How to Choose a Research Topic

A good research is seen in the

way its topic is framed.
Research Topic or a Problem

A topic is the main organizing principle

guiding the preparation of a research report
Topics offer us an occasion for writing and a
focus that governs what we want to say.
Topics represent the core subject matter of
scholarly communication
How to Begin

•Do not expect choosing a topic for

research project to be a quick or easy
task!

•You should be thinking about it right

from the start of this course (at least
right from now).
CHOOSING A RESEARCH TOPIC
THERE ARE 3 SCENARIOS
Your supervisor /department can
i. provide you with a general topic area from which
you study a particular aspect;
ii.provide you with a list of possible topics to
choose from; or,
iii.leave it up to you to choose a topic and you only
have to obtain the permission to write about it
before beginning your investigation.
CHOOSING A RESEARCH TOPIC
how to approach your chosen topic
Step 1: Understand what the topic is about.

i.What are the key words in the question/topic?

ii.Which questions am I going to answer?
iii.Which sphere of knowledge does it cover?
iv.What variables will be considered?
v.Etc. etc.
CHOOSING A RESEARCH TOPIC
how to approach your chosen topic
Step 2:
Review related literature to help refine how you will
approach the topic and finding a way to analyze it.

Focus on identifying sources (literature) that support as

well as refute this position
a. Has anybody written about this?
b. If yes, what is it about specifically?
c. If no, what gap is my study filling in?
CHOOSING A RESEARCH TOPIC
CAUTION:

• It is ok to review related literature to help refine

how you will approach analyzing a topic, and then
discover that the topic is not all that interesting
after all.
• In that case, you can choose another topic.
• Do not wait too long to make a switch, and
• Be sure to consult with your supervisor first.
GENERATING RESEARCH TOPICS
where, when & how

• Usually, students ask

“How do I choose a topic?”

• If you lack ideas, or wish to gain focus,

PERFORM some or all of the following
ACTIVITIES/strategies:
Activity 1: Courses/ readings

• Review your course readings,

particularly the suggested readings, for topic ideas.

• Do not just review what you have already read

but jump ahead in the syllabus to readings that
have not been covered yet.
 Activity 2: Libraries

• Search the library catalog for a good, recent

introductory books and, if appropriate, more
specialized works related to the discipline/area
of your course
 Activity 3
Browse through some current
journals in your subject discipline

Even if most of the articles are not relevant, you

can skim through the contents quickly.
 You only need one to be the spark that begins the
process of wanting to learn more about a topic.
Consult a librarian or your supervisor about the
core journals within your subject discipline.
 Activity 4: Past essays

• Think about essays you have written for past classes

and other coursework you have taken or academic
lectures and programs you have attended.

• Thinking back, what most interested you?

• What would you like to know more about?

 Activity 5: Online portals

• Search online media sources, such as Ghana Web,

GTV/GBC, etc., to see if your idea has been covered
in the news

• Use this coverage to refine your idea into something

that you would like to investigate further but in a
more deliberate, scholarly way based on a problem
to research
 Activity 6: Surroundings
• More commonly, look around your
workshop, department, university
environment or society at large to identify
issues of concern to you.
Considerations For Selecting A
Research Problem
These are individual assessments a researcher
goes through before finalizing on his topic

They help to ensure that your study remains

manageable and keep you motivated
throughout the study.
Considerations
1. Interest
• A research endeavour is usually time
consuming, and involves hard work and
possibly unforeseen problems.

• One should select a topic of great interest to

sustain the required motivation.
Considerations
2. Magnitude (scope)
• It is extremely important to select a
topic that you can manage within the
time and resources at your disposal.

• Narrow the topic down to something

manageable, specific and clear.
Considerations
3. Measurement Of Concepts

Make sure that you are clear about the

indicators and measurement of
concepts (if used) in your study.
e.g.
How do you measure these words?
“congestion”, “efficiency”, “growth”,
“malfunction”, etc
Considerations
4. Level Of Expertise
Make sure that you have adequate
knowledge or expertise for the task
you are proposing since you need to
do the work yourself.
Considerations
5. Relevance/Significance
Ensure that your study
i.adds to the existing body of knowledge,
ii.bridges current gaps in knowledge, and
iii.is useful in policy formulation.

