Clarify Your Dissertation's Topic & Scope before anything
Your Biggest Step is also your First Step
Determine your Core Question
Find something that interests you but do not necessarily commit to it. If your interest leads to issues - then be ready to reverse course. It is motivating to have something that interests you but it can also be problematic due to obscurity of supporting research.
Turn your general interest into a precise question. This will form the basis of your Research Question. (RQ)
Ask yourself, “What relationship or phenomenon am I investigating?” Plug your core question into this template: “How does [X] influence [Y] among [Z context]?”
This anchors your inquiry and highlights which variables and population you’ll study.
Have a Strategist Okay your topic
Give us a way to contact you and we will reach out to have a discussion. Wisely choosing a topic is the single most important thing in Dissertation Success.
The Next Step is narrow down your current question.
Here we determine what makes your Dissertation doable.
Keep your project manageable by mapping potential research approaches against two axes—significance and feasibility:
- List up to 10 subtopics or contexts you could tackle.
- Score each one by both the Significance (impact on field or stakeholders) and the Feasibility (data access, time, resources). This is not that simple but go ahead and give it your best.
- Now start your focus on items that score high on both axes. This ensures your dissertation is useful and interesting while still easy to execute.
Define Clear Boundaries
By explicitely defining boundries you will save yourself from extraneous work.
Ask yourself - which sub-demographics would have more data available?
Translate your core question into explicit limits. For example - What is the population (age, industry, region) you are wanting to study?
What time frame? (around a geo-political event, post-pandemic, historical period). What Methods will your study use? (surveys, interviews, experiments or mixed methods).
A more complicated dissertation may want to specify the Conceptual Scope (specific theories or constructs you will include or exclude).
If you are considering Conceptual Scope - you may want to reconsider your approach to help a smoother finish. Contacting DissertationStrategies.com for a brief feedback would be very recommended in this situation.
Summarize these in a bullet list so you and your advisor always know what stays in and what stays out. This simplifies things as going onwards so your scope doesn't creep on you allowing you to maintain focus throughout the development phase.
Craft a One-Sentence Pitch
This pitch is what will form your Research Question
Example:
“I’m investigating how remote-work policies affect team cohesion in San Francisco tech startups through a mixed-methods survey and interview design, to guide HR strategies in hybrid environments.”
You should practice your one-sentence pitch out loud until it flows naturally. If you stumble, refine until you can deliver it confidently to anyone—even over breakfast. This is not necessarily necessary but it gives students a certain confidence when they can concisely describe their study. Your dissertation is your work - your child - you should be happy and confident to talk about it .
Try following this formula: “I’m investigating how [X] affects [Y] in [Z context], using [METHOD], to inform [AUDIENCE/PURPOSE].”
Here are a couple examples -
For example, “I’m investigating how remote-work policies affect team cohesion in San Francisco tech startups through a mixed-methods survey and interview design, to guide HR strategies in hybrid environments.”
Iterate With Rapid Feedback
- Share your pitch and boundaries with peers, advisors, or a writing group. If you don't feel like you have the proper peers then seek out internet forums. Try reddit.com/r/Academic or reddit.com/r/PhD.
- Note which parts spark questions or confusion—those are signals you need to tighten language or adjust scope.
- Repeat this loop until your listeners readily understand it on their first try.
