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Asnuntuck - History Guide

Develop Your Topic

When deciding on a topic, it is helpful to conduct background research. Some good places to find background information:

  • Your textbook or class readings
  • Encyclopedias and reference books
  • Credible websites
  • Library databases

Keep in mind the goal of conducting background research is to:

  • become familiar enough with the topic
  • start to develop some questions to guide your later research, or
  • determine what direction you want to take in your research.

Try the library databases below to explore your topic. When you're ready, move on to refining your topic.

Image of person looking through glass tube with word "refine"

Now that you have done some background research, you will probably find that you need to narrow your topic.

Remember: the shorter your final paper, the narrower your topic needs to be. Here are some suggestions for narrowing and defining your topic:

  • Is there a specific subset of the topic you can focus on?
  • Is there a cause and effect relationship you can explore?
  • Is there an unanswered question on the subject?
  • Can you focus on a specific time period or group of people?

Describe and develop your topic in some detail. Try filling in the blanks in the following sentence, as much as you can:

I want to research ____(what/who)____

and ____(what/who)____

in ____(where)____

during ____(when)____

because ____(why)____.

 

Keep in mind: a topic that is too narrow or too broad can be difficult to research. If you need more help figuring out how to narrow or even broaden your topic, check out this table below.

 

Narrow or Broaden a Topic

 

Narrow your topic Broaden your topic

Is your topic too broad?

  • Are you getting too many results when you conduct a search?
  • Are you finding it difficult to cover your topic in detail?

Is your topic too narrow?

  • Are you getting too few results when you conduct a search?
  • Is your topic too new? Is it something that has been researched yet in academic literature?

Example:

"Fashion" is a topic too big to cover in detail in one research assignment.

Example:

"How legalizing marijuana would affect crime rates in the United States" might be a question that is too new a question. There may not yet be enough research on this topic.

Consider these questions:

  • What aspects of the topic are you interested in?
    • Example: the history of fashion, the social effects of fashion, etc.
  • What time period do you want to cover?
    • Example: ancient fashion, historical fashion, modern fashion, Victorian Era fashion, etc.
  • Is there a particular group or population that you want to focus on?
    • Example: teenagers, women, workers etc.
  • What geographic region are you interested in?
    • Example: a particular city or state or country
  • What kind of information do you think you need? Has it been written about before?

Consider these questions:

  • Could you examine other previously banned substances in addition to marijuana?
  • Could you think broadly about safety concerns and issues? What might they be?
  • Who are the key actors in this topic?
    • Example: The FDA, local police, consumer activists, etc.
  • What other issues are involved?
    • Example: "How should prescription drugs be managed?"

This information was adapted from CT State Norwalk's Mastering the Art of Library Research Guide.

Find Background Information