This resource will help you define a research topic by identifying a series of critical or essential questions.
Choosing a Research Topic: The Question is the Answer
Here are the steps you will follow:
Select and focus topic and information needs
Uncover potential sources of information. Learn how to access them
Collect, examine, and select suitable resources
Compile relevant information from selected sources
Evaluate, interpret, analyze, and synthesize the information
Establish and prepare an appropriate format and present the information
Determine the effectiveness of the whole process
If you can select the topic that you’d like to research, you will want to narrow the focus of your research to something that you are specifically interested in.
Whatever you decide, be sure you clearly identify the scope of your research before you get too far into the research process. Keeping these points in mind might help you choose a general topic and refine it. Consider the following questions that may help guide you in your selection:
- Which of the topics that I’ve read about so far have interested me?
- Do I have any personal connection to any of the topics—family, friends, my leisure time activities, etc.—that would make the topic more interesting to research?
- Have I studied any of these topics before?
- Do I already know of some resources I can access for any of these topics?
