Questions tagged [research-topic]
On identifying, evaluating suitability, or sharing a topic or focused direction for research.
254
questions
8
votes
3answers
2k views
How to study a field on which no professors specialise in your university
I am currently an undergraduate student in math, but this question is already bugging me, because I am about to start an undergraduate research project that will likely become my Masters degree as ...
2
votes
4answers
372 views
Is it alright not to do research for an extended period as a PhD student?
I have done about one year and nine months of my PhD (in the UK) and have got a paper published, one waiting to be submitted, and another reasonably-sized project completed. I have written up three ...
3
votes
1answer
127 views
How to shape quality research questions about conspiracy-drenched topics?
This year, I was working closely with many college-bound gifted students, one assignment, a student wanted to research the "Roswell incident". Though I can generally quickly think up ...
6
votes
2answers
487 views
A recently published paper seriously impairs the novelty of my dissertation. Which should be the purpose of the next meeting with my supervisor?
I am a second-year PhD student in management, and I've recently started working on my dissertation.
The topic I got assigned is a fast-growing one.
Nonetheless, I initially managed to ensure the ...
0
votes
1answer
63 views
Can someone change PhD topic within a department after admission?
Suppose that someone applies for a PhD in the US with publications in topic X, and hence the whole SOP and
the target group both revolve around X. They get admitted, and realise soon after entering ...
69
votes
13answers
9k views
My personal views and my research work kind of collide. What can I do?
Climate change and mass extinctions are happening, so in my private life, I try to be as sustainable as possible. For example, I eat almost exclusively organic vegetarian food, I have no car, buy most ...
-3
votes
1answer
91 views
What are some good data driven astronomy research project ideas for a high schooler? [closed]
Does anyone here have sone good astronomy research project ideas for someone with a a background in AI and programming? The projects don't really have to be anything groundbreaking. They could just be ...
1
vote
0answers
92 views
Was my research topic poorly motivated? And how do I now turn it into a paper?
I finished my master’s program last year. The topic of my thesis was suggested to me by one of the PIs at the faculty, who then supervised my project. The question seemed perfectly reasonable at the ...
0
votes
2answers
110 views
Is it better to submit a new research grant proposal or an extension of previous work? [closed]
When submitting a research proposal for a funding agency, I heard two different pieces of advice from principal investigators that have won several awards. The first suggestion is to submit a proposal ...
1
vote
3answers
268 views
Secretly switching research topics and funding oddities
When I joined my current PhD program I talked to my advisor about wanting to work on a different research topic than the one I was to work on initially and he said yes. I made clear I wasn't ...
2
votes
2answers
194 views
How to convince professor that I have read topics on my own?
I am keen to apply for Doctoral program in Europe. But I have some questions.
All my mathematical interests are centred about Hyperbolic Geometry. And I am keen to apply for PhD position (or join a ...
3
votes
3answers
280 views
Is there a potential for bias when a researcher chooses a topic they personally find interesting? [closed]
When choosing a research topic, many researchers (in the field of psychology, in my case) often choose to study a topic they find interesting or have experience in. Does this introduce more potential ...
1
vote
1answer
144 views
How hard is it to change a (sub-)field right after starting a CS PhD?
I am a senior undergrad in computer systems field (specifically, computer networks) and applied for CS PhD this year.
My question is:
If I find a new interest in a different field before starting a ...
1
vote
3answers
237 views
What constitutes as stealing of an idea? [closed]
I have recently been accused by someone of stealing their idea and doing the work required. In fact they had come to me to do, let's say, a literature review because they didn't have the expertise to ...
5
votes
1answer
203 views
How to manage a colleague in your research group taking your idea?
I have been a newly appointed lecturer (18 months). Within my first 6 months I have advertised a PhD subject in order to recruit a good student. The specific project was advertised a year ago. I ...
1
vote
1answer
112 views
PhD interview advice! [closed]
I have received an invitation to interview for a PhD position and have been asked to present past/current research in a 10 minute presentation. I am currently doing a masters but am more comfortable ...
0
votes
1answer
154 views
Should I Change my Research Focus?
