What comes to your mind when you read or hear the word TOPIC?

What comes to your mind may include;

  • Suggesting an area of interest
  • Identifying a problem
  • An area of discussion
  • Looking for solutions

DEFINITION: According to Robindos Research Consultancy (2020), a topic describes what you want to do with the problem i.e. do you want to;

  • Evaluate the problem
  • Investigate its causes
  • Make an assessment of the problem etc.

At Robindos Research Consultancy we assist our clients to formulate dissertation topics from scratch.

How to express the research topic!!!

  • The research topic is expressed mainly in question form or in statement form. It should specify three things;
  • The nature of study
  • The subject matter
  • And place/organization at which it is being conducted

Wording of the topic!!!

The research topic should be stated in less than 18 words, in short, clear and complete grammatical sentence for example;

  • What are the causes of brain drain in health sector in Malawi or
  • An investigation of the causes of brain drain in health sector in Malawi

Words used to write the research topic!!!

A topic must have a focus area for example;

  • An evaluation,
  • An examination,
  • A review,
  • An assessment,
  • An inquiry,
  • A comparative analysis

How to formulate a topic?

After identifying a researchable area of interest (problem) the research needs to clearly highlight the independent (IV) and dependant (DV) variables. Thus, a good topic must have a clear independent variable and dependant variable.

An example of a good topic!!!

‘LEAN MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AS A STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABLE UTILISATION OF THE WOOD RESOURCE. A CASE OF …….’

In this topic, the IV and DV are as follows;

IV: lean management practices

DV: sustainable utilisation of the wood resource

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