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How to Choose a Dissertation Topic in 7 Steps
Academic Writing
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How to Choose a Dissertation Topic in 7 Steps

Read practical guide on how to identify your passions, assess feasibility, and make an informed decision.
How to Choose a Dissertation Topic
Written by
Adam J.
Published on
Feb 19, 2025
Table of contents
Your dissertation will be the longest, most time-consuming academic paper you’ll have to write. Undergraduate dissertation length is usually around 40 to 60 pages, while at a master’s level, they are typically 50 to 100 pages long.
Choosing a topic for dissertation writing is the first step, and it can be agonizing. After all, choose it wrong—and you risk wasting your time and effort on researching an idea that you’ll ultimately abandon.
Luckily for you, StudyPro has put together this guide on finding a suitable topic for your dissertation.
Below, we’ll cover the seven key steps:
  • Understand the scope of your dissertation.
  • Consider your academic interests.
  • Do preliminary research.
  • Narrow it down to a specific niche.
  • Consider the type of your research project.
  • Reach the final decision.
  • Discuss the topic with your dissertation advisor.
How to Choose a Dissertation Topic-(Compressify.io).webp

What Makes a Good Dissertation Topic?

A good dissertation topic has to meet several criteria:
Criteria
Explanation
Original contribution
Any dissertation has to focus on original research or a fresh perspective in a particular area of knowledge.
Alignment with your interests
If you don’t find the dissertation topic interesting, every minute of working on it will feel like torture. However, make sure your passions or experiences don’t get in the way of your objectivity.
Feasibility
Some dissertation topics may require too much work to be manageable for an undergraduate or master’s dissertation. The maximum word count also imposes certain limitations.
Relevance and significance
The chosen topic should help advance the area of knowledge, seek to close a knowledge gap, or address a real issue in the field.
Clarity and focus
A good research topic isn’t too vague or too narrow in scope; it zeroes in on a specific research question and is clearly defined.
Existing research availability
The best topics revolve around the research questions with enough current literature and data to lay the groundwork for your dissertation.
To recap, a good dissertation topic is original, interesting for you, manageable, relevant, and well-defined. Good topics also rely on substantial past research and existing data.

How to Choose a Dissertation Topic: 7 Steps

Choosing the right research topic for your dissertation requires careful consideration of the requirements of your program and institution, your own interests, available academic research, and the research project type. Here’s how to decide on dissertation topics in seven straightforward steps.

☑️ Step 1. Check Your Guidelines & Requirements

The guidelines of your institution for dissertation writing will set the scope of all potential research questions you may choose for your work. They’ll also define the limitations in terms of word count, allowed subjects, available time, and so on.
At this stage, consider:
• Minimum and maximum word count;
• Acceptable subject range;
• Submission due date (and the time available for writing the dissertation);
• Dissertation purpose (academic research or professional skill development);
• Expected research methods and acceptable or required sources;
• The range of acceptable subjects or topics (if applicable).
If you’re not sure which would be the right subject for you or struggle to interpret some of the requirements, ask your dissertation supervisor for advice.

☑️ Step 2. Reflect on Your Interests & Career Aspirations

A good dissertation topic has to be interesting to you—and play to your strengths, too. Ensuring the topic is interesting and challenging (but not too much) will make the research process and writing far more enjoyable.
So, when choosing your dissertation topic, consider your interests and career aspirations. Based on those, brainstorm several broad fields of research that pique your interest.
In addition to that, consider your:
→ Existing knowledge, research skills, writing mastery;
→ Strengths (check which assessments got you the best grades to see where you excel);
→ Resources, such as how much time you have to write the dissertation.
You can also seek out your supervisor’s advice at this step if you’re torn between multiple research areas or have a hard time identifying your strengths.

☑️ Step 3. Analyze the Existing Body of Research

Now, it’s time to do a preliminary literature review. It’ll help you:
  • Capture the current state of research in the area you’re considering;
  • Identify interesting unanswered questions;
  • Determine what topics other researchers have already covered;
  • Introduce you to the methodology commonly used in the field.
While you’re doing your research, make sure you:
→ Pay attention to current trends and literature; don’t rely on outdated sources;
→ Mine the reference sections of papers that are particularly relevant or interesting for more sources;
→ Go beyond databases and journals to include cutting-edge research from scholarly conferences and university monographs;
→ Ask reference librarians for help if you get stuck.
Of course, a literature review for topic selection can be time-consuming. If you can’t afford to spend hours on it, consider turning to tools like our StudyPro AI writer. It can help you sum up existing research in a couple of clicks.

☑️ Step 4. Determine Your Niche

Once you’ve done a fair share of research, it’s time to narrow down your findings to a distinct niche. For example, if you started with social psychology as your preferred subject, you can narrow down your focus from social influence to conformity as a type of social influence and then to cultural predictors for conformity.
Here’s how to find a dissertation topic niche:
→ Consider the unanswered research questions and gaps in knowledge. Which ones spark your interest the most?
→ Identify the areas that don’t have a lot of original data or research. At the same time, ensure there are enough sources to lay the foundation of your dissertation.
→ Jot down your thoughts before you forget them. Take notes while you do your research. You can also freewrite or create a mind map to brainstorm ideas.
Don’t expect to get your niche after a single brainstorming session. This is a gradual process that typically runs parallel to conducting the literature review.

