choosing a research topic lesson plan

All eBooks & Audiobooks
Academic eBook Collection
Home Grown eBook Collection
Off-Campus Access
Literature Resource Center
Opposing Viewpoints
ProQuest Central
Course Guides
Citing Sources
Library Research
Websites by Topic
Book-a-Librarian
Research Tutorials
Use the Catalog
Use Databases
Use Films on Demand
Use Home Grown eBooks
Use NC LIVE
Evaluating Sources
Primary vs. Secondary
Scholarly vs. Popular
Make an Appointment
Writing Tools
Annotated Bibliographies
Summaries, Reviews & Critiques
Writing Center

Service Alert

Research 101

ACRL Framework Alignment
Before You Begin...
Lesson 1: Choose a Research Topic
Lesson 2: Develop a Research Strategy
Lesson 3: Conduct Ongoing Research
Lesson 4: Analyze & Review Sources
Lesson 5: Use Information Effectively
After You Finish...
Acknowledgements

Text: 336-308-8801

Email: [email protected]

Call: 336-633-0204

Schedule: Book-a-Librarian

Like us on Facebook

Links on this guide may go to external web sites not connected with Randolph Community College. Their inclusion is not an endorsement by Randolph Community College and the College is not responsible for the accuracy of their content or the security of their site.

All links on this page open in a new window.

Image of a group of students discussing a project

Lesson 1: Choose a Research Topic

In this chapter, you'll learn to:

Formulate questions for research, based on information gaps or on reexamination of existing, possibly conflicting, information.
Recognize that you, the researcher, are often entering into an ongoing scholarly conversation, not a finished conversation.
Conduct background research to develop research strategies.
Instructions
1) Scholarly Conversations
2) Research Topic
3) Research Question

Click on the numbered tabs to complete each activity.

Activities include videos, tutorials, and interactive tasks.

Questions about this lesson will be included on the Research 101 Quiz.

*It is recommended that you take notes while you complete each activity to prepare for the Research 101 quiz.

*If you have to take a break, make a note of your last activity so that you can pick up where you left off later.

"Choosing a Topic" Video by Amanda Burbage

This introductory video explains how when you choose a research topic, you are actually joining an ongoing academic conversation.

"Choosing a Topic" Video Transcript
CC BY-SA 4.0

"Scholarly Conversations" Tutorial by New Literacies Alliance

"In this lesson, students will discover how research is like a conversation that takes place between scholars in a field and will investigate ways they can become part of the conversation over time." -NewLiteraciesAlliance.org

Image of three people having a conversation

"Scholarly Conversations" Tutorial

1. Click on the tutorial link above.

2. Click the green "Sign In" button to login to your New Literacies Alliance account before beginning the tutorial .

*Go to the "Before You Begin" page of Research 101 if you have not yet registered for an account.

3. Click the green "View Course" button.

4. Click the plus sign beside "Lesson".

5. Click the link that appears below to begin the tutorial.

CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

"Picking Your Topic IS Research" Video by NC State University Libraries

This video explains that before you begin a project, you should do some preliminary research on your topic. This is a cyclical process, involving collecting background information and tweaking, to construct an interesting topic that you can further explore in your paper.

"Picking Your Topic IS Research" Video Transcript

"Using Wikipedia for Academic Research (CLIP)" Video by Michael Baird

Although Wikipedia is not a suitable source for an academic research paper, it can still be very helpful! This video explains how this online encyclopedia can serve as a treasure trove of topic phrases, keywords, names, dates, and citations that you can use throughout the research process.

NOTE: Audio begins at 0.18 seconds.

"Using Wikipedia for Academic Research (CLIP)" Video Transcript

"How to Develop a STRONG Research Question" Video by Scribbr

This video explains how to turn your research topic into a research question that is focused, researchable, feasible, specific, complex, and relevant.

"How to Develop a STRONG Research Question" Video Transcript
Scribbr Video Citation

"Ask the Right Questions" Tutorial by New Literacies Alliance

"In this lesson, students will explore what it takes to narrow a search in order to find the best information." -NewLiteraciesAlliance.org

"Ask the Right Questions" Tutorial

<< Previous: Before You Begin...
Next: Lesson 2: Develop a Research Strategy >>
Last Updated: Feb 13, 2024 4:11 PM
URL: https://libguides.randolph.edu/R101

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
COVID-19 Library Updates
Make Appointment

Research 101 (A How-to Guide): Step 1. Choose a topic

Step 1. Choose a topic
Step 2. Get background information
Step 3. Create a search strategy
Step 4. Find books and e-books
Step 5. Find articles
Step 6. Evaluate your sources
Step 7. Cite your sources

Step 1. Choose a Topic

Choosing an interesting research topic can be challenging. This video tutorial will help you select and properly scope your topic by employing questioning, free writing, and mind mapping techniques so that you can formulate a research question.

Good Sources for Finding a Topic

CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window Browse the "hot topics" on the right hand side for inspiration.
401 Prompts for Argumentative Writing, New York Times Great questions to consider for argumentative essays.
ProCon.org Facts, news, and thousands of diverse opinions on controversial issues in a pro-con format.
Room For Debate, New York Times This website, created by editorial staff from the New York Times, explores close to 1,500 news events and other timely issues. Knowledgeable outside contributors provide subject background and readers may contribute their own views. Great help for choosing a topic!
US News & World Report: Debate Club Pro/Con arguments on current issues.
Writing Prompts, New York Times New York Times Opinion articles that are geared toward students and invite comment.

Tips for Choosing a Topic

Choose a topic that interests you!
Pick a manageable topic, not too broad, not too narrow. Reading background info can help you choose and limit the scope of your topic.
Review lecture notes and class readings for ideas.
Check with your instructor to make sure your topic fits with the assignment.

Picking your topic IS research!

Developing a Research Question Worksheet

Mind Mapping Tools

Mind mapping, a visual form of brainstorming, is an effective technique for developing a topic. Here are some free tools to create mind maps.

Bubbl.us Free account allows you to save 3 mind maps, download as image or HTML, and share with others.
Coggle Sign in with your Google account to create maps that you can download as PDF or PNG or share with others.
<< Previous: Overview
Next: Step 2. Get background information >>
Last Updated: Apr 9, 2024 2:36 PM
URL: https://libguides.depaul.edu/research101

Lesson Plan: Choosing a Topic for a Research Paper -- How to Get Your High School Students to Choose Interesting Writing Topics

Trent Lorcher
Categories : High school english lesson plans grades 9 12
Tags : High school lesson plans & tips

Step1: Obtain a General Understanding of the Subject

Since your students will be spending a great deal of time researching and studying a topic, be sure it interests them. If not, the researcher and his/her readers will get bored quickly. Here are some tips:

Read encyclopedia entries on the subject.
Skim a review text and note relevant chapters and headings.
Look at book titles on the subject.
Don’t get bogged down in the details and overlook the obvious.
Ask yourself what most people already know about the subject.
Identify why the subject is important.
Answer the questions who, what when, where, why, how , and how much .

Step 2: Identify Hot Topics

Finding “hot topics” in your subject area may lead the researcher into potentially interesting topics. Scan newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals, the Internet, and TV programs to find what has caught the public’s attention. Here are some tips for finding an interesting writing topic:

Controversy: All essays and research papers take a stand for or against something. An ongoing controversy provides interest for readers and writers.
Catchwords or cliches: Writers repeat old arguments, old problems, and old solutions without re-examining the facts. A new approach to an old topic might prove interesting.
Unexplored topics: Many subjects contain unexplored topics. Look for unexplored topics and give readers a new angle.
Subject Authorities: Find out who the authorities are on the subject and find out what they’re saying or writing about. These authorities can give neophyte writers interesting ideas.

Step 3: Think

After the general research is complete, researchers should ask themselves the following questions:

Which topics are least and most interesting?
What doesn’t make sense?
Do you agree or disagree with the “authorities”?
How much of the information is conditioned by earlier assumptions and attitudes.
What questions need answered?
Are there any interesting controversies?
Is there a topic not fully explored?

After going through this checklist, writers should identify their topic, create an effective thesis statement , and begin their topic-specific research.

This post is part of the series: Choosing a Writing Topic

Most student essays and research papers bore the teacher to tears, which makes sense because doing the research and writing the paper bores the student to tears. Teaching students how to choose an essay topic or a research topic makes the experience better for all.

How to Choose a Topic for a Research Paper?
Lesson Plan: How to Choose the Topic of a Research Paper
Tips on Writing a Research Paper: How to Identify a Topic Question for Essays and Research Papers
A Lesson Plan: Career Research Project & Essay

How To Choose A Research Topic

Step-By-Step Tutorial With Examples + Free Topic Evaluator

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | Expert Reviewer: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | April 2024

Choosing the right research topic is likely the most important decision you’ll make on your dissertation or thesis journey. To make the right choice, you need to take a systematic approach and evaluate each of your candidate ideas across a consistent set of criteria. In this tutorial, we’ll unpack five essential criteria that will help you evaluate your prospective research ideas and choose a winner.

Overview: The “Big 5” Key Criteria

Topic originality or novelty
Value and significance
Access to data and equipment
Time limitations and implications
Ethical requirements and constraints

Criterion #1: Originality & Novelty

As we’ve discussed extensively on this blog, originality in a research topic is essential. In other words, you need a clear research gap . The uniqueness of your topic determines its contribution to the field and its potential to stand out in the academic community. So, for each of your prospective topics, ask yourself the following questions:

What research gap and research problem am I filling?
Does my topic offer new insights?
Am I combining existing ideas in a unique way?
Am I taking a unique methodological approach?

To objectively evaluate the originality of each of your topic candidates, rate them on these aspects. This process will not only help in choosing a topic that stands out, but also one that can capture the interest of your audience and possibly contribute significantly to the field of study – which brings us to our next criterion.

Criterion #2: Value & Significance

Next, you’ll need to assess the value and significance of each prospective topic. To do this, you’ll need to ask some hard questions.

Why is it important to explore these research questions?
Who stands to benefit from this study?
How will they benefit, specifically?

By clearly understanding and outlining the significance of each potential topic, you’ll not only be justifying your final choice – you’ll essentially be laying the groundwork for a persuasive research proposal , which is equally important.

Criterion #3: Access to Data & Equipment

Naturally, access to relevant data and equipment is crucial for the success of your research project. So, for each of your prospective topic ideas, you’ll need to evaluate whether you have the necessary resources to collect data and conduct your study.

Here are some questions to ask for each potential topic:

Will I be able to access the sample of interest (e.g., people, animals, etc.)?
Do I have (or can I get) access to the required equipment, at the time that I need it?
Are there costs associated with any of this? If so, what are they?

Keep in mind that getting access to certain types of data may also require special permissions and legalities, especially if your topic involves vulnerable groups (patients, youths, etc.). You may also need to adhere to specific data protection laws, depending on the country. So, be sure to evaluate these aspects thoroughly for each topic. Overlooking any of these can lead to significant complications down the line.

Free Webinar: How To Find A Dissertation Research Topic

Criterion #4: Time Requirements & Implications

Naturally, having a realistic timeline for each potential research idea is crucial. So, consider the scope of each potential topic and estimate how long each phase of the research will take — from literature review to data collection and analysis, to writing and revisions. Underestimating the time needed for a research project is extremely common , so it’s important to include buffer time for unforeseen delays.

Remember, efficient time management is not just about the duration but also about the timing . For example, if your research involves fieldwork, there may specific times of the year when this is most doable (or not doable at all). So, be sure to consider both time and timing for each of your prospective topics.

Criterion #5: Ethical Compliance

Failing to adhere to your university’s research ethics policy is a surefire way to get your proposal rejected . So, you’ll need to evaluate each topic for potential ethical issues, especially if your research involves human subjects, sensitive data, or has any potential environmental impact.

Remember that ethical compliance is not just a formality – it’s a responsibility to ensure the integrity and social responsibility of your research. Topics that pose significant ethical challenges are typically the first to be rejected, so you need to take this seriously. It’s also useful to keep in mind that some topics are more “ethically sensitive” than others , which usually means that they’ll require multiple levels of approval. Ideally, you want to avoid this additional admin, so mark down any prospective topics that fall into an ethical “grey zone”.

If you’re unsure about the details of your university’s ethics policy, ask for a copy or speak directly to your course coordinator. Don’t make any assumptions when it comes to research ethics!

Key Takeaways

In this post, we’ve explored how to choose a research topic using a systematic approach. To recap, the “Big 5” assessment criteria include:

Topic originality and novelty
Time requirements
Ethical compliance

Be sure to grab a copy of our free research topic evaluator sheet here to fast-track your topic selection process. If you need hands-on help finding and refining a high-quality research topic for your dissertation or thesis, you can also check out our private coaching service .

