Identifying an “Appropriate” Topic

Closely related to the problem or opportunity statement is the “topic” of the study. For doctoral students there are several things to consider when selecting and narrowing your topic. The research project begins with a foundation of theory and produces new knowledge and insights that contribute back to theory. When working on a doctoral thesis/dissertation for a particular degree the topic has to fit within the theories, concepts, topics found in the field and disciplines for that field. For example, a doctoral student working toward a PhD in management would be be able to do a dissertation focused on medical science. There are two reason for this. First, the degree that is being earned is in management not medicine. So the topic has to match the degree. Second, the faculty in a school of management are not qualified to supervise a research study focused on medicine. This might seem obvious but I continue to see topics proposed that are well outside the degree fields/disciplines.

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The diagram above has three sections or rings: (1) the core topic; (2) traditionally related topics; and (3) traditionally unrelated topics. Inner Circle - Core Discipline or Field: These are the topics found in the core courses for the degree and the top journals in the core disciplines of the field (e.g., business and management). Middle Circle - Traditionally Related Topics: Management and Business are integrated fields that are often comprised of concepts and theories that are developed in other fields such as psychology, sociology, public policy, and so forth. Outer Circle - Traditionally Unrelated Topics: These are topics that are traditionally not part of business and management theory. For example, there might be medical practices that are related to worker health and well-being but by themselves they are based on medical theories and practices which are well outside of business and management theories and practices. Topics often span two or three circles. Below are five common scenarios related to the blue circles/ovals in the diagram above.  

Scenario #1 - This is the safest scenario. The topic is completely within the existing topics found in inner circle and the core journals in the field. The relevance of these topics has been established by previous research and articles in the journals of the field.

Scenario #2 - This is a common scenario in the field of business and management and is relatively safe. In other words, chances are others have made the connection between these related fields and disciplines and thus the connections are logical and in most case already well established in the literature. An example might be how organizations consider changing public policy related to environmental issues during the strategic planning process. The focus is on management decisions and strategy development both of which are core business management topics.

Scenario #3 - This scenario is less common but is potentially viable as long as the topic is still focused on the inner circle of core theories. In this scenario the study is making connections to traditionally unrelated fields and concepts. An example might be a study focused on the business opportunities related to alternative energies or the business impact of alternative energies both on their potential impact on expenses and on new or enhanced revenue opportunities. 

Scenario #4 - For a doctoral student it is unlikely this topic will be approved. Without a connection to the core degree disciplines it would be difficult for a school to grant a degree based on a research project that is completely outside the degree disciplines. An example might be the impact of public policy related to carbon restrictions and costs. While this impacts business, the topic is clearly centered on public policy and the impact of public policy. The contribution of this study would be to the public policy theories and concepts vs. business and management theories.

Scenario #5 - This scenario is a “non-starter.” It is well outside the core degree disciplines and it is unlikely there are faculty in the program qualified to supervise a research study focused on this topic. An example might be an analysis of the technical applications of alternative energies or energy storage technologies.  

“Paths” for Topic Identification

There are typically two paths for topic identification: (a) practice to theory and (b) theory to practice.

Practice to Theory - Sometimes a research opportunity will originate in practice. Organizations face many challenges and there are few, if any, organizations performing at the level that the stakeholders desire. Once the symptoms or problem is identified in a real world situation the next step is to identify the theories that are involved. Once the theories are identified then the next task is to dig deep into the existing scholarly literature (peer reviewed journals) to determine what we know and don’t know about these theories, concepts, etc. If we already have the theories to solve the problem identified in the real world situation then we don’t need additional research. We simply need to apply what we already know to the situation. However, if the theories and existing knowledge are  not adequate to solve the problem it may be a good candidate for a research project.   

Theory to Practice - Another common path for topic identification is to begin with the peer reviewed journals in the field. Journal articles often have sections on “recommended future research” and on the “limitations” of the research described in the article. These recommendations are often a good place to start identifying a topic, as long as the article is recent. In addition, all research has limitations and thus there are many opportunities to conduct further research on a topic focusing on eliminating or mitigating some of the current limitations. Occasionally, you will get lucky and there will be a journal article that provides an overview of the current status of a particular topic and sometimes there are articles that focus on research topics for future research on a particular topic such as Latham 2008 on performance excellence.  Once a gap in theory has been identified, the next question is what could we do better if we filled that gap? Who would care? What could the practitioners do with this new knowledge?

Regardless of the particular path, a viable research topic has two components - a real world application and a gap in theory.

Return to opportunity / problem statement.