How to Choose a Topic
Focusing a Broad Topic
• Develop a tentative focus
▫ Make a list of things you already know about the
topic
▫ From the list of questions, choose those you find
most interesting
Background
• Get some background information on your topic
▫ If you know very little, you may experience
difficulty narrowing it
• Do some preliminary background reading of an
article in a subject encyclopedia
• Look for magazine articles to get a general idea
of the key issues or controversies involved in
your topic
• Browse CQ Researcher
Narrow Your Topic
• Choose a particular perspective on an issue
• Don’t forget that scholars from different subject
fields will approach your topic from different
angles
▫ They will bring in different points of view to bear
on the subject
Narrow Your Topic EVEN MORE!
• Limit it to a specific time period or geographic
area
▫ This will help better focus your search for
information
 Look for limit options in the databases you search
Finding Research Ideas
• These following resources are also great to find
ideas for your research topic:
▫ Textbook (scan it for topic ideas)
▫ Think of what you have read or seen recently that
interested you
▫ Draw on your other classes for inspiration
▫ Pick a topic that is practical
▫ Browse an encyclopedia for ideas
▫ Read the news
Topic Ideas
• Business:
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
Cybersecurity
E-business glass ceiling
Online retail
Outsourcing
Sweatshops
White collar crime
Ethics
Crime and Law
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
Acquaintance rape
Animal rights
Assisted suicide
Campus violence
Capital punishment
Civil Rights
Drinking age, legal
Gun control
Hate Crimes
▫ Insanity defense
▫ Mandatory minimum
sentencing
▫ Patriot Act
▫ Police brutality
▫ Prisons and prisoners
▫ Serial killers
▫ Sex crimes
▫ Sexual harassment
▫ Three strikes law
Drugs and Drug Abuse
•
•
•
•
Alcohol
Cocaine
Doping in sports
Drug testing
•
•
•
•
Drunk driving
Heroin
Marijuana
Nicotine
Education
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
Charter schools
College admission policies College athletes
College tuition planning
Distance education
Diploma mills
Education and funding
Grade inflation
Greek letter societies
Hazing
Environmental
• Acid rain
• Alternative fuel/hybrid
vehicles
• Conservation
• Deforestation
• Endangered species
• Energy
• Global warming
• Greenhouse effect
• Landfills
• Marine Pollution
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Nuclear energy
Oil spills
Pesticides
Pollution
Population control
Radioactive waste disposal
Recycling
Smog
Soil Pollution
Wildlife conservation
Health
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Alternative medicine
Dietary supplements
Dyslexia
Fad diets
In Vitro fertilization
Medicaid/Medicare reform
Organic foods
Sleep
Stem cell research
Vegetarianism
Media and Communications
• Body image
• Censorship
• Children’s programming and
advertising
• Copyright law
• Freedom of speech
• Materialism
• Media bias
• Media
conglomerates/ownership
• Minorities in mass media
•
•
•
•
•
•
Political correctness
Portrayal of women
Reality television
Stereotypes
Talk radio
Television violence
Political Issues
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Affirmative action
Budget deficit
Electoral college
Election reform
Emigration
Genocide
Immigration
Impeachment
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Partisan politics
Prescription drugs
Social security reform
Third parties
Taxes
International relations
Operation Enduring Iraqi
Freedom
Psychology
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Child abuse
Criminal psychology
Depression
Dreams
Intelligence tests
Learning disabilities
Memory
Physical attraction
Schizophrenia