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VT ENGL1106 course template: Topics

Defining a topic

Before you start to search for any information spend some time thinking about your search terms and your topic.  

There are a couple of tips to make your life easier:

  • state your topic as a question: What are the effects of local eating on the economy and the environment? OR Is eating local healthier?
  • identify the concepts: What are the effects of local eating on the economy and the environment? OR Is eating local healthier
  • brainstorm for synonyms for the concepts:  We often use a concept table such as the one below to help brainstorm for other terms, but this is not the only way to brainstorm.  There are other visualization tools such as <bubbl.us>, MindNode or iThoughts.

Getting Started on Research

Research topic creation 101

When picking a subject to research, it's important to make sure you choose a topic that's the right size.  One of my tricks for finding a specific research project in a large subject area is to ask myself "what about it interests me?" two or three times.  This generally leaves me with a research topic on which I can write a good 5 - 10 page paper.

For example, if you're interested in environmental issues, the pattern might go like this:

What about enviromental issues interests me?    I'm interested in fracking.
What about fracking interests me? I'm interested in how fracking pollutes the water.
What about water pollution from fracking interests me?   I'm interested in how it effects public health.

The final search statement from this series of questions is," How does pollution from fracking affect public health?"  At the same time you've been developing your research questions, you've also created a list of keywords with which to start your research.

See our tutorial module on creating search strategies for more information.

Narrowing or broadening your topic

Questions to ask for narrowing a topic:

  • Can you focus on a specific aspect of the topic?
  • Can you narrow your topic to a specific time period?
  • Can you narrow your topic to a specific event?
  • Can you narrow your topic to a specific geographic area?
  • Can you narrow your topic to a specific problem or question?

Questions to ask for broadening a topic:

  • Can you broaden your topic to include related topics?
  • Can you broaden your topic by identifying broader terms?
  • Can you expand your topic geographically?
  • Can you expand your topic chronologically?
  • Can you examine a larger problem or multiple concepts or issues?