Interesting Topic Ideas For A Clinical Psychology Dissertation

So you have to write your final masters paper, and you don’t know where to start. Are you studying clinical psychology and looking for a mind-blowing topic? There are a number of topics you can choose from that are guaranteed to interest you and your audience. Below are some quick guidelines on choosing your topic.

Top tips for choosing a topic for clinical psychology paper

When writing your paper remember that choosing the right topic is key as you will undoubtedly be spending a lot of time on this one assignment.

To choose the right topic, follow these simple guidelines:

• Choose a topic that you are passionate about. Make sure you are interested in the topic as you will have to spend the best part of the year focusing one this one piece of work solely.
• Ask your favorite professor or assignment tutor. Talking to someone who you admire or respect is a great place to start because they will be on the same page as you and know what you are interested in.
• Look into faculty members topics of interests. Researching the topics your supervisors are passionate about will allow you to not only pick their brains but potentially include them in your paper.
• Look at other empirical dissertations that have interested you. By looking into these papers, you may find loopholes that involve further investigation, or there may even be topics to research in the discussion section of these papers.
• Look at literature reviews. Annual papers often contain areas of interest to students that are struggling to put their finger on their topic of interest.
Examples could the Annual Review of Psychology or the Clinical Psychology Review.
• Don’t get too personal. Finally, do not choose a topic that is too close to your heart. If a member of your family or you has fallen ill then choosing a topic directly linked to this particular personal problem could be detrimental to your paper and therefore grade.

Let’s look at some examples

When choosing your topic for your clinical psychology dissertation look into these five options:

• Writing about a particular clinical experience (e.g. sports psychologist, the psychology of hypnosis in athletics, studies on sleep, etc.)
• Studying the demographics of a specific population or part of the world (e.g. feminism in certain parts of the world, integration of men and women in a specific part of the world, homosexuality or transgender people, sex changes/ personality changes etc.)
• Comparing specific studies could also benefit you as you will be able to explore two angles (e.g. where psychology, philosophy and religion meet, etc.)
• Choosing a topic that will directly aid your committee, professors or peers could be a very well received topic (e.g. introvert vs extrovert student behaviors, gender in the classroom, studies on dyslexia or other topics related to the human mind and its effects on studying at master’s level etc.).