Starting out your research project with an open mind is a great way to discover a research topic that you might not have otherwise considered.  You might not even know about topics like transitioning to cloud technologies, the underlying causes of WWI, social media addiction, or how to combat child hunger until you’ve taken the opportunity to conduct preliminary research to determine a research question.

This section will help you determine the scope of your project to ensure that your research question isn’t too broad or too narrow, and it will provide some suggestions to make preliminary research most productive for you.