Need a helping hand?

You Might Also Like:

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Print Friendly

ALA User Menu

ALA Websites

Breadcrumb navigation

Submit News Items
Contact Congress

Ready-to-use lesson plans for scholarly research topics

Share This Page

Related Images

(Click for full-size)

Selecting a Research Topic: Overview

Refine your topic
Background information & facts
Writing help

Here are some resources to refer to when selecting a topic and preparing to write a paper:

MIT Writing and Communication Center "Providing free professional advice about all types of writing and speaking to all members of the MIT community."
Search Our Collections Find books about writing. Search by subject for: english language grammar; report writing handbooks; technical writing handbooks
Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation Online version of the book that provides examples and tips on grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and other writing rules.
Select a topic

Choosing an interesting research topic is your first challenge. Here are some tips:

Choose a topic that you are interested in! The research process is more relevant if you care about your topic.
If your topic is too broad, you will find too much information and not be able to focus.
Background reading can help you choose and limit the scope of your topic.
Review the guidelines on topic selection outlined in your assignment. Ask your professor or TA for suggestions.
Refer to lecture notes and required texts to refresh your knowledge of the course and assignment.
Talk about research ideas with a friend. S/he may be able to help focus your topic by discussing issues that didn't occur to you at first.
WHY did you choose the topic? What interests you about it? Do you have an opinion about the issues involved?
WHO are the information providers on this topic? Who might publish information about it? Who is affected by the topic? Do you know of organizations or institutions affiliated with the topic?
WHAT are the major questions for this topic? Is there a debate about the topic? Are there a range of issues and viewpoints to consider?
WHERE is your topic important: at the local, national or international level? Are there specific places affected by the topic?
WHEN is/was your topic important? Is it a current event or an historical issue? Do you want to compare your topic by time periods?

Broaden your topic
Information Navigator home
Sources for facts - general
Sources for facts - specific subjects

Start here for help

Ask Us Ask a question, make an appointment, give feedback, or visit us.

Next: Refine your topic >>
Last Updated: Jul 30, 2021 2:50 PM
URL: https://libguides.mit.edu/select-topic

Choose a Research Topic: Choose a Research Topic

This guide will help you understand how to develop your topic ideas into a manageable research topic.

Terms in this Guide

Information Literacy: The set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information.
Research Process: It is a process of multiple deliberate steps in conducting the research work where each step is interlinked with other steps such as starting with a broad topic question to focus on an aspect of it to narrow the research focus to all the way to find and evaluate the reliability of that information. The most important thing to realize is that this is not a linear process.

Step 1: Choose a Broad Research Topic

Research is a long process. Try to choose a broad topic that is interesting to you and that fits the assignment parameters set by the professor.

Read through background information in an encyclopedia, dictionary, or database to learn about aspects of the topic that might interest you.

If you are unsure of what topic to start with, review the sources below for ideas.

Step 2: Narrow & Focus Your Topic

If you are getting too many search results, then it is time to limit your topic to a particular approach to the issue!

Consider writing about one of these aspects of your broad topic:

Theme (a particular opinion, focus, or point of view)
Timeframe (period, date)
Place (city, state, region, country, continent)

Step 3. Write a Topic Statement

Now turn your narrow topic into a topic statement by writing it out as a short sentence. This is known as a thesis or topic statement. It expresses the subject and purpose of your paper.

Step 4. Evaluate your Topic Statement

Ask yourself the following questions to evaluate the quality of your topic statement:

Is this statement interesting enough to spark my own thoughts and opinions?
What type of information will I need to support the topic statement?
Is the scope of this topic statement reasonable? Or does it need to be focused even further?
What sources will have the type of information that I need to answer the research question?
Can I access these sources? If yes, where can I get the material I need? (textbook, library book, online databases, personal interviews?)
If yes, it's time to start your project!
If not, you may need guidance. Talk to your professor, librarian, and/or a Writing, Reading & Language Center tutor if you are unsure.

Research Cycle

Watch this tutorial and practice using the activities / answering questions.

MC Library's Begin Your Research Tutorial

Pencils against a blue background. 'Learn More'

Check these resources below to learn more about how to develop a manageable research topic and select appropriate source types.

Identify Different Types of Information Sources by Niyati Pandya Last Updated Oct 9, 2023 496 views this year

Ask The Library

View our online service hours .

More Research Skills Guides

Want to learn more? View our other research skills guides:

MC Library Research Skills Guides

Last Updated: Oct 9, 2023 3:06 PM
URL: https://libguides.montgomerycollege.edu/choose-research-topic

For Library Employees

USU Library

Choosing a Research Topic: Home

Picking a research topic.

Choosing a research topic can be one of the most difficult parts of the research process. Watch the video to learn how to pick a relevant and interesting topic.

Choosing a Research Topic

How to choose a research topic.

1. Begin choosing a research topic by reading the assignment description to make sure you understand the assignment requirements. Are there things you can or cannot research? How long is the paper? Are you required to find scholarly sources?

2. Next, you want to identify a topic that you care about. Caring about a topic will result in a better paper and make the process more enjoyable for you. What are you interested in? What issues personally affect you? What are current issues in your field of study?

Mind map centered on you. Branches include questions mentioned above

3. After you have brainstormed several areas you are interested in, an effective way of developing a topic is combining 2-3 of your interests to pick a topic that is unique to you.

Mind map centered on you. Two main interests circled, plant growth and wildfires

4. After you have identified a topic you care about, conduct an initial search about your topic in a database.

Academic search ultimate: Wildfires AND plant growth.

5. Combining your interests with initial research can help you learn more about your topic and the angle you want to pursue.

How do Wildfires affect plant gown in the rocky mountains?

6. As you continue the research process, it is inevitable that your topic will change or evolve.

How do wildfires affect ecosystems in the rocky mountains?

Last Updated: Oct 31, 2022 2:11 PM
URL: https://libguides.usu.edu/research_topic

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Locations and Hours
UCLA Library
Research Guides

University Studies Library Guide

Choosing a Topic

Choose Your Topic

Narrow your topic, broaden your topic.

General Reference Sources
Finding and Getting Books
Finding Journal Articles
University Special Collections
Citing and Writing
Transfer Student Resources
Streaming Databases
Newspapers & Magazines
Library Workshops
Other Academic Resources
Supportive Campus Services
Feedback from You!
WI+RE - Research and Writing Tutorials

Feeling Overwhelmed?

Getting Started With Research A short clip of tips and tricks to start your research paper or project.

Need Help Mapping Research Topics This quick, interactive tutorial will help you choose a research topic and brainstorm research questions, as well as giving you some next steps in the process of developing a research question!

Research Paper Planner The Research Paper Planner will help you break down your assignment into manageable deadlines, track your progress, and connect with campus resources.

Make sure you have read your assignment carefully and understand your instructor's expectations.

Review your course readings, along with other related sources, and think about relevant topics that interest you or that you can engage with:

topics that make you curious or angry
topics that are related to your major, hobby, or other interest or passion
topics to which you can relate to because you yourself (or someone you know) have experienced it

The more engaged you are with your topic, the more fun you will have working on it!

Be prepared to be flexible with your topic idea!

If it is too broad or vague, you will find too much information and will need to narrow the focus.
If it is too specific or specialized or new, it will be difficult finding enough information to write your paper this quarter. In that case, you will need to broaden your idea.

How to Narrow Your Topic

Example : I'm thinking of doing a paper on a topic related to "fashion." This topic could develop in many different ways.

Hint - Ask Yourself Questions About Your Topic:

What do you know about it? What don't you know?
What aspects of your topic interest you: historical, sociological, cultural, etc.?
What time period do you want to cover?
What geographic region do you want to focus?
Who do you want to focus on? Is there a specific demographic?
A brief summary or a lengthy explanation?
Periodical articles, books, essays, encyclopedia articles?
Statistics?

Sample Topic Narrowing Chart:

Example : I'm thinking of doing a paper on "whether genetically altered soybeans are safe for consumers."

This topic as stated is seeking to answer a question for which there may be no answer yet -- more scientific and long-term research may need to be done. How can this be turned into a more manageable topic?

Hint 1 - Look for opportunities for broader or related associations:

Could you examine other bioengineered foods, in addition to soybeans?
Could you think broadly about safety concerns and issues -- what might these be?
Who are the key players in this controversy? Consumer activists? The FDA? Scientists?
What other issues are involved in this topic? Such as, how should be foods be labeled?

Hint 2 - Brainstorm! (and ask a reference librarian!)

Sample Topic Broadening Chart:

<< Previous: Home
Next: General Reference Sources >>
Last Updated: Apr 19, 2024 10:19 AM
URL: https://guides.library.ucla.edu/universitystudies

Research Basics at NCC: Choose a Topic

Choose a topic.

Choose Sources
Find Articles
Find Other Information
Citation Matters
Test Your Knowledge

Learn how to choose a topic, develop your focus, find background information, and select your search keywords.

Why think about your topic?

Thinking critically about your topic before and as you begin researching can:

help you find a focus for your paper or project
help you determine what information you need to find
help you decide where to look for information

Choosing a Topic

When picking a topic, consider:

your professor's prompt and assignment instructions
picking something that interests you and that you want to learn more about
if you have opinions on current events, picking a current event to explore
a personal issue, problem or concern, since you might have some existing knowledge about it
if it's likely to have research about it

Often, the initial topic or prompt you have will be too big in scope for the length of your paper or presentation. You will need to develop your topic further by finding a specific focus.

How to Develop a Good Research Topic

Watch the video below to learn more about how to choose and develop a topic for your research.

Attribution: Kansas State University Libraries. (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US)

Developing Your Focus

To develop your topic and find your focus, d o some brainstorming to break the topic into a smaller piece, by asking these questions:

Who? - age groups, cultures, gender
When? - time period (current or historical)
Where? - a geographic region (international, national, or local)
What? - causes, symptoms
Why? - value, importance

Example: The American Dream > Home Ownership and the Economy > Economic Conditions Preventing Home Ownership for Millennials in America

It might also help to think about:

what you already know about your topic
what you need to learn about your topic
what you intend to write about it

You might need to do some preliminary searching during this brainstorming to help you develop your focus.

Preliminary Searching for Background Information

If you don't know a lot about your topic, doing some preliminary searching about it can help you find specific aspects and ideas to focus on throughout the rest of your research.

This is where Google and Wikipedia may help you gather ideas (but not information to include in your writing).

Books, reference information, news articles, magazines, and credible websites might also help you at this point. Often the background information you find in these sources may be used in your writing.

These searches may also help you find other keywords to use for more detailed information later on.

Expect to learn new things and make changes to your topic as a result of what you find. Your focus may change from what you thought it would be when you first chose your topic.

Check Your Knowledge

<< Previous: Home
Next: Choose Sources >>
Last Updated: Feb 16, 2024 4:35 PM
URL: https://libguides.northampton.edu/researchbasicstutorial

Research Skills

50 Mini-Lessons For Teaching Students Research Skills

Please note, I am no longer blogging and this post hasn’t updated since April 2020.

For a number of years, Seth Godin has been talking about the need to “ connect the dots” rather than “collect the dots” . That is, rather than memorising information, students must be able to learn how to solve new problems, see patterns, and combine multiple perspectives.

Solid research skills underpin this. Having the fluency to find and use information successfully is an essential skill for life and work.

Today’s students have more information at their fingertips than ever before and this means the role of the teacher as a guide is more important than ever.

You might be wondering how you can fit teaching research skills into a busy curriculum? There aren’t enough hours in the day! The good news is, there are so many mini-lessons you can do to build students’ skills over time.

This post outlines 50 ideas for activities that could be done in just a few minutes (or stretched out to a longer lesson if you have the time!).

Learn More About The Research Process

I have a popular post called Teach Students How To Research Online In 5 Steps. It outlines a five-step approach to break down the research process into manageable chunks.

Learn about a simple search process for students in primary school, middle school, or high school Kathleen Morris

This post shares ideas for mini-lessons that could be carried out in the classroom throughout the year to help build students’ skills in the five areas of: clarify, search, delve, evaluate , and cite . It also includes ideas for learning about staying organised throughout the research process.

Notes about the 50 research activities:

These ideas can be adapted for different age groups from middle primary/elementary to senior high school.
Many of these ideas can be repeated throughout the year.
Depending on the age of your students, you can decide whether the activity will be more teacher or student led. Some activities suggest coming up with a list of words, questions, or phrases. Teachers of younger students could generate these themselves.
Depending on how much time you have, many of the activities can be either quickly modelled by the teacher, or extended to an hour-long lesson.
Some of the activities could fit into more than one category.
Looking for simple articles for younger students for some of the activities? Try DOGO News or Time for Kids . Newsela is also a great resource but you do need to sign up for free account.
Why not try a few activities in a staff meeting? Everyone can always brush up on their own research skills!

