SOC 312: Methods of Social Research : Topic Development

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McGovern Library
library@dwu.edu
(605) 995-2618

Before you start researching your topic, consider the following questions: 

1. Is there a topic that interests you?
   • Choosing a topic that interests you will make the research process more enjoyable and you will be more invested in the research.
2. Is there a subsection of a larger topic that you can dive deeper into?
   • When choosing a topic, you want to begin narrowing your focus. If you select a topic that is too broad, you will be overwhelmed with information and your research will end us being more like a summary of points, not an analysis of them. 
3. Is the topic you are working on too broad or too narrow?
   • Finding that Goldilocks topic can be hard, but in the end is pays off. 
4. Are there requirements you need to consider before moving forward with your research?
   • Are you needing to focus on a broader theme? Are there a required number of sources? How many pages do you need to write? All of these requirements need to be kept in the back of your mind when you are determining a topic. 
5. Can you answer your research question or thesis statement with a quick Google search? 
   • If you can, your topic is too simple. 

Follow the steps below (and the librarian's example) to see one way to brainstorm a topic. 

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Start off with a very broad topic. 

Librarian Example:
Mental Health

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Using your topic, what is a question we can try to answer?
Remember that you should not be able to answer this question with a quick Google Search.

Librarian Example:
What is mental health's connection to suicide?

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Write down 3 sub-topics or related topics that help to narrow your starting topic.
Conduct background research to see how you can narrow your topic by using sub-topics.

Librarian Example:
Subtopic 1: Anxiety/depression and suicidality
Subtopic 2: Risk factors for suicide
Subtopic 3: Impact of suicide/attempted suicide on family and friends

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Select a branch that looks interesting and write a question we can answer.

Librarian Example:

Starting Topic: Mental Health
Branched Topic: Impact of suicide/attempted suicide on family and friends

New Question: How does suicide or attempted suicide effect the well-being of family and loved ones of the victim?

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Branch out your topic again using your selected sub-topic and new question.
Think about the issues you might start running into at this point. Is your topic too broad/narrow, are there too many variables, or do you need to do more branching?

Librarian Example:
Branched Topic #1: Impact of suicide/attempted suicide on family and friends
New Research Question: How does suicide or attempted suicide effect the well-being of family and loved ones of the victim?
New Branch #1: Family stress and suicides
New Branch #2: Suicide ideation caused by suicide death of family members
New Branch #3: Survivors guilt in family members of suicide deaths

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Once again, select a branch that looks interesting and write a question we can answer.

 

Librarian Example:

Starting Topic: Mental Health
Branched Topic #1: Impact of suicide/attempted suicide on family and friends
Branched Topic #2: Suicide ideation caused by suicide death of family members
New Research Question: How does a death by suicide effect close family and friends of the deceased, particularly in terms of suicide ideation and suicide attempts?