Thesis Topic Criteria

A thesis is an idea or theory that is expressed as a design statement, a visual representation for which evidence is
gathered and discussed logically. One of the most important concerns in choosing a thesis topic is that the topic speaks to
an area of current or future demand. A good thesis topic is a general idea that is in need of development, verification or
refutation. Your thesis topic should be of interest to you, your advisor, and the research community. If it is not, it may be
difficult to stay motivated or to "sell" the idea. When searching for a topic, remember that your thesis should attempt to
solve a real problem and should contain solid theoretical work, as well as good results. It should be both connected to
existing research and centered on a meaningful topic.
Choose a narrow, well-defined topic that branches out in a new direction. Try not to pick a topic that is too out-there, as it
will be hard to generate interest in your thesis. Marketability is subject to change, so don't feel obligated to choose a thesis
topic that reflects the latest craze in your field. You want a thesis topic that will hook the attention of others, as well as
maintain your own attention. Your thesis topic should relate to what you've been studying and should stand up to scrutiny.
Remember, part of giving a thesis is having to defend it later. Thesis topics need to be easily manageable given factors
such as your geographic area and the resources and facilities available to you. The size of your thesis topic can be tricky;
you want it to be manageable but not so narrow that you will be limited while researching.
As you develop your thesis topic, always factor in your interests, strengths, and weaknesses. You should also bear in
mind the readers' expectations, as well as the assignment restrictions. Try to develop two or three possible topics in case
you encounter a lack of supporting information. You don't have to commit to just one idea at the beginning of the process.
You can bring your ideas to us, we will help you determine which one is the most promising.

Different Types of Thesis

In doing your thesis, youre likely to be taking a practical or a theoretical approach, even though both practical and
theoretical considerations are of the utmost importance in social science research..
Any useful practical research you carry out requires a sound theoretical basis, and any theoretical study you do needs to
link to whats happening in the world around you. A theoretical study can be mainly abstract with an emphasis on the
philosophical, ethical and cultural considerations of the subject, or your subject can be an applied theoretical study with an
emphasis on political, social or economic issues, for example.
More practical research studies in social science are usually about exploring issues through surveys, action research,
observations, case-studies or a review of existing studies.
The type of thesis you end up doing depends on the topic youre researching. The following table gives a few examples of
different ways of approaching a topic just to get you thinking:
Examples of Practical and Theoretical Approaches to deciding a Thesis topic
Concern

Method

Type of Study

Theory/hypothesis

Analysis

Non-empirical

Strategy

Analysis

Non-empirical with examples

Issue

Question people

Empirical

Type of behaviour

Observation

Empirical

Empirical thesis
Empirical:
based on, concerned with, or verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic.
"they provided considerable empirical evidence to support their argument.

An empirical thesis involves collecting data. For example, to gather the views of patients at a GPs surgery, volunteers in a
police service, children in a play centre or translators in a refugee centre, you have to find ways of asking the individuals
involved what they think or review what theyre doing. You can collect your data in many ways: from questionnaires and
observations to interviews and focus groups.
Or, you may prefer to collect your data by taking another approach such as looking at and analysing existing data from
new angles, making useful comparisons or drawing interesting parallels.
Even if the focus of your thesis is on using data, dont forget that youre still going to need a sound theoretical basis for
your work.

Non-empirical thesis
Non Empirical:
Not relying directly on data; theory-driven
Making the choice to do a non-empirical thesis shouldnt be taken lightly. Sustaining an argument over the length of your
whole thesis is a distinct challenge. If you enjoy spending time in the library, reading, thinking and discussing theory, this
is likely to be the right choice for you.
Key theories in your discipline such as feminism or pragmatism can be the basis of an abstract discussion in your thesis.
Subjects such as sociology have this type of theory at their centre and so its perfectly valid, for example, to discuss
aspects of the theory of pragmatism as your thesis topic.

Topic-Generation
It can be very helpful to choose a broad subject area at first. As you read and research that subject area, you will narrow
down toward a thesis topic. We will help you narrow it even further if you run into trouble. Organization is key to the entire
thesis process, so get organized early on to reduce your stress levels. As you search for your thesis topic, use the
different materials such as drawings, pictures, mindmaps, piece of literature, notes and papers, for your reference. You
will also find good reading material at our library, start reading! And don't discount your own knowledge - you have studied
hard through the years and have learned a great deal, so apply all of that!
Begin by brainstorming and doing some free-hand doodling and mindmapping to get your brain moving in the right
direction. At this stage, we believe you shouldn't talk to others about your ideas and research your topics on your own to
determine the potential information available. Make an outline to group your ideas and locate the crux of argument or
problem on which you would like to focus. Even if you are not required to do so, it can be beneficial to write up a short
thesis proposal; it can help you define problems, outline possible solutions, and identify evaluation criteria. You can show
the proposal to us for feedback.
Maintaining a log book or journal can be helpful in tracking your ideas for topics. You can keep notes in the journal as you
research possible topics and write down questions to which you would like to find answers. It is important to have an
awareness of ongoing and directly related research. However, don't spend too much time reading and studying some
topic that you don't feel strongly bout and isn't taking you anywhere. Wise decision-making ability is very important in

thesis, as you should be taking your own decisions if the topic/direction is worth researching and spending your precious
time on or not? You might even consider setting up interviews (in person, by telephone or, less effectively, via e-mail) with
people who have researched and written material relevant to your chosen topic. Graduate students do not often give
thought to arranging such interviews, but they can be an effective complement to the research you are conducting. You
can document your interviews that you've used as background to your own work.

