ABSTRACT
Searching for topics to investigate is usually the fi rst step in scientifi c research. This is a common headache for graduate students, who are starting to learn how to conduct research by themselves. When I was a doctoral student in the late 1980s, the usual practice in American graduate schools was to let doctoral students fi nd and decide on the topics they wanted to work on. My professors at Purdue University regarded this as an important part of training. Seldom would professors assign dissertation topics to their students. Students might be involved in research projects that the professors were working on in order to develop their skills in data collection and analysis and the writing of papers. However, students were usually encouraged or even required to fi nd their own topics for their dissertations. The reason for doing this is to ensure students will be able to conduct independent research after their graduation.
