Choice of the topic of research: Objective and subjective dimensions

Abstract

The debate regarding objectivity in social sciences has a long, very long history. Positivists and anti-positivists have long debated about the subject matter of sociology and the methodology to study it. Various scholars have written in detail on how and at what level of social research subjectivity creeps in. In this paper, I am primarily looking at the choice of the topic of research in terms of its objective and subjective dimensions. With theoretical insights, I have also shared my personal experiences that defined the choice of topic of my doctoral research.