Identifying your dissertation topic 42 she or he is doing, and knows where to revise, where to elaborate, and when to get ready for public presentation. Since the faculty member has more power than the student in the college setting, the professor-as-colleague is not a truly collaborative arrangement. Each of these settings offers many advantages to the doctoral student. They also present potential obstacles to completion. Consequently, we need to think of alternative settings. We can contemplate breaking down the isolation in each potential arrangement, and finding ways to utilize these settings, choosing different groupings to accomplish specific tasks. You might start in one setting and then move back and forth among settings. When all three are available to you, you are likely to find the most productive environment (see Figure 5.2). There are many places where you might choose to start. You need to create the settings which will expedite your progress. Identifying Your Research Problem or Question You may have a burning desire to try a study similar to one you’ve read, but with older students, or in a different setting. It is crucial in the process of selecting a topic that you choose one which is exciting to you. If the topic is not intriguing to you, experience tells us that you are not likely to be able to get up the energy to work on it independently at 4:00 am on a Sunday morning, for instance. Thus, the place to start is to find a topic which is of keen interest to you personally and professionally. Now you may ask, “How do I find that topic?” You may consider some options, for example: 1 You draw on the knowledge which you acquired in your coursework and from your independent reading and journal writing. Figure 5.2 Creating your working environment: an alternative view Identifying your dissertation topic 43 2 You engage in dialogs with professors about topics which might be acceptable, knowing your dissertation will only get done with the assistance and support of the faculty. 3 You collaborate with student-colleagues, discussing the topics they are contemplating for their research, using recently accepted dissertations as samples of what your dissertation needs to represent, as well as sites where recommendations for future research are presented. 4 You draw on your personal and professional experiences. The implicit expectation of a doctoral program is that students will engage in extended inquiry, maintaining an open mind about the conflicting theories and perspectives advanced by the leaders in the field. Many students at the end of the required coursework have questions that interest them, questions which could ultimately be phrased as research questions. Let’s consider a variety of effective ways to move the agenda from several potential topics which might be interesting to explore to identifying your specific research question. I encourage you to consider all these strategies, and then create a process that is most compatible with your personal learning style. A first step is to identify some potential questions which you might want to research for your dissertation. You might find it useful at this point to note some of the topics and questions which interest you. Putting these ideas on paper will help you to progress. Identifying your dissertation topic 44 Now that you’ve listed some potential questions, you will need to consider several issues. Some criteria for evaluating these were suggested by Hawley (1993): • Is it interesting to me? • Is it manageable? • Is it within the range of my competence? • Is the data source reliable? • Does it make a significant and original contribution? • Is it [too] controversial? (Hawley, 1993, pp. 41–6) Review each of the potential questions you’ve listed above using Hawley’s criteria as a basis for either revising or eliminating each from your pool of potential questions. You may also want to add to this list. Now you’re ready for the next step, which is to note your knowledge related to each of the revised questions. Use the form below to organize your notation of the major theorists, research studies, etc., which might help to inform your research for each question. This is not a simple task. You might find it useful to work intensively on this grid. You might identify a large Identifying your dissertation topic 45 number of issues and connect these issues to the readings you’ve done in your courses. After you’ve exhausted your knowledge, you might brainstorm with some colleagues to expand the resources, refine the questions, and remind yourself of additional sources of information. As you progress, you are likely to identify some gaps in your knowledge. Depending on the outcome of this self-assessment, you may want to consider your options. For example: • Is this really an unexplored issue? • How can I rephrase the question to tap into my knowledge? • Are there topics more closely related to my knowledge? • Do I know anyone who has conducted research in a similar area? • Will the study help in my professional responsibilities? …or in my future career? You will find it useful to identify resources which might contribute to your understanding as a way to move the project along, drawing on related databases which you know are available, even if you’ve never used them. In addition, you might try to rephrase your questions more precisely, recognizing that each question must be highly focused guiding a research project that is “do-able” and do-able in a reasonable time. For example, a question such as “What strategies do good readers use when reading King Lear?” might be revised to inquire: “What strategies do 12th grade students whose standardized reading scores place them in the top quartile of their grade nationally report using when reading King Lear?” Identifying your dissertation topic 46 As you share this list with a trusted friend, you may fill in more information. Then you are ready to share it with a professor or two as a way to initiate a conversation about your dissertation. At times, students became concerned that others will steal their research questions and are reluctant to talk about their plans. In such settings it is essential to be circumspect in all your conversations. Alternative Starting Points Another way to start could involve identifying the topics which have intrigued you. Then, “push the envelope” by identifying related, unexplored, or controversial issues. A third strategy might be to list some questions which are generated from your personal experiences (at home, at work, at the market, at the theater), and then connect your potential exploration of these topics with the knowledge you have acquired and the disciplines which you have explored in your courses. A fourth approach might be to review your journal writing or file for “potential research,” noting the numerous questions you posed as you reflected on your personal learning throughout your coursework. These questions have the potential to lead you to an exciting research question. A final suggestion might find you conferring with program professors, brainstorming possible topics, particularly ones which might be aligned with their current research agenda. Many university Bulletins list faculty research interests. By studying the faculty’s interests, for example, you can start formulating a tentative list of areas which interest you while using the information to seek out . which you acquired in your coursework and from your independent reading and journal writing. Figure 5.2 Creating your working environment: an alternative view Identifying your dissertation topic 43 2. recently accepted dissertations as samples of what your dissertation needs to represent, as well as sites where recommendations for future research are presented. 4 You draw on your personal and. identify a large Identifying your dissertation topic 45 number of issues and connect these issues to the readings you’ve done in your courses. After you’ve exhausted your knowledge, you might brainstorm with