The topic search is at the beginning of every scientific investigation. The topic of a scientific paper has to motivate the students to work over several months. Therefore, the topic search is to use some attention and effort in order not to get bored later or to deal with a topic that is too complicated or not very productive. Either the student must independently find a topic or a topic is suggested by the professor. It is also possible to provide a list of topics from which the student selects his or her specific research subject. The student is therefore at the beginning of his scientific work before the question of how and where he finds a suitable topic and how he formulates his question exactly in the context of his scientific discipline.
Help with topic search means helping to research, encircle and define a scientific subject that should be at the center of the scientific work. It is a selection process in which the student gradually determines the topic more precisely. As a rule, students need help with the topic decision. Brainstorming can be used to record possible research fields from which core topics are filtered out. It makes sense here, for example to create a ranking of interesting topics that are evaluated according to different aspects.
Help with topic search also includes assistance in pinpointing the subject of the investigation. The topic of the work is already available, but the student must concretize the respective questions and objectives. Help with topic search means asking questions to the students so that they can better understand their exact research interests and optimally pinpoint the exact question. Help with topic search can be done in several steps, moving from a broad work topic to a more detailed research topic. Help with topic search therefore means to estimate more accurately the potential returns of a research topic. Have significant insights been provided on this topic, or has the subject so far been hardly scientifically addressed? Are there already studies on this topic and have there been research gaps here, the investigation of which can be fruitful for a scientific work? Help with topic search must include the background of a research topic and draw the student’s attention to the respective research background. Help with topic search can also help in deciding between an empirical study or a literature review.