Once you have selected a topic, the next step is to develop research questions.
Choose a topic of interest: When considering what topic to choose for your paper, I cannot emphasize enough how much easier it will make your research and writing process if you pick something of interest to you. Choosing something that interests you allows you to engage with the material and makes it easier to keep going when you get to a part that’s challenging or boring.
When you start your research, you want to make sure your topic isn't too broad. What about this topic do you really want to know? If I chose "Climate Change" as my topic, do you think I am too narrow or too broad? How many different directions could I go with my topic? We want to make sure our topic isn't too broad or too narrow before we start looking for information. If our topic is too broad, we will get a lot of results, which can be overwhelming.
You have to ask yourself: What specific part of this new topic am I interested in? At this point, we will want to take have a specific focus to move forward with. Once you have a focus, you will want to start asking questions about your specific topic.
If you need help narrowing your topic, you can ask different questions about your topic. Use the table below to ask questions about your topic to help you decide what direction you want to take your research and what information you may need to look for:
Who:Who made the topic possible? |
What:What happened? |
When:When did this happen? |
Where:Where did this take place? |
Why:Why is this important? |
How:How did the event change the field? How can this idea be measured? |
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Too narrow: What is the childhood obsesity rate in St. Charles, Mo? This is too narrow because it can be answered with a simple statistic. Questions that can be answered with a "yes" or a "no" should also typically be avoided. |
Less narrow: How does the education level of the parents impact childhood obesity rates in St. Charles, MO? This question demonstrates the correct amount of specificity and the results would provide the opportunity for an argument to be formed. |
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Unfocused and too broad: What are the effects of childhood obesity in the United States? This question is so broad that research methodology would be very difficult and the question is too broad to be discussed in a typical research paper. |
More focused: How does childhood obesity correlate with academic performance in elementary school children? This question has a very clear focus for which data can be collected, analyzed, and discussed. |
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Too objective: How much time do young children spend doing physical activity per day? This question may allow the researcher to collect data but does not lend itself to collecting data that can be used to create a valid argument because the data is just factual information. |
More Subjective: What is the relationship between physical activity levels and childhood obesity? This is a more subjective question that may lead to the formation of an argument based on the results and analysis of the data. |
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Too simple: How are school systems addressing childhood obesity? This information can be obtained without the need to collect unique data. The question could be answered with a simple online search and does not provide an opportunity for analysis. |
More Complex: What are the effects of intervention programs in the elementary schools on the rate of childhood obesity among 3rd - 6th grade students? This question is more complex and requires both investigation and evaluation which will lead the research to form an argument that may be discussed. |