Apparently, many graduate students struggle to find a research topic suitable for their professional experimental study (which should be completed within a couple of years). When choosing a research topic, many graduate students make sure that it is (1) something they are interested in and (2) something that is valued in the field as an original contribution. Yet, I believe graduate students should pay closer attention to the latter than the former, especially if they wish to stay in academia and/or publish their work in reputable academic journals. There are several reasons for prioritizing academic contribution over personal interest.
First, researchers’ personal interests are not a criterion that journals use to evaluate manuscripts, whereas academic contributions are. Many peer-reviewed journals ask reviewers to evaluate manuscripts using a number of criteria, which often include the originality or significance of research. No journal cares about the authors’ passion for the topic.
Second, students can still satisfy their curiosity as long as the topic is at least somewhat related to their personal interests. Beginning graduate students are often not familiar with the existing literature in the field, so they are expected to understand the historical progress surrounding their chosen topic. In this process, they will likely find out that many of the questions that initially attracted them have already been studied in prior research. That is, being a consumer of knowledge may be sufficient for students to satisfy their curiosity.
Third, students cannot fully satisfy their personal interests through their own study alone anyway. In science, many different researchers explore many aspects of a given topic, and this collective patchwork leads to a comprehensive understanding of the topic. Because the research topic must be narrowed down considerably to form a testable hypothesis, students should be aware that their contribution will naturally be limited.
Fourth, perhaps any topic becomes interesting if students examine it deeply enough. Students often judge whether they enjoy studying particular topics early in their careers when they do not yet know much about various topics in detail. Such intuition may not always be correct. It is possible that students may enjoy studying a topic that was not initially attractive to them.
In sum, it is always difficult to find the right balance between what we want to do and what we should do, and both of them are certainly important. Yet, given that graduate students are producers of knowledge rather than consumers of knowledge, they may do well if they prioritize the latter at the beginning.
(image generated by ChatGPT on June 22, 2025)