Research is a systematic process. It is not a process which is done in an ad hoc manner. Therefore conducting a research requires a certain approach. However, prior to commencing the research process, one has to do a number of things. One of the most critical items during the early stages of research is choosing a topic. Alderman (2014) contend that when it comes to doing a research, finding a good topic is one of the most difficult things. In his view, figuring out an area to research on is usually not a great problem. According to him, narrowing down to a specific topic within a larger area of interest is very frustrating. While choosing my topic, I will have to consider a number of factors. According to Reis (1999), some of the factors that need to be considered during topic selection include motivations, interests, and capabilities.
Timmins and McCabe (2005) also contend that choosing a research topic is one of the most difficult endeavors in research work and they agreed that support to a student is necessary. They described how a student can come up with a good research topic. My strategy will therefore borrows a lot from guidelines of Timmins and McCabe. Firstly, I will start by selecting a field of interest based on my own practice. My overall goal is to come up with a topic where I can easily access literature and also where an empirical work has been recently undertaken. To achieve that, I will identify a broad topic and narrow it down the topic to manageable size. This approach is in line with the views of Alderman (2014) who pointed out that after selecting a subject, one ought to find ways of narrowing it down to a manageable topic. Davidson and Ambrose in Reis (1999) also asserted that a good research topic is not only well defined but also narrowly focused. However, they added that the topic ought to be part of a wide-ranging and complex problem. As a starting point of topic identification, I will perform an initial search. Depending on the progress of selecting a topic, I may need to revisit the search even at the stage of review. It is after identifying a broad area that I will narrow down to a specific topic by engaging in a more focused and thorough search incorporating a variety of sources. In order to make the search process a bit easier, I will have to define the topic well and also make it narrow. Other measures I will take involve choosing appropriate keywords for my topic and also consult a librarian to assist me in the search process. Alderman also added that one need not just scan articles. Rather, one should also consider developing a vocabulary which can be used to search multidisciplinary and specific databases for appropriate topics. This is also what I will consider in selecting my topic.
References
Alderman, J. (2014). Choosing a Research Topic. Beginning Library & Information Systems Strategies. Paper 17. Retrieved from: http://digitalcommons.unf.edu/bliss/17/
Reis, R.M. (1999). Choosing a Research Topic. Retrieved from: http://chronicle.com/article/Choosing-a-Research-Topic/45641/
Timmins, F. & McCabe, C. (2005). How to conduct an effective literature search. Nursing Standard, 20(11), 41-47
