In the previous chapter, we discussed the general overview to the research process. This chapter will focus specifically on selecting a topic that is appropriate for college-level academic writing.

College courses routinely use research-based assignments to assess student engagement, critical thinking, and learning. You may be assigned a specific topic or your professor may allow you to select your own topic from a very general topic. Either way, college-level research essays need topics that meet the following character

Qualities for College-Level Research Topics

Often, your general topic will be assigned by your professor. But in college courses, the topics will often be broad and give the student more freedom in choosing the specific essay or porject topic. Narrowing your field of choices to a research question that is manageable is the first step.

Your research question should be

Feasible: Topics must be narrow enough that a researcher can actually accomplish the research required to answer the question. Topics that are too broad will leave too many unanswered questions. Narrowing a topic is an essential part of beginning research.

Researchable: Topics should have information widely available. Very recent topics might be difficult to find resources for. Topics that are already well established facts might not have resources that help you make a new argument.

Exigent: The topic should have current relevance and importance. There should be a clear need and sense of urgency to work on this topic.

Step 1: Choose or Adapt the Topic to Your Interest

Start by choosing a topic you care about. It is always easier and more enjoyable to work on topics that you care about. But what if you are assigned a topic? Or in a course that was mandated instead of freely chosen?

Even if you don’t have a choice about the overall topic, you can take ownership of the project and select a specific aspect of the topic or research question that does relate to your interests.

Think about what you want to know more about. Research is all about finding answers to questions, and it always helps if you’re interested in the question. It’s virtually impossible to get your reader to be interested if you aren’t interested yourself. Take some time to brainstorm and think about how the topic relates to you or your life.

Having trouble finding a topic? Use your resources. Ask your professor. Talk to your classmates. Use the internet to find general information to jump-start your knowledge.

Using the Internet for Invention

Research at the college level is all about joining into an already happening, ongoing conversation. But how do you join into a conversation if you don’t even know what anyone is talking about?

Often, students have a hard time picking a specific research topic because they simply don’t know that much about the subject they’ve been assigned to write about. One of the easiest ways for you to figure out what you want to write about is to use the same strategies you’d use for any other question you have. What would you do to figure out how to contour your face or how to get through the level of a video game? What if you had a basic question about an actor you saw in a move? You’d go online and use the research skills you already have.

You can use some of those same tools to start your research process by gathering some basic information about your subject.

Wikipedia

Most students know that they can’t use Wikipedia as a source in their essays. Because it’s an open resource that anyone online can edit, it doesn’t usually meet the requirements for a reputable academic source.

But that doesn’t mean it isn’t useful. Wikipedia can be a great tool to get started by providing you a concise overview, as well as references and links for further exploration. Students might find keywords about the topic, links to related subtopics, or discover information that sparks more interesting questions.

YouTube

Whether you’re trying to get through a level in your new video game or looking for information about how to format an essay, YouTube can provide interesting videos that are short and engaging to help you get started. YouTube can be an easy way to gain familiarity with a new or challenging topic, even for school. Don’t forget to double-check anything you might find.

Credo and Reference Databases

At PGCC, we have access to Credo Reference, a database that link you to multiple dictionaries, encyclopedias, and reference overviews. It can be a good first-stop for research, because it provides the same type of general, factual information overviews as Wikipedia. Unlike Wikipedia, sources found on Credo are reputable and permissible in many types of college projects.

Step 2: Find Emergent Themes

If research-based writing is about joining a conversation, it’s important to first understand what topics are already being discussed. Think about walking up to a group of people in class and just shouting out some random topic. Jumping into research without first listening to what is already being said is a little like that.

Once you have started to learn about the general background and information about a subject, and as you begin narrowing your topic into something more feasible for a research project, you’ll want to start paying attention to places where sources talk about the same issues and ideas. This is a form of inductive research, or making observations from general patterns and repetition.

Look for repeated patterns or themes in the information you’re reading about. Does one issue, problem, or idea seem to reoccur in multiple sources? Make a list of those themes, because they’re going to give you a sense of what the common conversations and ideas are in the larger subject.

Step 3: Narrow Your Focus

As you join into the conversation already happening, you need to figure out what stake you have in the discussion and where you want to enter.

In high school, you might have come up with an argument or idea and then found some sources that supported your opinion. But by already knowing your argument at the beginning of your research project, it’s likely that you didn’t find much information that could complicate your thinking. Worse, you might have missed essential information that other people familiar with the topic already knew.

In college, you want to make sure you understand the topic in multiple ways and from multiple perspectives before you select the sources and voices to support your own arguments.

Once you have a good idea of the themes that reoccur throughout the early reading and research you’ve done, it’s time to figure out what you, personally, are interested in. Crafting a research question is an essential part of this process. A strong, well thought out research question can actually make the process of finding sources easier and more efficient

Crafting a Research Question

The best and most effective research questions invite discussion and debate. They don’t just recycle popular opinions or regurgitate facts.Instead, they help the writer think through the information needed to craft an argument.

The best questions will be

• Specific and Focused: They are not so broad that they’re impossible to answer. They focus on a single aspect of the topic and provide the writer with an opportunity to go for depth.
• Complex and Exigent: They are not so simple as to be a yes/no question. More important, the best questions are about issues that need to be discussed.
• Arguable: The question has not already been asked and factually answered. There is still something up for debate in the literature.
• Meet the needs of the project: There is not single standard research question. Everything is dependent on the
  • Length of the project
  • Time you have to complete the project
  • Resources available for the project

For Further Reading:

https://writingcenter.gmu.edu/guides/how-to-write-a-research-question

https://www.scribbr.com/research-process/research-questions/

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/research_papers/where_do_i_begin.html