Four Obvious Rules for Choosing a Thesis Topic

Although we will discuss thesis topics in greater detail in the next chapter, the following rules will help you get started. They do not apply if the professor pressures you to choose a particular topic (see section 2.7, “How to Avoid Being Exploited by Your Advisor”), or if you lack interest and are willing to choose any topic so as to graduate quickly. If you are inspired by a particular interest, and your advisor is willing to facilitate this interest, the following rules will guide you:

  1. The topic should reflect your previous studies and experi­ence. It should be related to your completed courses; your other research; and your political, cultural, or religious experience.
  2. The necessary sources should be materially accessible. You should be near enough to the sources for convenient access, and you should have the permission you need to access them.
  3. The necessary sources should be manageable. In other words, you should have the ability, experience, and back­ground knowledge needed to understand the sources.
  4. You should have some experience with the methodologi­cal framework that you will use in the thesis. For example, if your thesis topic requires you to analyze a Bach violin sonata, you should be versed in music theory and analysis.

Put this way, these four rules seem banal. We could summa­rize them in this single rule: “You must write a thesis that you are able to write.” This rule may seem trivial, but it is true, and many a thesis has been dramatically aborted pre­cisely because this rule was broken.2 The following chapters will provide instruction on how to write a thesis that is both manageable and feasible.

Source: Eco Umberto, Farina Caterina Mongiat, Farina Geoff (2015), How to write a thesis, The MIT Press.

2 thoughts on “Four Obvious Rules for Choosing a Thesis Topic

  1. zoritoler imol says:

    Hello my loved one! I wish to say that this post is amazing, great written and come with almost all significant infos. I¦d like to peer more posts like this .

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *