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Over the last couple of months, I’ve spent many hours pondering what subject I might be able to extensively research for a PhD. As I look to start my journey towards lecturing, this is the first real step into the subject that I may be covering for the next many decades. I’ve whittled down my ideas and I’m almost ready to produce an initial research proposal. Although, this has been a lot harder than I expected. In this blog, I’ll be outlining how I’ve come to this conclusion and what I’ve been considering over the last couple of months. It’s important to add that this is purely based on my personal experiences, conversations I've had with lecturers and my own personal determinations over the last few months, another person’s process may be completely different. So, with that in mind, this is what I’ve discovered in the process of finding a subject.

Interest trumps knowledge

While an initial understanding of a topic is a good starting point for conducting research and completing some writing, given that this project is likely to take at least three years of your life, there’s no need to be an expert in the area before you’ve even sat down to write it. Perhaps a better place to start is to determine what you’re personally interested in, and whether you believe you can spend the next three years, at least, researching and writing about this subject. 

We’ve all had to write about topics we have very little interest in. I often find that assignments I find less interesting are harder to write and research, which usually correlates with a lower grade than the subjects I enjoy. If you’re going to commit to becoming a specialist in your area, then it’s important to make sure that you have an interest and a passion for what you’re covering. 

Your first proposal isn’t your last

Practically every person that I’ve spoken to who’s completing, or has completed, a PhD says that the idea they ended on is entirely different from their initial proposal. Part of the process of completing a PhD is working with your supervisor(s) to support you through the process and potentially change themes or subjects around where necessary. 

Remember, it’s not set in stone once you’ve landed on a topic, especially with initial research proposals as part of the application process. As your idea develops, your proposal will become more nuanced.

Find your niche 

The key element when landing on a topic for a PhD is that it must be unique and not widely covered. If your topic has been written about many times before, you simply will not be allowed to write about it again.  

So, consider putting all the elements you’ve thought about into one and then give it a final twist. Perhaps you’ve decided on a subject area but not the exact topic that you’ll discuss. In this case, take that subject and combine it with another more modern concept to create a unique idea. The law and society as a whole are changing extremely quickly, which means that there’s always modern issues affecting different areas of law at any given time. Most aspects of the law are very old, and as such you need to find a modern application to make your idea unique from other pieces of work.