Choose a topic (e.g. koalas, basketball, Mount Everest) . Write as many questions as you can think of relating to that topic.
Make a mindmap of a topic you’re currently learning about. This could be either on paper or using an online tool like Bubbl.us .
Read a short book or article. Make a list of 5 words from the text that you don’t totally understand. Look up the meaning of the words in a dictionary (online or paper).
Look at a printed or digital copy of a short article with the title removed. Come up with as many different titles as possible that would fit the article.
Come up with a list of 5 different questions you could type into Google (e.g. Which country in Asia has the largest population?) Circle the keywords in each question.
Write down 10 words to describe a person, place, or topic. Come up with synonyms for these words using a tool like Thesaurus.com .
Write pairs of synonyms on post-it notes (this could be done by the teacher or students). Each student in the class has one post-it note and walks around the classroom to find the person with the synonym to their word.

Explore how to search Google using your voice (i.e. click/tap on the microphone in the Google search box or on your phone/tablet keyboard) . List the pros and cons of using voice and text to search.
Open two different search engines in your browser such as Google and Bing. Type in a query and compare the results. Do all search engines work exactly the same?
Have students work in pairs to try out a different search engine (there are 11 listed here ). Report back to the class on the pros and cons.
Think of something you’re curious about, (e.g. What endangered animals live in the Amazon Rainforest?). Open Google in two tabs. In one search, type in one or two keywords ( e.g. Amazon Rainforest) . In the other search type in multiple relevant keywords (e.g. endangered animals Amazon rainforest). Compare the results. Discuss the importance of being specific.
Similar to above, try two different searches where one phrase is in quotation marks and the other is not. For example, Origin of “raining cats and dogs” and Origin of raining cats and dogs . Discuss the difference that using quotation marks makes (It tells Google to search for the precise keywords in order.)
Try writing a question in Google with a few minor spelling mistakes. What happens? What happens if you add or leave out punctuation ?
Try the AGoogleADay.com daily search challenges from Google. The questions help older students learn about choosing keywords, deconstructing questions, and altering keywords.
Explore how Google uses autocomplete to suggest searches quickly. Try it out by typing in various queries (e.g. How to draw… or What is the tallest…). Discuss how these suggestions come about, how to use them, and whether they’re usually helpful.
Watch this video from Code.org to learn more about how search works .
Take a look at 20 Instant Google Searches your Students Need to Know by Eric Curts to learn about “ instant searches ”. Try one to try out. Perhaps each student could be assigned one to try and share with the class.
Experiment with typing some questions into Google that have a clear answer (e.g. “What is a parallelogram?” or “What is the highest mountain in the world?” or “What is the population of Australia?”). Look at the different ways the answers are displayed instantly within the search results — dictionary definitions, image cards, graphs etc.

Watch the video How Does Google Know Everything About Me? by Scientific American. Discuss the PageRank algorithm and how Google uses your data to customise search results.
Brainstorm a list of popular domains (e.g. .com, .com.au, or your country’s domain) . Discuss if any domains might be more reliable than others and why (e.g. .gov or .edu) .
Discuss (or research) ways to open Google search results in a new tab to save your original search results (i.e. right-click > open link in new tab or press control/command and click the link).
Try out a few Google searches (perhaps start with things like “car service” “cat food” or “fresh flowers”). A re there advertisements within the results? Discuss where these appear and how to spot them.
Look at ways to filter search results by using the tabs at the top of the page in Google (i.e. news, images, shopping, maps, videos etc.). Do the same filters appear for all Google searches? Try out a few different searches and see.
Type a question into Google and look for the “People also ask” and “Searches related to…” sections. Discuss how these could be useful. When should you use them or ignore them so you don’t go off on an irrelevant tangent? Is the information in the drop-down section under “People also ask” always the best?
Often, more current search results are more useful. Click on “tools” under the Google search box and then “any time” and your time frame of choice such as “Past month” or “Past year”.
Have students annotate their own “anatomy of a search result” example like the one I made below. Explore the different ways search results display; some have more details like sitelinks and some do not.

Find two articles on a news topic from different publications. Or find a news article and an opinion piece on the same topic. Make a Venn diagram comparing the similarities and differences.
Choose a graph, map, or chart from The New York Times’ What’s Going On In This Graph series . Have a whole class or small group discussion about the data.
Look at images stripped of their captions on What’s Going On In This Picture? by The New York Times. Discuss the images in pairs or small groups. What can you tell?
Explore a website together as a class or in pairs — perhaps a news website. Identify all the advertisements .
Have a look at a fake website either as a whole class or in pairs/small groups. See if students can spot that these sites are not real. Discuss the fact that you can’t believe everything that’s online. Get started with these four examples of fake websites from Eric Curts.
Give students a copy of my website evaluation flowchart to analyse and then discuss as a class. Read more about the flowchart in this post.
As a class, look at a prompt from Mike Caulfield’s Four Moves . Either together or in small groups, have students fact check the prompts on the site. This resource explains more about the fact checking process. Note: some of these prompts are not suitable for younger students.
Practice skim reading — give students one minute to read a short article. Ask them to discuss what stood out to them. Headings? Bold words? Quotes? Then give students ten minutes to read the same article and discuss deep reading.

All students can benefit from learning about plagiarism, copyright, how to write information in their own words, and how to acknowledge the source. However, the formality of this process will depend on your students’ age and your curriculum guidelines.

Watch the video Citation for Beginners for an introduction to citation. Discuss the key points to remember.
Look up the definition of plagiarism using a variety of sources (dictionary, video, Wikipedia etc.). Create a definition as a class.
Find an interesting video on YouTube (perhaps a “life hack” video) and write a brief summary in your own words.
Have students pair up and tell each other about their weekend. Then have the listener try to verbalise or write their friend’s recount in their own words. Discuss how accurate this was.
Read the class a copy of a well known fairy tale. Have them write a short summary in their own words. Compare the versions that different students come up with.
Try out MyBib — a handy free online tool without ads that helps you create citations quickly and easily.
Give primary/elementary students a copy of Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Citation that matches their grade level (the guide covers grades 1 to 6). Choose one form of citation and create some examples as a class (e.g. a website or a book).
Make a list of things that are okay and not okay to do when researching, e.g. copy text from a website, use any image from Google images, paraphrase in your own words and cite your source, add a short quote and cite the source.
Have students read a short article and then come up with a summary that would be considered plagiarism and one that would not be considered plagiarism. These could be shared with the class and the students asked to decide which one shows an example of plagiarism .
Older students could investigate the difference between paraphrasing and summarising . They could create a Venn diagram that compares the two.
Write a list of statements on the board that might be true or false ( e.g. The 1956 Olympics were held in Melbourne, Australia. The rhinoceros is the largest land animal in the world. The current marathon world record is 2 hours, 7 minutes). Have students research these statements and decide whether they’re true or false by sharing their citations.

Staying Organised

Make a list of different ways you can take notes while researching — Google Docs, Google Keep, pen and paper etc. Discuss the pros and cons of each method.
Learn the keyboard shortcuts to help manage tabs (e.g. open new tab, reopen closed tab, go to next tab etc.). Perhaps students could all try out the shortcuts and share their favourite one with the class.
Find a collection of resources on a topic and add them to a Wakelet .
Listen to a short podcast or watch a brief video on a certain topic and sketchnote ideas. Sylvia Duckworth has some great tips about live sketchnoting
Learn how to use split screen to have one window open with your research, and another open with your notes (e.g. a Google spreadsheet, Google Doc, Microsoft Word or OneNote etc.) .

All teachers know it’s important to teach students to research well. Investing time in this process will also pay off throughout the year and the years to come. Students will be able to focus on analysing and synthesizing information, rather than the mechanics of the research process.

By trying out as many of these mini-lessons as possible throughout the year, you’ll be really helping your students to thrive in all areas of school, work, and life.

Also remember to model your own searches explicitly during class time. Talk out loud as you look things up and ask students for input. Learning together is the way to go!

You Might Also Enjoy Reading:

How To Evaluate Websites: A Guide For Teachers And Students

Five Tips for Teaching Students How to Research and Filter Information

Typing Tips: The How and Why of Teaching Students Keyboarding Skills

8 Ways Teachers And Schools Can Communicate With Parents

Learn how to teach research skills to primary students, middle school students, or high school students. 50 activities that could be done in just a few minutes a day. Lots of Google search tips and research tips for kids and teachers. Free PDF included! Kathleen Morris | Primary Tech

10 Replies to “50 Mini-Lessons For Teaching Students Research Skills”

Loving these ideas, thank you

This list is amazing. Thank you so much!

So glad it’s helpful, Alex! 🙂

Hi I am a student who really needed some help on how to reasearch thanks for the help.

So glad it helped! 🙂

seriously seriously grateful for your post. 🙂

So glad it’s helpful! Makes my day 🙂

How do you get the 50 mini lessons. I got the free one but am interested in the full version.

Hi Tracey, The link to the PDF with the 50 mini lessons is in the post. Here it is . Check out this post if you need more advice on teaching students how to research online. Hope that helps! Kathleen

Best wishes to you as you face your health battler. Hoping you’ve come out stronger and healthier from it. Your website is so helpful.

Comments are closed.

Choosing and Refining Topics

When we are given a choice of topics to write on, or are asked to come up with our own topic ideas, we must always make choices that appeal to our own interests, curiosity, and current knowledge. If you decided to write an essay on the Affordable Care Act, for instance, you should make that decision because you are either interested in the issue, know something about it already, and/or would like to know more about it. However, because we rarely write solely for our own satisfaction, we must consider matters other than our own interests as we choose topics. You don’t always have to say something completely new and novel, but you do need a topic you can be confident about supporting, arguing, and researching on. Both interest and expandability are key factors in such a topic.

A Definition of a Topic

Arriving at topics for writing assignments.

In academic writing, topics are sometimes dictated by the task at hand. Consider, for example, that you must conduct a lab experiment before you can sit down to write a report. Or perhaps you have to run a statistical program to get your data. In these situations, your topic is determined for you: You will write about the results of the work you have completed. Likewise, your instructor may simply hand you a topic to explore or to research. In these situations, you are delivered from both the responsibility and the rewards of choosing your own topic, and your task is to try to develop an interest in what you have been given to write about.

More often, however, you will have a bit more leeway in choosing topics of your own. Sometimes you will be asked to find a topic of interest to you that is grounded in ideas developed in shared class readings and discussions. Other times, your assignment will be anchored even less, and you will be responsible for finding a topic all on your own. Many students find that the more freedom they are given to pursue their own interests, the more intimidated they are by this freedom, and the less certain they are of what really is interesting to them. But writing assignments with open topic options can be excellent opportunities either to explore and research issues that are already concerns for you (and which may even have been topics of earlier writing) or to examine new interests. A well chosen writing topic can lead to the types of research questions that fuel your academic interests for years to come. At the very least, though, topics can be seen as occasions for making your writing relevant and meaningful to your own personal and academic concerns.

How Purpose and Audience Affect the Choice of Topics

Before choosing and narrowing a topic to write about, consider why you are writing and who will read what you write. Your writing purpose and audience often dictate the types of topics that are available to you. (See our guide on ‘ Adapting to your Audience ’ for more detailed information about writing for specific audiences.)

In the workplace, purpose and audience are often defined for you. For instance, you might have to write a memo to a co-worker explaining why a decision was made or compose a letter to a client arguing why the company cannot replace a product. In either case, your purpose and audience are obvious, and your topic is equally evident. As a student, you may have to work a little harder to determine which topics are appropriate for particular purposes and audiences.

Oftentimes, the wording of your assignment sheet will offer clues as to the reasons why you are writing and the audience you are expected to address. Sometimes, when assignment sheets are unclear or when you misunderstand what is expected of you, you will need either to ask your instructor about purpose and audience or to make your own educated guess. However you arrive at the purpose and the audience of your writing, it is important to take these elements into consideration, since they help you to choose and narrow your topic appropriately.

Interpreting the Assignment

Steve Reid, English Professor It's important to circle an assignment's key words and then ask the instructor to clarify what these words mean. Every teacher has a different vocabulary. My students always ask me what I'm looking for when I give an assignment. As a writer, you need to know what the words mean in your field and what they mean to your instructor. Specific information about what’s expected for any given assignment can be ascertained through class discussion and directed research.

Many times, an assignment sheet or verbal assignment given by an instructor will reveal exactly what you are being asked to do. The first step in reviewing an assignment sheet is to circle key words or verbs, such as "explain," "describe," or "evaluate." Then, once you've identified these words, make sure you understand what your instructor means by them. For example, suppose your instructor asks you to describe the events leading up to World War II. This could mean explaining how the events prior to World War II helped bring about the beginning of the war, or list every possible cause you think led to the war, or describe and analyze the events. Inquiring before you start writing can help you determine your writing purpose and the expectations of your intended audience (usually your instructor).

