MissTee 1 / 1 Jul 27, 2010 #1I am a Masters student and I have to write a mini dissertation. I am struggling to come up with a proper dissertation topic and a problem statement. Can anyone help me?
mickey - / 1 Jul 28, 2010 #2I can suggest going to isixsigma.com - they have a good forum that might be able to help. Also, they have an active LinkedIn group- iSixSigma Network
EF_Kevin 8 / 13,321 129 Jul 29, 2010 #3Cool, Mickey! Good call...Someone once told me that a good research problem should involve "blood, sweat, or money." The steps for identifying a problem, according to the process I like to use, is like this:1. here is a problem2. here is evidence to show that there is a problem3. here is evidence to show that the problem is caused by a certain trend4. here are the definitions of the things I am talking about5. here is a description of the setting in which it is happening.6. here is a solution that I propose.7. here is why I think it is feasible to do what I suggest to solve the problemYou pose a question: can they coexist? Can you turn it into a problem statement? How about this:BPM and Six Sigma cannot coexist, and it is a problem for ___________because of _______.Here is evidence to show that it is a problem.Here is evidence to show that the aspect of the problem I am talking about has a specific cause or trend associated with it.Here are the definitions of the concepts I am talking about...etc...Your job is to read and read and read, until you discover a good solution to a problem. Isn't this a job for an expert? For your mini dissertation you need to be a mini expert.Search your school database for BPM and Six Sigma, and read enough recent articles to get a sense of what the experts are saying. Add your own insight, and you will have a meaningful contribution.Read the work of John Cresswell (i.e. research methods). It helped me a lot. It is what you need to know to design a research project.