Research work is a vital component of Master’s programme as it provides students the opportunity to conduct in-depth study in a particular area of interest. Students have to focus on the chosen topic, perform cognitive activities with the aim of obtaining new knowledge and finding solution for possible challenges.

Picking the right research topic is one of the most important considerations of every research. A research topic forms the foundation for all the efforts a researcher puts in the research. However, keep in mind that the research topic you choose must be narrowed down to your workable limits. You need to make sure that the topic you are interested is workable. You need a focused, directional, clear and specific research problem. This needs a lot of brainstorming and you need to look at the research topic from all perspectives. Sometimes there are very interesting topics that could not be narrowed down and such topics cannot make a good research topic.

For beginner researchers or students, it is often difficult to understand how to narrow down your topic. You should ask assistance from your supervisor, advisor, mentor or any other person who has expertise in research.

1. A topic you are curious about

Choose a research topic that you know a little about but still you have the urge to know more about it. If you are choosing a research topic that you already clearly know, then it is pointless to do research on this topic as it is not the aim of writing a research paper. Your research paper is your journey to find out the answers to a question that you are curious about.

2. A topic that interests you

If you do not have any interest in a topic, you will not be able to write a good paper as it requires a lot of research, studies and critical thinking regarding the topic. Even professionals and researchers in advance level conduct research on topics that they are curious about. They do not take any random question and start research on it.

To know what interests you, you should consider what topics you normally study with passion. What are the most interesting topics in your course that you want to explore? Your interest in the topic means that you will have the motivation to work and have positive end result at the end of the day.

3. A topic that is weighty

Is this topic significant to the industry? Ask yourself what change the research on your chosen topic can bring to the world around you. Your preference should be a topic that can solve some problem in real life. Everyone enjoys reading a research paper that has a lot of practical implications and can be applied to their real-life situation. Such topics are all time favorites of the teachers as well as other readers.

4. Avoid fatigue or challenging topics

Do not get duty-bound by popular topics that have been over exhausted. Although popular topics have a lot of information available that you can quote in your research paper, it can hardly catch the attention of the teachers and the readers as it is already studied and presented many times in the industry. If you choose such topic you might end up writing duplicate content or caught in trouble for plagiarizing even if you did not aim to do so.

Some people enjoy writing on challenging topics. However, picking a topic that is challenging can be risky as it requires more of your resources such as time. Besides, sources pertaining the research topic may be very limited. Remember, you are bound by the time requirement for submission of the research so select a topic that is appropriate for you.

5. Availability of existing sources

Choose a topic that have enough sources available so that you can quote in your research paper. Selecting a topic on which there is limited or not any source material available can make your writing very difficult. Ample reference material is essential as it will help you to complete the research on time. Make a visit to the library ask the librarian or search about the source material online before you finalize your topic. It is easier to make changes to the topic during the selection stage but it will be difficult to make changes to the topic once as you have started writing the research paper.

You can always ask your teacher for guidance if you are not sure whether the topic you have chosen will work or not.