How Purpose Affects Topics

Your purpose helps you to narrow a topic, since it demands particular approaches to a general subject. For example, if you're writing about how state policy affects foreign language study in grades K-12 in Oregon, you could have several different purposes. You may need to explain how the Oregon law came about; that is, what influenced it and who was responsible. Or perhaps you would need to explain the law's effects, how curriculum will be altered, etc. Another purpose might be to evaluate the law and to propose changes. Whatever purpose you decide to adopt will determine the questions which give direction to your topic, and (in the case of a research paper) will suggest the type of information you will need to gather in order to address those questions.

How Audience Affects Topics

Steve Reid, English Professor You have to be careful so your topic is not too narrow for your audience. You don't want readers to say, " Well, so what? I couldn't care less." One of the most important roles a topic plays is impacting an audience. If your topic gets too narrow and too focused, it can become too academic or too pedantic. For example, every year at graduation, I watch people laugh when they hear the title of a thesis or dissertation. The students who wrote these documents were very narrowed and focused, but their audiences were very restricted.

Having a clear idea of the audience to whom you are writing will help you to determine an appropriate topic and how to present it. For example, if you're writing about how state policy affects foreign language study in grades K-12 in Oregon, you could have many different audiences. You could be writing for teachers, administrators at a specific school, students whose educational program will be affected by the law, or even the PTA. All of these audiences care about the topic since they are all affected by it. However, for each of them you may need to provide different information and address slightly different questions about this topic. Teachers would want to know why the policy was created and how it will affect what goes on in their classrooms. Parents will want to know what languages their children will be taught and why. Administrators will want to know how this will change the curriculum and what work will be required of them as a result. Knowing your audience requires you to adapt and limit your topic so that you are presenting information appropriate to a specific group of interested readers.

Choosing Workable Topics

Most writers in the workplace don't have to think about what's workable and what's not when they write. Writing topics make themselves obvious in such situations, being the necessary outcome of particular processes. For example, meetings inspire memos and minutes; research produces reports; interactions with customers result in letters. As a student writer, your task is often more difficult than this, since topics do not always "find you" this easily.

Finding and selecting topics are oftentimes arduous tasks for the writer. Sometimes you will find yourself facing the "blank page" or "empty screen" dilemma, lacking topic ideas entirely. Other times you will have difficulties making your ideas fit a particular assignment you have been given. This section on "Choosing a Workable Topic" addresses both of these problems, offering both general strategies for generating topic ideas and strategies for finding topics appropriate to particular types of writing assignments that students frequently encounter.

How to Find a Topic

Don Zimmerman, Journalism and Technical Communication Professor I look at topics from a problem solving perspective and scientific method. Topics emerge from writers working on the job when they're in the profession, following major trends, developments, issues, etc. From the scientific perspective, topics emerge based on solid literature reviews and developing an understanding of the paradigm. From these then come the specific problems/topics/subjects that professionals or scientists address. Writers generate topics from their professional expertise, their understanding of the issues in their respective disciplines, and their understanding of the science that has gone before them.

While your first impulse may be to dash off to the library to dig through books and journals once you've received an assignment, you might also consider other information sources available to you.

Related Information: Making Use of Computer Sources

One hugely valuable source of topic ideas is obviously the Internet. Many sites can provide you with current perspectives on a subject and can lead you to other relevant sites. You can also find and join forums and groups where your general subject or topic is discussed daily (such as Reddit). This will allow you to ask questions of experts, as well as to read what issues are currently important. Massive scholarly databases, such as Google Scholar and JSTOR, can also help provide more reputable sources for research.

Related Information: Making Use of Library Sources

It is always helpful, particularly in the case of writing assignments which demand research, to visit the library and talk to a reference librarian when generating topic ideas. This way, you not only get to discuss your topic ideas with another expert, but you will also have more resources pointed out to you. There is usually a wealth of journals, reference books, and online resources related to your topic area(s) that you may not even know exist. An expert at the library may have better knowledge of specialized sources which you may not be able to access through Google Scholar or JSTOR.

Related Information: Talking to Others Around You

The people around you are often some of the best sources of information available to you. It is always valuable to talk informally about your assignment and any topic ideas you have with classmates, friends, family, tutors, professionals in the field, or any other interested and/or knowledgeable people. Remember, too, that a topic is not a surprise gift that must be kept from your instructor until you hand in your paper. Instructors are almost always happy to discuss potential topics with a student once he or she has an idea or two, and getting response to your work early in the writing process whenever possible is a good plan. Discussing your topic ideas in these ways may lead you to other ideas, and eventually to a well-defined topic.

Subjects and Topics

Most topic searches start with a subject. For example, you're interested in writing about languages, and even more specifically, foreign languages. This is a general subject. Within a general subject, you'll find millions of topics. Not only about every foreign language ever spoken, but also about hundreds of issues affecting foreign languages. But keep in mind that a subject search is always a good place to start.

Every time you use Google or another search engine, or even SAGE at the CSU library, you conduct a subject search. These search devices allow you to review many topics within a broad subject area. While it's beneficial to conduct subject searches, because you never know what valuable information you'll uncover, a subject always needs to be narrowed to a specific topic. This way, you can avoid writing a lengthy book and focus instead on the short research paper you've been assigned.

Starting With What You Know

Kate Kiefer, English Professor Most often the occasion dictates the topic for the writing done outside academe. But as a writer in school, you do sometimes have to generate topics. If you need help determining a topic, create an authority list of things you have some expertise in or a general list of areas you know something about and are interested in. Then, you can make this list more specific by considering how much you know and care about these ideas and what the target audience is probably interested in reading about.

In looking for writing topics, the logical first step is to consider issues or subjects which have concerned you in the past, either on the basis of life experience or prior writing/research. If you are a journal writer, look to your journal for ideas. If not, think about writing you have done for other writing assignments or for other classes. Though it is obviously not acceptable to recycle old essays you have written before, it is more than acceptable (even advisable) to return to and to extend topics you have written about in the past. Returning to the issues that concern you perennially is ultimately what good scholarship is all about.

Related Information: Choosing Topics You Want to Know More About

Even though your personal experience and prior knowledge are good places to start when looking for writing topics, it is important not to rule out those topics about which you know very little, and would like to know more. A writing assignment can be an excellent opportunity to explore a topic you have been wanting to know more about, even if you don't have a strong base knowledge to begin with. This type of topic would, of course, require more research and investigation initially, but it would also have the benefit of being compelling to you by virtue of its "newness."

Related Information: How to Pull Topics from Your Personal Experience

It is a good idea to think about how elements of your own life experience and environment could serve as topics for writing, even if you have never thought of them in that way. Think about the topics of recent conversations you have had, events in your life that are significant to you, problems in your workplace, family issues, matters having to do with college or campus life, or current events that evoke response from you. Taking a close look at the issues in your immediate environment is a good place to start in writing, even if those issues seem to you at first to be unworthy of your writing focus. Not all writing assignments have a personal dimension, but our interests and concerns are always, at their roots, personal.

General Strategies for Coming Up With Topics

Before attempting to choose or narrow a topic, you need to have some ideas to choose from. This can be a problem if you are suffering from the "blank page or screen" syndrome, and have not even any initial, general ideas for writing topics.

Brainstorming

As writers, some of our best ideas occur to us when we are thinking in a very informal, uninhibited way. Though we often think of brainstorming as a way for groups to come up with ideas, it is a strategy that individual writers can make use of as well. Simply put, brainstorming is the process of listing rough thoughts (in any form they occur to you: words, phrases, or complete sentences) that are connected (even remotely) to the writing assignment you have before you or the subject area you already have in mind. Brainstorming works best when you give yourself a set amount of time (perhaps five or ten minutes), writing down anything that comes to mind within that period of time, and resisting the temptation to criticize or polish your own ideas as they hit the page. There is time for examination and polishing when the five or ten minutes are over.

Freewriting

Freewriting is a technique much like brainstorming, only the ideas generated are written down in paragraph rather than list form. When you freewrite, you allow yourself a set amount of time (perhaps five or ten minutes), and you write down any and every idea that comes to mind as if you are writing a timed essay. However, your freewrite is unlikely to read like an organized essay. In fact, it shouldn't read that way. What is most important about freewriting is that you write continuously, not stopping to check your spelling, to find the right word, or even to think about how your ideas are fitting together. If you are unable to think of something to write, simply jot out, "I can't think of anything to write now," and go on. At the end of your five or ten minutes, reread what you have written, ignore everything that seems unimportant or ridiculous, and give attention to whatever ideas you think are worth pursuing. If you are able to avoid checking yourself while you are writing for that short time, you will probably be surprised at the number of ideas that you already have.

Clustering is a way of visually "mapping" your ideas on paper. It is a technique which works well for people who are able to best understand relationships between ideas by seeing the way they play themselves out spatially. (If you prefer reading maps to reading written directions, clustering may be the strategy for you.) Unlike formal outlining, which tends to be very linear, clustering allows you to explore the way ideas sprawl in different directions. When one thought leads to another, you can place that idea on the "map" in its appropriate place. And if you want to change its position later, and connect it with another idea, you can do so. (It is always a good idea to use a pencil rather than a pen for clustering, for this very reason.)

This is a good strategy not only for generating ideas, but also for determining how much you have to say about a topic (or topics), and how related or scattered your ideas are.

Related Information: Example of Brainstorming

Ideas on a Current Issue:

multiculturalism
training of teachers
teaching strategies
cultural difference in the classroom
teaching multicultural texts
language issues
English only
assimilation, checking cultural identity at the door
home language/dialect as intentionally different from school language
How many languages can we teach? (How multi-lingual must teachers be?)
Is standard English really "standard"?
success in school
statistics on students who speak "non-English" languages or established dialects
the difference between a dialect and a language
Ebonics v. bi-lingual education

Related Information: Example of Freewriting

Problem: Development of Small Towns in the Rocky Mountain Region

When I grew up in Anyoldtown, New Mexico, it was a small town in the smallest sense: no movie theaters, no supermarkets, nothing. We had to go into town for the things we needed. Land sold for $2000 an acre. Now it sells for about $50,000 an acre. Anyoldtown was also primarily hispanic, and the families who lived there had very little. Now the people who live there are mostly white and almost exclusively professionals: doctors, lawyers, stockbrokers, and an endless number of people who have money that seems to have come from nowhere. There are good things to be had there now: good restaurants, good coffee, and all the other things that come along with Yuppie invasion. But those things were had at quite a cost. People who used to live in Anyoldtown when I was a kid can no longer afford to pay property taxes. I can't think of anything else to write now. Oh, yes...these people made a killing off the sale of their land and properties, but they had to give up the places they had lived all their lives. However, by the time they sold, Anyoldtown was no longer the place where they had lived all their lives anyway.

Strategies for Finding Topics Appropriate to Particular Types of Assignments

Sometimes your ways of generating topics will depend on the type of writing assignment you have been given. Here are some ideas of strategies you can use in finding topics for some of the more common types of writing assignments:

Essays Based on Personal Experience

Essays responding to or interpreting texts.

Essays in Which You Take a Position on an Issue (Argument)

Essays Requiring Research

Essays in which you evaluate, essays in which you propose solutions to problems.

The great challenge of using personal experience in essays is trying to remember the kinds of significant events, places, people, or objects that would prove to be interesting and appropriate topics for writing. Brainstorming, freewriting, or clustering ideas in particular ways can give you a starting point.

Here are a few ways that you might trigger your memory:

Interview people you've known for a long time.Family members, friends, and other significant people in your life can remember important details and events that you haven't thought about for years.

Try to remember events from a particular time in your life. Old yearbooks, journals, and newspapers and magazines can help to trigger some of these memories.

Think about times of particular fulfillment or adversity. These "extremes" in your experience are often easily recalled and productively discussed. When have you had to make difficult choices, for instance? When have you undergone ethical struggles? When have you felt most successful?

Think about the groups you have encountered at various times in your life. When have you felt most like you belonged to or were excluded from groups of people: your family, cliques in school, clubs, "tracked" groups in elementary school, religious groups, or any other community/organization you have had contact with?

Think about the people or events that "changed your life." What are the forces that have most significantly influenced and shaped you? What are the circumstances surrounding academic, career, or relationship choices that you have made? What changes have you dealt with that have been most painful or most satisfying?

Try to remember any "firsts" in your experience.What was your first day of high school like? What was it like to travel far from home for the first time? What was your first hobby or interest as a child? What was the first book you checked out of the library? These "firsts," when you are able to remember them, can prove to have tremendous significance.