This will help you to sustain interest in the

study.
 Considerations
6. Availability Of Data

Before finalizing on your topic, make

sure that data are available.

Getting information for your

research is very critical to any
research.
 Considerations
7. Ethical Issues

Ethical issues are research processes and

findings that affect the sensibilities and rights
of research participants.

The effect the study on the population and how

these ethical problems can be overcome
should be thoroughly examined at the problem
formulating stage.
 Research background to the study
& Problem Statement
Example
•Imagine a friend runs to you with a very long
story that you find difficult to understand why
s/he is telling you that and what he intends to do.
•At the end of the story, you are likely to
surprisingly ask him “and so what’?
•The answer he gives to your question “and so
what?’ is referred to as the problem statement.
•The “long talk” is the background
Research background to the study
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Before a problem statement is stated, a brief background is
usually given. Depending on the topic and the writers style,
this brief background can take from five to ten pages.

The background gives the reader

i.The general definition of the topic/problem area
ii.Historical basis for the existence of the problem
iii.Efforts made towards addressing similar challenges
iv.How the efforts failed to be realized hence the need for
your study
 1.2 Problem Statement
Your Research Problem statement is
the foundation and focus of your
research report.

It is a clear, stand-alone statement that

makes explicit what it is you are
aiming to discover or establish or
research into.
Caution
If your Research Problem statement is
i. poorly worded,
ii. unfocused, or
iii. ambiguous,
the rest of your research is likely to go off
track very early; you will do a great deal of
unnecessary reading and writing, losing sight
of the big picture (and probably your mind).
Sample BACKGROUND
• Nowadays, most ships are equipped with Electronic Chart Display
and Information Systems (ECDIS), Global Positioning System (GPS),
Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA) and marine navigation
systems such as Vessel Tracking Systems (VTS) and Automatic
Identification Systems (AIS).
• However, the number of ship collisions has persistently increased
because after these equipment have detected risk of collision, the
evasive maneuvers are not initiated on time due to human
error/limitation.
• Some ships like supertankers have stopping distance of several
nautical miles, which mean that if there is an obstacle or another
ship on their way and they do not start the stopping maneuver
earlier, they will not be able to avoid the object, though the object
might be at a reasonable distance from them.
• …….AND SO WHAT?
Sample Problem statement

• This research seeks to show how ships can be

quickly stopped and safely maneuvered in
avoidance of collision by developing a
mathematical model for its calculation.
 Characteristics of a good
research problem statement

A good research problem statement must

UNAMBIGUOUSLY communicate to the
reader and user of the research the
specific question to be addressed in the
study.
 A good and feasible research problem
statement must:

•be clear (no ambiguity)

•be researchable
•address a problem
Writing your Research Problem Statement
The first thing to do is to select your research
topic, which is the issue or subject area that
you intend to conduct your study.

 Research Problem statements are preferred

when they have an outcome-based verb at or
near the beginning.
Some good outcome based verbs

Identify, define, describe, review, indicate,

formulate, explain, compare, contrast,
suggest, interpret, analyse, assess,
design, construct, apply, demonstrate,
illustrate, categorize, deduce, create,
Some good outcome based verbs

•differentiate, derive, evaluate, establish,

conceptualize, suggest, integrate,
compile, develop, consolidate, clarify,
appraise, calculate, recommend.
Forbidden Verbs
Verbs such as
understand,
Know
explore,
investigate,
examine, and
discuss;
are poor verbs as they describe processes, not outcomes.
They can be used as AIMS but not OBJECTIVES.
 Forbidden Verbs
example

• E.g. You can discuss something endlessly without ever having to

make recommendations, draw conclusions or offer a
result.

• You might be exploring, examining or investigating as part of

your process, but they cannot be the end result of your
research, which should be more tangible.
Try Questions
• State and explain three sources of knowledge
• Discuss four considerations a researcher needs
before choosing a topic
• State and explain four characteristics of a good
research topic
• What is a problem statement?
• Give 3 features of a good problem statement