Problem-solving logic in communication sciences: A study of the dissertation topic selection process at Tehran and Allameh Tabataba'i universities

This research aims to analyze the process of problem identification and thesis topic selection in the field of communication sciences at Allameh Tabatabaei and Tehran Universities. The present research was conducted with a qualitative approach and using "theme analysis" as a data classification technique and "discourse analysis" as a framework for analyzing and interpreting the findings. Data were collected and analyzed through 15 semi-structured interviews with thesis supervisors in this field. The findings show that problem-solving is not a purely rational/exploratory process, but rather an arena of discursive struggle. Students engage in strategies such as “low-risk,” “social capital,” “fashionability,” and “instrumental rationality.” These actions take place within a structure shaped by academic norms, institutional/political constraints, and the mediating role of professors, and are influenced by dominant discourses such as the political climate and technological developments (such as artificial intelligence). The consequence of this complex interaction is mainly the reproduction of “academic routine” and the transformation of the dissertation into a “bureaucratic task” rather than an opportunity for the production of problem-oriented knowledge. The discourse analysis of the data shows that the university, as a Bourdieuian “field”, has fallen into the trap of discourses of power and has lost its original mission in relation to social issues.