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How to Do Library Research

Selecting Your Topic

The very first step to any research paper is choosing a topic!

If you don't know where to start, ask yourself these questions:

  1. What is the intention of my assignment?
  2. What subject does this need topic need to apply to? 
  3. What am I interested in?
  4. If what I'm interested in isn't applicable to this class or assignment, how can I tie my interests into this research?

Then remember your 5W's (and 1H)

  • WHY did you choose this topic? Do you have any opinions, questions, or biases?
  • WHO is your audience? Who are your stakeholders? Who might this research be affecting?
  • WHAT is the background research of this topic? Are there debates around this topic? What viewpoints already exist?
  • WHERE is your research focused geographically?
  • WHEN are you researching about? Is it historical in nature or a current event? How far back should you be searching for information? 
  • HOW is your preliminary search going? Are you finding too much or too little?

Refining Your Topic

Why would you need to refine your topic?

  • If you can answer your thesis with "yes" or "no"
  • There's no relevant facts or good evidence to support your answer (opinions don't count here)
  • The evidence overwhelming favors one answer to any other answer
  • It's common knowledge
  • It's a current event 
    • Sometimes topics are too "new" to have any reputable information to be out there to explore
  • It doesn't exist
    • Yes, it's possible what you're looking for doesn't have any resources at all. It could be that your topic is too narrow, or maybe too obscure that no one has researched it in-depth (yet). 

Narrow Your Topic:

Add more boundaries to your topic by focusing on specific time periods, geographic locations, or demographics. This means you will be adding more keywords to your search

Expand Your Topic:

Topics that are too narrow may need to be broadened up by altering ot taking out delimitions.

 

For more information on choosing and refining topics, take a look at this in-depth guide from Colorado State University.