Research Topic Bootcamp: How To Find A Research Topic

Everything you need to find a high-quality research topic for your dissertation, thesis or research project.

What you'll learn

WHAT exactly a strong research topic looks like and consists of.

WHAT research gaps, research problems, aims and questions are.

HOW to find high-quality, meaningful research gaps in your area of interest.

How to develop research gaps into well-articulated research topics.

HOW to evaluate potential research topics and choose the best option.

HOW to present your research topic within a formal research proposal.

HOW to effectively communicate your research topic and get it approved.

FREE access to our Resource Master List, including extra lessons, templates and tools.

Requirements

This course is designed for first-time researchers, so you don't need any prior research experience.

We'll unpack each concept from the ground up using straightforward language and practical examples.

Description

Whether you’re a first-time researcher, just starting out and feeling a little overwhelmed by the topic ideation process - or you’re already knee-deep in the writing process but need a little guidance to ensure you’re on the right path - this short course is for you.Designed and presented by the award-winning team of research specialists at Grad Coach, this course provides you with a step-by-step practical guide to help develop a high-quality research topic for your dissertation, thesis or research paper. Together, we'll work through our tried and trusted topic ideation process, so that you can see exactly what it takes to find the perfect topic. Along the way, you can test your understanding with interactive pop quizzes and ask questions about each lesson as you work through the course.This online course is designed for both undergrad and postgrad students who are new to the academic research process. You don’t need to have any prior research experience, as we unpack each concept from the ground up. While this course is geared towards research within the sciences (especially the social sciences), the principles and concepts we’ll cover apply to the vast majority of research areas.Within the course, you can use the carefully designed practical exercises to identify potential topics as you work through the course. In other words, by the end of the course, you won’t just have a certificate - you’ll have a foundation for your own research topic. All that said, if you’d prefer to just focus on specific lessons, you’re most welcome to do so, as each lesson works perfectly well on a standalone basis.But it doesn’t stop there. By joining the course, you’ll get full, unrestricted access to our meaty collection of additional resources. This includes dissertation and thesis templates, hours upon hours of additional video lessons and webinars, as well as practical tools and resources.In short, this course gives you everything you need to start developing your research topic.

Overview

Section 1: Welcome

Lecture 1 Welcome to Topic Ideation Bootcamp!

Lecture 2 Housekeeping/basics

Lecture 3 Resource master list (PDF)

Section 2: Research Topic 101

Lecture 4 Section Overview

Lecture 5 What exactly is a research topic?

Lecture 6 The research gap

Lecture 7 The research problem

Lecture 8 The research aims and questions

Lecture 9 Bringing it all together

Lecture 10 Practical exercise

Section 3: Before you start

Lecture 11 Section overview

Lecture 12 Institutional requirements

Lecture 13 Auditing your resources

Lecture 14 Auditing your interests

Lecture 15 Practical exercise

Section 4: Finding research gaps & developing topic options

Lecture 16 Section overview

Lecture 17 Skimming past dissertations & theses

Lecture 18 Leveraging the FRIN section of journal articles

Lecture 19 Investigating supervisor interests & publications

Lecture 20 Apps and tools to help fast-track the process

Lecture 21 Moving from research gaps to research topics

Lecture 22 Evaluating potential topics

Lecture 23 Practical exercise

Section 5: Preparing your proposal

Lecture 24 Section overview

Lecture 25 What exactly is a research proposal

Lecture 26 The key things to include in your proposal

Lecture 27 Free proposal template

Lecture 28 Wrapping up

Lecture 29 Practical Exercise

First-time researchers completing a dissertation or thesis (undergraduate or postgraduate).,Students undertaking research in the social sciences (e.g., business, psychology, education, nursing, etc.).