Selecting a Topic

Formulating a

Research Question

Identifying Main Ideas

Identifying Information Sources & Tools

Gathering Background Info

Locating & Retrieving Materials

Determining Relevancy

Organizing Info

Writing the Paper

Revising the Paper

The Research ProcessTen Basic Steps

Business

Religion

Politics

Technology

Science

health

Term Paper Topics

• Abortion

• Affirmative Action

• AIDS

• Animal Rights

• Anthrax

• Assisted Suicide

• Asteroids

• Blackout

• Capital Punishment

• Child Abuse

• Cloning

• Conjoined Twins

• Diabetes

• Drunk Driving

• Easter Island

• Eating Disorders

• E-mail Spam

• Empire State Building

• Global Warming

• Gangs

• Gender Issues Health Care

• Holocaust Immigration Islam

A topic is general. It is a category, frequently expressed in a single word or phrase, such as “alcoholism" or “teenage mothers.” A topic is a good starting point, but by itself, it is usually too broad, and so it must be refined.

Ask Yourself Questions About Your Topic:

•Is the topic of interest to me?

•Is my topic appropriate for my audience? Is it relevant to my course?

•How much or how little do I know about it?

The Q the researcher asks that guides his or her inquiry into the topic. A good research question asks a clear, concise question and helps you keep a tight focus on your topic.

A good RQ is broad enough to allow you to find enough material, but narrow enough to fit within the size and time constraints of your paper.

Choose a RQ worth arguing about or exploring (So what?).

FORMULATE A RESEARCH QUESTION

Evidence

Find evidence

to support your

research

question

Anecdotal

StatisticalDocumentary

Types of Evidence

books

articles

reviews

textbooks

bibliographies

Web sites

census data

laws

diariesspeeches

autobiographies

tech reports

transcriptse-mail

musical scoresletters

Data or information that

has not been analyzed or evaluated

Data that has been analyzed

Topic Limiters Research Question

(To narrow and refine topic)

Narrow by Viewpoint

Research Question

Viewpoint Limiters

What is the constitutionality of Internet filtering technology in public libraries?

Topic

•Cultural•Social•Legal•Medical•Ethical•Biological•Psychological•Economic•Political•Philosophical

Teen Pregnancy

Topic Research Question

Narrow by Population

Eating Disorders

What new therapeutic options are available to Bulimia in teenage girls?

Population Limiters

Age, Gender, Nationality, Species,

Group

Narrow by Time

Research QuestionTopic

VitaminsWhat new

developments in vitamin therapy will help prevent heart

disease?

Topic Research Question

Fast Food & Obesity Is fast-food to blame for the rising obesity rates in the United States?

PLACE LIMITERS•Country•Continent•Region•City•State •Place•Organization•Institution

Narrow by Place

Population

Time

Viewpoint

Place

Research Question

Topic

Limiters

What current, effective management practices have American Fortune 500 companies initiated to eliminate the “glass ceiling” for their women managers?

Viewpoint

Narrowed Research Question

Limiting Criteria

Limiters

Management practices to eliminate the glass ceiling

Place

Time

American corporations; Fortune 500 companies

Current initiatives?

Topic: Management

Women managersPopulation

“glass ceiling”

U.S.

Present

Women

IT’S EASY TO REMEMBER

• WHO

• WHAT

• WHEN

• WHERE

• WHY

• POPULATION

• ASPECT-

VIEWPOINT

• TIME

• PLACE

• SO WHAT??????

The overwhelming majority of scholars

and researchers publish their work

in academic journals available from

subscription bibliographic databases

acccessible from the library homepage

NOT FREE on the Internet.