Doctoral students do not select a dissertation topic in isolation. The first step to selecting a topic of research in e-business involves selecting an adviser. This selection in most programs is left to the student; however, he must choose someone whose expertise is in e-business, with final approval coming from the program director. Under rare circumstances, the university may allow the student to select an adviser from another field, but he will have to show substantial evidence demonstrating the chosen adviser is the best expert to help guide the proposal and dissertation process. Such an example might include enlisting the assistance of a professor in industrial and organizational psychology, to guide research related to human interaction with e-business technological applications.
The student will work with the adviser to begin narrowing his research focus to home in on particular topics of relevance in e-business. He will not select a particular topic at this point, but rather enlist experts' advice on what topic areas are most relevant to e-business and which fit overall with the university's research objectives. At this point, the student must bring in other experts to help guide the process. This is where the student will form the dissertation committee. The adviser will serve as the chairperson of the dissertation committee and the student -- with guidance -- will select the other members of the committee from university faculty. The student will need at least two other appointees to the committee: one with expertise in e-business and the other outside the area of expertise. The committee will serve to provide guidance to the student to select a topic, during the proposal preparation phase and throughout the research and dissertation process.
The student will focus his attention on different areas of research and selecting a topic so he may prepare an adequate proposal he can successfully defend. At this stage, the student will need to have a good idea where he needs to focus his research efforts. The student must examine existing research in a variety of topic areas he has an interest in and determine where the existing research is lacking or conclude if research is missing. If the research is scientifically solid, the student must examine other areas. The best place to begin is with observations that appear consistent under different environmental constraints and examine existing research in that area. Once a student identifies areas and topics where research is lacking or missing, the student should disclose those findings with his adviser and the dissertation committee and form a consensus on the best topics to focus more in-depth investigation.
In e-business, areas of focus a student should investigate include e-business strategy, marketing and advertising, security, third-party attacks, consumer trust, legislation and law, usability and mobile applications. Sample topics may include e-commerce and competitive strategy; e-commerce and marketing mixes; impact of current technology in third-party attacks; consumer perceptions of trust; effectiveness of introduced legislation or existing legislation for e-business security; quantifying e-commerce usability; impacts of wireless deficiencies on mobile e-commerce strategies; or legal consequences for e-business regarding existing legislation. These are only sample topics; when lacking a proper review of existing research, simply selecting a title will likely lead to failure in the dissertation proposal phase, even if you can get the topic past the committee beforehand.
Narrow your topic's focus to a particular subject or question that should be answered. The student must weigh the lack of research or inadequate research against potential gains of conducting such research, to conclude the feasibility of the study. For example, if the student finds that current legislative impacts lack any real measurement in e-business, she has a basis for a solid dissertation. Understanding such impacts more precisely can help policy-makers implement better informed legislation or even do away with existing legislation, thereby encouraging economic growth while mitigating hindrance of growth. During the research phase, the student might also seek new paradigms to quantify such measurements -- in monetary terms, if possible -- to help make the research relevant to a wider audience. The topic might read "Legislative Impacts on E-Commerce: Recommended Paradigms for Monetary Quantification."