I think research problem, universe, unit and methods are causes behind the chooseing research topic

I would say that the main problem is that you have to choose your research topic when starting the research - so you don't really know the field and the process of research likely will lead to a redefinition of the research topic. So, in my opinion, it is a problem for research that most funding agencies or PhD-programs and so on want a concrete definition of the research before you start it - and sometimes make it hard to change the details after.

As always, the answer is it depends.  The answer would vary for mature researchers, engineers, medical doctors, students...

What I understand is helping masters level students in public administration to choose a research question. And in this instance, lots of things come into play.  I am guided by the principle that the only good research project is a completed research project.  So the scope of the research project should be something students can complete in the time allotted. 

After that, there are lots of things to consider.  Students should choose a topic they feel passion or a great deal of interest about. Over the long haul, passion for a subject helps to sustain the discouraging, often seemingly endless middle.  Students should also consider data availability. It is traumatic to be very far along in a project just to learn the data needed is too expensive, or just not there. Students should also know whether they have have the skills to collect and analyze the data for the question. If so, fine, if not, they will need to get the skills or go in a different direction. A research question should also be a chosen because the answer would be a contribution.  If it is applied research, the practitioners in the field should find it useful.  If the goal is a journal article, the research question should push existing knowledge forward. There should be a gap in the literature the research project can fill. This is one reason the literature review is so important. Only through an understanding of the literature can a student see a gap and a potential research question. 

The research question often begins with an interest in the field and is ill defined. After a careful review of the literature the initial question usually becomes more focused and viable. There is no reason to believe this process will be linear and smooth. Students should be prepared for considerable confusion. Mastery of significant body of literature is often necessary before one can see and define a gap. The creative connections that occurs as one accepts some degree of confusion often lead to a clearer research question.  In social scientific investigation, one never expects complete certainty.  Moments of clarity, however, often sustain the enterprise. 

In A Playbook for Research Methods: Integrating Conceptual Frameworks and Project Management, Dr. Rangarajan and myself discuss issues students have around finding a research question/purpose. See my RG homepage for a link to the google books material.  There is an extended discussion and 12 examples using student research. We describe the initial process of finding a research question/purpose as juggling. The discussion begins with students juggling different interests until they define their research question/purpose. From there the framework, methodology and findings are discussed. Successful research projects usually flow from a sound research question/purpose. 

I think a key problem in choosing a research topic is staying true to yourself. As your advisors and colleagues bat you around among a series of potential topics, it is hard, in my experience, to remember what excited you about this general area of inquiry to begin with. A second related problem is, paradoxically enough, the obsession with finding a research topic. When I was in graduate school, my advisor, Howard Kimeldorf, told me to stop trying to find a topic and instead read the broad literature. That helped a great deal. 

Research topic should be identified on the basis of the research gap. There might be contradiction between these two findings. Based on this contradiction, literatures have to be searched. a thorough literature helps to identify the research topic.

The research you do and will set the stage for your research as a postdoc. While it is unlikely that your later research will be a straightforward extension of your dissertation, it is also unlikely that it will be completely outside your field. Stories to the contrary are the exception, not the rule. The knowledge, expertise, and skills that you gain early on will form the foundation for your later investigations. Choosing the right topic as a graduate student will help you insure that your research will be viable in the future. The right topic will be interesting to you, complex, and compelling.

The selection of the research topic is chosen correctly when the researcher know the problem in details. The knowledge about the problem can be obtained by literate review, previous work experience, consultation with the experts in that field, etc. However, people select wrong/weak/irrelevant research topic when they do not know what is the actual problem. 

Regards

Sourya

I think the worst is when the question is not genuine, it’s not based on a real need and it is done for the sake of “only doing research”. Having gap in knowledge of theory and practice is necessary but not enough. It’s important that answering a question in any fields helps meeting a real need.

When you are selecting a research problem, the following characteristics of a good research question should be kept in mind.

1. F - Feasible and Fundable

2. I - Interesting and Impactful

3. N - Novel

4. E - Ethical

5. R - Relevant and Replicable

6. M - Manageable

7. A - Appropriate

8. P - Publishable

9. S - can be done in a Systematic and Scientific way

If you remember FINER MAPS, you can frame a good research question

I agree with Sandheep Sugathan's list - I would like to add - you have to select a problem that really interests you - you will spend a lot of time with the problem - so make sure you are relly "into it". Good luck!

