Central Oregon
Community College
LIBRARY 127
*CHOOSING A TOPIC*
Identifying an interesting topic for research is very
important for two reasons: first, your class assignments will be more enjoyable,
and second, you will learn something from it.
In this class, you may use the same topic through out the term. It is my
hope that you will become something of an expert on your particular topic!
As you pick your research topic consider the following:
- Think of something original!
Think of a topic that really matters to you--what is something that you
really need to know or want to know?
- Do not be afraid to select a topic that you are
not familiar with.
- Once you make your selection, consider how focused your
topic is. State your topic as a question - if you
can't, this may mean that you need to define and narrow down your topic.
For example: "Depression"
is a very broad subject area. There are entire books
(if not encyclopedias!) written on this topic! To make these topics more manageable, you will need
to focus on just one aspect of them. What about your
topic do you find particularly interesting? For example, why is there
so much focus on depression in women? That might lead to a topic such as:
Depression --> What studies have been done on depression in men?
- There are several ways to narrow your
topic.
- Limit to a particular population or age
group. For example, infants, teenagers, college students, or adults.
- Limit to a particular environment such
as schools.
- Limit to an ethnic background such as
Asian Americans.
- Limit by a particular theory or
approach.
NOTE: You will probably be refining and
reworking your topic as you learn more about it!
- If you can keep your topic
reasonably narrow and focused, you are making your research process much more
efficient; that is, you will be locating only the specific information that
pertains to your topic. (Keeping your topic broad and general means
you will be finding lots and lots of information pertaining to all aspects of
your topic--that's a lot more work!
- Keep in mind the requirements of
your assignment. A 10 page paper may allow you to choose a slightly
broader topic than a 5 page paper. A 5 page paper needs to handle a
pretty specific topic. A 50 page senior thesis can choose a broader
topic. Your topic for this class should be focused enough to keep you
(and me) interested but should be broad enough to support a hypothetical ten
page research paper with a bibliography/resource list consisting of 13
items.
- Keep in mind the characteristics
of your library. A topic such as "fly fishing in Central Oregon" is
not going to be well-supported by the COCC Campus Library--we just don't buy
a lot of books on that topic because it's more practical than academic in
nature (and because COCC doesn't teach a lot of classes on fishing!).
You will have access to other libraries throughout this course--but
generally you'll do better to choose a topic that can be supported somewhat
by the COCC Library.
- Start with a broad topic but know
you will need to narrow it considerably as you learn more about it.
If I know nothing about "child psychology" I
may start out with that as my (rather blatantly and overly broad) topic.
As I learn more and more about child psychology (by looking at reference
books and some of the other resources cited below) , I may decide to narrow
my topic to "depressive disorders in adolescent girls" which is quite a bit
more focused. The more focused your topic, the more directed (and
exciting!) your research can be and you'll be glad to know that well focused, well aimed research
can actually lead
to better writing!
Here are some tools you can use to make your selection:
Reflect on your experiences,
previous course work, previous readings or discussions.
Think about something that you really want or need to know about, such as a
health condition, (juvenile diabetes), living situation (helping children cope
with divorce) or travel plans (best places to see in Alaska).
Identify
the call number or classification area for a broad interest...such as BF for psychology (see LC
Classification) and browse in that call number
area in the Library Reference section. For example, under BF (in
the reference section) I'd be able to locate an Encyclopedia of Psychology
that would lead me to many, many interesting topics.
Browse through current sources of information such as:
- CQ Researcher
- this is an excellent resource for research papers on current,
controversial topics. Go to the COCC Library homepage (www.cocc.edu/library)
and click on "Web Reference." A link to the electronic version of this
publication is listed under "Contemporary issues." Once in this web site,
click on "Browse by Topic" or "Find a Topic" to come up with possible
research ideas. Also, if you prefer paper, a print copy of the CQ
Researcher is located in the Reference area of the
library, REF H 35 .E35. You may browse
the cumulative index, those blue pages in the binder next to the regular
volumes, to see what topics are included and get ideas for a research
project.
- The Reference series Taking Sides.
This debate style publications introduce students to controversies on a
variety of topics. The readings, which represent the arguments of leading
scientists, policy makers, or other experts, reflect a variety of viewpoints
and are presented in a "pro" and "con" format. To identify books in this
series, go to the library homepage (www.cocc.edu/library), click on
"Catalogs", select "COCC Library", and perform a TITLE search typing in
"Taking sides". This search will provide you the list of the books in the
whole series. Click on the individual titles to get the call numbers.
There are Internet sites which can you help
you come up with a good research topic such as: