Unveiling Promising Research Avenues: A Systematic Guide for Selecting Researchable Topics

Abstract

One of the most challenging aspects of research is choosing a suitable topic. It is hard not to be intimidated by unlimited subjects in every field. Formulating effective research questions is one way to ease the stress of choosing a topic. Regrettably, some problems often arise as students attempt to formulate questions and topics. Researchers can avoid painful and frustrating wasted hours by recognising potential problems. This research employs bibliometric analysis with the R software to examine data obtained from Scopus database. The results show that there are limited number of papers available on this topic in the Scopus database. There is undoubtedly a gap in this area of research and therefore more research needs to be conducted on identifying a researchable topic. This paper provided guidelines to identify a potential research topic with a constructive approach. Researchers can reduce frustration and wasting of time by avoiding topic apathy, selecting a broad topic, not reading enough, and not being inquisitive enough. Researchers should focus on three significant features: capability, appropriateness, and relevance. The paper suggested beginning the process of identifying the research topic by developing a depth of knowledge in the area of interest. The depth can be developed from the literature, beginning from the core to the latest research papers that can be tracked from websites like Google Scholar, Research Gate etc.