So on the 8th April I had to submit my final dissertation proposal, including a risk assessment, ethics form, information and consent forms, methods essay and literature review. It took me about 2 months to complete and be happy with so I’m going to share some quick ways of choosing a topic for your geography (or other subject) dissertation!
- Make a list of everything you enjoy doing. For me the list included, healthy eating, social media, exercise, makeup, shopping, Disney films.
- Make a list of all the modules you’ve enjoyed. For me this was the social and cultural geography module, and the economic geography module.
- Consider what you’re best at! For me I know I have always felt very passionate about the study of Gentrification, choosing to write about it for an essay, an exam and choosing it to study for my field trip in Vancouver!
- Figure out a way of combing these three things. I decided that whilst I couldn’t combine any hobbies into my dissertation, the love I have for the topic would be enough to push me through.
- Consider whether you can research this. Do you have access to archives? Will you be able to get participants for a questionnaire/interview/focus group? Is there somewhere you can go to do participant observation?
And finally don’t be afraid to make mistakes. I completely changed my topic and idea after weeks and weeks of tears and my supervisor was so lovely I wondered why I’d ever been scared to tell her I’d changed my mind. At the end of the day your department wants you to do well, and they are there to support YOUR ideas!
Let me know your dissertation ideas or titles!
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