Deciding to start a PhD degree is vital. It is going to have a significant effect on your future career. You are going to spend at least the next five years of your life working on a research project and most likely stuck in a lab doing experiments, analyzing data and writing scientific papers. So it is rather better to be a good topic, something that you enjoy and have a great interest in. But, are those two criteria enough to select a topic for your PhD research? The short answer is no. In this article, we propose eight steps you can follow for selecting a suitable topic for your PhD and be recognized as a PhD student.
Step 1: Select a general research area relevant to your profession and/or previous study degrees.
This is an acceptance requirement to be enrolled as a PhD student at most universities worldwide. Your credentials must be relevant to the research topic you select for a PhD.
Step 2: From your previous study programs (BSc, MSc…) or work experience, write down the headlines of the general topics or specializations that you have a strong scientific background on and those you have weaknesses on.
Let’s face it. Interest alone or some vague idea you have in your mind is not enough. You need to have what it takes to prove this idea scientifically and show it to the world. You may take the manuscript of your master’s or undergraduate degree as a reference. Write down the modules that you were good at and those you didn’t like much. This is a crustal step to select a PhD topic
Step 3: Underline the specializations with a strong background that most interests you.
The combination of a strong scientific background and interest will make your years of research both easier and shorter. Note that, at this step, you are still at the stage of selecting the general research area and we did not yet select the specific research topic that you will work on.
Step 4: Find out the trending research topic in your selected specialization(s).
Research is like wall building. The foundation of most scientific areas has already been done years ago. You will find that in textbooks. However, in research, you should have a novel contribution that advances the knowledge of your selected research area. It is significant to know where the research has stopped in your selected research area and then add your brick on top of the other bricks on the wall. The question is where can we find such information, and the short answer is simply read. You may use scientific research articles using many scholarly articles search engine tools like Google Scholar and Science Direct. Remember to use relevant keywords related to your selected PhD topic and read recently published research articles. It is recommended to read articles published by trustworthy publishers like Elsevier, Springer, Nature and IEEE. Another hint is that you should start by reading recent review articles. Such articles generally summarise the development in research on your selected topics and usually give you suggestions for novel research ideas based on their observations. Again, read review articles published by trustworthy publishers. This is very important
Step 5: Find the Higher Education institution with the relevant resources to conduct your research.
How close to where you live or how famous is the university are criteria to consider when looking for an institution to conduct your study at. However, what is more, important is whether the institution has enough resources to successfully finish your research.
You should make sure the university has faculty staff with research interest in your selected topic. It is also important to ensure that the university can provide you with the necessary labs and equipment for your research.
Step 6: Discuss your idea with a specialized Faculty Staff at the selected institution
Go to the university website and have a look at the staff directory. Select a faculty member with a specialization in your selected research area. Most university websites provide a biography of their faculty staff along with a list of the research interest areas and a list of their publications. Such information is enough for you to decide their relevancy to your selected research topic.
Send an email to the selected faculty member containing a short biography about you and a short proposal of your research. You should show that you did some primary research on the topic and you are ready to start. It is even better to ask for a meeting to discuss this further. The response of the prospect supervisor would be one of four:
1- Accept: this means that you’ve done your homework perfectly and he/she is happy to supervise you and host you at their institution.
2- Accept with amendments: this means your proposal is good but needs some modifications that they will suggest for you
3- Gives you other ideas: some researchers have their own funded projects that are running they might like your biography and suggest that you join them. Others might not be confident enough about your selected research topic but they have their research ideas that need researchers to work on
4- Reject: they will explain to you why they rejected your idea and you need to take full advantage of their review and start again.
Step 7: Write your research proposal
Hopefully, by now, you have selected your research topic and agreed with a supervisor on what you are going to work in. Now comes the turn for the formalities. You should write a research proposal following the guidelines for your selected institution. Your supervisor must be able to help with is step
Step 8: Formally apply for your degree course
Congratulations, following this step you will formally be a PhD student. Simple but frustrating steps to select a PhD topic
In addition to Arab Academic Jobs website,here’s a list of websites where you can find PhD opportunities:
- FindAPhD: This website offers a comprehensive database of PhD opportunities worldwide across various disciplines. https://www.findaphd.com/
- PhDPortal: It provides a searchable database of PhD programs from universities around the world. https://www.phdportal.com/
- AcademicTransfer: Focused mainly on academic positions in the Netherlands, it also lists PhD opportunities. https://www.academictransfer.com/
- Scholarship Positions: This website lists various scholarship opportunities including PhD scholarships worldwide. https://www.scholarship-positions.com/
