For more about brainstorming writing ideas, see Chs. 1 and 19.
Many research assignments, no matter the length, require you to begin by choosing a topic that interests you. You may start by considering broad, general topics, but you will need to narrow your topic to keep your project manageable. Narrow a topic by focusing on a particular aspect of it or by considering issues from a local (rather than national or global) perspective.
| Broad Topic | Narrower Topic |
| Military life | Helping members of the military return . . . |
| U.S. education | Measuring learning with standardized tests |
| World hunger | Aiding hungry children in your community |
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If you need ideas to help stimulate your curiosity, listen to the academic exchanges around you. Perhaps the reading, writing, or discussion in your geography course alerts you to global environmental threats. Then target your research, maybe narrowing “global threats to forests” to “farming practices that threaten rain forests.”
Generating Ideas
What experience can you recall that raises intriguing questions or creates unusual associations in your mind?
What have you observed recently—at school or work, online, or on television today—that you could more thoroughly investigate?
What new perspectives on issues or events have friends, classmates, instructors, commentators, bloggers, or others offered?
What have you read or heard about lately that you would like to pursue?
What problem would you like to solve?
Like explorers in new territory, research writers first take a broad look at promising viewpoints, changes, and trends. Then they zero in on a small area.
For more on electronic searches, see Ch. 31.
Go Online. You may start by conducting an online search for your topic. You’ll likely find many sources but little focus, so your task will be to narrow the list of search results to a more workable collection.
Browse the Library. For more focused, academic sources, visit your campus library or its Web site. The library probably subscribes to many general databases (such as Academic Search Premier, Academic OneFile, and Gale Virtual Reference Library), as well as field-specific resources. Ask a reference librarian (electronically or in person) where to start investigating a topic.
For more on interviewing, see Ch. 6 and Finding Sources in the Field in Ch. 31.
Talk with Experts. Meet with a professor who specializes in the area you’re considering, or talk with friends who are interested in it. Seek out events or virtual groups relevant to your topic and chat with knowledgeable individuals.
For more on purpose and audience, see Purpose and Audience in Ch. 1 and Shaping Your Topic for Your Purpose and Your Audience in Ch. 20.
Revisit Your Purpose and Audience. Refine your purpose and your audience analysis in light of your discoveries thus far. Consider what goal you’d like your research to accomplish—whether it’s in your personal life, for a college class, or on the job.
| Satisfy curiosity | Analyze a situation |
| Take a new perspective | Substantiate a conclusion |
| Make a decision | Support a position |
| Solve a problem | Advocate for change |