Research Topics 101
First things first, let's define some vocabulary:
Topic: Your research topic will be a broad area of exploration from which you'll develop a research question. Try to think of a topic that you can analyze rather than just describing or reporting on it.
Examples: urban green space, student activism, true crime
Research Question: Your research question will be more focused and specific than your topic. Remember that this isn't your thesis statement, but rather a question to guide your research process as you search for perspectives and conversations to inform your question.
Examples: How does urban green space contribute to the mental health of local residents? How is social media used to organize student activism? What factors have contributed to the popularity of true crime podcasts with white women?
Not Sure Where to Start?
Your research topic should be related to the topic of your class. Reflect on what you've engaged with in class and what has interested you. Your topic should be something that you're interested in! You can't write a great paper if you aren't interested in your own topic.
Explore topics within your class's subject area using these resources:
- Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window
Opposing Viewpoints covers opposing sides of the most current social issues, from Offshore Drilling to Climate Change, Health Care to Immigration. Opposing Viewpoints helps students research, analyze and organize a broad variety of data for conducting research, completing writing assignments, preparing for debates, creating presentations and more.
- CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
Covers the most current and controversial issues of the day with summaries, pros and cons, bibliographies and more. Provides reporting and analysis on issues in the news, including issues relating to health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy.
Try mindmapping using the video at the bottom of the page to consider different areas within your topic!
What Makes a Good Research Question?
Your research question will be about a focused sliver of information within your topic. Qualities of a good research question include:
- Open and explorable - ask a question that doesn't have a yes or no answer, and can't be answered with a fact. Your topic should be answerable in the scope of your paper, but not have an obvious answer.
- Closed question: How many urban green spaces are there in Boston?
- Open question: How does urban green space impact the mental and physical health of local residents?
- Specific and focused - Your question should tell you what your research is about. You should feel like you know what information you need by reading the question rather than feeling like you don't know where to start. You are most likely writing a 7-10 page paper about something, not a report or overview. This means that you need to have a narrow scope, use your question to focus your research on a specific person, place, event, phenomenon, or time period.
- Vague question: What do people like about true crime?
- Broad question: What is the history of true crime?
- Specific and focused question: What elements have contributed to the popularity of true crime podcasts with white women since 2020?
More examples!
Topic: student activism
Research Questions: How does social media usage contribute to the effectiveness of student activism for Gen Z students? How is the response to student activism on college campuses different today than it was during the Free Speech Movement? How have activist influencers like Greta Thunberg impacted the number of elementary school students involved in environmental activism?
