LibGuides: Information Literacy, Level One: Choosing your research topic

Choosing your research topic

Choosing your topic: initial considerations

Research is hard work and takes time, so picking a topic that you'll enjoy exploring can make the research process easier and more engaging
It helps if your topic is connected to your personal interests, career goals, something that a relative or friend has experienced, or something interesting that you recently read
If you already know something about your topic, that can give you a head start; however, you still need to gather information sources to provide evidence for your claims

Is the paper or presentation supposed to involve summary, analysis, or argument? Either way, be sure that your topic lends itself to that type of paper.
Check what type of sources are required and whether your topic can be explored in them. For example, if your topic is a newer issue, you may not be able to find books about it.
Keep the length in mind: don't try to write a five-page paper about a yes/no question, a simple cut-and-dried issue, or a topic that would require 300 pages to adequately address.

Do some initial searching in a library tool like OneSearch to ensure that there are enough good sources out there.
Some popular or local topics may be personally interesting to you, but there may not be enough books or articles about them.
If your topic is too current (for example, an event from the past few weeks), scholars won't have had time to analyze and write about it yet.

Your topic can evolve as you do research

Your initial topic is a starting point for your investigation, but it's not set in stone. It's fine for your topic to change in response to what you're finding in your research. In fact, modifying your topic as needed is an essential part of the research process.

This video from NC State describes how doing research can help with choosing and refining a research topic:

Brainstorming tool: Credo mind maps

Our Credo Reference database has a mind map tool that might help you brainstorm topic ideas.

Entering a word or phrase related to a topic of interest into the search box will produce a Mind Map for your topic which can give you suggestions for related concepts and ideas. You can click any of the words or phrases on the map, and see a new map about that concept.