Selecting a topic can be a difficult process. In some cases, your topic will be something that you have an interest in related to your work. In most cases, the process of selecting a topic may create a stumbling block. Typically, a student has a general idea of the area they want to write about, such as marketing, but are not sure what approach to take. In the early stages of topic selection, you will undoubtedly be dealing with a broad topic. The following should be helpful in selecting a topic.
Finding a topic
Review previous theses: One step you can take is to visit the MSOE
library or School of Business office and go through the previous theses that are on file. You should pay
particular attention to those that relate to your topic. In some cases, a thesis
will provide suggestions for further research in that area.
Discuss with MSEM faculty: If you have a general idea of the topic you are interested in, contact a MSEM faculty member who has experience in this area. The faculty member may be able to provide you suggestions and direction.
Interesting to you: Pick a topic that is interesting to you. Do not pick a topic for the sake of picking a topic. But, select a topic that could benefit you in your current job or could provide you with knowledge needed for a career move.
Verify research materials available: Before deciding on a topic, conduct some preliminary research to ensure you will have ample information on the subject.
Manageable subject: As you examine the research on your topic, you will probably begin the process of narrowing your topic. In most cases, the first topic selected is too broad. But, as you investigate the literature in the field, you will begin narrowing the scope of your topic.
Topic guidelines
Management focused: Should have a management perspective, not
a focus on
technical issues. For example, if pursuing the topic of total quality
management, a detailed discussion of statistical process control (SPC) would be
inappropriate. Rather, you would discuss the types of management information
applications SPC
would support or the management issues involved in introducing SPC.
Multi-disciplinary: It is difficult to look at any aspect of management in isolation. For example, if you are considering a marketing topic, you have a number of issues to consider including product design, financial, logistics (distribution), etc. A thesis should take into account other management disciplines within the context of the topic.
New approach or different perspective: Some topics have become banal through overuse. Listed below is a list of these topics. This does not mean that you are required to conduct original research. Rather, you should take an original approach to the topic; one that brings a unique perspective to the topic. It could be as simple as organizing the information in a way that has not been done before in an MSEM thesis or other readily available document.
Based on premise or proposition: Once you have picked a topic, you need to come up with a proposition to give it focus and define its scope. A proposition is a statement about the topic that can be proved or disproved. If properly done it is useful for giving the project focus and putting limits on its scope. The proposition is also known as the "thesis." It is the thing you are trying to prove or disprove.
- For example, say you want to write on activity based cost accounting (ABC). The proposition might be that ABC can be cost effectively implemented in a certain industry, but to be successful that certain changes--to be developed in the thesis--must be made.
- Another example: you are interested in what happened to quality circles. So you developed a proposition around why quality circles have fallen from favor and what this implies about the future of the currently fashionable concept of using teams.
Examples of acceptable topics
- The impact of various regulations and/or philosophies on business (e.g., "the proposed environmental standard, ISO 14000, provides a means of improving the environment with little impact on the profitability of business;" "activity-based accounting is a good thing for all companies;" "The American Disabilities Act (ADA) is not producing the results it was designed to accomplish.").
- The effectiveness of techniques, new or old, on important business responses such as ROI, cycle time, productivity, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction (e.g. "self-initiated and empowered teams always improve the business.").
- Unique applications of management methods and concepts to new situations or to an industry that never used such methods (e.g., "failure mode effect analysis can be effectively applied to processes in the insurance industry.").
- Case studies that help people to understand the application of various concepts, disciplines, and methods to business situations (e.g., "quality function deployment (QFD) is equally effective in businesses with simple products as in businesses with complex products").
Examples of unacceptable projects
- Old issues or issues that have been written about over and over (e.g., ISO 9000, OSHA, TQM).
- Classes of topics that are the same with different names (e.g., business plans, training programs).
- Technical topics, especially "how to" technical topics, with little opportunity to address management issues (e.g., finite element analysis, ROI calculations, statistical methods).
- Projects related to the workplace that are of limited special interest to the student or the student’s employer, but not of general interest (e.g., starting an SPC program, the plant layout). Sometimes a special interest may have more general application and would be acceptable. Discuss this with your advisor.
- Projects that amount to a review of the literature with little opportunity for any student contribution (e.g., the history of the labor movement in the U.S., the evolution of modern accounting systems, a compendium of experimental design methods).
Topic Selection Exercise
If you are undecided about how to choose a topic, use the following as a guideline:
- What would you like to be doing 10 years from now? What do you need to do to get there--new knowledge & skills, credibility, etc.?
- List ten possible thesis topics. These can come out of your past or present professional experience, your career goals, management issues at your present employer, papers you have written for previous classes, or any other topic that interests you. Try to avoid topics that are minor variations on one another.
- For each of these ten topics, list some pros and cons. This could include your level of interest, the relevance to your present and future jobs, the controllability of the topic, availability of information, research requirements, etc.
- Develop an index: weight each factor so that they add to 100% and then rate each topic by these factors on a scale of 1 to 5.
- Using the thesis evaluation
form, estimate the scores each of these topics would receive from the
review committee.