Struggling to Choose a Ph.D. Topic in HR? Share Your Ideas and Help Me Decide!

Dear all,

I am going to do my Ph.D. in management with a specialization in HR. I am a little confused in selecting the research topic. A few topics are on my mind:

1. Talent management
2. HR practices in education institutions
3. Customer satisfaction
4. Stress management in BPOs in two-tier cities

Kindly suggest some more topics. I am awaiting your valuable inputs.

Thank you & Regards.

Please search Citehr where ideas have already been given. The topic you choose will depend upon the following factors: Your interest, the access you can get to pursue solid research, the interest of the facilitating organization, and the availability of a suitable, willing supervisor/guide.

Have a nice day.

Simhan A retired academic in the UK

Hi Sheelrajan,

Even I am planning to take up a Ph.D. Could you please tell me where to inquire about the course? How will I take the admissions?

I really don't have any information on it. Please let me know. It will be a real help for me.

Thanks & Regards,
Girisha Gopinathan

Dear Sir,

Thank you for replying to me. I would like to proceed with the topic of HR policies in Higher Education. Kindly suggest your ideas for writing the abstract.

Thank you.

Hi Girish,

If you want to pursue a regular Ph.D., you can do it at Christ College or through distance learning at IGNOU.

Cheers,
Pallavi

Dear Girish,

You can do a Ph.D. in any university or at any well-known management institute (IIMs, XLRI, XIM). Full-time or part-time Ph.D. programs are available in many universities, but in management institutes, mainly full-time options are available. To pursue a Ph.D. in management institutes, you need to write entrance exams (CAT, XAT) and attend interviews. If you get selected, you will have to complete the first year of all MBA courses before selecting a guide. In universities, first, find a guide, then proceed to apply. By the way, management institutes offer fellowships instead of Ph.D.s, which are well-recognized in industries. They also provide a stipend (IIMs pay 25 thousand per month).

Regards,
George

Hi,

As suggested above, you can opt for a Ph.D. in any university. However, make sure that the topics you have mentioned here are available in the same university. Going forward, you have to choose your guide first so that you can easily get into the course. All the best for your bright future.

Dear Sheela,

HR Policies in Education is a vast field. You need to narrow it down using a funnel approach (start with the wide field and downsize it to the field you want to study). Please see my post on Research Methodology at CiteHr, where I have attached a ppt file.

Best wishes,
Simhan

Dear Sir,

My guide asked me to proceed with Talent Management or Talent Engagement process in any industry based in Madurai. However, I don't know how to initiate and go about the project. I need a lot of basic knowledge. I would be very grateful if you could suggest some essential steps on how to formulate the project.

Thank you.

Dear Sheelrajan,

I do not know anything about the topic. Yes, you need to do a lot of reading. Please search the web on the topics and access mainly scholarly journal articles to see what others have done, how and why that way, with what results. I know of one case where a student was denied a Ph.D. degree for the project, as someone else had submitted a thesis on the same topic a bit earlier, and that the latter thesis was not adding anything new to the knowledge bank. Hence, you need to read and find out where the gap exists, work fast, and submit your thesis.

Have a nice day.

Simhan

Get a good guide initially and discuss your interests. Sometimes guides themselves can suggest the best topics for you to choose from.

Good luck,

Regards,
Venkat