Doctoral thesis

How to find a dissertation topic

Choosing a topic for your dissertation – Strategic considerations prior to the search 

Choosing a dissertation topic is a central part of preparing for a doctorate. The topic chosen will be a constant presence over the ensuing several years: during those lonely hours in the archive or the laboratory; at the computer; at conferences; and in the seminar room. It is therefore vital that doctoral candidates be personally engaged in their topic and do not find it boring in any way. Only then can the necessary motivation be sustained throughout the writing process.

Those interested in applying for a doctoral position should know that the topic is often pre-determined. Applicants should carefully determine whether they can imagine researching and writing about precisely that topic in the years ahead. Career prospects should play an important role in those considerations.

For those able to freely choose their dissertation topic, personal interests should not be the only factor. Strategic considerations should also play a role. Is the ultimate goal a career in academia, or is a position in industry more attractive? That decision will inform the primary considerations made when choosing a dissertation topic.

Career in academia: Greatest possible scientific relevance

It is important for early career scientists to remember that their doctoral topic must also be of interest to the scientific community at large. The right topic can help candidates make a name for themselves in an attractive, future-oriented field of research and to network with other researchers. It can convince selection committees, attract funding and steer a scientific career in a promising direction.

An overly specialised topic, while perhaps exciting to the candidate, may lead to a career dead-end. If there is hardly anyone doing research in the targeted area, there is a risk that one’s own results will go unrecognised by others.

Career in industry: Practical relevance is required

For those interested in switching to industry after completing their doctorate, it may be advisable to contact companies at an early stage and decide in favour of a more relevant dissertation topic. Pursuing a doctorate within private industry, during which candidates make valuable contacts and pave the way for possible subsequent employment, may be of interest. Taking this path, however, may come with restrictions regarding the choice of dissertation topic.

Clearly define the dissertation topic

The information gathered thus far will help narrow down the dissertation topic. But in order to complete the doctorate in the time available – usually three to four years – a clear definition of the topic is essential.

The focus should be narrowed to a clearly defined selection of data. For historians, for example, this could be a newly discovered collection of letters from an important person. For medical scientists, to take another example, it could be the results of the latest studies on a newly developed treatment.

Candidates should also keep an eye on the secondary literature, particularly when it comes to time management: What publications are available on the topic in question, which ones are necessary to obtain and in what form are they available? Are time consuming trips to archives necessary?

Methodology is an important consideration here: How will research be conducted? It is important to consider early on which method will produce the most meaningful results: interviews with experts, case study analyses or one’s own experiments? Sufficient time should be allocated.

Scope and structure of a doctoral thesis

It is helpful to produce an outline of the dissertation to determine which aspects are most relevant and how to divide it into chapters and subchapters. The breadth and number of pages that a dissertation should have depends heavily on the specific topic, but there are differences from field to field.

• In the medical field, dissertations are sometimes only around 50 pages long if that is sufficient to convey the results in a complete and conclusive manner. The length of medical dissertations can, however, also extend into the three figures, depending on the type and volume of data being evaluated.
• Dissertations in the humanities tend to be several hundred pages long.
• The same is true for doctoral theses in law, with candidates expected to hand in between 200 and 300 pages, without appendixes. (Source: Guidelines for legal dissertations from Prof Dr Jens Peter Schneider at the University of Freiburg – German only.)
• For the standard length of a dissertation in mathematics and computer sciences, a look at statistics from the Free University in Berlin (2015) can be helpful. Accordingly, dissertations in these disciplines had an average of 128 pages, though the 110 dissertations considered in that average ranged from 60 to 256 pages.

If it becomes clear from the outline that the dissertation will likely be far longer or shorter than standard for the academic discipline in question, candidates should either narrow down or expand their topics accordingly. Early and regular consultations with one’s doctoral adviser can be helpful in this regard.