Research Guides: Freshman Seminar: Finding a Topic for College Papers

Being Part of the Conversation

As a student pursuing a degree, you will have to write papers. No matter whether you are in the sciences, the arts, or something in between, all of our students must have English classes to graduate. Sometimes students have problems choosing a topic for their papers. Instructors give you guidelines for papers but rarely will the instructor tell you EXACTLY what your topic will be.

It's very important that you find topics that will allow you to demonstrate good writing and research techniques. Think of it, you are creating a product that's never been created before. You are becoming part of a conversation with your sources (materials you use for information) and your audience. In order to use sources, have the correct amount of content (not too little and not too much), and to meet the instructor's directions, you must pick a topic very carefully.

TOPIC

Topic Grid
T	O	P	I	C
Topic	Other Keywords	People/Place	Impact(s)	Cause(s)
Dogs	Canine	Home	Service	Companionship
			Health Benefits	Security

Personal Issue vs. Social Problem

Personal Issue - I like dogs.

Social Issue - Owning dogs can have many health benefits.

Social Issue with Supporting points - Dog ownership benefits include lower stress and lower blood pressure. Dog owners are also more active than non-dog owners (Zorthian, J. "More Evidence That Owning a Dog Is Really Good for You").

Zorthia, Julia. "More Evidence That Owning a Dog Is Really Good for You." Time.com, 24 July 2017. Retrieved from time.com/4870796/dog-owners-benefits/. Accessed 3 July 2018.

Personal: I like Snapchat.

Social Issue: Snapchat is used mostly by teenagers.

Social Issue with Supporting Points: Snapchat, used mostly by teenagers, has a dangerous side which includes bullying, stalking, and the risk of social media addiction.

Your Turn. What are you interested in?

Examples of research questions:

Education: What impact has education had on society? How are girls educated in third world countries? What is the history of your school?
Race: My essay will discuss how racism affects a person financially, socially, emotionally, and psychologically. What kinds of training do teachers have for understanding a diverse student body? What is the history of race in your county?
Health: Is exercise necessary to maintain a healthy body? What is the effect of obesity on the armed forces? How does good health practices affect diabetes?
Technology: How has the Internet changed education? How can drones be used by the military? What are positives and negatives of social media?
Animals: How do animals grieve? What is the process to domesticate wild animals? What is being done about elephant poaching?
Weather: How is global warming affecting the military? What is the history of hurricane tracking?
History: What are the Opium Wars? Who was Stalin? How did printing affect the Protestant Reformation?
Other categories include Globalization, Business, Security, Literature and Women's Issues

List of Databases (A to Z)

Academic Searching vs. Personal Research

We all have our interests and do some sort of research, whether it be Google Searching or just discussing interests with friends, but how do we take it to the academic standard that your instructors expect in college?

Personal Searching: Social media, Wikis, Quora, eHow, Reddit, friends/peers

Academic Searching: Library Databases, .gov, .org, Any source with authority, experts/authorities, no Wikipedia, no Social Media unless you can trace the origins of the story to a reputable souce

Some questions that can be asked to help determine if a research question is appropriate for academic research:

• Can the question be answered yes or no?

• Can the question be answered in one sentence or a single paragraph?

• Have entire books been written to answer this question?

• Would this question be answered by compiling a set of facts or a list?

• Would answering this question help someone else who has an interest in this topic?

Use the CRAP Test

It is challenging to determine whether information from the Web is credible and can be trusted. Is it factual? Biased? Relevant to your topic?

Here is a handy acronym to help you determine if a source may be CRAP.

CURRENCY: How recently was this information published/posted? Can you find a publication date?
RELIABILITY: Is the information supported by evidence? Can it be confirmed by other sources?
AUTHORITY: Who wrote the information - are they an expert or knowledgeable in their field? (i.e. For health information, did a doctor or nurse write it?)
PURPOSE / POINT OF VIEW: Why was it written? To sell something? To sway opinion? Is it biased toward a particular point of view?