RESEARCH OF SOCIAL SCIENCES (SMC-PRIVATE) LIMITED(ROSS) & PAKISTAN SOCIAL SCIENCES REVIEW (PSSR) adheres to Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License. The authors submitting and publishing in PSSR agree to the copyright policy under creative common license 4.0 (Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International license). Under this license, the authors published in PSSR retain the copyright including publishing rights of their scholarly work and agree to let others remix, tweak, and build upon their work non-commercially. All other authors using the content of PSSR are required to cite author(s) and publisher in their work. Therefore, RESEARCH OF SOCIAL SCIENCES (SMC-PRIVATE) LIMITED(ROSS) & PAKISTAN SOCIAL SCIENCES REVIEW (PSSR) follow an Open Access Policy for copyright and licensing.
How to Cite
Factors Affecting the Selection of Research Topic in Pakistan: A Case of Private Sector Universities
Abstract
This study aims to identify methods of selecting a topic while planning a research project. The students who are in the final years of research degree usually study a full course on research methodology. However, still, they feel that the selection of a research topic is not an easy task. To achieve this, targeted survey was carried out. The sample was selected by using convenient sampling technique from a total population of 1000 (approximately) students researching masters and doctoral degree levels from university of Management and Technology, Lahore. In total, one hundred students took part in the study. A self-developed instrument was used to collect data. The results indicate that there is a diversity of factors that influence students while selecting a research topic; more profound of which include personal experience and supervisor’s area of expertise. The mean difference on the basis of gender was also found in factors of personal experience and availability of data. There was no difference on the basis of the level of study among students of master’s and doctoral degree level. The future research studies can also combine the results of this study with other demographic variables, thus providing detailed information on factors that play a role in selecting a research topic.
Authors
Dr. Fariha Gul
Assistant Professor, Department of Education, University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Dr. Amna Yousaf
Assistant Professor, Department of Education, University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Saima Yaqub
Lecturer in English, Onaizah Colleges, Onaizah, Saudi Arabia
