How To Choose A Dissertation Title

A dissertation title is no different from a book title. It gives a book or a dissertation a unique identity. Books are referred to by their titles: the same goes for dissertations.

Even if the dissertation title is composed of only a few words, it has a lot of responsibility in its hands. The title is the first thing that people will see when they read your dissertation. Thus, it is important that your dissertation title can hook your reader's attention and make people want to read more.

More importantly, your dissertation title must provide a clear, concise, and accurate idea of what your dissertation is all about. The success of your dissertation, as well as your doctorate education, depends on how well crafted your dissertation title is. If your title does not grab enough reader attention, chances are your dissertation will gather dust in the shelf of your schools library.

Thinking of the best dissertation title is a crucial part of the dissertation planning stage to complete your post-graduate education. Doctorate students use different techniques in creating effective titles for their dissertations. You may use a thought-provoking question or an authoritative statement as your dissertation title.

You may also use a term that is commonly searched by researchers and other students. For a better title recall, put the most relevant words at the beginning of the dissertation title. Some doctoral candidates use street jargons or current popular terms, which is a creative way to appeal to most readers. Because readers generally have short attention spans, you need to make your title short, catchy, and easy to remember.

The key to choosing the most appropriate title for your dissertation is to strive for originality. Read numerous sources to know what areas have not been explored. This will give you an idea on how you can add to existing research about your topic. Simply put, your title must highlight something new in your field.

Scan various articles and education materials on your topic and look for any question that has not been answered yet. Make sure that the gap you seek to fill has not been done elsewhere, so you need to do intensive research on this. Once you have chosen an unanswered question, you can use that as a topic for the title of your dissertation.

As your dissertation writing progresses, you will realize that your title may still need to be revised a couple of times. So when you are starting with writing your dissertation, make a working title first. You can try out a number of titles before you can finally decide on the best one for your dissertation.

At certain points in your dissertation work, check if your working title is still appropriate and relevant. If not, then adjust your title according to the new direction of your research. When you decide to change your dissertation title, have it approved by the dissertation committee of your post-graduate education institution.

Your dissertation serves as the culminating project of your doctorate education. Give it the best title so that you can leave a lasting impression as a dissertation writer.