• Thinking of Topics
• Planning Projects
• Evaluating Information

Understand the Assignment

• Is it a 10-page paper, an oral presentation, a web page, or something else?
• Do you need an annotated bibliography?
• Should it include your own opinions?
• Who is the audience?
• Must you use certain resources?
• Can you use popular magazines, web sites, or only scholarly writings?
• Do you need primary or secondary sources?
• DON’T FORGET - Ask your instructor if the project is unclear.

Brainstorm Ideas

• Jot down as many ideas that come to mind using prompts such as:
  • What interests you?
  • What confuses you?
  • What ideas seem complex?
  • What ideas have sub-topics?

• Talk through your ideas with another person
• Free write about a topic
• What’s in the news today that sparks your interest?

Find background information

Learning the basic info about your topic can help immensely in the research process.  Some good starting places:

• Gale Virtual Reference Library
• Encyclopaedia Britannica
• Oxford Reference Online
• Print Encyclopedias and Dictionaries in the reference department on the 2nd floor

Tip:

Avoid huge topics such as “the War in Iraq” or “Globalization.” Use the narrowing techniques to create topics such as “Reconstructing education in Iraq” or “How does globalization effect the clothing industry?” 

Look for Ideas in:

Academic Search

• Gathers articles from many popular and scholarly sources. Put in a keyword to get a list of articles.

CQ Library/CQ Researcher

• Excellent source for browsing controversial and current topics

ProQuest Newstand

• A large collection of newspaper articles with a “topics” feature

Encyclopedias

• Browsing the subject encyclopedias on the 2nd floor of the library is a great way to gather ideas.

Other Web resources

• Hot Topics (CSU Long Beach)
• Hot Topics Supersites (San Diego State)
• Worldpress.org – international coverage of current events

Narrow your topic by:

• Time period
• Group of people (teenagers, Californians, painters)
• Geography (Point Reyes, Germany, The Sudan, Los Angeles)
• A specific person
• A specific event (How did the death of Arafat effect the war in Iraq?)
• Point of view (How do libertarians view NAFTA?)
• Interdisciplinary angle (how have artists represented evolution through time? What business management techniques work in schools?)
• Specific academic angle (The sociology of ballroom dancing; the history of ballroom dancing; the politics of ballroom dancing)