3.4: Selecting and Narrowing a Topic
- Page ID
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Selecting a good research topic involves a few steps. First, you'll often choose a broad topic that interests you. From there, you'll want to consider related topics that can help you focus your interest into a specific topic that helps you identify effective search keywords. You work from the outside in, starting with all the possible topics you could research and then narrow down to the specific thing you want to write about.
The Process of Narrowing a Topic
[Process of Narrowing a Topic by Teaching & Learning, University Libraries; licensed CC BY 4.0]
Brainstorming Related Topics
Brainstorming is the process of thinking about your topic and listing the different ideas and topics that come to mind. By brainstorming related topics, you can come up with ideas to help narrow down your topic. You can also ask yourself a number of questions that help you come up with related sub-topics.
Consider these questions about your topic: Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Who are you wanting to focus on? What are you trying to explain? Is there a particular time period you want to focus on? Is there a particular place you want to focus on? Is there a particular problem you're trying to solve? You don't need to include all of these questions. They're just for giving you new ideas!
For example: For the topic Climate Change I might think of: ocean warming (what), Pacific Ocean (where), now (when), or impact on food scarcity (why)
What impact does Pacific Ocean warming have on food scarcity in the United States?
Narrowing Your Topic
So why should you narrow down your topic? Researchers often start by selecting a very broad topic. However, a topic that is too broad will be difficult to research. When you conduct your search you will find a huge number of sources, making it different to focus. Ultimately, you want to fit the scope of your research topic to your assignment (or research need). This will help you find the information you need to explain your findings within the length and requirements of your assignment.
When applied to professional research conducted outside of a class, researchers still need to narrow their topic in order to make it something that can be researched within their available time and resources.
Once you have chosen a narrow topic it's a good idea to do some initial research. By collecting background information you can learn a lot about areas you might be able to find research. By reading up on your topic and doing some test searches, you can learn a lot about the types of information you may or may not be able to find. Before fully settling on a research topic, it's a good idea to do some test searches to make sure it's something you can find information about!