Library Research Strategies -- OLD

Deciding on a topic is one of the simplest, yet can be one of the toughest, parts of conducting research. The resources in this tutorial can help you brainstorm different topic ideas, and consider their appeal both to yourself and to your audience.  From here, they can help you refine your topic into a research question.  In short,

A research topic is a subject that interests you. A research question is something specific you want to know about your topic.

A research question is what you ultimately want to develop.

Image: Jim Surkamp. (2014, Mar. 14). Researcher. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimsurkamp/13146978405. Used under the Creative Commons License.

The following tools are digital aids to help with the brainstorming process.  You can either use them or just a good old fashioned pencil and paper to map out ideas (including nebulous, half formed ideas) on your topic.

Based upon your brainstorming, ask yourself the following questions about a potential topic to make sure you are selecting a topic that will keep both yourself and your audience engaged. If you can answer yes to these questions, you're ready to refine the topic into a question.

• Am I interested in this topic?
• Will I enjoy researching it?
• From a disciplinary perspective, will my audience be interested in this topic?

The audience consideration is of interest in that you are a student scholar active in a specific field of study who will create a work of scholarship for others in the field to read or hear presented.  To that end, it is worth considering what other researchers in the field have focused on in the past, and considering whether your idea aligns with previous considerations, or whether it is a departure from those considerations (and if it is a departure, is that an issue or not).

Adapted from the University of Hawaii.