I just finished my first semester in a PhD program in Pure and Applied mathematics. My initial focus was on probability, statistics, modeling, and machine learning. To this end I took a course in (...
3
votes
0answers
139 views
Post-doc for two (two-body problem): How to search, apply, and improve our chances?
My significant other and I are doing our PhDs in physics, and we both want to continue in academia and to stay together.
He did his masters in a first-world country and I did mine in a third-world ...
85
votes
12answers
12k views
Why are many obviously pointless papers published, or worse studied?
In the field I specialize in (I'm currently a moderator of crypto-SE), I see many obviously pointless papers published, often in publications where that costs money. I imagine that's the same in many ...
-1
votes
1answer
85 views
I have publications in one area but I want to focus on another one for my PhD? Could it go wrong?
My previous published research has focused on teachers' psychological characteristics (e.g., motivation). However, for my PhD, I want to change my focus to student learning. Thus, although the broader ...
1
vote
0answers
88 views
Types of research papers
There are research papers that focus on the presentation and analysis of application of a specific idea on a specific subject; e.g. how a closed-loop (in contradiction to an open-loop) can help ...
21
votes
5answers
3k views
How do I orient myself to the literature concerning a research topic and not be overwhelmed?
I'm in my first semester at a Master's level program in mental health counseling, and I have aspirations of perhaps eventually getting my PhD. I'm presently working on a project for a class about PTSD ...
2
votes
2answers
528 views
Confused about masters project
I am an integrated master student doing a rather short project of only 4months in the lab (due to covid). The project is quite a weird one as it either works or it doesn't and if it doesn't I have no ...
2
votes
1answer
316 views
How to know one's way around for PhD in Covid times [closed]
I'm a physics graduate student in Italy, and I'd like to continue my formation with a PhD after my thesis.
I would like to consider the idea of going someplace, but the problem I encountered is I ...
1
vote
1answer
115 views
Asking the faculty for PhD research proposal tips
I am going to apply to Italian universities for PhD vacancies in Statistics, which is not exactly the field that I studied during my BSc and MSc. I count to acquire the instruments for doing actual ...
2
votes
0answers
64 views
Subject selection for PhD in Mathematics [closed]
I had taken up courses related to PDE like Advanced Functional Analysis and I am facing difficulty with it and hence I am confused and I am not able to understand which subject to take up for PhD.
Can ...
1
vote
0answers
84 views
Regret of leaving the opportunity to work on highly funded topics for something not so rewarding. How to stop remorse?
My materials science PhD group works on two different fields. Most of them work in battery technology while I am few others work in mechanical behavior of materials in aerospace materials.
I was ...
2
votes
1answer
357 views
Professor has no interest in the topic of my research proposal
For a research paper in my course we had to come up with a topic proposal.
When I talked with my professor about my topic he did not seem interested in my proposal and only talked about a topic of his ...
22
votes
4answers
4k views
Tension between “publishable” and “motivating” research topics
I am half way thorough my second year as a posdoc and I have a reasonable production (4 published papers in good journals and two other under review). I also have several ongoing/potential research ...
1
vote
0answers
51 views
Changing PhD/ collab PhD with a different department
I've started a phd in fluid dynamics. I always wanted one in general relativity or quantum field theory really, I got interviews for that (many really) but none where successful, I got into fluid ...
3
votes
0answers
218 views
Choosing a project for a fresh graduate student
I am starting to advise a new graduate student for M.Sc. degree (in theoretical computer science), and I am considering what should be the first problem they should work on.
One option is a small and ...
20
votes
3answers
4k views
Is it possible (practically, in real life) to pursue two very distinct research interests (e.g. in AI and theoretical physics)? [closed]
TL;DR: Is it possible to pursue applied research in AI and theoretical physics after a PhD degree in CS focusing on applied AI (as a professor at some universities)?
Long version:
Hello, I'm a 3rd ...
2
votes
1answer
73 views
How can a comparative study be novel?
I can see several published research papers in SCI journals, even written by undergraduates, that perform a comparative study.
Many of the research papers published under this category evaluate ...
