5/25/2014 How to choose a PhD topic?

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HOWDOESONECHOOSEADISSERTATIONTOPIC?
Theexcerptbelowexaminessomeofthefactorstoconsiderin
choosingadissertationtopic,particularlyinthehumanitiesand
socialsciences.ItisfromChapter4,WritingaDissertationin:
TheChicagoGuidetoYourAcademicCareer:APortableMentorfor
scholarsfromGraduateSchoolthroughTenure.ByJohnA.Goldsmith,
JohnKomlos,andPennySchineGold.TheUniversityofChicagoPress,
Chicago60037,TheUniversityofChicagoPress,Ltd,London,2001
byTheUniversityofChicago,allrightsreserved,Published2001.
JohnKomlos:
Withconsiderablecare.Neverlosesightofthefactthatthedissertationshouldbethecrowingachievementofyour
graduateeducationandwillinfluencethedirectionofyourcareerformanyyearstocome.Itwilltakeyearstowrite
andmightwellrequireacouplemoreyearsofpolishingtomakeitpublishable.Inasmuchasyouarelockingyourself
intoaprojectthatwilloccupyabigchunkofyourlife,thisdecisionshouldnotbemadelightly.
Someadvisorsarewillingtoofferachoiceoftwoorthrewdissertationtopics.Thiscanbeofgreatadvantage,
inasmuchasshehasabetteroverviewofthefield,knowsthesources,andknowsifthedissertationisdoablewithin
theallottedtimeframe,and,ineffect,youreceiveacrucialimplicitpromisethatyouwillbecloselyguidedalongthe
way.Ofcourse,someprofessorsarereluctanttosuggestthesistopics,eitheroutofaphilosophical
commitmentandresponsibilitythatgowithsuchadvice,buttheymayalsosimplywanttolimittheirinvolvement
withstudents.Beawarethatareserveddispositionmightwellsignalareluctancetoworkwithyouclosely,andit
mightbewisetolookforalternatives.
Itismuchsafertoyourmentor'ssuggestionoftopicsifoffered.Bydoingso,youwillgiveyourselfadditionaltimeto
developthenecessaryskillsforselectingagoodresearchproject,whicharedifficulttoacquire.Tobesure,thereare
thosewhoargueforasinkorswimapproachontheassumptionthatthestudentwilllearntheseskillsbybeing
forcedontochooseadissertationtopic.Thispointofviewissurelyreasonable,butmyownexperienceleadsmeto
urgeyoutoerronthesideofcautionifyouhavetheopportunityunlessyouhavereasontothinkthatyouhave
alreadymasteredsuchskills:theriskofsinkingistoogreatatthisstage.Asathirdalternative,youmayfindthe
choicebeingmadethroughgiveandtakewithyoursupervisor.
Ifyouhavegoodreasontobeconfidentindoingresearchonthetopicofyourownchoiceofifcloseguidancefeels
toorestrictivetoyou,thenproceed,butatleastbeforewarnedthatyoucaneasilyleadyourselfonawildgoose
chase.Infact,manystudentsdonotfinishtheirdissertationbecausetheirtopicturnsouttobemuchtoodifficultfor
reasonsthatwerenotimmediatelyobvioustothem.Inanycase,domakesureyouhaveyourmentor'sfullsupport
beforeembarkingonaproject.
Itisimperativethatbothyouandyouradvisorbeinterestedinyourthesistopic.Itisimportantthatyourmentorbe
interestedinitbecauseotherwiseshemightbemuchlessmotivatedtohelpyou,anditiscrucialthatyoubeexcited
aboutitbecauseotherwiseyouwillhaveenormousdifficultiesmusteringthemomentumtosucceedin
completingtheproject.Originalresearchischallenging,andevenfrustratingattimes,inthesensethathundredsof
obstaclesneedtobeovercomeintheprocess.Unlessyouaretrulyfascinatedbythetopicandconsiderit
intrinsicallyvaluableandrewardingtoworkonit,youcaneasilyslipintobecominganABDinsteadofaPh.D.!
Makesurethatyoudonotstartadissertationonanunfamiliartopic.Youshouldpreparesomeplans,evenif
tentativeones,wellinadvanceandhaveagoodoverviewofthetopicbeforeyoucommenceactiveresearch.Itwill
beextremelyusefulifyouhavealreadymadepreliminaryexcursionsintovariousrelatedissuesduringthecourseof
yourgraduatestudy.Havingwrittenoneortwoseminarpapersonsomeaspectsofthetopic,youwillenterthe
dissertationstagealreadysomewhatknowledgeableaboutthefield.Youwillknowmostofthescholarswhoare
writinginthatfield.Thisknowledgewillhelpyoutoformulateissuesandtowriteupthethesisproposalina
5/25/2014 How to choose a PhD topic?
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convincingmanner.Moreover,youshouldbynowhaveasenseofhowinterestingthetopicactuallyistoyou.
