The very first step to any research paper is choosing a topic!
If you don't know where to start, ask yourself these questions:
Then remember your 5W's (and 1H)
Why would you need to refine your topic?
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.