For your chosen career, you need to find researchable aspects.
Be willing to broaden, narrow, or modify your topic in order to find the current, hot, or debatable issues in your field.
Here are some common issues in many (not all) occupations:
technology | sustainability | diversity in the field/population served |
global issues | climate change | aging of the population/people in the field |
harrassment/bullying/violence | mental health |
issues with fast growth or shortages in the field |
ethics | LGBTQ issues |
artificial intelligence |
freelance issues | business on the Web | marketing on the Web |
intellectual property (copyright, plagiarism, patents, etc.) | education, training, professional development | Censorship and Localizing |
Other things to keep in mind:
Occupation | Issues that Impact | Two Aspects/Sides/Approaches per Issue | Source |
I. | A. | ||
B. | |||
II. | A. | ||
B. | |||
III. | A. | ||
B. |
Occupational Outlook Handbook
To find hot topics in your career, you may want to try some of the following keywords
- Emerging issues or trends
- Divisive issues or trends
- Current issues or trends
- Controversies
- Debate
Within every profession, there are ongoing controversial conversations that directly impact the field. There are some controversies that are so "hot" that they are in the public conversation, for example. If I am in an Academic profession, but I know that in the Criminal Justice field, the topic of Immigration is very prominent right now, even though I don't know the details beyond the media coverage. Therefore, I would not be a credible voice within the immigration conversation without further research. This is your opportunity to take the major/field/career that you acknowledged in the Introductory letter, and begin to dig into the "hot" debates that are taking place within that field/profession.
For this assignment, your place is not to choose a side, but to uncover 3 of these issues in an APA formatted annotated bibliography. In order to make sure you are presenting credible voices, this assignment calls for 2 scholarly sources per issue (so three separate issues and 2 sources per issue, totaling 6 total sources).
NOTE: When looking at the sources, make sure you are uncovering different sides of the issues to remain unbiased. It is highly suggested that you begin with the library's databases of academic journals to begin the research (this was taught in ENG-111, if you need additional help in navigating this resource contact the tutoring center).
We’re thrilled to announce the integration of AI-powered tools into our library databases! This means faster, smarter, and more intuitive research assistance at your fingertips. Whether you’re searching for scholarly articles, refining citations, or exploring new topics, AI can help streamline the process—so you spend less time sifting through information and more time making meaningful discoveries.
💡 What Can AI Do for You?
AI isn’t replacing your expert librarians—it’s here to empower your learning and make knowledge more accessible than ever. Ready to explore the future of research? Try it out today!
AI Insights from EBSCO provides clear summaries of full-text articles, highlighting 2-5 key points, which helps researchers quickly assess the relevance of the article to their research and make better use of their time. It is available in most Ebsco databases. Read more about it here.