Writing a thesis is a complex task that takes time and effort. The more solid its foundations are, the better the outcome is. That means you should pay very close attention to the elements from which the whole research study derives: theme, problem, purpose and research questions. In this article, we will talk about the first two of them.

When you think of developing a thesis, you usually begin by stating the theme you want to study. A research theme is in fact the general area that interests you. For example, teaching reading (education), direct selling (business), biodiversity (ecology), biomaterials (engineering), globalisation (economics), etc. Within each general area, you may identify many sub-themes that let youfocus your interests more precisely. If you are interested in teaching reading, you can have several options to choose the specific theme of your thesis: teaching reading to non-native English speakers, practices to teach reading to adolescents, teaching reading comprehension or fluency, etc. If globalisation is your main interest, then you can select among sub-themes like: globalisation and manufacturing, technology and globalisation, the role of education in globalisation, etc.

The main criteria to take into account when choosing the theme of our thesis are: a) how interesting it is for you and others, b) how solid your background is, and c) how much it has been studied so far. The first criterion is related to the time, effort, and money you will devote to the study. The theme must not only interest you enough so as to spend years studying it but also be attractive to other people in order to find participants and support. Your background is important because you will depend on it to make decisions. Finally, the impact the theme has had on the research field will influence the amount of literature available to understand the theme deeply. This does not mean you cannot study a theme that is relatively unknown, but that you need to have at least an initial literature basis to begin your study if you want to finish within the established timeline.

Once you have defined the theme and/or sub-theme you want to work with, you must identify situations that attract your attention because they seem not to be working properly. They are called “problem situations”. It is advisable to identify more than one problem situation so you can choose the best option to develop your thesis.

Then, you should reflect on what you consider necessary to research in order to address what is not working. The product of such reflection is the “research problem”. It is the most important element of your study since the whole process is focused on understanding it better or solving it. Therefore, all the decisions you make should take it into account and be in concordance with its nature. The research problem defines the purpose of your research and also the question(s) you should answer in order to solve or understand better the identified problem. In other words, you go from a general perspective to a specific one.

When you write a thesis or research study, you should discuss the research problem, its context, background, and significance in which is called the “problem statement”. For proofreading your problem statement and thesis, trust Proofread My Essay and our thesis proofreading & editing experts.

ProofreadMyEssay is one of the best places to get thesis proofreading & editing services at best prices. We are a leading online proofreading & editing services provider in United Kingdom. Since our inception, we have undertaken a wide range of student proofreading & proofreading projects for international students across the globe.