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2 years ago in Topic Novelty By Meghna R
How can I be sure my PhD topic is truly novel and not just a minor extension of existing work?
I've found a gap in the literature, but I'm worried it's only a small, incremental gap. What criteria or tests can I use to determine if my topic has enough original contribution for a PhD?
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By Jasmeet Answered 1 year ago
Novelty isn't just a gap—it's a meaningful leap. From my experience, ask these questions: 1) Does it challenge a fundamental assumption in the field? 2) Does it apply a known theory/method to a completely new context with unpredictable outcomes? 3) Does it synthesize two disparate fields in a way not done before? 4) Does it develop a new tool, framework, or dataset that others can use? If the answer is "no" to all, it might be incremental. A truly novel topic should make reviewers think, "Why hasn't anyone done this before?" or "This could change how we approach X." Run your topic by senior scholars; their genuine excitement is a good litmus test for novelty.
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