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Research Toolkit: Choosing a Topic

Tools, techniques, and resources to help you find the information you need.

Watch - Choosing and Focusing Your Topic

 


Choosing and focusing your topic. In this video you will learn how the library can help you choose and focus your paper topic with a demonstration of the Gale Topic Finder.
At this stage in the research paper writing process, there are a few things to consider before choosing your topic. First, does the topic meet your assignment requirements? You should know how many sources you need for your research paper and what kind of sources you need. It can be helpful to think about topics that are interesting and important to you. If you can choose something you are passionate about, you will get more enjoyment out of the research process. You will also need to consider whether there is enough information out there about your topic. It helps to start with a broad topic and explore what has been published on your topic so far to narrow it down. This is where the library comes in!
Let’s look at an example. I’ve seen these signs around campus that say Bee Campus USA and I’m interested in learning more about bees, so I’m going to use this as an example to explore the topic of bees as a research paper idea. Here are a few different strategies you can use to focus your research. They include asking questions, creating a concept map or mind map and finding background information using library resources. Asking questions that start with words like Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How can lead you to different and interesting areas of study on your topic. Another strategy is to create a mind map. A mind map visually connects concepts to each other. Here is an example about honey bees.
The library also has resources to help you brainstorm major topics. These resources include the Gale Topic Finder, which we will take a look at now. To access the Topic Finder from the library main page, go to the Databases link. From there go to databases A to Z, and we’re going to look at Academic OneFile today. To use the Topic Finder, scroll down on the main page and click Topic Finder. Type your search in the search bar under Topic Finder. I’m interested in bees for this example, but I’m going to start more broad and look at everything that comes up under pollinators. The Topic Finder creates a visualization of all of the related topics to the one you’re looking for. For example, this gives me some ideas of how I can adjust my topic. I can look at how climate change impacts pollinators like bees, I could look at organic farming, I could look at wildlife conservation, for example. All of these topics are available to click on and explore related articles. The keywords that you generate from these exercises can be used to search in library databases.
Remember librarians are here to help! If you get stuck you can contact us through chat, email, or in person at the bailey library reference desk. Please see our website for our hours and location wccnet.edu/library

 


The Basics

  • Make sure your topic meets the assignment requirements. If you are unsure, ask your professor for feedback.
  • Choose a topic that is interesting to you. Curiosity is an excellent motivator!
  • Choose a topic that others have written about in order to find enough resources.
  • Read through your course readings and notes for ideas.

Browse Reference Books & Databases for Ideas

If you're stuck choosing a topic, maybe you need a little inspiration. Browsing through lists of topics and databases of topics that other people have written about can help you get unstuck.

  • Gale E-books Browse this database of encyclopedias and other reference sources for topic inspiration and background information.
  • Opposing Viewpoints Use this database to browse for topics with multiple perspectives..  Each entry includes an overview of the issues, and links to resources that represent different points of view.
  • CQ Researcher This database also allows you to browse for topics and contains in-depth reports on current and controversial issues.

Focusing the Topic

Researchers usually start with a broad topic and narrow it down to a more focused topic. Below are some strategies for narrowing a broad topic.

Strategy 1: Ask Questions

Think about questions you have about your topic. A helpful way to do this is to think of who, what, when, where, why, and how questions. For example, if your topic is "bees," your questions might be:

  • Who is affected by pollinator decline in the U.S.?
  • Where do bees go in the winter months?
  • When do bees prepare for winter?
  • What are the three biggest threats to pollinators?
  • Why are pollinators important to humans ?
  • How can people support pollinators?

Strategy 2: Concept Map

Create a concept map of your topic that consists of all the possible angles and aspects of your topic. You can use a pen and paper to sketch out a map, or use an online tool.

 

 

Strategy 3: Find Background Info

Sometimes knowing more about your topic is helpful. Do some background reading to help you discover a great research question. Here are some sources you might consider for background reading:

 

  • Use Gale E-books  to find expert overviews or encyclopedia articles.
  • Search the Library's PRIMO Catalog to find books.
  • Look at Wikipedia to collect background information. Note: Wikipedia is not an authoritative source to cite because the authors' expertise is not always clear. Nevertheless, Wikipedia can be useful to gain an initial understanding of your topic.