One word of caution on writing about personal experience: Keep in mind that any essay you write for a class will most likely be read by others, and will probably be evaluated on criteria other than your topic's importance to you. Never feel like you need to "confess," dredge up painful memories, or tell stories that are uncomfortable to you in academic writing. Save these topics for your own personal journal unless you are certain that you are able to distance yourself from them enough to handle the response that comes from instructors (and sometimes from peers).

Students are often asked to respond to or interpret essays, articles, books, stories, poems, and a variety of other texts. Sometimes your instructor will ask you to respond to one particular reading, other times you will have a choice of class readings, and still other times you will need to choose a reading on your own.

If you are given a choice of texts to respond to or to interpret, it is a good idea to choose one which is complex enough to hold your interest in the process of careful examination. It is not necessarily a problem if you do not completely understand a text on first reading it. What matters is that it challenges, intrigues, and/or evokes response from you in some way.

Related Information: Writing in the Margins of Texts

Many of us were told at some point in our schooling never to write in books. This makes sense in the case of books which don't belong to us (like library books or the dusty, tattered, thirty year-old copies of Hamlet distributed to us in high school). But in the case of books and photocopies which we have made on our own, writing in the margins can be one of the most productive ways to begin the writing process.

As you read, it is a good idea to make a habit of annotating , or writing notes in the margins. Your notes could indicate places in the text which remind you of experiences you have had or of other texts you have read. They could point out questions that you have, points of agreement or disagreement, or moments of complete confusion. Annotations begin a dialogue between you and the text you have before you, documenting your first (and later) responses, and they are valuable when you attempt at a later time to write about that text in a particular way.

Essays in Which You Take a Position on an Issue

One of the most common writing assignments given is some variation on the Arguing Essay, in which students are asked to take a position on a controversial issue. There are two challenges involved in finding topics for argument. One challenge is identifying a topic that you are truly interested in and concerned about, enough so that whatever research is required will be engrossing (or at the very least, tolerable), and not a tedious, painful ordeal. In other words, you want to try to avoid arriving at the "So what?" point with your own topic. The other challenge is in making sure that your audience doesn't respond, "So what?" in reading your approach to your topic. You can avoid this by making sure that the questions you are asking and addressing are current and interesting.

Related Information: Examining Social Phenomena and Trends

In The St. Martin's Guide to Writing , Third Edition, Rise B. Axelrod and Charles R. Cooper discuss the importance of looking toward social phenomena and trends for sources of argument topics. A phenomenon , they explain, is "something notable about the human condition or the social order" (314). A few of the examples of phenomena that they list are difficulties with parking on college campuses, negative campaigning in politics, popular artistic or musical styles, and company loyalty. A trend , on the other hand, is "a significant change extending over many months or years" (314). Some trends they list are the decline of Communism, diminishing concern over world hunger, increased practice of homeschooling, and increased legitimacy of pop art. Trying to think in terms of incidental, current social phenomena or long-term, gradual social trends is a good way of arriving at workable topics for essays requiring you to take a position.

Related Information: Making Sure Your Approach to Your Topic is Current and Interesting

In choosing a topic for an arguing essay, it is important to get a handle not only on what is currently being debated, but how it is being debated. In other words, it is necessary to learn what questions are currently being asked about certain topics and why. In order to avoid the "so what" dilemma, you want to approach your topic in a way that is not simplistic, tired, outdated, or redundant. For example, if you are looking at the relationship of children to television, you probably would want to avoid a topic like "the effects of t.v. violence on children" (which has been beaten to death over the years) in favor of a topic like "different toy marketing strategies for young male v.s. female viewers of Saturday morning cartoons" (a topic that seems at least a bit more original).

As a student writer, you are usually not asked to break absolutely new ground on a topic during your college career. However, you are expected to try to find ground that is less rather than more trampled when finding and approaching writing topics.

Trying to think in terms of incidental, current social phenomena or long-term, gradual social trends is a good way of arriving at workable topics for essays requiring you to take a position.

Related Information: Sources of Topics

Looking to Your Own Writing

When trying to rediscover the issues which have concerned you in the past, go back to journal entries (if you are a journal writer) or essays that you have written before. As you look through this formal and informal writing, consider whether or not these issues still concern you, and what (specifically) you now have to say about them. Are these matters which would concern readers other than yourself, or are they too specific to your own life to be interesting and controversial to a reading audience? Is there a way to give a "larger" significance to matters of personal concern? For example, if you wrote in your journal that you were unhappy with a particular professor's outdated teaching methods, could you turn that idea into a discussion of the downfalls of the tenure system? If you were frustrated with the way that your anthropology instructor dismissed your comment about the ways that "primitive" women are discussed, could you think of that problem in terms of larger gender issues? Sometimes your frustrations and mental conflicts are simply your own gripes, but more often than not they can be linked with current and widely debated issues.

Looking to Your Other Classes

When given an assignment which asks you to work with a controversial issue, always try to brainstorm points of controversy that you recall from current or past courses. What are people arguing about in the various disciplines? Sometimes these issues will seem irrelevant because they appear only to belong to those other disciplines, but there are oftentimes connections that can be made. For example, perhaps you have been asked in a communications class to write an essay on a language issue. You might remember that in a class on information systems, your class debated whether or not Internet news groups are truly diverse or not. You might begin to think about the reasons why news groups are (or aren't) diverse, thinking about the way that language is used. Consider sources that contain one narrative as well as those with a multitude of voices and perspectives, as they will each provide different types of information on your topic.

Reading Newspapers and Magazines

If you are not already an avid newspaper and magazine reader, become one for a week. Pore over the different sections: news, editorials, sports, and even cartoons. Look for items that connect with your own life experiences, and pay attention to those which evoke some strong response from you for one reason or another. Even if an issue that you discover in a newspaper or magazine doesn't prove to be a workable topic, it might lead you to other topic ideas.

Interviewing the People Around You

If you are at a loss to find an issue that lights a fire under you, determine what fires up your friends, family members, and classmates. Think back to heated conversations you have had at the dinner table, or conduct interviews in which you ask the people around you what issues impact their lives most directly. Because you share many experiences and contexts with these people, it is likely that at least some of the issues that concern them will also concern you.

Using the Internet

It is useful to browse the Internet for current, controversial issues. Spend some time surfing aimlessly, or wander through forums and subreddits to see what’s being discussed. Using the Internet can be one of the best ways to determine what is immediately and significantly controversial/relevant.

Although some essays that students are asked to write are to be based solely on their own thoughts and experience, oftentimes (particularly in upper level courses) writing assignments require research. When scoping out possible research topics, it is important to remember to choose a topic which will sustain your interest throughout the research and writing process. The best research topics are those which are complex enough that they offer opportunities for various research questions. You want to avoid choosing a topic that could bore you easily, or that is easily researched but not very interesting to you.

As always, it is good to start searching for a topic within your personal interests and previous writing. You might want to choose a research topic that you have pursued before and do additional research, or you might want to select a topic about which you would like to know more. More than anything, writers must remember that research will often carry them in different directions than they intend to go, and that they must be flexible enough to acknowledge that their research questions and topics must sometimes be adjusted or abandoned. To read more on narrowing and adjusting a research topic, see the section in this guide on Research Considerations.

Related Information: Flexibility in Research

As you conduct your research, it is important to keep in mind that the questions you are asking about your topic (and oftentimes, the topic itself) will probably change slightly. Sometimes you are forced to acknowledge that there is too much or too little information available on the topic you have chosen. Other times, you might decide that the approach you were originally taking is not as interesting to you as others you have found. For instance, you might start with a topic like "foreign language studies in grades K-12 in Oregon," and in the process of your reading you might find that you are really more interested in "bilingual education in rural Texas." Still other times, you might find that the claim you were attempting to make about your topic is not arguable, or is just wrong.

Our research can carry us in directions that we don't always foresee, and part of being a good researcher is maintaining the flexibility necessary to explore those directions when they present themselves.

Related Information: How Research Narrows Topics

By necessity, most topics narrow themselves as you read more and more about them. Oftentimes writers come up with topics that they think will be sufficiently narrow and engaging--a topic like "multiculturalism and education," for instance--and discover through their initial reading that there are many different avenues they could take in examining the various aspects of this broad issue. Although such discoveries are often humbling and sometimes intimidating, they are also a necessary part of any effective research process. You can take some comfort in knowing that you do not always need to have your topic narrowed to its final form before you begin researching. The sources you read will help you to do the necessary narrowing and definition of your focus.

Related Information: Research Topics and Writing Assignments

When you are choosing a research topic, it is important to be realistic about the time and space limitations that your assignment dictates. If you are writing a graduate thesis or dissertation, for instance, you might be able to research a topic as vast and as time-honored as "the portrayal of women in the poetry of William Blake." But if your assignment asks you to produce a five-page essay by next Tuesday, you might want to focus on something a bit more accessible, like "the portrayal of women in Blake's `The Visions of the Daughters of Albion.'"

Related Information: Testing Research Topics

Early in your research and writing process, after you have found a somewhat narrow avenue into your topic, put the topic to the test to see if you really want to pursue it further in research. Rise B. Axelrod and Charles R. Cooper, in The St. Martin's Guide to Writing , Third Edition, suggest some questions writers might ask themselves when deciding whether or not a research topic is workable:

Does this topic really interest me?
Do I know enough about it now to plan and write my essay, or can I learn what I need to know in the time I have remaining?
Is the topic manageable within my time and space limits?
Do I have a good sense of how others view this issue and what readers I might address in my essay?
Have I begun to understand the issue and to formulate my own view?

Students are often asked to write essays in which they evaluate something: a product, a piece of writing, a restaurant, an advertising campaign, or some other entity related to their areas of study. Sometimes when you are given this type of writing assignment, you are also given a very specific topic on which to write. Other times, you are asked to find a topic for evaluation on your own.

Related Information: Comparing and Contrasting

After brainstorming a list of possible topics for evaluation, you may find it difficult to determine whether or not you will be able to effectively evaluate those topics. One way of stimulating your mind's evaluative tendencies is to try comparison and contrast. For example, if you are thinking about evaluating a local Thai restaurant, and you are having trouble coming up with points on which to evaluate it, try comparing and contrasting it with another local Thai restaurant. When we begin to compare two items, ideas, places, or people, we invariably wind up evaluating.

Related Information: Generating an Authority List

If the choice of topics to evaluate is open to you, try brainstorming a list of skills, activities, places, or subjects that you consider yourself to be an authority about. A list like this is a good starting point for just about any essay, but it is particularly useful in evaluation. If you are an avid rock climber, for instance, it makes perfect sense for you to evaluate climbing equipment, since your experience will provide you with a basis for evaluation. It may still be necessary to do research, but you will have a head start even before you begin researching.

Related Information: Questions to Ask Yourself as You Evaluate

In testing possible topics for evaluation, you might ask yourself some very general questions about your initial thoughts. Rise B. Axelrod and Charles R. Cooper, in their St. Martin's Guide to Writing , Third Edition, suggest a few such questions:

How certain am I of my judgment? Do I have any doubts? Why do I feel the way I do?
Do I like (or dislike) everything about my subject, or only certain parts?
Are there any similar things I should consider (other products or movies, for example)?
Is there anything I will need to do right away in order to research this subject authoritatively?
If I need to do any research, can I get the information I need?

As a writer, you will sometimes be asked to speculate on possible solutions to known problems. Although the process of problem solving is itself quite difficult, one of the greatest challenges about that process is the matter of finding a topic that lends itself to your purpose.

Related Information: Evaluating and Problem Solving

Problem solving is an extension of the evaluating process. If in the past you have written evaluative essays which identify certain problems, these essays might offer you some topic ideas and starting points. You might also look to personal writing you have done (like journal entries) or recent conversations you have had as ways of recalling the types of problems that you have identified in your general environment.

Related Information: Focusing on Solvable Problems

Obviously, not all problems are appropriate topics for short problem solving essays. For example, if your instructor assigns a ten-page problem solving essay dealing with a current problem of your choice, you might want to avoid a topic as vast as "racism." However, if you were to focus on a more context-specific version of this hulking problem, you might find a workable topic (say, for instance, minority enrollment on your campus). For assignments like these, it is important to choose problems that appear solvable (or at least approachable) in the time and space you have available to you.

Related Information: Identifying Problems Within Communities

One excellent source of topics for problem solving essays is your immediate environment. Think about the groups or communities to which you belong: your neighborhood, college, family, ethnic and cultural groups, religious and political groups, workplace, and recreational groups. Try to brainstorm a list of problems that you can readily identify in any of these communities, then consider both how solvable these problems are and how appropriate they are to your writing assignment.

Generating More Than One Topic Idea

In order to choose a topic, you need to have several available to choose from. It is best to avoid being committed to one topic at this first stage of the writing process, since not every topic will pan out. Writers are usually more successful when they have a selection of topics which they can put to the test to determine whether or not they are workable (given the writing assignment).

