Coming up with ideas for a topic is often harder than the actual paper itself. But don’t worry, inspiration can often strike at the most unplanned moments. To help you get those creative juices flowing, here are some strategies for coming up with a topic, along with some additional resources to consider.

Brainstorming

There are a plethora of strategies for brainstorming: free writing, concept mapping, etc. Purdue’s Online Writing Lab outlines some of the most popular strategies, so you can find the one that fits with your mode of thinking.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/hypertext/ResearchW/invent.html

Whatever your strategy for brainstorming, you want to base in on the actual assignment. Review what your professor has asked for you to do, and make sure that your topic is appropriate for the assignment. The University of Utah provides a good outline for creating a topic based on the assignment. Though some of the resources are specific to the University of Utah, the basic concepts/ideas are universal.

http://www-navigator.utah.edu/module2/select_topic.htm

Focusing a Topic

Often times an assignment comes with a built in topic. These topics are often too broad, so you need to choose a unique aspect to focus on. To do this you may want to:

o   Look at class notes: is there anything that has been discussed in class that has peaked your interest?

o   Review your textbooks: what important points have been brought up in the text that you can expand on?

o   Look for specialized encyclopedias: Our reference collection has a ton of encyclopedias that specialize on a specific discipline or topic. Browse through the entries to see if there’s anything you may want to research more in depth.

o   Purdue’s OWL also provides a list of questions you may want to ask about the topic to better define what aspect you want to pursue.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_plan3.html

Finding Example Topics

If you are still having trouble deciding on a topic you can check out these resources that contain example topics. They can help you brainstorm, but just remember to make sure the topic fits with the assignment. Use the strategies mentioned above to make the topic your own. If you like the topic you pick, or are at least interested in the topic than it makes the research and writing process much easier.

Old Dominion University Libraries’ Idea Generator (http://www.lib.odu.edu/libassist/idea/index.php)

99 Jumpstarts To Research Topic Guides For Finding Information On Current Issues (Electronic Book)

Opposing Viewpoints Research Center (eResource)

Other Online Help

If you need more help choosing a topic check out these resources

OWL at Purdue (Prewriting):

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/673/01/

UCLA College Library (Road to Research):

http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/library/rtr.php?module=Start&section=Topics&page=01

University of California, Santa Cruz (How to Choose a Research Topic): http://library.ucsc.edu/ref/howto/choose_topic.html

Weber State University’s Stewart Library (Selecting a Research Topic): http://library.weber.edu/ref/guides/howto/topicselection.cfm

University of Washington (Research 101):

http://www.lib.washington.edu/uwill/research101/topic04.htm

Duke University Libraries (Choosing a Topic): http://library.duke.edu/services/instruction/libraryguide/choosing.html

Face to Face Help

And of course a librarian is always available to help with all aspects of the research process!

Contacting a librarian:

Reference Desk: reference@bridgewater.edu or 828-5642

Cori Biddle (Information Literacy Librarian): cbiddle@bridgewater.edu or 828-5415