Introduction
Here at PhD Dissertation Tips and Advice, many of our most popular articles have to do with finding a research topic. Thus, in this post I wanted to provide a single location for all of these articles along with a brief summary of each.
Generating Ideas for a Dissertation Topic in Biblical Studies
Provides 5 tips for generating ideas for research including: becoming an expert; reading outside of your field; keying in on novel methodology; comparing the Bible to contemporaneous texts and studying lesser researched texts.
The material for this post comes from Nijay Gupta’s book A Guidebook for Getting a PhD in Biblical Studies and Beyond.
Personal Ideas for Dissertation Topics
In my research, I occasionally run across potential dissertation topics that I think may be worth pursuing. So far, I’ve written three posts to share these ideas:
Idea #1 – Is there a common set of ideas, patterns or concepts in the final exhortations of NT letters? How do these exhortations compare to the rhetoric of similar Greco-Roman literature.
I’ve attached a table that shows these similar NT exhortations ==> Exhortations in NT.
Idea #2 – Elders appear only in certain NT documents (Acts, 1 Tim, Titus, James, 1 Peter, 1, 2 and 3 John and Revelation). Why is that? Is there a geographical connection tied to Ephesus? or one tied to the date of composition?
Idea #3 – How does Luke’s conception of leadership (Luke 24:13-30) compare to that of the Greco-Roman world? The dissertation would be socio-historical study similar to Clark’s Secular and Christian Leadership in Corinth.
A personal test case in finding a dissertation topic
This was a series of four posts showing my journey of finding my research topic.
- Post #1 – Begin with your passion
- Post #2 – Marry your broad topic to your strengths and professional goals
- Post #3 – Use personal criteria (type of study, text or method) to narrow further
- Post #4 – Do the hard work of comparing terms and texts to see if topic is viable
A three-step method for finding a dissertation topic
This was the first series I did on this subject. I wrote a series of three articles. The first two approach this theme from a more philosophical or conceptual perspective. The last post provides 5 tips for finding a dissertation topic.
- Post # 1 – Choosing a dissertation topic is a flexible process. You can and will likely change your topic as you discover more about your research question.
- Post #2 – The question is king! Asking the right question is the beginning of a good dissertation topic.
- Post #3 – 5 straight up tips for finding a dissertation topic including: read other dissertations; begin with your passion; do a quick literature review; become acquainted with different methodologies; ask for help from experts in your field.
Well, that’s about all for the summaries. I hope you will find this post useful as you begin or continue your research.
Happy studies.