Narrowing Topics

The scope of a topic depends on how much time and space you have to write and how much detail you are trying to use. For example, describing all the causes of World War II in three pages is impossible. You would have to either narrow your topic some more or write hundreds of pages to adequately discuss every cause. Defining your topic before you start writing will save you time and help you to research and/or to develop your thinking in a clear, methodical way. It is important to examine the topics we choose to determine whether they are too broad (or, in some instances, too narrow) for the writing assignments we are given. Once you have decided that a topic is too broad to be appropriate to your assignment (which is most often the case), you will need to have ways to narrow it. You will also want to consider, when writing essays that require research, how your research resources and limitations affect your choice of topics.

Deciding When a Topic is Too Broad

Kate Kiefer, English Professor If a writer doesn't present details quickly enough, then the topic is usually too broad. If the reader can expect the paper to go in one direction, but it goes in another, the topic is usually too broad or not stated precisely enough. If I can ask six million questions about whether the writer will include this or that point, the topic is too broad. If I do a library search and turn up 200 listings (or an Internet search and discover 1,000 hits), the topic is too broad.

A topic is too broad to be workable when you find that you have too many different (but oftentimes remotely related) ideas about that topic. While you want to start the writing process with as many ideas as possible, you will want to narrow your focus at some point so that you aren't attempting to do too much in one essay.

Where essays requiring research are concerned, your topic is too broad if you are able to find thousands of sources when conducting a simple library or Internet search. For example, conducting a search on "foreign languages in Oregon" will provide you with policies, foreign language departments, and cultural issues (just to name a few). When this happens, you can try various narrowing strategies to determine what most interests you about your topic area and what relates to your own life most readily. For instance, if you plan to study abroad, focusing on the language you'll be speaking might be a way to narrow the scope of your original topic, "foreign languages in Oregon."

Deciding When a Topic Is Too Narrow

Steve Reid, English Professor You have to be careful so your topic is not too narrow for your audience. You don't want readers to say, " Well, so what? I couldn't care less." One of the most important roles a topic plays is impacting an audience. If you get so narrowed and focused, a topic can become too academic or pedantic. For example, every year at graduation I watch people laugh when they hear the title of a thesis or dissertation. The students who wrote these documents were very narrowed and focused, but their audiences were very restricted.

Though student writers most often face the challenge of limiting a topic that is too broad, they occasionally have to recognize that they have chosen a topic that is too narrow or that they have narrowed a workable topic too much. A topic is too narrow if you can't find any information about it. For example, suppose your foreign language is subject to, "foreign language policy in South Dakota." Although you might have a strong interest in this topic, South Dakota may not have a specific policy about foreign languages. If you have chosen the topic, "teaching Chinese in elementary schools," and your research attempts have been fruitless, it may be that you are considering a topic that no one else has previously presented. In other words, no one has determined that Chinese should be a major language taught as commonly as Spanish or French. If this happens to be the case, keep your topic in mind, because it could very well be an excellent topic for a graduate thesis or dissertation. However, it is also likely to be a difficult topic to handle in a ten-page essay for an education class, due in two weeks.

If your topic is too narrow, try making it broader by asking yourself related questions.

What foreign languages are taught in South Dakota schools?
Or where is Chinese taught and why?

Once you've found a different direction in which to move with your topic, you can try narrowing it again.

General Strategies for Narrowing Topics

One of the first things writers do when they realize that they need to narrow the scope of their topic is to ask themselves the "w" questions so familiar to journalists: Who? What? Where? When? and Why? (and oftentimes, How?) These questions can help you locate your specific points of interest within your general topic area. For example, to narrow a topic like "foreign languages," you could begin with the "what" and "when" questions and decide you are interested in "foreign language studies in grades K-12." Asking the "where" question, you might arrive at "foreign language studies in grades K-12 in Oregon." And asking the "who" question might cause you to limit the topic again to "state policy regarding foreign language studies in grades K-12 in Oregon." Each time you add something specific to your topic, you place "restrictors" on it, thereby narrowing it. Then, when you conduct a library or Internet search, you can use these "restrictors" as key words.

Related Information: Looping

Looping is an extended version of freewriting in which you begin with an initial five-minute freewrite on a general topic, then select out of that bit of writing the sentence or idea that interests you the most. You then use that sentence or idea as the basis for your next five-minute round of freewriting. You continue this process of elaborating informally on specific ideas until you come to a point where your topic seems sufficiently narrow, researchable, and appropriate to your writing assignment.

Example of Looping If I am freewriting on the general (and overly broad) topic of "development of small towns in the Rocky Mountain region," I might start with the following initial ideas: Problem: Development of Small Towns in the Rocky Mountain Region When I grew up in Anyoldtown, New Mexico, it was a small town in the smallest sense: no movie theaters, no supermarkets, nothing. We had to go into town for the things we needed. Land sold for $2000 an acre. Now it sells for about $50,000 an acre. Anyoldtown was also primarily hispanic, and the families who lived there had very little. Now the people who live there are mostly white and almost exclusively professionals: doctors, lawyers, stockbrokers, and an endless number of people who have money that seems to have come from nowhere. There are good things to be had there now: good restaurants, good coffee, and all the other things that come along with Yuppie invasion. But those things were had at quite a cost. People who used to live in Anyoldtown when I was a kid can no longer afford to pay property taxes. I can't think of anything else to write now. Oh, yes...these people made a killing off the sale of their land and properties, but they had to give up the places they had lived all their lives. However, by the time they sold, Anyoldtown was no longer the place where they had lived all their lives anyway. Rereading what I have written, I might decide that what interests me the most and seems most appropriate to the writing assignment I have been given is my idea about the property tax dilemma. With this in mind, I would write a second "loop" on this area of my thinking, perhaps even starting my freewriting with the exact sentence I used in the first "loop:" People who used to live in Anyoldtown when I was a kid can no longer afford to pay property taxes. This is unfair, because these people spent their entire lives in this town, and land was all they had. Theoretically, the Yuppie Invasion doesn't drive out the "townies" or "natives" of a small town, but in actuality, land values and property taxes (as well as cultural influences, of course) make it impossible (and oftentimes undesirable) for people to hold onto their own land. People have to sell, because if they don't, they can no longer afford to maintain the standard of living that their town has taken on (in more ways than one). This issue obviously has class implications, but I'm sure it also relates to cultural (ethnic) issues as well. This is where I would need to begin researching, if I wanted to see who was most negatively affected by rising property taxes and land values. In rereading this second loop, I might decide that my ideas toward the end of the paragraph interest me the most. I could write another loop expanding these specific ideas on race, class, and property taxes, or I might decide that I have (as my freewrite suggests) arrived at the point where I need to begin researching.

Related Information: Questioning

Alongside the basic "5 W's" ("who," "what," "when," "where," and "why") can be used more formal, directed questions provided by the classical rhetorical "topics." These questions function in four different ways, and can be categorized as follows:

Example of Questioning If my general topic is "Development of Small Towns in the Rocky Mountain Region," I might try to narrow my focus by applying questions with specific functions to this topic area, thereby discovering which approach interests me most. Here are some of the questions I might ask:

After writing the questions, I would write my responses, deciding which particular questions and responses interest me the most. Perhaps, for instance, I would find myself most interested in the effects of development on the "natives" of small towns, particularly the inevitability of increased property taxes. This process of questioning thus provides me with a specific, narrow, well-defined focus within the vast issue of development of small towns in the Rocky Mountain region.

Related Information: Topic Cross

The topic cross helps you to narrow your topic by using a visual strategy. Just as you would focus a camera or a microscope, you arrange key words and phrases about your topic in such a way that they eventually point to your specific area of interest.

Example of a Topic Cross The first step in the process of using the topic cross is brainstorming. Spend a few minutes listing words and phrases that come to mind when you think about your topic. Then decide which words and phrases are most interesting and arrange them in a hierarchy, moving from general (at the top of the list) to specific (at the bottom of the list). This hierarchy will become the vertical axis of your cross. Demonstration: If my topic is "development of small towns in the Rocky Mountain region," I might generate the following useful ideas in brainstorming (arranged from general to specific).

The appeal of small towns
Yuppie invasion
Overcrowding in cities
Cost of land
Effects on town "natives."
Economic effects on impoverished landowners.
How John Doe in my home town was affected.
The new espresso bar in town

I would write this list in an imagined middle column of a piece of blank paper or a computer screen, leaving plenty of space between each item. Then I would scan the list to determine where my real interest lies. Which topics in this list will be too broad to write about, given my writing assignment? Which will be too narrow? In this case, I might choose "economic effects on impoverished landowners" as a workable topic area. Once I had thus identified my area of interest, I would begin listing words and phrases about or relevant to that item, placing them on the horizontal axis of my topic cross. The list I would generate about "economic effects on impoverished landowners" might look like this:

Increased cost of land
Temptation to sell
Rising property taxes
Higher cost of living
Zoning issues
Pressure to maintain property value

Examining this list, I might decide that "rising property taxes" is a sufficiently narrow topic that is not too narrow to develop with my own ideas and research I might do. By using this strategy, I have arrived at a narrow, workable topic.

Research Considerations

If your writing assignment requires research, you will probably find that the research process itself will dictate how broad or narrow your topic should be. We have all had the experience of doing a library search on a word like "environment" and coming up with thousands of sources. Almost as common is the experience of searching for a term like "cultural animation" and coming up with only one source that seems useful. The topics we choose are often directly related to our research processes and their results.

Moving from Topic to Thesis

It is important to remember that a narrow topic is not the same thing as a thesis statement. Unlike a topic, a thesis makes a claim of fact, provides a claim of value, or makes a recommendation about a topic under consideration. For example, your narrowed topic might be "the underemphasis on foreign language in U.S. secondary schools." A focused thesis statement making a claim about this topic might read, "U.S. secondary schools should require elementary students to take at least one course in a foreign language sometime during the 4th through 6th grades."

Transforming a workable topic into a possible thesis is really just a continuation of the narrowing process, with an emphasis on what you want to say about your topic. In this way, it is much like the "hypothesis" stage of the scientific method. You arrive at a thesis by attempting to make a statement about the topic you have chosen.

Developing a Working Thesis

A working thesis is a tentative statement that you make about your topic early in the writing process, for the purpose of directing your thinking early. This thesis is likely to change somewhat or to be abandoned altogether as you move through the writing process, so it is best not to become too enamored of it.

There are two components of a working thesis. The first is, quite simply, your topic; and the second is your tentative statement about your topic. For example, if my narrowed topic is

"Rising property taxes in small towns in the Rocky Mountain region..."

I might add the following statement about that topic:

"...cause longtime residents and landowners in those towns not to be able to keep their property."

As I begin whatever research is necessary to support this thesis, I might find that I can't make this much of a claim. Or I might find that there are complexities that I hadn't considered. As I uncover new information about my topic, I will want to alter my working thesis accordingly, until it is workable and supportable.

Arriving at a Possible Thesis for an Essay Requiring Research

A In The St. Martin's Handbook , Third Edition [italics], Andrea Lunsford and Robert Connors suggest a process for moving from a topic to a research "hypothesis," by way of examining the "issue" at hand and framing this issue as a "research question." The following is an example of how I might move from topic to hypothesis if my narrowed topic is "rising property taxes in small towns in the Rocky Mountain region."

Topic: Rising property taxes in small towns in the Rocky Mountain region
Issue: The effects of these rising taxes on long-time residents and landowners in the small towns
Research Question: What are the effects of rising property taxes on long-time residents and landowners in small towns in the Rocky Mountain region?
Hypothesis: Because these taxes are increasingly difficult to pay, small town "natives" find themselves unable to hold onto their property.

This hypothesis, like a working thesis, is simply an early speculation on what I might find when I begin to research. As I read more and more about my topic, I will probably find that I need to make changes to the hypothesis in order to make it a supportable thesis. As I uncover new information about my topic, I will want to alter my working thesis accordingly, until it is workable and supportable.

Arriving at a Possible Thesis for an Essay Requiring You to Take a Position

One of the greatest challenges in written argument is determining what it is that you would like to (and are able to) say about your topic.