Thank you all

The problem is that, in developing countries, If you want to work on or solve problems, you never can do a research, because of the gap between science and real world. Our PhD students are supposed to keep in touch with new events, novel ideas. hence our problems return back to the Aristotle Era!!! 

Although you may disagree with Karl Popper on many things, he got this one right and I think it relates to the search of research topics: "There is no such thing as a logical method of having new ideas... Discovery contains an irrational element, or a creative intuition." Nonetheless, I think you should focus on a topic that is both scientifically relevant (addressing a gap, resolving a contradiction, correcting implicit assumptions in existing knowledge) and practically relevant for real-life purposes (at least if you are a social science scholar).

Dear Prashant Vishnu,

Let me  joke, but this joke has a real basis and real meaning. Please, take a look at ResearchGate questions and answers and You will see which topics are actual and important for scientific community and which are not. Which are relevant, which are not. You know, for me ResearchGate it is like a sociological research. Sometimes I get surprised very much - no one answer to my question - zero attention, sometimes unexpectedly You get a serious discussion which potentially produces several directions for original research.

It is one of my suggestions, but in reality research themes appear in mind very unexpectedly, sitting in the bathroom, or drinking tea, or in the forest. It is surely my experience. But before that You have to read really much - and especially the latest literature. But old historical significance works can also help.

There is an excellent new book that contains some interesting answers precisely to this question: Constructing Research Questions: Doing Interesting Research by Mats Alvesson and Jorgen Sandberg (2013). Once you see some of the answers, you may think "of course, I knew that" but in fact somehow we don't and it helps to get this advice.

Is this book accessible for free on line? 

any research question can be good !

The best questions are those that get some possibility to interact with your research team, colleagues and close peers elsewhere. drivers for choosing research topics relate to incentives and collaborations, mainly. You may want to publish because of the promotion system in your institution, or you may need more applied topics because of the orientations of your research team. If you rae into international collaboratoins, the right topics are those taht enhance this collaboration.

Alireza, I don't believe this book is online free. I just heard one of the authors present it and he was trying to sell it. It may become available later but right now it is relatively new.  

A good research question is that which can be investigated. After which,

In my opinion, the main problem in definition of research topic is to understand, - what is really important, or, so to say, to understand the "breath of life" at the moment. And, of course, to find adequate reflection.

i remember we were told in methodology lectures (social sciences) that in defining a research topic, you should ask yourself: is this topic i'm going to study  'a problem - is it a social problem'; 'why is it a social problem - what's its relevance to society, academia, policy etc. 'what contributions can i bring studying it. It is however not always about whether or not the topic is 'an issue or a problem' but also and more importantly about its relevance (in academia, policy, society, culture and what have you)

I think this question is referring to the basic steps or issues to be considered when selection a research topic which is synonymous with a research problem. It is equally important to take note of the level of research, the experience of the researcher concerned, or the agenda of the funding agency. Let me offer the following suggestions on the subject. First, a researcher should be familiar with the subject of the proposed study. This can be done by doing some initial consultations with key informants, making personal observations, literature review or searches on the subject. Second, see to it that there is adequate availability of the right reference material(s) for the topic. Third, the topic should be reflect or describe the problem in a natural way in a short sentence. Fourth, it should point out the dependent & independent variables (factors); and their logical relationship. The topic should be researchable, and it should be focused or narrowed to a specific or single issue. A researcher should desist from attempting to use a single research to solve the entire world problem with a silver bullet. The research topic determines the statement of the problem, study objectives, and methodology. It is vital to consider the magnitude, frequency, burden, failed attempts to solve the problem, what is unique about your approach, how realistic your method or solution is.

we find prospective students read less literature on the relevant area and topic. hence, selecting and contouring a topic usually is weak. 

I think this question is referring to the basic steps or issues to be considered when selection a research topic which is synonymous with a research problem. It is equally important to take note of the level of research, the experience of the researcher concerned, or the agenda of the funding agency. Let me offer the following suggestions on the subject. First, a researcher should be familiar with the subject of the proposed study. This can be done by doing some initial consultations with key informants, making personal observations, literature review or searches on the subject. Second, see to it that there is adequate availability of the right reference material(s) for the topic. Third, the topic should be reflect or describe the problem in a natural way in a short sentence. Fourth, it should point out the dependent & independent variables (factors); and their logical relationship. The topic should be researchable, and it should be focused or narrowed to a specific or single issue. A researcher should desist from attempting to use a single research to solve the entire world problem with a silver bullet. The research topic determines the statement of the problem, study objectives, and methodology.

