2: Funnelling: How to Focus the Research Problem

One of the key moments in a student's life, regardless of their level, is when they have to put together all the learning they have acquired during their years of study and make a contribution to a new aspect of their future identity as professionals: being a researcher. Although research skills may have been developed and practised alongside academic activities, the moment when they have to engage in the process of defining a final thesis turns their activity and efforts in this direction.

Choosing a topic and a supervisor (or supervising team, depending on the system and level of education) is not an easy process. And as supervisor, you should normally expect students to come to you after selecting a topic of their interest, a topic which is your area of expertise. So, although we may enjoy being popular and students approaching us to be their supervisor because ‘they like us’ as professionals, the ideal case is that they are really interested, even passionate, about a topic or an issue which is close to the domain of our research expertise. Choosing a supervisor because of the topic, and not the topic because of the supervisor, would be a first rule, as the student is the one drafting the thesis and doing the research, and keeping up the level of interest and motivation along the process is not supposed to be dependent on a person, even the supervisor.