Narrowing from Topic to Thesis in Argument

Before you begin drafting an argument paper, you need to decide (tentatively, at least) what it is that you will be arguing about the topic you have chosen. The following prompts should help you focus your argument from a topic to a position on that topic. What is your topic? (e.g.--Rising property taxes in small towns in the Rocky Mountain region) What are three controversies associated with this topic? (e.g.--Rising property taxes make the town affordable only to the wealthy. This changes the flavor of the town. It forces long-time land owners to sell their land.) What are three questions people might ask about these controversies? (e.g.--Are these rising property taxes, which are the results of development in small towns in the Rocky Mountain region, forcing long-time land owners out of their home towns? Are rising taxes and land values changing the whole cultural and economic foundation of the towns? Given the effects of rising property taxes on impoverished land owners in small towns, is development in this area a good idea?) Decide which of these questions you are most interested in exploring. (e.g.--Given the effects of rising property taxes on impoverished land owners in small towns, is development in this area a good idea?) Now list several ways people might respond if you asked them your question. (e.g.--No, because impoverished land owners are unable to maintain the new standard of living. Yes, because development is always a good idea. Yes, because development is inevitable, and we can do nothing about it. Perhaps, but city planners and local governments must find ways to protect the interests of impoverished land owners when they determine property taxes.) Finally, decide where you stand in this range of responses. Think of a thesis that expresses your view. Write out your thesis and revise it throughout your research process until it is specific and takes a single arguable position. (e.g.--Because impoverished land owners in small towns in the Rocky Mountain region are often badly hurt by the rising property taxes resulting from development, city planners and local governments must find ways to protect the interests of these land owners when they determine property taxes.)

Working With Topics in Different Disciplines

Don Zimmerman, Journalism and Technical Communication Professor Writers' understanding of topics and their fields of study allow them to focus on a specific topic. Following a good problem solving process or scientific method can help you select a topic. Whereas on the job, topics emerge from day to day activities. When working, you don't need to look for topics to write about. Your respective field/job responsibilities allow you to find the problems.

The ways that topics are approached and the types of topics that are discussed vary from discipline to discipline. It is important to investigate the types of topics that are discussed (and the ways that they are discussed) in your own discipline. As a writer, it is necessary to determine what topics are talked about and why in your own discipline (or in the discipline for which you are writing). This can be done by way of talking to professionals in the discipline, looking at relevant journals, and conducting Internet and database searches (to name a few possibilities).

Related Information: Browsing Journals Important to Your Discipline

Almost every discipline has journals that are associated with it, and scholars in the discipline depend on these journals in order to remain informed about what topics are being discussed. For example, scholars in the field of psychology rely on psychological journals; doctors rely on medical journals; and English professors rely on literary journals. Because journals are at the center of each discipline's current discussions, it is a good idea to browse them when looking for current topics. If you are unsure of how to go about doing this, talk to a professor in your discipline, a reference librarian in your library, or a librarian in your library's Current Periodicals room. These people can usually provide you with a few titles of important journals relevant to your field. Once you have these titles, you can locate a few issues of each journal in the Current Periodicals room, sit down for an hour or two, and look through the articles to see what is being talked about and what interests you.

Related Information: Online Searches and Databases

One way of getting to the sources which will discuss topics current to your discipline is by searching the various computer databases and search engines related to that discipline. A database is simply an arrangement of information by way of similar subject matter. Some multidisciplinary scholarly databases include ResearchGate, Google Scholar, and OpenAlex. There are more specialized databases as well for almost every discipline. For example, if you were researching a topic for a Sociology essay on group behavior of Deadheads, you might go to the Social Sciences Index to find sources related to your topic. For information on how to find relevant and useful databases, talk to the reference librarian in your library, or ask an expert in your field which databases they use regularly.

Related Information: Talking to Professionals in Your Discipline

One of the most efficient ways to learn what topics are currently being discussed in your discipline is to talk to the experts: instructors and other professionals working within that discipline. We often forget that these people can be valuable resources to us, and can point us toward books, journals, databases, and other sources of information that scholars in our various fields use often.

Additional Resources

Harvard Extension School - ' Choosing a Topic '

Purdue OWL - ' Choosing a Topic '

USU Libraries - ' Choosing a Research Topic '

York College - ' Choosing a Topic and Identifying Keywords '

Nesbitt, Laurel, Dawn Kowalski, & Andrea Bennett. (2022). Choosing and Refining Topics. Writing@CSU . Colorado State University. https://writing.colostate.edu/guides/guide.cfm?guideid=20

Louisiana State University
Research Guides
LSU Libraries

Information Literacy Tutorials

Tutorial 1: Developing a Research Topic
Tutorial 2: Identifying & Locating Sources
Tutorial 3: Evaluating Sources
Tutorial 4: Using Information Ethically

Developing a Research Topic

This tutorial should take you 15-30 minutes to complete.

You will need to review 4 lessons and take a quiz.

When you are done, you will be able to:

View research as a process
Understand the importance of background research
Choose a research topic that is not too narrow or broad
Translate your background research and knowledge about your chosen topic into thesis statement drafts
Lesson 1: The Research Process
Lesson 2: Background Research Tips
Lesson 3: Choosing a Topic
Lesson 4: Thesis Statements
Quiz: Developing a Research Topic
<< Previous: Home
Next: Tutorial 2: Identifying & Locating Sources >>
Last Updated: Jun 16, 2021 3:18 PM
URL: https://guides.lib.lsu.edu/tutorials

Provide Website Feedback Accessibility Statement

USC Libraries
Research Guides

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper

Narrowing a Topic Idea
Purpose of Guide
Design Flaws to Avoid
Independent and Dependent Variables
Glossary of Research Terms
Reading Research Effectively
Broadening a Topic Idea
Extending the Timeliness of a Topic Idea
Academic Writing Style
Applying Critical Thinking
Choosing a Title
Making an Outline
Paragraph Development
Research Process Video Series
Executive Summary
The C.A.R.S. Model
Background Information
The Research Problem/Question
Theoretical Framework
Citation Tracking
Content Alert Services
Evaluating Sources
Primary Sources
Secondary Sources
Tiertiary Sources
Scholarly vs. Popular Publications
Qualitative Methods
Quantitative Methods
Insiderness
Using Non-Textual Elements
Limitations of the Study
Common Grammar Mistakes
Writing Concisely
Avoiding Plagiarism
Footnotes or Endnotes?
Further Readings
Generative AI and Writing
USC Libraries Tutorials and Other Guides
Bibliography

Importance of Narrowing the Research Topic

Whether you are assigned a general issue to investigate, must choose a problem to study from a list given to you by your professor, or you have to identify your own topic to investigate, it is important that the scope of the research problem is not too broad, otherwise, it will be difficult to adequately address the topic in the space and time allowed. You could experience a number of problems if your topic is too broad, including:

You find too many information sources and, as a consequence, it is difficult to decide what to include or exclude or what are the most relevant sources.
You find information that is too general and, as a consequence, it is difficult to develop a clear framework for examining the research problem.
A lack of sufficient parameters that clearly define the research problem makes it difficult to identify and apply the proper methods needed to analyze it.
You find information that covers a wide variety of concepts or ideas that can't be integrated into one paper and, as a consequence, you trail off into unnecessary tangents.

Lloyd-Walker, Beverly and Derek Walker. "Moving from Hunches to a Research Topic: Salient Literature and Research Methods." In Designs, Methods and Practices for Research of Project Management . Beverly Pasian, editor. ( Burlington, VT: Gower Publishing, 2015 ), pp. 119-129.

Strategies for Narrowing the Research Topic

A common challenge when beginning to write a research paper is determining how and in what ways to narrow down your topic . Even if your professor gives you a specific topic to study, it will almost never be so specific that you won’t have to narrow it down at least to some degree [besides, it is very boring to grade fifty papers that are all about the exact same thing!].

A topic is too broad to be manageable when a review of the literature reveals too many different, and oftentimes conflicting or only remotely related, ideas about how to investigate the research problem. Although you will want to start the writing process by considering a variety of different approaches to studying the research problem, you will need to narrow the focus of your investigation at some point early in the writing process. This way, you don't attempt to do too much in one paper.

Here are some strategies to help narrow the thematic focus of your paper :

Aspect -- choose one lens through which to view the research problem, or look at just one facet of it [e.g., rather than studying the role of food in South Asian religious rituals, study the role of food in Hindu marriage ceremonies, or, the role of one particular type of food among several religions].
Components -- determine if your initial variable or unit of analysis can be broken into smaller parts, which can then be analyzed more precisely [e.g., a study of tobacco use among adolescents can focus on just chewing tobacco rather than all forms of usage or, rather than adolescents in general, focus on female adolescents in a certain age range who choose to use tobacco].
Methodology -- the way in which you gather information can reduce the domain of interpretive analysis needed to address the research problem [e.g., a single case study can be designed to generate data that does not require as extensive an explanation as using multiple cases].
Place -- generally, the smaller the geographic unit of analysis, the more narrow the focus [e.g., rather than study trade relations issues in West Africa, study trade relations between Niger and Cameroon as a case study that helps to explain economic problems in the region].
Relationship -- ask yourself how do two or more different perspectives or variables relate to one another. Designing a study around the relationships between specific variables can help constrict the scope of analysis [e.g., cause/effect, compare/contrast, contemporary/historical, group/individual, child/adult, opinion/reason, problem/solution].
Time -- the shorter the time period of the study, the more narrow the focus [e.g., restricting the study of trade relations between Niger and Cameroon to only the period of 2010 - 2020].
Type -- focus your topic in terms of a specific type or class of people, places, or phenomena [e.g., a study of developing safer traffic patterns near schools can focus on SUVs, or just student drivers, or just the timing of traffic signals in the area].
Combination -- use two or more of the above strategies to focus your topic more narrowly.

NOTE : Apply one of the above strategies first in designing your study to determine if that gives you a manageable research problem to investigate. You will know if the problem is manageable by reviewing the literature on your more narrowed problem and assessing whether prior research is sufficient to move forward in your study [i.e., not too much, not too little]. Be careful, however, because combining multiple strategies risks creating the opposite problem--your problem becomes too narrowly defined and you can't locate enough research or data to support your study.

Booth, Wayne C. The Craft of Research . Fourth edition. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2016; Coming Up With Your Topic. Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth College; Narrowing a Topic. Writing Center. University of Kansas; Narrowing Topics. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Strategies for Narrowing a Topic. University Libraries. Information Skills Modules. Virginia Tech University; The Process of Writing a Research Paper. Department of History. Trent University; Ways to Narrow Down a Topic. Contributing Authors. Utah State OpenCourseWare.

<< Previous: Reading Research Effectively
Next: Broadening a Topic Idea >>
Last Updated: Apr 22, 2024 9:12 AM
URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide

The Lesson Study Group

at Mills College

Choose a Topic

Develop a research theme, study standards, research, and curriculum materials.

5-15 minutes

Identify the topic you will work on, and why

Teacher referencing chart paper while speaking in front of colleagues out of the frame

Collectively Decide on Subject Matter

Guiding questions for topic selection.

Some teams have already chosen a topic (e.g., fractions, argumentative writing) before beginning their work together. Other teams choose whatever topic will be taught at the time of the research lesson. Both approaches are fine. If your team has not yet settled on a topic, consider the following questions:

What topics are important and persistently difficult for students?
“What topics do we find difficult to teach?
Are there new curricula, frameworks, standards or teaching approaches that we want to understand and try out as part of our lesson study cycle?

Some Cautions

Lesson study is not just about a single lesson. At this point in your lesson study work, you should be thinking about a content area and topic, not just a single lesson. As you study the topic your ideas about a specific lesson may change radically.

Examples of Lesson Study Topics

What is Lesson Study?
Why Lesson Study?
Teacher Learning
Content Resources
Teaching Through Problem-solving (TTP)
School-wide Lesson Study
U.S. Networks
International Networks

Research Lesson Plan: Research to Build and Present Knowledge

*Click to open and customize your own copy of the Research Lesson Plan .

This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Research , and supports the standard of gathering relevant information from multiple sources. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Prompt students to think of a time they had to do research, either for school or for themselves. Ask:

How did you determine what information to look for?
What went well? What was challenging?

Step 2: BUILD BACKGROUND

Read aloud the description on the Research topic page .
Play the Movie , pausing to check for understanding.
Have students read one of the following Related Reading articles: “Way Back When” or “In Depth.” Partner them with someone who read a different article to share what they learned with each other.

Step 3: ENGAGE Students express what they learned about research while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

Make-a-Movie : Create a tutorial that answers this question: What are the steps for writing a research report? (Essential Literacy Skill: Acquire and use domain specific words and phrases)
Make-a-Map : Make a spider map in which you state a research question in the center, and around it, identify sub questions and sources for finding answers in order to write a research report. (Essential Literacy Skill: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources)
Creative Coding : Code a museum where each artifact represents a component of the research process. (Essential Literacy Skill: Make logical inferences from explicit details)

Step 4: APPLY & ASSESS

Apply : Students t ake the Research Challenge , applying essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Assess: Wrap up the lesson with the Research Quiz .

Step 5: EXTEND LEARNING

Related BrainPOP Topics : Deepen understanding of research with these topics: Online Sources , Internet Search , and Citing Sources .

