Reasons for a research project

Scene: a hypothetical research proposal defence session.

"Why did you choose to do a research on this cyberbullying?"

"I'm interested in cyberbullying because I was a victim. The emotional scar is still very raw. I want to use the intense emotions that I have and channel it to a productive activity, namely this research."

The examiner stopped asking further questions because he was afraid he'd add further emotional scars to the student.

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Having a personal reason for doing a research on a particular topic is okay. It could be the reason for you to persevere and makes you want to wake up every morning to continue doing your research.

However, a master or PhD dissertation or theses are more than just a personal agenda. It is a scientific work. Hence, it needs to be justified based on scientific consideration. Personal agenda is not enough for research objectives to stand on. You can't write as your research objective "To demonstrate to my bullies that sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me".

Some people respond to cyberbullying with less than constructive actions: I salute you for choosing an academic research as your preferred response. However, if you want your work to be evaluated as a research work, then it has to be based on research-related reasonings. To find a strong scientific-foundation for your research, then do your literature review. Know your topic really well. Make sure you understand the main paradigms in your discipline, be it psychology, education, IT, sociology etc.

And please avoid the blanket statement "I want to do this research because there is a lack of research on this topic." Perhaps it is you who is lacking the proper foundation for doing the research.