for many of us, an early experience with research. involves being assigned a topic by a teacher, somethings to learn more about by looking stuff up and reporting on what we found,
you may therefore think of research primarily in term of a topic, if you are new to research ,the freedom to pick you own can seem daunting, where do i bagin? how do i tell a good topic from a bad one, will i find enough information on this topic to write about it ? these are reasonable questions, but they reflect a basic misunderstanding about rsearch , in this chapter , we offer a beeter way to think about research projects and how to begin one,
think of your topic as a starting point for an inquiry ,the wordss comes from the GREEK topos , mains place, which is a subject is a broad area of knowledge, a topic is a specific interest with in that area , of course , a topic can be narrower still , bur choosing a topic toi research is bot simply a matter of narrowing your subject to the point that you can find enough information, but not too much , the bet topic will raise a question about a subject whose answer solves a problem , that you and your audience cate about , i nthis chapter, we focus on how to formulate questions about aa topic , i the next capter, we focus on how research questions not only have answer but also solve problems.
from an interest to a topic,
Again , begining researchers ofen find it diffcult to locate a topic among their varied interests, this is in part , because an academic approach to many interests can seem a atrange fit at first, it is not easy for students to imagine a community of researchers or scholars who will want to hear what they have to say on a topic or to think that they have the authority to present their research ,
this is a hurdle that any begining researcher must overcome, in doing so , itis helpful to remember that research enables you to become a relative expert on a topic , you may not know as much as some other do , but you can know enough to join a conversation among scholars already in progress , — or even start a noew one .
at hee same time , those who are new to research in a field oftemn see things with a fresh eye, that alone can be reason enough to enter in to a dialogue with other researchers , it may be a cliche, but it is still useful advice , start with what interests you.
finding a topic in a writijng course,
many research projects begin in a writing course where learning to do academic research is a goal, if that is your situation and you can choose topics more or less freely , use this opportunity to explore an interest, however mundane or marginal, do not linit yourself to what you think you should research or what a teacher will approve ,think about what you have read or listened to recently or discussed with friends or family , think about points of disagreement or elements of surprise, perhaps somethings that has prompted you hto search online to satisfy your curisity, you might lis as many interests as you can ,to explore further without feeling any need to decide yust yet, at this point , you may be com[leteing the thoughy i had like to learn more aboiut … with out a specific focus if no promising topics come to mind , consult the quick tip aat the end of this chapter.
at this early stage , it can be reasuring to see if there is information out there or if other share your interest enough to have researched it , it iseasy to google s topic ,although it can be overwhrlming to wade though the volume of hit you will likely receive, there are biound to be promising websites that reflect attention to a topic by organizations or interest groups and that spur futher thinking on your part , for manyt topics , you will find useful informatuon o nthe popular website wiki , how ever , do not turn to wil as a reliable source of evidence to use i nyour research with out refrende materical o nwhich wiki article rely.
finding a topic for a research priojext i na particular field
AS you learn more about a particular field or subject, the focus of your research will become more specific , to find a topic , you might still consult genral academic resources like encyclopaedia Britannicam but you canalso find topics through specialized resources such as the internation\al encyclopedia of plolitocal science or women studies international , yu can alse explore topics through google scholar , a search engine that foucus o nscholary jpurnals and books.
if you have advanced beyond an introductory level in your field of study , you ost likeluy read some of itit literature , and have some awareness, of itis areas of debate, if so , a research project is an opportnuity to renter in to thosre debates yoursrlf, to better understand them , youcan skim the latestr issue of journal s in your field or readf calls for papers for professional conferences. you mighe also reach out to liberians , especalklu those who specialize in your field , or examine your instuituions special colletctions and archives.
bringing a topic into focus
you reach a crucial stage i na research project, when a topic of interest can not be stated in a few words , for example , the topics “free will in tolstoy”, the history of commerical avation, and the world wat 2- era figure roise the riveter ” are too shoru and too diffuse, they require another level of details “
the conflict of fress will and inveitablity in tolstoy is description of thress battle in war and peace.
the contribution od the milltary in developing the dc -3 in the early years of commerical avation
the evolution of the world war 2 – era figure rosie the riveter as a feminnist icon
we focused those topics by adding words and phrases of a special kind : conflict\ description \ contribution \ developing \ and evalution \ those nouns are derived from verbs edpressing actions : to conflict\ do describe
to contribute\ dto develop
and to evolve\ lacking “action ” words , your topic is static.
note what happens when we restate statics topics as full sentences , topics 123 change barely at all .