Step One: 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
