Evaluating Potential Research Topics

Introduction

• Objective: Systematically evaluate research topics to select the best one for your project.
• Presenter: Emma
• Resources Mentioned:
  • Free Topic Ideation 101 webinar
  • Free Research Topic Megalist
  • Free topic evaluation worksheet

Importance of Evaluation

• Critical for dissertations, theses, and academic research projects.
• Use a structured approach with established criteria to find the right topic.

Key Criteria for Evaluation

1. Topic Originality

• Importance: Originality and novelty are crucial, especially at higher academic levels.
• Questions to Consider:
  • Does the topic offer a new perspective or fill a gap?
  • Is it a unique combination of existing ideas?
  • Is there a clear research problem being addressed?
• Scoring: Rate each topic from 1 to 5.

2. Value and Significance

• Focus: Determine the importance of the topic.
• Questions to Consider:
  • How does the topic contribute to academic knowledge or societal issues?
  • Who benefits from this research?
  • What are the potential benefits?
• Scoring: Rate each topic from 1 to 5.

3. Access to Data and Equipment

• Importance: Access to datasets and samples is critical for success.
• Considerations:
  • Plan for data collection and access to specific populations.
  • Assess the availability of necessary equipment.
• Scoring: Rate conservatively based on realistic access.

4. Time

• Importance: Time required for data collection and analysis can affect project feasibility.
• Considerations:
  • Evaluate if the topic can be completed within the given timeframe.
  • Consider narrowing the scope if needed.
• Scoring: Take a worst-case view to account for potential delays.

5. Ethical Complexity

• Importance: Understanding and adhering to university research ethics is crucial.
• Considerations:
  • Review institution's ethics policy.
  • Identify any ethical issues or additional approvals needed.
• Scoring: Err on the conservative side and assume the worst for ambiguous cases.

Conclusion

• Recap: The five criteria are originality, value, data access, time, and ethics.
• Next Steps:
  • Use the evaluation worksheet to total scores and identify top topic choices.
  • Validate top choices with literature review and faculty input.
  • Make a decision based on safety and feasibility.
• Final Advice: Choose a topic you can complete on time, with future research opportunities in mind.

Closing

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