Ideas for my Ph.D. dissertation

OP: This is off topic ... Did your program accept you without an idea for a PhD dissertation or are you in the application process? I am just curious because I am completing my second master's degree and still contemplating what I am going to do when I grow up. Thanks. ?

It kind of needs to be something you are attracted to. As you've done lit reviews around diabetic patients, what questions have you asked that haven't popped out of the literature. Or comb through the "suggestions for future research" on articles that were of interest, then find out if others have done the further research.

Do you have a faculty advisor or mentor? My faculty advisor spent a lot of time on the phone with me. She wasn't familiar with the literature from the NICU but she would question me about topics that interested me, then suggest possible avenues. Some I would reject as I knew the literature was saturated. Eventually I found a topic I really loved and seemed to have a significant gap. And, she even enjoyed guiding me through as my chair.

7 hours ago, SummerGarden said:

OP: This is off topic ... Did your program accept you without an idea for a PhD dissertation or are you in the application process? I am just curious because I am completing my second master's degree and still contemplating what I am going to do when I grow up. Thanks. ?

My program accepted me without an idea. They did expect us to bring a list of possible topics for our 2nd year orientation (I didn't wind up exploring any of those I presented that day).

I believe of the 8 of us that started with me (4 of whom dropped out), only one person stuck to her original topic.