Different Areas to choose from:

Mindmap on various levels to get started:
Personal
Likes, Dislikes, Interests, Things that you want to learn more about/understand, Things that you feel about, etc
Social
Social issues, problems, responsibilities, Human centered design, etc
National + Political
Issues, problems you face as a nation, Political/ Government related matters, etc
International + Global
Things regarding the international world, Involving the entire earth; not limited or provincial in scope, Global issues/
matters, etc
Cultural
Relating to the arts and manners that a group favors/ Shared knowledge and values of a society, Ethnic issues, etc

Troubleshooting
If you discover that the thesis topic you've chosen is similar to some existing work or a thesis idea that has been in the
past, don't stress out. Carefully judge the material to gain an understanding of what it is that the prior thesis/design project
has accomplished and consider ways your thesis might further develop the topic or might approach the topic from a totally
different perspective. You are likely to find that the former thesis is not the same as the one you are considering after all. If
you discover that another student is working on a thesis on the same topic you've chosen, you should understand and
research on both the topics to get an even better idea of whether your ideas overlap. (Be careful not to give away too
much of your own thinking on the topic as you conduct this discussion.)

Brainstorming Techniques
Kindly read the following, it will help you a lot in how to come up with/approach your topic..
Wearing Six Thinking Hats By Olivier Serrat
Introduction
Routinely, many people think from analytical, critical, logical perspectives, and rarely view the world from
emotional, intuitive, creative, or even purposely negative viewpoints. As a result, their arguments do not make leaps of
imagination, they underestimate resistance to change, or they fail to draw contingency plans.
Lateral thinking is reasoning that offers new ways of looking at problems - coming at them from the side rather than from
the front - to foster change, creativity, and innovation.
One tool of lateral thinking, the Six Thinking Hats technique, was devised by de Bono in 1985 to give groups a means to
reflect together more effectively, one thing at a time.
Six Hats, Six Colors
The Six Thinking Hats technique involves the use of metaphorical hats in discussions. Participants are supposed to put on
hats in turn, possibly more than once but not necessarily all of them, to indicate directions (not descriptions) of thinking.
The color of each is related to a function:
White hat thinking

Neutral, objective
Focuses on the data and information that are available or needed.

Red hat thinking

Emotional
Looks at a topic from the point of view of emotions, feelings, and hunches, without having to qualify or justify them.
Black hat thinking
Sober, serious
Uses experience, logic, judgement, and caution to examine the difficulties and problems associated with a topic and the
feasibility of ideas.
Yellow hat thinking
Sunny, positive-is concerned with benefits and values.
Green hat thinking
Growth, fertility
Intimates creative thinking and movement, not judgment, to generate
new ideas and solutions.
Blue hat thinking
Cool, the sky above: Concentrates on reflection, metacognition (thinking about the thinking required), and the need to
manage the thinking process.

[A blue hat should always be used both at the beginning and at the end of a discussion. What follows it depends on the nature of the topic and emotions
about it. For instance, wearing a red hat next might defuse strong feelings. Discussions to brainstorm problems might adopt blue, white, green, red,
yellow, black, green, and blue hats in sequence. Conversations seeking feedback might follow a blue, black, green, and blue hat pattern.]

See Figure: Six Thinking Hats to understand the framework Wearing Six Thinking Hats

Applications
Pertinent applications for the Six Thinking Hats technique include productivity and communication; product and process
improvement, as well as project management; critical and analytical thinking, problem solving, and decision making; and
creativity training, meeting facilitation, and meeting management.
Benefits
The Six Thinking Hats technique provides a common language that works in different cultures. It promotes collaborative
thinking, sharpens focus, facilitates communication, reduces conflict, enables thorough evaluations, improves exploration,
fosters creativity and innovation, saves time, and boosts productivity.

Another Technique
Look at the image another technique. Pick up a pencil/pen and a big sheet and jot
down everything that comes to your mind.
There's no fixed meaning for each symbol, just whatever comes to mind: a plot turn, a character, a
setting, an environment, a mood, an object, anything at all.. it's up to you.
Rather than generating stories from scratch, it's just for unlocking imaginations by stimulating
unpredictable turns of thought!
This technique will also be useful when you've chosen your topic and want to have a creative
direction within it..

Plus there are a host of other idea/concept generation techniques here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrealist_techniques