How To Create The Best Dissertation Titles Easily: Helpful Hints

Exactly how important is the title of your dissertation? Suffice it to say that is the most important of choices you’ll make in your professional career. Your dissertation will be the first piece of major research on which you’ll build your career. It is what you’ll be known for and will provide the basis on which future potential colleagues will scrutinize you for consideration for a job. Your dissertation title will provide a basis for investigation by the professors that will sit for your dissertation committee. And these are the guys you really want to impress!

A daunting undertaking

Knowing the importance of the decision, the stress can mount up quickly. Don’t get in a panic; take a breath and concentrate. You wouldn’t be in a doctoral program if you couldn’t do this. There are some tricks and tips that can help get you through this process.

A great topic starts with a great topic

The main thing you’ve probably heard from your professors in the way of advice is, “Push the envelope.” Sounds good, but how exactly do you do that? Basically what that means is come up with a question that will shine new light on what others before you have done. Here’s some tips that can help make the process less daunting and decrease the stress level:

• Know your subject; be sure your topic hasn’t already been done.
• Keep your topic novel, meaning it aims for a particular outcome that hasn’t been achieved before.
• Think of a way to apply a previously unused methodology to the problem your topic will address.
• Think “outside the box,” but not so far out that it will be impossible to get your work peer reviewed or published.

Creating your title

Once you’ve nailed down the topic of your research, it is time to come up with the title for the dissertation you will write. Here’s some hints to help get your title in order:

• You want a compelling, memorable title. If you don’t have a flair for language, ask a journalism or English major to kick around some ideas with you.
• Make it clear; your dissertation is not the place for ambiguity or ambivalence. Your title is your opening gambit; don’t blow it.
• The reader should be able to categorize your dissertation from the information in the title. Make sure your reader knows what to expect by reading your work.
• Look to the published material in your academic discipline to get a model for the structure of your own title.
• Keep it as short and sweet as possible. Including lots of flowery extraneous language will give the impression that you are not a serious doctoral candidate.