“This subject requires research and project work, at an advanced level, on a topic related to emerging technologies and innovation” states the subject outline, going on to break it down into a 6-step process commencing with “1. Finding a suitable capstone research project”.
Step 1 doesn’t sound too daunting … so, where to start?
As scholars, it is all but natural for us to find our interest piqued by broad overarching topics that ignite our intellectual curiosity. However, the essence of research lies in distilling down these vast domains into focused, well-defined research questions. This process of refinement is akin to a master distiller extracting the quintessential spirit, blending botanicals to both underscore and highlight elements of the whole, ultimately arriving at a nuanced elixir to stir one’s mind.
While well-versed in appreciating the distillers’ works, having digested what seems an innumerable number of academic papers in the process of working towards Master of Cybersecurity, turning one’s hand to the process of distillation seemed an initially overwhelming task. In my instance, the challenge was to isolate an impactful research question from the intersection of what piques my intellectual curiosity: cybersecurity and critical infrastructure.
My Starting point was “Critical Nexus: Policy and Cybersecurity in Critical Infrastructure Resilience”, exploring the interplay between government policy, cybersecurity, and critical infrastructure resilience. While the breadth fascinated me, I knew I had to isolate a specific essence that could yield meaningful insights and advance the broader discourse.
Embracing the learnings of Claxton in his exploration of cognition titled “Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: How Intelligence Increases When You Think Less” (Claxton, 1999), I set about my deliberations, exercising due diligence in avoiding pondering the problem at hand. After some days of such deliberations, with just a little thought for good measure (akin to the distiller’s use of botanicals), I arrived at a focused research question:
“How does Australia’s policy position influence critical infrastructure resilience, and what is the nation’s comparative standing on the world stage?”
As I embark on this research initiative, I embrace the art of distillation, cognisant that there lies much work ahead in isolating the essence of relevant content, as I endeavour to condense impactful insights from my learnings and contribute new knowledge to the problem domain.
