Find Your Topic

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Find Your Topic

1. Brainstorm a topic for research
2. Turn it into a research question
3. Broaden and narrow your question
4. Find keywords related to your topic
5. Use a concept map to refine your topic

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Brainstorm a topic for research

• If your instructor does not assign a specific
  topic, what do you do?

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Examples
Ideas are all around us.all we have to do is look

• Turn on the news
• Read todays newspaper
• Choose a favorite activity
• Consider current issues on campus

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Which would not be the best way to select a topic?

1. Read The New York Times.
2. Research trends in fitness. (You love the gym!)
3. Buy a topic from Ebay.
4. Research if gamers make better students. (You are
   a pro at WarCraft.)

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Great ways to find a topic

• Choose a current event
• Choose a topic of interest
• Browse magazines and books
• Choose a topic about a major or career
• Ask a Librarian for ideas

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Turn it into a research question

• What do you want to know?
• What is your focus?
• Asking a question helps you decide which
  information will be useful to you.

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If your topic is global warming, possible
research questions might be

• How have polar ice caps been affected by climate
  change?
• What impact has global warming had on natural
  disasters?
• How has celebrity environmental activism raised
  awareness of energy consumption in the U.S?

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A clear open-ended question calls for real
research and thinking.

• Research questions should not be closed-ended or
  answerable with a yes or no.
• Does smoking cause cancer?
• Research questions are not the same as reference
  questions.
• What percent of lung cancer is related to
  smoking?

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Which is not a research question?

1. How has the Internet affected the profitability
   of the music industry?
2. Does Censorship exist?
3. How have rap lyrics impacted the feminist
   movement?
4. How has todays popular music influenced social
   change?

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Broaden and narrow your question

• Not too broad,
• Not too narrow,
• But just right.
• Your research question should
• allow you to retrieve just the
• right amount of information.

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Broadening a Research Question

• A question that is too narrow or specific may not
  retrieve enough information. If this happens,
  broaden the question.
• INSTEAD OF Should mountain top removal be
  permitted in Hazard, Kentucky despite endangered
  species laws protecting the flying squirrel?
• TRY What are the effects of coal mining on
  wildlife in the Appalachian Mountains?

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Narrowing a research question

• A question that is too broad may retrieve too
  much information. Try to narrow your topic with
  one of these strategies
• Time - 20th century 1980s
• Place - North America Canada
• Population American Baby Boomers
• Viewpoint General Medical

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Examples of Broad ? Narrow

• Car ? Chevrolet ? Corvette
• United States ? Kentucky ? Covington
• 21st Century ? 2001 ? September 11,2001
• Conservative ? Republican ? Rush Limbaugh

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What should you do first when you find too much
information?

1. Broaden your research question
2. Narrow your research question
3. Change your topic
4. Only use the first few results

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Find keywords related to your topic

• Once you have your research question, you will
  want to pull out relevant keywords in order to
  search for your topic in databases. It doesnt
  work to put your whole question into the search
  box.

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Choosing Keywords

• When choosing keywords from your question choose
  the words that cover your main points.
• What impact has global warming had on natural
  disasters?

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In the following research questions, which one
does not have the relevant keywords highlighted?

1. How has the introduction of wolves into
   Yellowstone in the past 5 years impacted local
   cattle ranches?
2. How does involvement in clubs and activities
   contribute to academic success in college?
3. What factors contribute to a higher than average
   rate of violence among professional athletes?
4. How does texting while driving contribute to teen
   accidents?

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• Keywords can make all the difference when
  conducting a search. Make sure you identify the
  words that are the main points
• of your research question.
• Sometimes youll have to brainstorm other ways
  of saying your keywords.

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• If your keywords are violence and professional
  athletes, you may need to brainstorm possible
  search terms.
• For these keywords you might choose

Wrestlers Hockey Chris Benoit
Domestic violence Steroids Aggression
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Which is not a possible keyword for mining?

1. Coal mining
2. Strip mining
3. Oil refineries
4. Surface mining

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Use a concept map to refine your topic

• Turn your ideas into a visual representation
• Organize key words and concepts
• Great tool for visual learners

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Insurers
Taxes
Regulation
Second Hand Smoke
Health

Doctors
Government
Tobacco Use
Culture
Economy
Alcohol
Retailers
Media
Farmers
Manufacturers
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A concept map can help you

1. Find your way around campus
2. Locate attractions in Disney World
3. Visualize related key terms and concepts
4. Get more dates on Friday nights
5. Stalk and capture the elusive Kentucky Flying
   Squirrel

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• Create your own concept map!

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How can you Ask a Librarian?

1. IM
2. Email
3. Phone
4. Information Desk
5. Research Consultation

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Ask a Librarian