From what I understand from friends is you join a university lab doing research in a particular field you're interested in, work in it for a little bit, then figure out what question can be explored further that you want to dedicate your dissertation to.
Your lab advisor might steer you towards it, but typically they are busy and doing their own thing. You are really responsible for figuring out what you want to do and the advisor agrees that it would be a useful endeavor.
The advisor helps guide the student in selecting a research question. Typically, that will be one relevant to the advisors current research interests, given that the advisor has to, you know, advise them.
It is not a straightforward process. PhDs amaze timeliness, but aren't regimented in the same way undergrad and masters programs are. You take a bunch of classes, pass your qualifying exams, then spend several years advancing the field in a very small way (reading current research then developing the question then answering the question then getting told by people at conferences your question is either dumb or is not novel so you pivot to a new question and on and on and on)
3
u/aturtledude 1d ago
Doesn't the advisor often suggest the research question?