Choosing an interesting research topic is your first challenge. Here are some tips:
Choose a topic that you are interested in! The research process is more relevant if you care about your topic.
Narrow your topic to something manageable. If your topic is too broad, you will find too much information and not be able to focus.
Background reading can help you choose and limit the scope of your topic.
Review the guidelines on topic selection outlined in your assignment. Ask your professor or TA for suggestions.
Talk about research ideas with a friend. S/he may be able to help focus your topic by discussing issues that didn't occur to you at first.
More ideas: How do I...select a research topic?
What are keywords? Keywords are the most important words in a research statement or question. They are the words that create significance or meaning.
Why use keywords? Keywords are important in research because they are highly useful to facilitate an online search for information. They open the doors to vast amounts of information. Keywords may also be referred to as “search terms.”
Fill out the keyword sheet to explore wording that is used to describe your topic.
A simple tool such as a thesaurus may allow you to find keyword variations that can be used to search the library catalog, article databases, etc.
Explore, explore, explore! Get a general sense of what information is available before you delve too deep into anything. Make note of useful keywords along the way and areas to explore further.