Choosing a Research Topic

• Identify your research interests. Think about topics related to the CEERE region interest you. It might be a topic that was connected to a course you have taken, an academic journal article that you find inspiring, recent events, or your own personal interests. Try to also think about which discipline(s) within the social sciences your topic broadly fits into (e.g., international relations, political economy, history, sociology etc.) or whether it has interdisciplinary crossovers.
• Narrow the scope of the research topic. Do some preliminary research about the topic to make sure that there are sufficient academic literature and data sources available. Read some academic articles or books (preferably recent work published within the last 5–8 years) to begin familiarising yourself with the field, learning about the key debates, and finding an aspect of the topic you want to investigate further. On the basis of this reading, narrow down your study focus to make sure that it will be feasible to arrive at supported and well-argued conclusions about the topic within the scope of the MA thesis.
• Define your methodological research paradigm. As covered in the Social Science Methodology (SHRG.03.022) course at the University of Tartu in Semester 1, social scientists work across several different paradigms, each of which has its own ontological and epistemological perspective (i.e., positivist, post-positivist, interpretivist etc.). These paradigms frame how we view the world, including ideas about what we know and how we can know it. Decide which paradigm you prefer to work in. For example, if you are more interested in deductive logic, then a positivist or post-positivist approach might appeal to your more. If you prefer to study humans as social actors, interpretivism might be more appropriate.
• Decide on the knowledge and skills you want to develop. You have a lot of freedom when it comes to choosing your MA thesis topic, so take advantage of the opportunity to design a project that YOU really want to do. Do you like doing desk-based research using databases or online sources or do you prefer a more hands-on/people-oriented approach involving interviewing or fieldwork? Is there a particular research method, such as surveys or focus groups, that you would like to gain experience of? Do you want to use the thesis project to develop language competencies, transferrable skills (e.g., digital or methodological competencies), or networking opportunities (e.g., with NGOs or government organizations) for your future career?
• Assess the feasibility of the topic. Does the topic fit with your preferred Year 2 mobility (e.g., supervision competencies, good match for the research topic and language)? Do you already have, or plan to have, the necessary knowledge and skills (e.g., language or coding skills) to realistically do the project? Is the scope of the research possible for a MA thesis (e.g., conducting a large-scale opinion poll is not feasible for a student project)? Are the necessary data available (e.g., data is classified or inaccessible, requires fieldwork in locations that are difficult, expensive, or dangerous to access etc.)? Is the project likely to get ethical approval (e.g., projects involving minors or at-risk populations are unlikely to be approved by the ethics board)?