Summary of Selecting a Research Topic & Formulating a Research Question

00:00:00 - 00:00:00

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to select a research topic and formulate a research question. You'll learn about two resources you can use to select a general topic and find background information on your topic, CQ Researcher and Credo Reference. Once you have a general topic, you'll probably need to narrow it down. If your topic is too general you'll be overwhelmed by information. One way to narrow your topic is to use the Who, What, Where, When, Why method. Start asking yourself questions about the topic and brainstorm answers.

• 00:00:00 In this tutorial, you'll learn how to select a research topic and formulate a research question. Sometimes it's difficult to select a topic for an assignment or paper, and if you don't have a topic in mind, you may need to think of a general topic and then narrow your topic. Two resources you can use to select a general topic and find background information on your topic are CQ Researcher and Credo Reference. CQ Researcher has a list of hot topics, lets you browse topic by general subject, and has a selection of pro/con reports. Credo Reference may be used to find general topics, but it works best if you have a general topic in mind and want to narrow down your topic. Once you have a general topic, you'll probably need to narrow it down. If your topic is too general you'll be overwhelmed by information. For example, let's say I want to write a paper on gun control. Gun control is a general topic and there are so many aspects to it that need to be researched. One way to narrow your topic is to use the Who, What, Where, When, Why method. Start asking yourself questions about the topic and brainstorm answers. Who does gun control affect? Adults? Children? Gun