☑️ Step 5. Decide on the Type of Research Project

Dissertations fall into one of two categories:
Category Name
Clarification
Empirical dissertations
They require you to collect and analyze original data. In this case, you’ll have to conduct an experiment, survey, or field research.
Non-empirical dissertations
They involve analyzing existing data (statistics, records, archives) and other researchers’ or writers’ works.
The dissertation type will dictate your research methodology and, therefore, the range of topics for dissertation writing you can choose from. That said, empirical dissertations typically have to cite other works, as well.
Identify why other researchers would find your topic relevant, too. If you can’t think of an objective reason that doesn’t boil down to “it hasn’t been studied yet,” consider other ideas.
Dissertation relevance can come in three forms:
Academic: The dissertation will close the gap in knowledge or drive the academic debate further.
Social: The topic will inform social change or address social issues.
Practical: The research can address real-world challenges or improve processes.
Not sure how to convey the relevance of your topic? Check out our guide on how to improve writing skills to put it into words with ease.

☑️ Step 6. Narrow It Down & Make It Manageable

Now, let’s move on to discussing how to pick a dissertation topic. To do that, you’ll need to review all of your ideas so far and develop the thesis.
Be careful to make your topic feasible and manageable. In other words, make sure it’s not overly ambitious; it doesn’t have to change the world or revolutionize the field.
To select the best topic possible, take into account:
Key Elements
Clarification
Expected research methods
Are you supposed to conduct original research? Make sure you have the funding, equipment, and support to do it.
Resources
Do you have enough existing data and sources for your dissertation? If not, consider a different angle.
Available time
Do you have enough time for your research process for this topic?
Word count
Can you realistically cover the topic within your word count limit (without fluff)?
Alignment with your interests
Will you remain interested in the topic throughout the whole dissertation writing process?

☑️ Step 7. Talk to Your Dissertation Supervisor

Your dissertation advisor is your mentor. So, meet with them whenever you feel stuck with your ideas.
Once you decide on the topic, a meeting is a must before you start doing more thorough research and writing the first draft. They’ll help ensure you’re on the right track and suggest steps to refine the topic if needed.
Here’s what to ask your dissertation supervisor when you discuss your dissertation topic:
✔️ Is this topic relevant, original, and specific enough?
✔️ Does it meet the expectations of the university?
✔️ Does my research strategy and methodology suit it well?
✔️ Could you suggest suitable literature?
✔️ What resources could my university provide for writing the dissertation?

4 Tips on Using AI to Choose a Dissertation Topic

Does your head go spinning while you’re considering all the possible options? Here are four tips to make choosing a topic for dissertation writing easier with AI:
Flex your brainstorming muscles. AI writing tools can help you cover all the possible niches with short summaries for each one or list more dissertation ideas than you could imagine.
Speed up the literature review. AI tools can condense lengthy research papers into short descriptions at the click of a button. They can also help you identify trends or gaps in existing research.
Stay clear of plagiarism. If you use AI writing tools in the dissertation writing process, make sure to avoid plagiarism. You can learn more about it from our guide “What is Plagiarism?”
Create an outline. AI writing tools can generate whole outlines for a variety of papers, including dissertations, based on your own research and ideas and existing literature.

Final Thoughts

Let’s recap how to choose a dissertation topic in seven steps:
  • Consider your university’s guidelines and requirements.
  • Take into account your own interests and professional aspirations.
  • Explore available research.
  • Zero in on your niche.
  • Identify the research methodology.
  • Narrow down your ideas to a manageable topic.
  • Get feedback from your dissertation supervisor.
It may take you some time to pick a dissertation topic, and it’s fine. It’s not a decision you should take lightly; you’ll spend the following year or more working on it. So, aside from everything else, make sure the topic will hold your interest throughout the whole dissertation writing process.

Frequently asked questions

Good dissertation topics are original, feasible, manageable, relevant, and well-defined. They’re neither too general nor too specific.
To find the best topic for your dissertation:
  • Ensure it provides an original contribution to the field.
  • Mull over your professional goals and interests.
  • Do a literature review to pinpoint gaps in current research.
  • Pick a topic you can cover in-depth within the allocated time and paper length.
  • Ensure your topic has academic, practical, and social relevance.
  • Verify there are enough available resources.
To come up with dissertation topic ideas:
  • Consider your career goals and link them to the potential topic.
  • Move from the broader field of research to narrower niches and then topics.
  • Look through your past assignments and identify which ones interested you the most.
  • To get some inspiration, browse available research via databases, journals, etc.
  • Use AI writing tools to explore all possible niches, discover trends and gaps in research, and brainstorm ideas.
  • Discuss possible topics with your dissertation advisor.
To come up with possible dissertation topics, you’ll need to complete an initial literature review.
To do it productively, we suggest you:
  • Search existing dissertation topics in available databases or on Google Scholar.
  • Browse published research articles in journals and databases.
  • Ask your university’s librarian for advice (yes, that works!).
  • Check out the references sections for sources you found extremely helpful.
Sources:
Heredia Pineda, A.P. (2019, March 29). How to Choose Your Thesis Topic. Central European University. https://www.ceu.edu/article/2019-03-29/how-choose-your-thesis-topic
How to Choose a Dissertation Topic For Your Doctoral Degree. (n.d.). Walden University. https://www.waldenu.edu/online-doctoral-programs/resource/how-to-choose-a-dissertation-topic-for-your-doctoral-degree
How to Choose a Thesis Topic. (n.d.). Maastricht University Library. https://library.maastrichtuniversity.nl/study/thesis-supportall/choose-thesis-topic/
Office of ALM Advising and Program Administration. (n.d.). Advice For Crafting Thesis Topics. Harvard Extension School. https://extension.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2020/11/adviceforthesistopicselection.pdf
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