Q Narrowing and Developing a Research Topic Narrowing a Topic You may not know right away what your research topic is. Gather information on the broader topic to explore new possibilities and to help narrow your topic. • Choose an interesting topic. If you’re interested in your topic, chances are that others will be, too. Plus, researching will be a lot more fun! • Gather background information. • For a general overview, reference sources may be useful. • Ask yourself: - What subtopics relate to the broader topic? - What questions do these sources raise? - What do you find interesting about the topic? • Consider your audience. Who would be interested in the issue? Reference Sources Reference sources are a great place to begin your research. They provide a way: • to identify potential research topics. • a starting point to gather information on your topic. • an introduction to major works and key issues related to your topic. • key authors in your area of research. General Reference Sources Dictionaries and encyclopedias provide general information about a variety of subjects. They also include definitions that may help you break down and better understand your topic. They are generally not cited, since they mainly give an overview of a topic. From Topic to Research Question After choosing a topic and gathering background information, add focus with a research question. • Explore questions. - Ask open-ended “how” and “why” questions about your general topic. - Consider the “so what” of your topic. Why does this topic matter to you? Why should it matter to others? - Reflect on the questions you have considered. Identify one or two questions you find engaging and which could be explored further through research. • Determine and evaluate your research question. - What aspect of the more general topic you will explore? - Is your research question clear? - Is your research question focused? (Research questions must be specific enough to be well covered in the space available.) - Is your research question complex? (Questions shouldn’t have a simple yes/no answer and should require research and analysis.) • Hypothesize. After you’ve come up with a question, consider the path your answer might take. - If you are making an argument, what will you say? - Why does your argument matter? - How might others challenge your argument? - What kind of sources will you need to support your argument? Here are some sample essay topics that would work well over 5 pages (you can’t choose these): • Why legalizing marijuana will benefit California • Limiting guns to police officers only will limit crime in Los Angeles • The eradication of the death penalty will save California X amount of dollars (Note: These sample topics do not represent the instructor’s beliefs in any way—they are just samples to help you with this assignment and to show how broad the idea of success can be construed.)