1. Synchronous topic selection method
Synchronous topic selection method is to conform to the development trend of science and technology, grasp the hot and frontier issues in the subject field, and take the current subject development trend as the starting point to find and determine the direction of research topics. Tracking the hot issues and frontier issues in the development of disciplines is an effective way to obtain the sources of disciplines. The emergence of academic hotspots often has a certain theoretical background and practical needs, and its academic and social values are outstanding. When choosing a topic by synchronous topic selection method, we need high information sensitivity and information collection ability, and we can pay attention to and foresee the upcoming academic hotspots as soon as possible. It is the key to realize synchronous topic selection to participate in the research of hot issues as soon as possible. If other researchers have begun to study this topic and published a large number of academic achievements, the boiling point of the research will pass, then the research value of this topic will be greatly reduced, and even eventually become academic garbage.
2. Stage analysis method
The stage analysis method is to determine the development stage of a discipline according to literature statistics, and then select a topic according to the maturity of the discipline. If the synchronous topic selection method is mainly used to determine the main research direction of a country or research department, then the stage analysis method is more suitable for selecting specific research topics. Experience shows that the development of a discipline is generally "S"-shaped, that is, after a period of brewing, it enters the stage of exponential growth and then decreases negatively. This process generally goes through four stages, namely, birth stage, development stage, maturity stage and relative saturation stage. At different stages of development, people have different understanding of the research object, and the main contents to be studied and the corresponding research methods are also different. Therefore, we should first understand the development history of the academic field, make clear the development stage of the research field now, and then select and determine the research topic according to the different characteristics of each stage. In the birth stage of the discipline, the main idea of selecting a topic is to seize the signs, that is, to seize new discoveries, new phenomena and new theories; In the development stage of the discipline, the main feature of the topic selection is experimental research, and the focus of the topic selection should be on the selection of experimental topics, and at the same time, test means and experimental methods should be established for the experimental design and processing of various new instruments and equipment; In the mature stage of the discipline, the focus of the topic selection is to further enrich the theory and conduct necessary experiments or empirical research to verify the theory; In the relative saturation stage of the discipline, the research results aimed at exploring the development law are less and less, and more attention should be paid to applied research and development research in the topic selection.
3. Cross selection method
At present, all disciplines are developing in the direction of high precision, and the differences between disciplines are getting bigger and bigger, and the gaps between disciplines are becoming more and more obvious. However, many marginal problems accumulated in these differences and gaps are optional. Many important problems in human society are also faced with problems that are difficult to explain and solve by a single discipline, which need interdisciplinary intersection and can be solved by using multidisciplinary theories and methods. Therefore, contemporary scientific research has quietly entered a new era of interdisciplinary and collaborative innovation. It is an important method to advocate interdisciplinary and collaborative innovation and find research direction in interdisciplinary marginal fields. Multidisciplinary cross-topic selection can bring the research ideas and methods of one discipline to another, inject new vitality into research and collide with new ideological sparks.
4. Opportunity clue method
The history of scientific development tells us that many important scientific research achievements often appear when researchers suddenly have an epiphany and accidentally discover unexpected phenomena and problems after pondering a problem for a long time. There are often many fortuities in scientific research. Therefore, when the research topic is blocked and stopped, we might as well go back and carefully examine the problems and details, and perhaps find a broader and more valuable research direction in the details of the problems. When inspiration strikes, researchers should seize the opportunity to seize the inspiration, record it in time, think about it more fully, and conduct in-depth research on it, which is likely to form a more valuable research topic. As the saying goes, "opportunities are usually given to those who are prepared." Preparing well in the research process is not only the hard exploration before the emergence of opportunities and inspirations, but also the basis and premise of inspiration. It should also include the ability to seize inspiration when it flashes, make effective use of it, and develop and enrich it.