It’s dissertation season for second and third years, so it’s time to get the ball rolling on what you might want to compose a dissertation on. A dissertation is a huge undertaking and probably the largest research project you’ve done so far in your academic career, so choosing the topic that is right for you is incredibly important!
Narrowing down your interests:
The blessing and curse of geography is that it’s incredibly interdisciplinary which means that there is lots to choose from to research, but almost an overwhelming amount! You’ll want to choose a discipline that aligns with what you care about or are interested in as a career/further academic pathway, or else you’ll quickly get bored of your research topic.
You will want to consider:
- Reviewing your previous assignments and modules to see what interested you most or what you got the highest marks in
- Reading a few papers on any topics you might be choosing between to get an idea of what will be required of you for your chosen topic
- Your own personal values and how your research will contribute to the surrounding topic
- The work of the university staff who can possibly supervise your dissertation
The beauty of a dissertation is that it’s your own work and your topic will come down almost entirely to person preference. A huge preference to consider for geography students is if you want the study to focus on physical geography, human geography, or a mix of both. As a geography student, it is also important to consider where you want to study. Depending on your methodology you may be restricted on where you can study depending on your own location, time, and monetary expenses. The spatiality of your chosen research question drives your topic!
Topic areas could include:
- Geopolitical crises on multiple scales
- Queer and feminist geographies of different spaces
- Mapping environmental processes on multiple scales
- Spatial variations in socio-economic equalities
- Discourse on geographical, environmental, political, current and other issues
Take your interests in stride and find a topic that you will be excited to read a hundred papers on!
Choosing a methodology:
Your methodology is the most important part of your dissertation because it is the unique way in which you will study your chosen topic. Think back to previous coursework you’ve completed and what methodologies you can replicate. You can also take this as an opportunity to learn a new type of methodology that you can add to your repertoire.
Some of these methodologies may include:
Primary data collection:
- Soil, water, air, pollen, or other biomass field sampling and lab analysis
- Check out my topic on environment lab equipment to get an idea of what lab methodologies exist: Common Equipment in Environmental Science Labs 🌱
- Conducting interviews
- Sending out and collecting surveys
Secondary data collection:
- Spatial data analysis using government collected or other existing data
- Utilize ArcGIS, QGIS, or Python
- Predictive environmental and climate modelling
- Media analysis through TV, films, news outlets, social media, and more
- Remote sensing temperature, land use, land types
- Utilize Google Earth Engine, ArcGIS, QGIS, or Python
- Using archival data from museums and institutes
These methodologies may seem daunting to complete on your own, but you need to remember that your methodology needs to be at an undergraduate level, not at the level of a paper published in an academic journal. Academic papers are still a very useful tool to help you brainstorm a dissertation topic.
You can be inspired by those academic papers by:
- Using a similar methodology, but on a smaller scale
- Repeating a study, but in a different location
- Using a different combination of methodologies to study a similar topic
If you’re still struggling to come up with a topic, most universities will have example dissertations that have been completed by previous students.
Some of these example research topics may include:
- Public health concerns of air pollution levels on the London tube
- Sentiment analysis of social media for the shifting public views on homelessness
- The opinions of city planners and politicians on transitions to a smart city design
- Gendered urban spatialities and the embodied experiences of women in the city
- The biogeographies of seaweed and how they will change as a result of climate change