For a Ph.D. in management, a major portion of your grade depends on the quality of your dissertation. It is, therefore,  important to make sure that you choose the dissertation topic carefully. You will devote a significant time writing your paper, so your Ph.D. dissertation topics should be interesting and practical to write. Here are some tips to choose dissertation topics for your Ph.D. in management:

1. Know the requirements

Before you start searching for dissertation topics, you must check the practical requirements of your Ph.D courses in management. This will help you to determine the scope of research. You must know the following things:

• Is there any minimum and maximum word count?
• When is the deadline?
• Is there any list of topics from which you have to make a choice or do you have to think of a topic yourself?
• Are there any conditions regarding the research methodology?

If you are in doubt about any conditions, ask your course or department coordinator.

2. Choose a broad field of research

Start by thinking about your areas of interest. Usually, it is a good idea to pick topics that you are interested in and familiar with. This way you do not have to start your research completely from scratch.

3. Get to the specificity of shortlisted topics

Once you have chosen the broad area, the next step is to get specific. This will help you determine the topic has depth and is worth pursuing. Remember, this step takes a little time .

4. Look for reading materials

Before you submit your dissertation topic, look for reading materials that you can use as references. Look at recent issues of the management journal. Also, look at the most-cited articles. You can easily find subject-specific databases online. Your university library is also likely to have many resources. Shortlist several possible topics before you zero in on one.

5. Consider the type of research

There are many different types of research, so it is a good idea to start thinking about what kind of approach you will take to your topic.

• Will you be collecting original data by doing field research?
• Will you be analysing existing data?
• Will you take a scholarly approach?

Answering these questions is important to arrive at a topic and how you plan to deal with it. Although you do not have to finalise the research methodology at the time of submission of the topic, knowing various aspects of the topic will help you to narrow down your ideas.

6. Make sure the topic relevant

While it is important that you find your topic of research interesting, it is also important that it is academically, socially or practically relevant. One simple way to select a relevant topic is to link the topic to current issues or debates that are taking place in the corporate field or in the academic world.

Looking for Ph.d. courses in management? 

We have full time and part time Ph.D. courses in management. Our  Ph.D. in Management degree is for those of you seeking academic research and management teaching careers. Our Ph.D. programmes are structured on par with globally acknowledged processes. To apply for our Ph.D. in management programme