Choosing a Thesis Question
The basis of any master’s or senior year undergraduate thesis is the question that the paper is attempting to answer. Formulating a quality thesis question is not a simple task; indeed, creating a good question that meets the requirements of a thesis advisory committee is half the battle of the writing process. It is vitally important to choose a thesis question that has available research materials, scholarly references, and sufficient amounts of quality academic literature to support the arguments presented in the thesis.
Topics that Interest You
First and foremost, it is important to choose a topic that interests you. A master’s level thesis is not a work that can be completed if the writer is not invested in the topic. Thus, regardless of the field in which the thesis is being prepared, it is absolutely critical that the writer choose a thesis question that actively interests them and engages their mind in a critical fashion. The subject matter must be compelling, exciting, and intriguing to the writer; above all else, the question cannot be boring. A bored writer will not have the intrinsic motivation required to produce a quality piece of academic literature.
Secondly, it is equally important to not choose a topic based solely on whether it interests you. An interesting topic is a necessary condition of a quality thesis, but it is not a sufficient condition in and of itself. A good thesis question must not only interest the writer, it must also have a good amount of supporting research available to make it a plausible endeavor. Interest alone only means the writer won’t be bored, but this does not mean that there is any reliable work done on the particular topic to make a thesis particularly defensible.
Narrowing the Field
A writer looking to choose a thesis question must first narrow the field of likely topics down to something that can be researched, argued, and defended. It is recommended to choose a topic that is related to the primary field of study. For example, a student involved in Byzantine Studies may want to choose a particular dynasty or epoch of Roman history in order to focus on a particular topic that interests him or her. The Isaurian Dynasty, for example, would cover a time period dealing with Orthodox Iconoclasm, whereas a writer that chooses to focus on the Palaiologos dynasty might be more concerned with the last years of the Byzantine state and the relationship between the House of Osman and Constantinople.
Once a general focus has been achieved, the next step is to draw up a list of possible thesis questions and conduct preliminary research on them in order to gauge their potential. To use the example above, a good starting point would be the student’s notes and books that cover the Isaurian and Palaiologan dynasties. A cursory look through these would afford the writer the chance to see exactly what sort of research is available for these specific topics, and to see whether the actual material still holds a vested interest for the writer.
Professional Advice
Never start a thesis in earnest without your professor’s input. The thesis writing process is long and elaborate, and running your proposed topic by your advisor is a necessary step in the writing process. Oftentimes, an advisor will be able to offer personalized advice regarding a specific area of focus, or at the very least will be able to give your idea a fresh glance and point out any aspects of the question that seem weak.
