Intro to Research

This module is about how to develop your topic into an appropriate, manageable question or thesis.

In module 2, we talked about the components of the research process and how they relate to each other, to the library's collections, and to your assignment. In this module we'll take a deeper dive into the first component of the research cycle: topic development, or identifying your information need.

By the end of this module, you'll be able to: 

• Investigate, select, and focus your general topic into a viable research question or thesis statement by learning how to:
  • Use reference tools for background research
  • Brainstorm questions for topic development
  • Narrow or broaden your ideas into a manageable and practical research question
  • Create a thesis statement or formal research question to guide your investigation

Concepts from the module

• Brainstorming = spontaneous creative methodology involving the generation of ideas and associations.
• Topic Development =  Selecting an information subject area, generating questions by brainstorming, and refining the selected question by adding or subtracting facets to your topic question to modify the scope and scale of your question to suit the requirements of your research project

Vocabulary from the module

• Background/preliminary research = information from reference resources that provides the context you and your reader need in order to understand your project; background research generally addresses questions related to your topic such as: who, what, when, where, why, and how that form the foundation of your brainstorming session.
• Facets = characteristics of information to help you focus your topic and to narrow or broaden it to suit your research needs; add facets to narrow your topic or remove facets to broaden your topic.  Facets include:
  • date, time span, or historical event
  • place, location, or geographic area
  • person or group
  • issue or aspect.

• Reference resource = a source of factual information that summarizes authoritative works to create a broad, shallow treatment on a subject.
• Research question = the question/s that will guide your research and be answered by your source supported discussion in a research project. It should:
  • Focus on one issue
  • Require analysis
  • Be specific and focused
  • Be clear, with delimited terminology
• Thesis statement = a statement of position on a debatable issue that will be supported by the research supported argument presented in a persuasive project. A thesis statement is composed of:
  • A subject
  • Your position on that subject
  • Evidence that supports your position
• Topic = the subject area within which you will develop the research question or thesis required for a research project