When is a topic too narrow or too broad?
Your topic may be too broad:
- It becomes difficult to find sources due to the sheer amount of information available. For example, 20,000 articles on gun control.
- You are finding it difficult to form an opinion about the topic.
Consider identifying a sub-topic under the umbrella of gun control such as "Does increased gun control policy lead to decreased gun related violence in Indiana?"
Your topic may be too narrow:
- If it is very difficult to find sources.
- If it focuses on something very new/current.
Consider taking a step back from a highly detailed aspect of the topic to consider broader terms: "people are using eHarmony to develop superficial, unfulfilling virtual relationships" to "people are using social media web sites to develop superficial and unfulfilling relationships."
From research statement/question to keywords
Topic inspiriation: I read a news article that focused on how violent a particular video game is.
Broad topic: Video games and violence.
Narrowed topic: Do violent video games make children behave violently?
A research topic often requires forming an opinion.
Topic statement: "I think violence in video games does not cause children to behave violently."
Keywords: video games violence children behave
Now you can use keywords to search within research tools.
Image source: www.callofduty.com/
Keyword Exercise
1. Write a brief sentence describing your research topic idea as if you were explaining it to a friend.
2. In the next line down, fill in the blanks with the most important words from that statement.
3. As you continue to find sources, add keywords and synonyms to this list.