Personal tools
AWESOME
Supporting Philosophy, Theology, Religious Studies,
History of Science and Philosophy of Science
Topics
Expand Collapse
What can I do here?
This section explores how to choose a topic for your dissertation.
Browse Overviews, Examples, Recent articles, Top tips and the FAQ sections.
Contribute by adding an overview, adding an example topic or by asking a question.
Topic overview 6
Topics which are too broad:
- Do we have free will?
- Can the sceptic be answered?
- Are there moral facts?
- Does God exist?
Topic ideas which are narrowed down:
- Can the role of logic in moral reasoning be explained by a non-cognitivist?
- Is an immoral person blind to reasons?
- How can a consequentialist answer the objection that consequentialism is overly demanding?
- Is every moral theory a consequentialist moral theory?
- Is something good because it is good for someone or is something good for someone because it is good?
- Do we know that we know something when we know something?
- Are perceptual beliefs justified because and insofar perception is a reliable process?
- Are we acting freely when we do what we want to do?
- If threats limit your freedom, do offers of rewards do the same?
Topic overview 3
One of the most common errors in the choice of topic is that it is insufficiently defined or too broad in scope. Often students are intimidated by the length of a dissertation, and think that they will be unable to write to the required length on a limited topic. This is a mistake because what most lecturers will be looking for is an in-depth treatment of a particular issue rather than broad issue which is only treated superficially. It is the case that by the time a student has researched a specific and limited issue they will have more than enough material to write the required amount for a dissertation.
Topic overview 4
Having chosen a topic that is of interest to you is the precondition of writing a good dissertation, but it does not by itself mean that you will write a good dissertation. Indeed, it might be that on reflection you realise that the topic you have initially chosen is not, as it stands, suitable for a dissertation either because it is too broad, or because it supposes knowledge and skills you do not possess, or because it is not susceptible to a properly philosophical analysis, or some combination of all these reasons (see 2.6.2 above). How is it possible to transform your proposed topic into one that is more promising?
Topic overview 1
Choosing a dissertation topic is difficult. You should bear in mind, however, that your exact topic is likely to change as your dissertation develops. For example, a student who sets out to write on the nature of objectification, analysing it as a denial of autonomy, might well end up writing a dissertation simply on autonomy. This sort of change is fine, as long as you’re aware that it’s happening and you discuss it with your supervisor!
Topic overview 2
A good dissertation topic is one in which the student has a genuine interested. Students are often encouraged to begin researching their dissertation at the end of their second year of studies, and so by the time they are required to submit the dissertation they will have been working on the topic for nine months. If they are not interested in the topic it is unlikely that they maintain an appropriate level of commitment to researching and writing it.
Topic overview 5
Choosing a topic is not the same as choosing a title for your dissertation. Depending on the institutional arrangements under which you write your dissertation, the title comes (almost) last. In choosing a topic, you simply choose a certain area of investigation. You also might have a certain line of investigation or a certain contribution you might make in mind. If your preliminary work leads you in a somewhat different direction, try to fit the topic to your work and not the other way around (as allowed by your institutional arrangements). Always try to keep on open mind. Even if you initially thought position A is more plausible (and your ambition was to try to defend A), if you change your mind about A, you have to change your line of investigation. The dissertation itself should not contain such changes. It has to pursue a consistent line from the beginning to the end. However, if your project is to describe how someone who started out endorsing A might be moving towards some other position B, then changes of one’s view become the very topic of your dissertation and you would have to stick with this line. In all cases, it is important that your dissertation project is manageable given the constraints of time and other resources. You might start out researching a bigger area but once you get down to the details of structure your thoughts and writing draft chapters, your project has to be reasonably specific. Do not try to solve perennial philosophical problems, like ‘Does God exist?’, ‘Are We Free Agents?’, ‘Is Morality Objective?’ – there simply is not enough time for you to do such big topics justice. In order to get to the required level of sophisticated analysis of some issue your topic has to be much narrower.
- This page was last modified on 3 March 2009, at 16:33.
- This page has been accessed 11,903 times.
