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Choosing a Topic
How to choose and focus a topic for your research
How do you get from a general idea such as, "tattoos," to a focused topic such as:
"The attitudes of late 20th century youth as reflected
in the popularity of tattoos and body piercings."
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Choose from a list of topics popular with many students – the tried and true list
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Choose a topic that is more unusual
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Look for practical ways to focus your topic
Usual Topics - the "tried and true" lists
- Opposing Viewpoints Series (in print at the library or online)
- Documents in the News
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/docnews.html - Hot Paper Topics
http://library.sau.edu/bestinfo/Hot/hotindex.htm - Issues Library
http://speakout.com/activism/issues/
Unusual Topics
Look at recent issues of these periodicals for ideas that will be unique and interesting.
- Journal of Popular Culture: Everything from Rock n’ Roll to Tattoos or Bart Simpson. Covers both American and international cultures. Many ideas for comparisons of various aspects of cultures.
- Popular Government: Covers research and analysis on state and local government in NC and other issues of public concern. Perfect for topics close to home.
- Mother Jones: Good for topics in politics and current hot topics. Covers both international aspects and local aspects of issues. Even the advertisements in the magazine will give you ideas.
- Congressional Digest: Each issue of this magazine is dedicated to one topic. It gives the pros and cons of the issue. The issues are very timely and often refer to pending or possible legislation.
- Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: Browse through the tables of contents of this little newsletter that emanates from the Center for Disease Control. It will give you ideas on current topics in public health.
Practical ways to Narrow or Focus a topic
How does a student do that? Begin by asking some questions:
- What do I know about it?
- What group of people or what organization shall I focus on, if any?
- What time period(s) do I want to cover? Or compare?
- Does a geographic region help the focus of the topic?
| General Topic | e.g. tattoos, education, rock n’ roll, civil rights, Civil War | |||
| Choose "narrowing" ideas from the list. Add some of your own! | ||||
| Time Periods | Geography | Key Players/Groups | Event or aspect | |
| 17th Century | Europe | Women | Jim Crow | |
| 1960’s | USA | Children | Industrial revolution | |
| Between the Wars | Montana | Arabs | Discovery of penicillin | |
| Civil War | The South | Boy Scouts | Greensboro sit-in | |
| 21st Century | Carolinas | Students | Sexual attitudes | |
| This year | Mecklenburg County | Laborers | Behavior | |
| Fin de siecle | South Park | Friends | Psychological | |
| National Parks | Pedestrians | Educational | ||
| The moon | carpetbaggers | Religious | ||
| Hispanics | Political | |||
| Voters | Social | |||
| Consumers | Future | |||
| FDA | Armageddon | |||
| Ford Motor Company | ||||
| Manufacturing | ||||
| E commerce | ||||
Jot down your very general topic and also jot down elements from the list that interest you.
Put together your topical sentence in rough draft. It could look like one of these:
- Tattoos: "The attitudes of late 20th century youth as reflected in the popularity of tattoos and body piercings."
- Education: "What are the main concerns of the educational community concerning course testing of children in 21st century American schools?"
- Rock n’ Roll: "Inhibition as a group behavior of American youth attending Rock concerts in the 1970’s."
- Civil Rights: "How did the Greensboro sit-ins at Woolworth’s in the early 1960’s help dismantle the Jim Crow laws in Charlotte NC?"
