During your academic career, you’ll be assigned research papers that let you choose your own
topic. With so many areas of research available, the tough part is deciding where to start.
This video will break down the cyclical nature of the research process, and explain how to
choose and narrow a topic into an appropriate research question, and how to explore your
topic through strategic searching. Research is not a one-time act that’s completed
once you submit your research paper. Instead, it’s an open-ended exploration and engagement
with information, with opportunities for discovery at every stage in the process, including choosing
and narrowing your topic.
When writing your paper, you may start looking into one topic, then adjust it as you continue
to research and develop new insights. Choosing an initial focus doesn’t mean you’re stuck
with it throughout the entire research process. When choosing a topic to research, start with
a broad area of interest. What do you want to know more about? Maybe you’re observing
a situation and asking questions like, “Why? What caused that? How?” If something interests
you or provokes questioning, it may be a good area to research further.
Another way to form a research question is to look for information gaps already present
in your area of interest. Do you see conflicting areas of information? Is there something that
hasn’t already been addressed? By asking these questions, you may find a new path you’d
like to explore. Once you have a topic you want to learn more
about, determine an appropriate scope of investigation. An initial research topic may be too broad
to be the subject of an effective paper. Breakdown your research question into smaller ones
that are more specific and manageable. For example, researching Internet search engines
may interest you, but this is too broad a topic to research. There are hundreds of search
engines and it would be impossible to conduct effective research on all of them at once.
Try getting more specific. Maybe you’re interested in the negative aspects of some
search engines. This is a step in the right direction, but the topic still is too broad
and doesn’t answer a research question.
Take it one step further. Maybe you'll decide to focus on the privacy issues surrounding
Google. A research question might be, "What privacy issues are Google users experiencing
and how are they being affected?" This question specifies the search engine you're focusing
on, which negative effects you're addressing, and how online users are affected.
Always maintain an open mind and critical stance when forming your research question.
You may end up going in a direction you didn’t originally envision, but that’s what makes
the research process so dynamic. Now that you’ve narrowed your topic and
formulated a research question, it’s time to begin your search.
First determine the initial scope of your task. If you’re researching a topic you’re
unfamiliar with, you should start with background research. Then you can move to searching more
in-depth sources. Before delving into complicated searches,
brainstorm keywords and concepts and try searching different resources using each of these. By
doing so, you may discover other concepts.
Always be flexible when searching. Be open to searching different resources and using
a variety of keywords, to make selecting the best resource an easier process. The initial
results you find may cause you to rethink or adjust your topic further, but remember,
that’s part of the cyclical nature of the research process!
By viewing research this way, you’ll find more enjoyment and success in your next paper.
Don’t be afraid to seek help from a librarian or professor during any stage of the research
process. They’re here to help!