2
votes
0answers
137 views
Change of research area for Postdoc [duplicate]
I did a Ph.D. in the area of engineering mathematics. The thesis used some of the concepts from Mathematics, such as basic probability and statistics (Bachelor/Master level), calculus (Bachelor/Master ...
3
votes
1answer
230 views
What are the advantages and downsides of a broad PhD thesis? [closed]
A previous version of this question focused too much on my personal situation. The current one aims at being more generic.
The main question boils down to what are the advantages and disadvantages of ...
1
vote
3answers
262 views
Talking to supervisor about PhD projects
I am an international PhD student, in the last lap of my PhD, and have a little more than a year to defend my thesis. My work is in theory, and our simulations take a lot of computing time. As we are ...
6
votes
1answer
374 views
How may a young scholar without tenure change their field of research? [duplicate]
So let me elaborate on this question a bit with an imaginary scenario: John is a young, recent Ph.D. graduate in computer science. During his Ph.D. he was mainly concentrating on network science and ...
1
vote
4answers
395 views
Master's and Bachelor's theses on the same topic?
I am a student of a M.Sc. in Economics.
For reasons that are really beyond my control, a week ago I was asked to write a one-page draft of my Master's thesis topic, so that I can be assigned to a ...
0
votes
1answer
250 views
Is it possible to ask about RA positions after being rejected by the same lab for a PhD?
I am currently looking at PhD programmes (mainly in the US) and have been advised to email potential PIs before I put in an application. I am afraid my profile isn't very competitive and my back up ...
4
votes
2answers
734 views
I have turned myself into an incompetent researcher. I have screwed up my career, now I would like some advice how I can recover?
I hope I am not at the end of the road. I had flunked advanced engineering mathematics and applied mechanics during my undergrad second year. Though I scored decently in the reexamination during the ...
3
votes
1answer
136 views
Do I need permission from motorsports organisations to write a research paper about motor racing? [closed]
I have written a research paper analysing the aerodynamics of racing cars in a particular motor sport as a hobby project (using my own 3D model and resources). However, now I’m beginning to question ...
2
votes
0answers
68 views
Visualizing the list of all active academics for a given topic
For a long time I have been interested in visualizing the network of all active academics of a certain discipline worldwide (e.g. computer science, mathematics, or by a set of keywords).
I imagine a ...
3
votes
2answers
523 views
How do I convince professors about my research interests?
I'm applying to a coursework + thesis masters programme and am wondering how specific do I have to be when mentioning my research interests in my email to a potential advisor. I have applied to ...
5
votes
2answers
269 views
How to look past the fact that I probably have chosen the wrong research area?
I am a computational materials science researcher. I model additive manufacturing process using continuum modeling methods. Almost everyone who works in my field are part experimentalists and partly ...
-1
votes
1answer
123 views
I may subject a “Figure Reuse” problem. Please help?
please help me, and any advice would be greatly appreciated here.
I have published a paper with my advisor in a journal, which is one ACS publications. Recently I just published another paper on RSC ...
4
votes
3answers
315 views
What Problems Are Applied Mathematicians Concerned With?
I have been doing some looking around to try and learn a little bit more about what applied mathematicians work on in a more general sense and think that I could benefit from a question posted here. ...
-1
votes
1answer
202 views
As a postdoc, I made progress on a project that I was supposed to do during my PhD. I am regretting the time spent on my PhD [closed]
When I joined my computational modeling lab as a PhD student, I was supposed to work on a topic that I was very much interested in.
I spent 2 years of trying, but couldn't show any progress. I became ...
1
vote
1answer
89 views
Research topics [duplicate]
im a 2nd year Computer Science student, and I wanted to start doing research.
Im looking for a topic to research on, or more specifically i want to know how researchers do the following:
Find a ...
1
vote
1answer
88 views
In which situations can I claim that additional data is needed for an existing research paper?
I wanted to write about a certain computer science topic, and after a while I figured out that the same research question was taken already. Still, I think that not all problems where addressed in ...
1
vote
1answer
120 views
How to start research in a field with high standards? [closed]
I'd like to do research on the field Natural Language Processing. However, the current state-of-the-art (BERT) has raised the standards and for me it feels discouraging to start in this field. Should ...
