Graduate research should showcase a student's matery of the subject.
Graduate school research papers require students to explore and show mastery of their specific areas of interest. Unlike undergraduate research papers that follow closely to course guidelines, graduate school students are given more freedom to choose a topic that best suits their individual academic endeavors. Choosing the best graduate school research paper topic involves choosing a broad concept and narrowing down to a specific component or choosing a specific concept and engaging with its broader themes.
Instructions
1. Brainstorm topic ideas that interest you and that relate to your degree program. Drawn on current events, movements or discussions that relate to the subject matter. Formulate relevant questions that you would enjoy exploring further and that, if answered, will add to the current academic discussion on the topic. List the ideas and consider how they could be explored in the way that best answers the central question involved.
2. Choose the topic that you find most interesting and determine whether it is a narrow or broad topic. For example, if you choose "Social Media in Iran" that is quite a broad topic because it doesn't specific an exact event, person, or angle. If you choose "The death of Iranian protester Neda Agha-Soltan" as your topic, then that is quite a narrow topic because it involves a specific moment and a specific person. If your topic is very broad, explore more specific components within it to determine what to cover in your research paper. If your topic is already very specific, consider its broader themes or implications and incorporate them into the research. This will add purpose and context to the paper.
3. Consider the methodology that you will use to best explore your chosen topic. If the methodology required is too difficult for you to achieve, consider a new approach or a different topic. For example, if the only research method of studying your topic is to travel miles away and conduct an archaeological dig then it is likely out of your range of ability and you should consider a different topic.
4. Discuss your chosen paper topic with your professor or course adviser. Ask him for any insight he can add to the topic and work with him to reword your proposed title so it states the paper's purpose as accurately and clearly as possible. Ask him if he can recommend any texts or other sources that relate to the topic.
Tags: your topic, that relate, broad topic, broader themes, different topic