Onceyouhavechosenyourdissertationtopicincollaborationwithyouradviser,youshouldseekheractive
guidancetotheutmostdegreepossible.Everytopichasimperceptiblepitfalls,andyouradvisorcanandshouldhelp
youoverthem.Dissertationresearchismultifaceteditproceedsincomplex,andunexpected,ways,andthe
resultisunpredictable.Ihaveneverdoneresearchthatdidnotholdsomesurprisesforme,andattimes,Ieven
disapprovedmyinitialhypothesis.Thecloseryourtopicistotheexpertiseofyourmentor,themoredirectionyou
cancounton,andtheeasieritshouldbeforyoutoavoidmakingmistakesorgettingstuckalongtheway.These
issuesarelesspertinentinthelaboratorysciencesbecausetherethegraduatestudentusuallyworksinacloseknit
researchteam,directionandfundedbythementor'sownresearchprogram.Insuchfields,thereismoregroup
interaction,andperhapsmorecooperationandconformityinresearchdesign.
Inanycase,youwillneedtolearnwhotheimportantscholarsareinthefield.Askyouradvisorwhoisworkingin
yourarea,checktheirrespectivehomepagesontheInternet,andlookfortheirworkingpapers.Consultalsothe
programsofthemeetingsofprofessionalorganizationsinyourfieldforpeopleinterestedinrelatedtopics.
Dissertationsinprogressaresometimesannouncedinthenewsletterofdiscipline'smainprofessionalassociation,or
thereisacentralizeddissertationregistry.Thoughincomplete,theyarecertainlyuseful.CheckalsotheUniversityof
Michiganmicrofilmsofunpublisheddissertations.
Becauseinsomedepartmentsandinsomedisciplinesyouraccesstoyourmentormightbelimited,youmayfindit
advisabletotalkoveryourpreliminaryideaswithyourpeersandevenshowthemyourdissertationproposalbefore
yougiveittoyourmentor.
Yourdissertationisyourfirstrealresearchproject,andyouarenotexpectedtostrikeoutonyourowninto
completelyunchartedterritory.Thatwouldbepremature.Youshouldrestrictthescopeofyourtopicasfarasyou
can.Youwillbeexpectedtoworkwithinaparadigmthatis,youaren'trequiredtoresolveamajorcontroversy
betweentwocompetingschoolsofthoughtinthediscipline,althoughyoucanexploreapertinentaspectofa
controversyinacasestudy.Dissertationsaresimilartothe"masterpieces"thatmedievalguildsrequiredforfull
membershipinacraft:youmightthinkofyourselfasajourneymandemonstratingherskillstothemembersofa
profession.Inotherwords,thedissertationneednotbeanearthshatteringcontribution,but,howevermodest,itmust
beoriginalanddemonstrateyourskillinresearchandargument.Actually,oneoftheunstatedpurposesofthethesis
requirementistofilteroutpeoplewhowillnotbeabletodooriginalresearchintheirsubsequentcareer.
JohnGoldsmith:
Ithinkthereisconsiderablevariationhereacrossdisciplinesandacrossuniversitiesanddepartmentsaswell.Ican
givealotofreasonswhyheradvisorwantstobeworkingon,andyou'vementionedmostofthemalready.ButI
wouldalsosaythatthestrongerastudent'sintellectualabilitiesandstrengthofwillare,themoresheshouldtake
seriouslythenotionofsettingoffinaradicallynewdirectionintellectually.ButImeanthatonlyforstudentswho
areintellectuallymatureenoughtoprovideargumentsthatarecogentwithintheoldparadigmforwhythenew
approachissuperior.That'sverytallorder.
Andintherealworld,theselectionofadissertationtopicisoftengoingtobeamatterofnegotiationinsome
respectsbetweenadvisorandstudent.Idon'tthinkI'veeverhadastudentcometomewithalistofthreeoffour
possibletopicstogetmytakeonthem,butthatseemslikeaprettygoodidea.
PennyGold:Whetheronetakesatopicselectedbyanadvisorordevelopsone'sown,IwouldemphasizeJohn
Komlos'scommentthatonehastobeexcitedaboutthetopic.Ithinkitismorelikelythatthiswillhappen,ifthe
topicisdevelopedbythestudent,andcomingfromquestionsthattheyreallywanttopursue.Whatdifferencewillit
maketoyouifyourquestionisanswered?Iftheansweris"Notmuch,it'sjustaniftypuzzle,"youmightwantto
searchfurther.Theinteresthastobedeepenoughtosustainyouoveryearsofdifficultwork.Yourprofessional
identitywillbealso,shapedbyassociationwiththistopic.Isthishowyou'dliketobeknowninthefield,atleastfor
theratherlongfirststageofit,untilyoudoyournextlargeproject?

TOMORROW'SPROFESSORLISTSERVisasharedmissionpartnershipwiththe
AmericanAssociationforHigherEducation(AAHE)http://www.aahe.org/
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