have any impact on student achievement” to “What effect does basing 50% of teacher performance reviews on student achievement test scores have on achievement in reading among fifth graders?” Perspective – the academic discipline or vantage point from which you will approach the topic

Translate Your Research Interest into a Research Topic Become familiar with the academic terminology in the research literature. Make an appointment with the research librarian. Review key terms and core ideas in your research interest Ask the librarian to direct you to dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, journal articles that address these key terms and core ideas Use these resources to find the technical definitions of key terms in your research interest

Translate Your Research Interest into a Research Topic Rewrite your interest statement as a research topic by switching from everyday language to the technical terms used in the research literature. Review your rewritten statement. Does it still reflect your interest? If not, rework and revise the research topic. Search the literature further for other terminology to use or ways to narrow your focus until the research topic expresses your research interest.

Questions to Keep in Mind Is this topic focused, but not trivial? What is the significance of the proposed study? Are there important practical implications, or theoretical implications? Will this topic sustain my interest through the duration of the dissertation process? Is there a recent dissertation or research study on my proposed topic? If so, you may shift or refine your topic based on recommendations for further research in that study.

Questions to Keep in Mind Is there a faculty member whose own research or field of interest closely aligns with this topic? Do I need to pursue a topic that will further my academic or professional career? Do I have the skills and resources to complete this topic within a reasonable time period? If not, how can I acquire the skills and resources required? Will my proposed topic add to the knowledge base in the field?

Cautions Don’t Try to Save the World Grandiose schemes and dreams of glory rarely lead to a narrowly focused, specific, feasible research topic. Prepare for Change You may change topics or narrow your focus many times as you review the literature & receive feedback from your advisor.

Cautions The Enticement of Utility in Your Work Setting: A topic proposed by your employer may not be a suitable dissertation topic. E.g. You have be asked to develop a new social skills curriculum for middle school students and want the curriculum to serve as your dissertation. Your Chair asks, “What is the research topic?” Your Chair might suggest you design a pre-post study to measure the impact of the social skills curriculum on the incidence of bullying as reported by middle school students. You would then need to gather data from middle school students and subject this data to analysis to see if the new curriculum had any impact on the incidence of bullying as reported by students.

Cautions Don’t Pick a Topic to Prove a Point or Personal Beliefs E.g. Convinced that inclusion was not working well in her school, a doctoral student designed a study to interview teachers in her school about their experiences with inclusion to prove her point. You may have personal beliefs and opinions about your topic, but beware of designing a research study to prove a pre-existing belief.

Address the Issue of Bias What are your personal beliefs, opinions about the topic of study? How will you guard against allowing your personal views to distort the data? How might your personal experiences be an asset if you plan for your study to contain personal narrative and experiences? If you plan to conduct research in your own backyard, how will you avoid “salting the research mine” (Bryant, 2004, p. 16)? Divide into groups for 5 minute reflection and group sharing.

Select a Research Method Let your research topic and the research question(s) determine the research method. Don’t determine that you will only do a qualitative or quantitative study based on personal preference and then try to force your research topic into that mold. Do discuss with your advisor ways in which you could use either a qualitative or quantitative approach to study your topic of interest, and how your research question would be framed accordingly. The research method selected should flow from the nature of the research question(s). However, in reality most students take into account their comfort and skill level in carrying out a particular method, the amount of time they have for gathering data, their access to particular data, and other factors than the research question(s). It is OK to discuss with your advisor ways in which you could develop either a qualitative approach to study your research interest.

Resources Bryant, M. T. (2004). The portable dissertation advisor. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Krathwhohl, D. R. & Smith, N. L. (2005). How to prepare a dissertation proposal: Suggestions for students in education & the social and behavioral sciences. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. Machi, L. A. & McEvoy, B. T. (2009). The literature review. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Single, P. B. (2010). Demystifying dissertation writing: A streamlined process from choice of topic to final text. Sterling VA: Stylus.