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REL 3330: American Religious Controversies: 1: Start!

Pick Your Topic

Step 1: Pick Your Topic.

Picking a topic is more than just making up a research question - it's a process that continues in the next three steps.  You need to...

  • start with an idea,
  • brainstorm keywords for your core concepts,
  • find some basic background information (and more keywords!),
  • start searching for articles on your topic,
  • then improve your research question, refining it to become a college-level topic.*

*The more you research, the more your research question will change and refine, until your topic is clear and the terminology reflects what is current in the discipline.  Below left - helpful videos.  Below right - an image of a sample research process.

Picking a topic IS research!

Research Process

Research Process

Research Process from choosing a topic to writing