Building a Library Research Strategy: Developing Topics

BEFORE CHOOSING A TOPIC:

1. What are the guidelines for the assignment?
2. What types of sources do you need? How many?
3. How long (or in-depth) is the paper supposed to be? 
4. Who is your audience (academic or non-academic)?

1 minute tutorials from Credo Database:

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• How to Select a Topic
• Using Pre-Research to Understand Your Topic
• What to do When Your Topic is Too Broad

WHERE CAN I LOOK FOR TOPIC IDEAS?

Your instructor may give you specific instructions, prompts, readings, links, or lists as to what your topic will be about.

But If you need help with ideas, here are some places to look.

1. SVC databases: Try looking at some issue-based databases like:
   • Facts on File,
   • Opposing Viewpoints,
   • Points of View Reference Center 
2. Websites: Browse through the following websites for ideas:
   •  Allsides, which offers balanced current news headlines.
   • Scan Google Headlines
   • The New York Times archives provides Times Topics for topic ideas.
   • Pew Research topic guide provides an extensive list of topics.

Try the "Five W's" to help refine your topic:  

The questions below will help you to investigate and narrow down some ideas about your topic. Circle or highlight names, terms, and ideas that interest you the most. You might turn this into a list of search terms or "keywords."  

• WHO - Who is affected by your topic?  Don't just think of the focus of your topic but who are the other stakeholders that might be impacted?
• WHAT - What are the causes and effects of your topic?  What impacts might there be?
• WHEN - Is there a specific time-period that you might focus on? 
• WHERE - Is there a certain geographic location to focus on?  
• WHY - Why is this topic important?  Why should your audience care?

(image from the Noun Project "five" by Adam Zubin, MV)