Finding an interesting topic

After clarifying the difference between topic and title, it is now time to delve deeper into how one can actually find something to write about. What matters most here is the personal interest for a given subject, after all you have to spend hundreds of hours on research, experiments and writing in order to succeed in such an endeavor - it is therefore only natural to aim for something that interests you, otherwise you are in for a very long and rather exhaustive journey.

To help with finding potential subject areas, try creating a mind map using the template above - for starting out quantity is better than quality, so try to find as many potential topics as possible!

When choosing a topic, it is important to check a few points in mind to craft a result that has true scientific value:

• Does the topic deal with something novel and therefore provides added value to the scientific community?
• Do you learn something new when dealing with this topic?
• Can the result of this work be generalized and reused for similar purposes?
• Do you specify what you do and also what you do not do?
• Are you able to include metrics to evaluate the success of your work?
• Can you finish the work on that topic in the given timeframe?

and most importantly:

• Are you personally interested in your topic?
• Is it fun to delve into this topic?

If, and only if, you are able to tick all of these boxes, you can proceed with deriving a corresponding title and roadmap for your research project. To help you with checking these boxes physically, you can download an extended checklist here.