Relevance of Your Dissertation Topic | Criteria & Tips

It’s important that your dissertation topic is relevant. Relevance means that your research can contribute something worthwhile. But for whom must it actually be relevant?

The answer is simple: the topic should be relevant for all of the parties that are involved in your dissertation. You and your educational program are just the starting point.

If you are writing your dissertation about an organization where you are interning or working, it should also be relevant to that entity.

Finally, your dissertation may also need to have scientific, social or practical relevance.

You

Because you will be dealing with your dissertation for a long period of time, it’s important that the topic you choose has some relevance to you as a person. If it doesn’t, it will be much harder for you to maintain your momentum until the end. Writing your dissertation will become less interesting, which will in turn make it difficult for you to stay motivated.

It’s therefore key that you first choose a subject that is a good match for you.

Your educational program

Of course, it’s also important that you connect your dissertation topic with your educational program. If you fail to do so, your topic is not likely to be approved. However, some fields are very broad, which implies that many different subjects are possible. It really depends on the discipline.

Make sure to have an open discussion with your supervisor about what is and is not possible in relation to a dissertation topic.

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Your professional experience

Many students write their dissertation in connection with an internship or job. If this is the case for you, the organization in question may want to have a say in your topic. Be sure to be in touch regularly with your contact point about your research plan, as he or she will know what is relevant for the organization and help to ensure that your results are ultimately helpful for it.

Scientific relevance

If you are studying a scientific discipline, the scientific relevance of your dissertation is also very important. This means that your research should fill a gap in the existing scientific knowledge. You can ensure that it does by reading extensively on your topic and identifying what hasn’t been investigated yet. It’s important that you also find the research topic stimulating.

One way to find a relevant topic is to look at the recommendations for follow-up studies that are made in existing scientific articles. However, be sure to check carefully that these studies have not already been carried after an article was published.

Social and practical relevance

Most theses are required to have social relevance, which basically means that they help us to better understand society.

However, in some disciplines it may be more important that a dissertation have practical relevance. Research that has practical relevance adds value; for instance, it could make a recommendation for a particular industry or suggest ways to improve certain processes within an organization.

Choosing a relevant topic is not the end of the story

Once you’ve made sure that your research is relevant, it’s important that you subsequently transmit this relevance in the dissertation itself. This can be done in the introduction to your dissertation, where you should discuss how your research contributes to society and/or the theory.

Remember, too, that relevance is only one of the criteria that your topic must fulfill. We have identified some other issues that you should consider when choosing a dissertation topic and a step-by-step guide that you can use to further define it.