Selecting a Topic

"All topics are equal, but some are more equal than others"

Selecting a topic can be the most difficult part of doing research. Defining and refining your topic is an ongoing process. Be prepared to change the focus of your topic as you gather more information. How you select your topic will depend also on what your instructor has specified. These are some general guidelines to follow:

Interesting: If at all possible, pick a subject you really care about. Since you will be spending a considerable amount of time researching your topic, you will want it to be something that holds your interest and that of the reader.
Focus: Make sure that your topic isn't too narrow or too vague. If the topic is too broad, you will be overwhelmed with information. If the topic is too narrow, you may not be able to find enough information for your research paper.
Broad topic: anorexia

Focused topic: Is there a relationship between women's fashion magazines and anorexia?

STAGES IN ANALYZING A RESEARCH TOPIC - Brainstorm for ideas

Break the topic into simple subtopics.
All topics can be viewed from several angles. What are the smaller questions that will help create an answer to the primary question? Examine the WHO, WHAT WHERE, WHEN, WHY of the topic.

Who - are the people affected by your study?
- age, ethnicity, gender, profession, company/industry
What - component or aspect of the topic will you explore?
- causes
- effects
- diagnosis or treatment
- problems
- trends
Where - does your topic fit in geographically?
- country - be specific
- county - be specific
- urban vs. rural; global vs. local
- college campuses
- prisons, schools, outer space
When - did the issue or event become important? Narrow it down to a specific time period if necessary.
- 20th century? 16th century?
- specific decade - beatniks in 1950s, 1960s, roaring 20s
- last 50 years? 10 years?
- Do you need historical data? Do you need current data? How current?
Why is this topic important? What is significant about this issue?
- Articulate the possible approaches and select the best one for your needs.

Determine the disciplines involved.
Which disciplines or occupations would be interested in the topic or analyze it in their literature?
Most social science topics are interdisciplinary.
The disciplinary focus will determine the appropriate tools to use to locate information.

For example, for the question: Is there a relationship between women's fashion magazines and anorexia?
you could look within the following fields:

psychology
medicine
advertising

Consult an encyclopedia.
Encyclopedias cover different aspects of a subject. Subject encyclopedias for your discipline are a good place to start.

Popular Topics: Try to be original and creative. Some topics have been overdone: gun control, abortion, capital punishment, drugs. Try to look at topics like these from a new perspective or angle. For example: "Should drug abuse by pregnant women be considered child abuse?"

Consult the Library Guide: Current Issues - Hot Topics for ideas and new perspectives if you wish to write about current controversies.

Once you have your topic, write it out as a preliminary question or statement of purpose.

Formulate a thesis that is consistent with the evidence you find. Remember that there is no one right way to discover a question. It should be of significance to the discipline and supportable by the evidence. As you gather information, you will formulate new questions and possibly even change the focus of your research.

If the issue is a controversial one, you should take a position on it. A word of caution: you should research both sides of gathering background information.

Determine the type of information needed.

books
articles
government reports
primary sources (raw data) vs. secondary sources
Internet resources
statistics
public opinion polls

This determines the tools you will use to find information. You need to know what you are looking for before choosing the tools. Do you need sources not found in libraries - archives, knowledgable individuals to interview, businesses, government agencies, etc.?

Divide your topic into concepts/segments/pieces. For example, in the topic question, "Is there a relationship between women's fashion magazines and anorexia?", the concepts are: women, fashion magazines, and anorexia.

Brainstorm for synonyms and related terms. You will need to translate these terms to keywords later when you are searching computerized databases for information.

Sample Topic Question:

"Is there a relationship between women's fashion magazines and anorexia?"

Concepts:	women	fashion magazines	anorexia
Related terms:	woman	fashion models	bulimia
	female	modelling industry	eating disorders

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