Additional Support Resources:

Pause Point Overview : Video tutorial showing how Pause Points actively engage students to stop, think, and express ideas.
Modifications for BrainPOP Learning Activities: Strategies to meet ELL and other instructional and student needs.
BrainPOP Learning Activities Support: Resources for best practices using BrainPOP.

BrainPOP Jr. (K-3)
BrainPOP ELL
BrainPOP Science
BrainPOP Español
BrainPOP Français
Set Up Accounts
Single Sign-on
Manage Subscription
Quick Tours
About BrainPOP

Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Trademarks & Copyrights

Translate Page

Scroll to find the Learn to and Resources boxes

Choosing a Topic & Developing a Research Question video

SafeShare || Subtitles/CC: English & Spanish ( Vimeo ), Multiple Languages ( YouTube video below )

Transcripts: English , Spanish || More Videos || Video Credits || Get Help

Creative Commons License: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Educators: Go to the educator site to access a quiz for this video. The quiz is available in Google Forms, fillable PDF, or Word.

Accessibility
Powered by Plone & Python

choosing a topic

All Formats

Resource types, all resource types.

Rating Count
Price (Ascending)
Price (Descending)
Most Recent

Choosing a topic

Choosing a Topic for Writing- Watermelon vs. Seed Topics

Word Document File

Choosing a Research Topic

Google Apps™

Choosing a Topic (Broad to Narrow)

Brainstorming/ Choosing a Research Topic Packet - Research Paper Resource

Google Drive™ folder

Choose a Topic and Subtopics for Informational Writing Printable Lesson

Writing an MLA Research Paper-- Choosing a Manageable Topic (Prezi)`

Writing Lessons - Choosing a Topic - Launching Writer's Workshop

Choose a Research Topic for Elementary with Detective Booksy - GOOGLE SLIDES

Passion Project- Multi-Genre Writing Based on a Self Chosen Topic

Google Slides™

Choosing a Correct Topic Sentence

Choosing a topic for college application essays

Research & Informational Writing - Choosing a STRONG Topic !

Choose a Writing Topic Student Checklist

Choosing a Topic [Podcasting Lesson Plan]

Internet Activities

Choose a Topic and Subtopics for Informational Writing

Personal narrative prewriting graphic organizer ( choose a topic )

Choosing a Strong Topic presentation with examples

Research Report: Choosing and Narrowing a Topic

Mythology Final Essay Assignment Choose a Topic

A Tale of Two Cities Final Essay Assignment Choose a Topic

Choose a topic research portfolio

Choosing a Project Topic

Aspiring Writer's Guide to Choosing and Researching a Book Topic

Choosing a 'How To' topic

We're hiring
Help & FAQ
Privacy policy
Student privacy
Terms of service
Tell us what you think

IMAGES

How to Choose a Research Topic
Step by step guide on selecting your research topic
Choosing your Topic & Research Lesson PLan by Make Literacy Happen
Undergraduate Research Topics: History, Art, & More. 300+ Good Research
A Complete Guide to Research Papers
Selecting a Research Topic: A Framework for Doctoral Students

VIDEO

Mastering Research: Choosing a Winning Dissertation or Thesis Topic
Compound Topic Lesson Plan
The Reasons of Choosing Research Topic and Methodology
The Reason of Choosing Research Topic and Methodology
Carbon Topic ( Lesson Plan )
The Reason of Choosing Research Topic and Methodology

COMMENTS

Lesson 1: Choose a Research Topic
Lesson 1: Choose a Research Topic. Formulate questions for research, based on information gaps or on reexamination of existing, possibly conflicting, information. Recognize that you, the researcher, are often entering into an ongoing scholarly conversation, not a finished conversation. Conduct background research to develop research strategies.
Research 101 (A How-to Guide): Step 1. Choose a topic
Step 1. Choose a Topic. Choosing an interesting research topic can be challenging. This video tutorial will help you select and properly scope your topic by employing questioning, free writing, and mind mapping techniques so that you can formulate a research question. Developing a Research Question.
Lesson Plan: Choosing a Topic for a Research Paper -- How to Get Your
Teach your students to choose interesting writing topics so you won't have to grade hundreds of boring essays. Unrtunately, when students are responsible for the selection of a research topic, they choose a topic that bores them or one that looks easy. If teachers want the quality of research and writing to increase, they should help tn the process of selection.
How To Choose A Research Topic
To recap, the "Big 5" assessment criteria include: Topic originality and novelty. Value and significance. Access to data and equipment. Time requirements. Ethical compliance. Be sure to grab a copy of our free research topic evaluator sheet here to fast-track your topic selection process.
Ready-to-use lesson plans for scholarly research topics
The world of scholarly research is uncharted territory for undergrads, but with the right approach you can quickly get them up to speed. With 33 time-saving lesson plans, Toni Carter's "Introducing Scholarly Research: Ready-to-Use Lesson Plans and Activities for Undergraduates," published by ALA Editions, will assist you in moving your instruction beyond basic skills to include topics ...
Overview
Select a topic. Choosing an interesting research topic is your first challenge. Here are some tips: Choose a topic that you are interested in! The research process is more relevant if you care about your topic. Narrow your topic to something manageable. If your topic is too broad, you will find too much information and not be able to focus.
Choose a Research Topic: Choose a Research Topic
Information Literacy: The set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information. Research Process: It is a process of multiple deliberate steps in conducting the research work where each step is interlinked with other steps such as starting with a broad topic question to focus on an aspect of it to narrow the research focus to all the way to find and evaluate the reliability of ...
Choosing a Research Topic Lesson Plans & Worksheets
How to Refine, Narrow, or Broaden a Topic Worksheet. For Students 8th - 10th. Guide your writers in the pre-writing stage of a research project. Print this sheet to help each writer select an appropriate research topic. They practice narrowing and broadening two different options provided.
Choosing a Research Topic: Home
After you have identified a topic you care about, conduct an initial search about your topic in a database. 5. Combining your interests with initial research can help you learn more about your topic and the angle you want to pursue. 6. As you continue the research process, it is inevitable that your topic will change or evolve.
Research Guides: University Studies Library Guide: Choosing a Topic
Choose Your Topic. Make sure you have read your assignment carefully and understand your instructor's expectations. Review your course readings, along with other related sources, and think about relevant topics that interest you or that you can engage with: topics that make you curious or angry. topics that are related to your major, hobby, or ...
PDF How to Write a Research Paper Lesson Plan
Step 1: Begin the lesson plan with an image [3 minutes] Show the third slide of the PowerPoint presentation with a picture of stacked books and an apple on the top of the book that is titled "Education.". Begin to discuss the significance of the apple as. a very powerful fruit.
Research Basics at NCC: Choose a Topic
Choosing a Topic. When picking a topic, consider: your professor's prompt and assignment instructions. picking something that interests you and that you want to learn more about. if you have opinions on current events, picking a current event to explore. a personal issue, problem or concern, since you might have some existing knowledge about it.
50 Mini-Lessons For Teaching Students Research Skills
It outlines a five-step approach to break down the research process into manageable chunks. This post shares ideas for mini-lessons that could be carried out in the classroom throughout the year to help build students' skills in the five areas of: clarify, search, delve, evaluate, and cite. It also includes ideas for learning about staying ...
Guide: Choosing and Refining Topics
Choosing and Refining Topics. When we are given a choice of topics to write on, or are asked to come up with our own topic ideas, we must always make choices that appeal to our own interests, curiosity, and current knowledge. If you decided to write an essay on the Affordable Care Act, for instance, you should make that decision because you are ...
Tutorial 1: Developing a Research Topic
Understand the importance of background research ; Choose a research topic that is not too narrow or broad; Translate your background research and knowledge about your chosen topic into thesis statement drafts ... The Research Process. Lesson 2: Background Research Tips. Lesson 3: Choosing a Topic. Lesson 4: Thesis Statements. Quiz: Developing ...
Narrowing a Topic Idea
Whether you are assigned a general issue to investigate, must choose a problem to study from a list given to you by your professor, or you have to identify your own topic to investigate, it is important that the scope of the research problem is not too broad, otherwise, it will be difficult to adequately address the topic in the space and time allowed.
Research Lesson Plan
This lesson plan accompanies the BrainPOP topic, Research, and can be completed over several class periods.See suggested times for each section. OBJECTIVES. Students will: Activate prior knowledge about how to do a research project.. Identify the sequence of events for conducting research.. Use critical thinking skills to analyze how and why having a focus is key to conducting research and ...
Choose a Topic
Guiding Questions for Topic Selection. Some teams have already chosen a topic (e.g., fractions, argumentative writing) before beginning their work together. Other teams choose whatever topic will be taught at the time of the research lesson. Both approaches are fine. If your team has not yet settled on a topic, consider the following questions:
Lesson 2: Choosing a Subject Flashcards
Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Random, 1993. Print. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like To plan your time for a research project, it is best to, Which of the following is not a guideline for choosing a research subject?, The most productive research questions and more.
Research Lesson Plan: Research to Build and Present Knowledge
Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8. *Click to open and customize your own copy of the Research Lesson Plan . This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Research, and supports the standard of gathering relevant information from multiple sources. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects. Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE.
Choosing a Topic & Developing a Research Question video
To use the quiz as is, click on the Google Forms link above, and follow the prompt to make a copy of the quiz. Open your copy of the quiz, click on "Send" near the top right, and click on the link icon. Copy the URL and share it with students, which could mean pasting it into an online assignment or into a learning management system like Google ...
Lesson Plan in Writing a Research Paper Grade 10
A Detailed Lesson Plan in English Grade 10. I. Objectives At the end of this lesson, the students will be able to: a. interpret the primary purpose of an academic research paper.; b. examine ways to get started with the writing process.; and c. explain the importance of research in daily lives
Choosing a topic
This lesson is perfect for whole group or small group setting!This resource helps students make a connection between what a topic and related subtopics are using a tree metaphor. Reach your visual learners to see that the topic is the top of. Subjects: Informational Text, Writing, Writing-Essays. Grades: 4 th - 6 th.

Research 101

Lesson 1: Choose a Research Topic

"Choosing a Topic" Video by Amanda Burbage

"Scholarly Conversations" Tutorial by New Literacies Alliance

"Picking Your Topic IS Research" Video by NC State University Libraries

"Using Wikipedia for Academic Research (CLIP)" Video by Michael Baird

"How to Develop a STRONG Research Question" Video by Scribbr

Research 101 (A How-to Guide): Step 1. Choose a topic

Step 1. Choose a Topic

Good Sources for Finding a Topic

Tips for Choosing a Topic

Picking your topic IS research!

Mind Mapping Tools

Lesson Plan: Choosing a Topic for a Research Paper -- How to Get Your High School Students to Choose Interesting Writing Topics

Step1: Obtain a General Understanding of the Subject

Step 2: Identify Hot Topics

Step 3: Think

This post is part of the series: Choosing a Writing Topic

How To Choose A Research Topic

Overview: The “Big 5” Key Criteria

Criterion #1: Originality & Novelty

Criterion #2: Value & Significance

Criterion #3: Access to Data & Equipment

Criterion #4: Time Requirements & Implications

Criterion #5: Ethical Compliance

Key Takeaways

Need a helping hand?

You Might Also Like:

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

ALA User Menu

Breadcrumb navigation

Ready-to-use lesson plans for scholarly research topics

Related Images

Related Links

Selecting a Research Topic: Overview

Table of contents

Start here for help

Choose a Research Topic: Choose a Research Topic

Terms in this Guide

Step 1: Choose a Broad Research Topic

Step 2: Narrow & Focus Your Topic

Step 3. Write a Topic Statement

Step 4. Evaluate your Topic Statement

Research Cycle

Ask The Library

More Research Skills Guides

Choosing a Research Topic: Home

Choosing a Research Topic

University Studies Library Guide

Choose Your Topic

Feeling Overwhelmed?

How to Narrow Your Topic

Research Basics at NCC: Choose a Topic

Choosing a Topic

How to Develop a Good Research Topic

Developing Your Focus

Preliminary Searching for Background Information

Check Your Knowledge

50 Mini-Lessons For Teaching Students Research Skills

Learn More About The Research Process

Notes about the 50 research activities:

Staying Organised

You Might Also Enjoy Reading:

10 Replies to “50 Mini-Lessons For Teaching Students Research Skills”

Choosing and Refining Topics

A Definition of a Topic

How Purpose and Audience Affect the Choice of Topics

Interpreting the Assignment

How Purpose Affects Topics

How Audience Affects Topics

Choosing Workable Topics

How to Find a Topic

Subjects and Topics

Starting With What You Know

General Strategies for Coming Up With Topics

Brainstorming

Freewriting

Strategies for Finding Topics Appropriate to Particular Types of Assignments

Essays Based on Personal Experience

Essays Requiring Research