The major criteria would be your interest in the topic and previous researches that have been done so far on the topic and its related topics

Jatin I think you have to be interested in issues which are of great importance in the society. indeed you must focus on essential needs of your reign. it would made you far from your real interests.

i think when one is selecting the research topic, research should firstly select the area of interest and how the selected topic will benefit the society. more over one should see and study related literature as well as what is the innovative part in your research should be considered

nice answers everybody

Research topic reflects an attempt to fill gaps found during literature review in a particular field. Literature review in a particular area say "Leadership" can provide you hundreds of research gaps. However, it is up to you to choose the one which suits your aspirations best in terms of convenience, time and efforts.

For me it has always been in order of importance:  (1) what is the most interesting thing (that I will want to keep with), (2) is there room to grow in this area some topics can only go so far.  Is there a gap in the literature I can use?  When it came time to chose a topic for my dissertation I spent months trying to figure it out, and that included multiple conversations with my adviser, others who do research in my area, and finally just seeing which topic stuck with me the longest.  

The biggest problem I see, especially for doctoral candidates (myself included), is scope. Yes, it is important to find a question you are passionate about answering but that comes with the issue of wanting to know everything about the subject and the push to dive deeper and deeper. A dear mentor told me once, and this has been my mantra ever since, “The goal of graduate school is to graduate!” Your dissertation is not your magnum opus. It is the beginning of your research, not the end. You will have years to go deeper into the various aspects of your subject but for now select only a small slice of that subject and make that the focus of your dissertation.               

I agree Alexzandria

In my experience, two important factors: 1) interest in a topic and passion, 2) coverage of the topic, i.e, are there many or few research conducted in the topic you chose. You could be investigating a problem in your country that is not well covered. 

You right Suhaila

Dear researcher your question in very valid. this problem faced by each and every researcher but selection of research topic mainly depends on your expertise first and mandate of the organization second. So one need not to worry about it just do through review of your interest works and focus on solid idea develop it for better outcomes.

I think for me it is the struggle with the messages I receive (sub/consciously) about whose voices and what methodological approaches 'count', as well as what to do when considering conducting research that may challenge dominant western ways of knowing...

Your  eagerness to answer a specific question in your field is crucial. This will help you to pursue the research irrespective of the hiccups you might face.

A research problem should just be one problem at a time. Though, sometimes a problem may lead to another, however, if a researcher want to arrive at solution(s), he/she must focus on one problem which is the basis of his/her research.

Now, in selecting a research topic, you must:

1. Identify a problem;

2. write out series of research questions that would provide answers to the problem already identified. ideally, these questions must come in your instrument which will be answered by your respondents.

3. Put down what you intend to achieve, this is your "Research objectives." This will guide your discussions and literature to be reviewed in order to arrive at the solution to the problems identified.

4. You may also think of your concept about the whole problem and then look out for other scholars' view point (should you want to look at theories).

In all, there are more to research than we may view it.

I wish you the best.

I believe the biggest problem in selecting a research topic is finding one which you feel genuinely comfortable being 'wedded' to for potentially a long time, without subsequently allowing external forces to change the direction of your initial passion. This is not so much being fixated on the one topic, but more so following the themes and patterns which naturally flow from the initial topic.  A related problem is not spending sufficient time in initially formulating your research topic, from which all your research ultimately evolves.   

biggest problem is not having much knowledge about the current issus. review of literature will be the only source to solve the problem

I think a major problem is not familiarizing oneself with the literature. I had the same problem when I was choosing my research topic. The approach that most students (myself included) unfortunately take is, trying to figure out a research question before even reading the broad literature on that topic. And this is quite frustrating, as it is almost impossible to come up with a good research question before doing the reading.

I think the most important thing is understanding the topic which you are familiar or interested with and following the instructions or guidelines to read wild. This is because knowing the topic is different from following the instruction when forming the research question, Ignoring this you might not meet the assessment criteria for the particular topic chosen espcially when you are doing qualitative research. However, when chosen the literature, thermated chart will help. 

The most important thing in choosing a topic for research is extensive reading.If you know all aspects of a particular problem the concept to add to the existing knowledge will automatically crop up in your mind.Even in most extensively worked out fields there remain always a gap for improvement.Fill up that gap according to your own capability.

.Social desirability bias, doubt about the result and difficult to get fund.

. Need advanced training, new design and afraid change

.unable to get literature,reffrences

.Afraid of disapproving old philosophy due to conflict among researchers

- experimental materials shortage and time shortages

Interest and relevance, durability, ability to access data, and available resources... among others