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Do thesis topics matter? How thesis topic characteristics relate to doctoral experience and self-confidence in defence
The literature on doctoral students’ experience rarely examines the importance of thesis topic characteristics, even though this is one of the central decisions both at the start and throughout the doctoral journey. Although studies examine how students choose their thesis topics, there is little research on how different topic characteristics are linked to doctoral experience and potential outcomes. This study addresses the gap using data from a nationwide survey of doctoral students at Russian universities (N = 1,539) and regression analysis. We measure thesis topic characteristics (personal choice, alignment with the supervisor’s research, strong personal interest, and continuation of prior research) and show how they relate to doctoral experience and to confidence in future defence. Strong personal interest emerges as the most consistent predictor across outcomes and is more strongly related to research activities and confidence in defence than topic alignment. Alignment with the supervisor’s research is also positively associated with all outcomes, but usually more weakly. Personal choice matters more selectively for peer, departmental, and international engagement, whereas continuation of prior research is not significant once other characteristics are taken into account. Overall, the findings suggest that motivational mechanisms linked to topic interest are at least as important as resource-related fit and, for several outcomes, may be more influential. We argue that doctoral programmes should support topic selection by combining students’ interests with access to supervision and research support.