{"id":536,"date":"2017-04-03T21:13:06","date_gmt":"2017-04-03T21:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/?post_type=chapter&p=536"},"modified":"2017-04-13T18:30:11","modified_gmt":"2017-04-13T18:30:11","slug":"narrowing-a-topic","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/chapter\/narrowing-a-topic\/","title":{"raw":"Narrowing a Topic","rendered":"Narrowing a Topic"},"content":{"raw":"For many students, having to start with a research question is the biggest difference between how they did research in high school and how they are required to carry out their college research projects. It\u2019s a process of working from the outside in: you start with the world of all possible topics (or your assigned topic) and narrow down until you\u2019ve focused your interest enough to be able to tell precisely what you want to find out instead of only what you want to \u201cwrite about.\u201d\r\n

Process of Narrowing a Topic<\/h1>\r\n
\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_400\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1392\"]\"A Visualize narrowing a topic as starting with all possible topics and choosing narrower and narrower subsets until you have a specific enough topic to form a research question.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nAll Possible Topics<\/strong>\u2014You\u2019ll need to narrow your topic in order to do research effectively. Without specific areas of focus, it will be hard to even know where to begin.\r\n\r\nAssigned Topics<\/strong>\u2014Ideas about a narrower topic can come from anywhere. Often, a narrower topic boils down to deciding what\u2019s interesting to you. One way to get ideas is to read background information in a source like Wikipedia.\r\n\r\nTopic Narrowed by Initial Exploration<\/strong>\u2014It\u2019s wise to do some more reading about that narrower topic to a) learn more about it and b) learn specialized terms used by professionals and scholars who study it.\r\n\r\nTopic Narrowed to Research Question(s)<\/strong>\u2014A research question defines exactly what you are trying to find out. It will influence most of the steps you take to conduct the research.\r\n
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ACTIVITY:<\/strong> Which Topic Is Narrower?<\/h3>\r\nOpen activity in a web browser.<\/a>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

Why Narrow a Topic?<\/h1>\r\nOnce you have a need for research\u2014say, an assignment\u2014you may need to prowl around a bit online to explore the topic and figure out what you actually want to find out and write about.\r\n\r\nFor instance, maybe your assignment is to develop a poster about \u201cspring\u201d for an introductory horticulture course. The instructor expects you to narrow that topic to something you are interested in and that is related to your class.\r\n
\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_401\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1392\"]\"A Another way to view a narrowed topic is as a sliver of the whole topic.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nIdeas about a narrower topic can come from anywhere. In this case, a narrower topic boils down to deciding what\u2019s interesting to you about \u201cspring\u201d that is related to what you\u2019re learning in your horticulture class and small enough to manage in the time you have.\r\n\r\nOne way to get ideas would be to read about spring in Wikipedia, looking for things that seem interesting and relevant to your class, and then letting one thing lead to another as you keep reading and thinking about likely possibilities that are more narrow than the enormous \u201cspring\u201d topic. (Be sure to pay attention to the references at the bottom of most Wikipedia pages and pursue any that look interesting. Your instructor is not likely to let you cite Wikipedia, but those references may be citable scholarly sources that you could eventually decide to use.)\r\n\r\nOr, instead, if it is spring at the time you could start by just looking around, admire the blooming trees on campus, and decide you\u2019d like your poster to be about bud development on your favorites, the crabapple trees.","rendered":"

For many students, having to start with a research question is the biggest difference between how they did research in high school and how they are required to carry out their college research projects. It\u2019s a process of working from the outside in: you start with the world of all possible topics (or your assigned topic) and narrow down until you\u2019ve focused your interest enough to be able to tell precisely what you want to find out instead of only what you want to \u201cwrite about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Process of Narrowing a Topic<\/h1>\n
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\"A<\/p>\n

Visualize narrowing a topic as starting with all possible topics and choosing narrower and narrower subsets until you have a specific enough topic to form a research question.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

All Possible Topics<\/strong>\u2014You\u2019ll need to narrow your topic in order to do research effectively. Without specific areas of focus, it will be hard to even know where to begin.<\/p>\n

Assigned Topics<\/strong>\u2014Ideas about a narrower topic can come from anywhere. Often, a narrower topic boils down to deciding what\u2019s interesting to you. One way to get ideas is to read background information in a source like Wikipedia.<\/p>\n

Topic Narrowed by Initial Exploration<\/strong>\u2014It\u2019s wise to do some more reading about that narrower topic to a) learn more about it and b) learn specialized terms used by professionals and scholars who study it.<\/p>\n

Topic Narrowed to Research Question(s)<\/strong>\u2014A research question defines exactly what you are trying to find out. It will influence most of the steps you take to conduct the research.<\/p>\n

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ACTIVITY:<\/strong> Which Topic Is Narrower?<\/h3>\n

Open activity in a web browser.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Why Narrow a Topic?<\/h1>\n

Once you have a need for research\u2014say, an assignment\u2014you may need to prowl around a bit online to explore the topic and figure out what you actually want to find out and write about.<\/p>\n

For instance, maybe your assignment is to develop a poster about \u201cspring\u201d for an introductory horticulture course. The instructor expects you to narrow that topic to something you are interested in and that is related to your class.<\/p>\n

\n
\"A<\/p>\n

Another way to view a narrowed topic is as a sliver of the whole topic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Ideas about a narrower topic can come from anywhere. In this case, a narrower topic boils down to deciding what\u2019s interesting to you about \u201cspring\u201d that is related to what you\u2019re learning in your horticulture class and small enough to manage in the time you have.<\/p>\n

One way to get ideas would be to read about spring in Wikipedia, looking for things that seem interesting and relevant to your class, and then letting one thing lead to another as you keep reading and thinking about likely possibilities that are more narrow than the enormous \u201cspring\u201d topic. (Be sure to pay attention to the references at the bottom of most Wikipedia pages and pursue any that look interesting. Your instructor is not likely to let you cite Wikipedia, but those references may be citable scholarly sources that you could eventually decide to use.)<\/p>\n

Or, instead, if it is spring at the time you could start by just looking around, admire the blooming trees on campus, and decide you\u2019d like your poster to be about bud development on your favorites, the crabapple trees.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t

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Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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