Ideas do not have to be something that suddenly comes to you. You often have to actively do something to get the creative processses started and to create ideas. When you try to develop ideas, it is important that you do not censor yourself and your thoughts. Be open to the ideas or whims that comes – also those that may seem crazy and useless. You can always evaluate their value afterwards.
It is important to remember the deadline you are working with and to find a focus that fits that deadline. Try to find a problem statement that fits the physical scope that your paper has to have and the time you have to write it. A lot are afraid that they do not have enough material and then choose a topic that is too large compared to the scope of the paper.
Your supervisor can help you to evaluate if the time schedule you have made for your writing process is realistic. You can also set up meetings with your supervisor so you continuously have a new deadline to work forward to. This can be a good way of forcing yourself to keep the deadlines. Read more about supervision here (awaiting translation).
When you have chosen and narrowed down your topic, you can formulate a problem statement.
Below you will find examples of six different methods that can help you to get ideas to a topic.
Exercises for inspiration | |
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Mindmapping | It can be useful to create a mindmap to get an overview of your thoughts and ideas.
This way you might discover nye angles and connections that can be difficult to keep track of in your own head. |
Nonstop writing | Nonstop writing can help you develop a thought or idea and to get it written on a paper.
You can read about and perform the non-stop writing exercise here. |
Idea collection | Ideas can often come at once or as a sudden impulse while you are doing something else. It can be useful to write them down as soon as they come.
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Group exercise: The circular technique | The circular technique is a method to collaborate with other students, e.g. your studygroup, about idea generation.
På den måde får I hjælp til at bygge videre på eller undersøge de idéer, I har, og fællesskabet omkring idéudviklingen kan virke inspirerende. This way you help eachother to develop or investigate the ideas that you have and the coomunity around the idea generation can be inspiring. |
Criteria for topic selection |
[Awaiting translation] By setting some criteria, you can get closer to your topic choice for free assignments. Get the criteria exercise (pdf) [insert link to picture]
By following this progression you will narrow down what you think could be exciting to deal with. At the same time, you will translate thoughts about your assignment into concrete examples that you will be able to work on further. |
Kilder til inspirationSources for inspiration |  [Awaiting translation] Gennemgå punkterne på billedet med et mindmap (pdf) og forfølg hver pil. Skriv gerne noter til hvert enkelt punkt, og find på den måde det emne, som du gerne vil arbejde med. Review the points in the picture with a mind map (pdf) [insert link to picture] and follow each arrow. Feel free to write notes for each item, and in that way find the topic that you would like to work with. |
When you need to find a topic for an assignment, you can find inspiration in the knowledge you have already acquired.
Inspiration from your knowledge and professionalism | |
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Use your former knowledge | You do not have to come up with a pioneering idea every time you write an assignment. Sometimes it can make sense to reuse empirics from previous assignments, courses and projects, and place it in a new context or work on a theory you have used in the past. Ask yourself the following questions to get started:
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What would you like to do afterwards? | If you have an idea of what you would like to do when you graduate, it may be a good idea to include it in your topic - especially if you are going to write a thesis. Think about what industry you can see yourself in when you graduate, or what could be an exciting task in a future job. Maybe you can write in collaboration with a company or organization that fits into your future plans. You can also immerse yourself in a topic that is related to what you want to do in the future. This allows you to use your thesis to qualify for the job market. Use your assignment as a step into the job market:
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Experience |
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Contact companies | If you want to collaborate with a company, but do not have a connection to one in advance, you can start by looking at jobbank.au.dk. Here you can:
In any case, it is a good idea to be well-prepared before contacting a company so that you seem professional when proposing a collaboration. It is important to have a clear purpose and a balance of expectations for the collaboration. You can read more about business collaboration step-by-step, so you become wiser about research, contract and possible challenges.
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Inspiration from your surroundings | |
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Use your fellow students | It can give you inspiration for new topics if you talk to others about their topic.
That way, you can get an insight into what may not have been written so much about, what's up in time, or you can be confirmed in what you find interesting. When you know what others are writing about, or what has been written about in the past, you can also better get a sense of what a thesis is - or can be. |
Find inspiration in current discussions | You can include news and debates from the media or your subject area in your choice of topic. That way, you can actualize your assignment and put it in relation to issues that concern society right now. Are there current events or discussions that concern you?
Are there current issues that are exciting at your faculty?
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Thesis seminars | Many departments offer thesis students that they can attend thesis seminars or thesis groups. There you can get help and inspiration from other thesis students, teachers and lecturers for e.g.
The thesis seminar is a forum where students can share experiences and spar with each other. It is an obvious place to get information about being a thesis writer. |
Get inspiration from your free time | Do you have interests outside the university? It may be that you can use a knowledge you have acquired in your spare time. Or maybe you can do a scientific study of something that you have gained a practical knowledge of. Think about what you are passionate about:
If you are a sports coach for a group of children in your spare time, you may have a special interest in communicating to this target group. If you are a scout leader in your spare time, you may know a lot about organization and collaboration. Or if you spend a lot of time on Facebook, it may be that a study of identity perceptions and communication forums will be something for you. Examples:
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Most major assignments, especially theses, consist of a combination of different research methods. It is a good idea to consider which research methods you would particularly like to work with. For example, you could consider:
What do I have good / less good experiences with?
Are there methods I would like to have more experience with before I graduate?
Are there methods that are often used to work with the topic / problem formulation? Do I want to use these or do something else?
Are there methods that my supervisor has an extra in-depth knowledge of?
What is the supervisors' response to my ideas for research methods?
Read more about study methods here. (Awaiting translation)
Get an overview of Master's thesis titles from your academic programme, and get inspired by other people's choice of subject.
Find a relevant topic or issue by writing Master's thesis, project or exam in collaboration with a company/organisation. Explore the possibilities on your study portal
