Brainstorming for Research Topics

Choosing a Topic
Don’t be intimidated by the need to choose a topic. With a little bit of brainstorming, you will be able to come up with multiple possibilities for your research project. Here’s the deal about topics: • Must be debatable. • Must be broad so that you can create a balanced discussion, but also narrow enough to create a focus and closely examine issues around your topic. • Must be something you care about and are curious about. If you pick a topic that you don’t have a strong opinion about, your research project is probably going to be boring and not very well done.

To get started, make a list of different communities that you belong to. These communities can be social, based on a group on campus, have something to do with your major, your job, or any other extra-curricular activities or personal interests. For example, my list of communities would have to do with poetry, LGBT issues, teaching English Composition, and nutrition.

Once you make a list of these communities, start identifying issues within these communities. For example, in my communities some issues include same-sex adoptions, childhood obesity, transgender healthcare, same-sex marriage, technology’s contribution to obesity, etc. After you identify some issues, answer the following questions about three of your issues on a sheet of paper to turn into me:

• What do you “know” and “believe” about the issue and how did that understanding come about?

• What are central issues that need to be addressed about your issue?

• What are some objections/counterarguments to your stance?

• NOTE: The more specific you are and the more you write, the easier it will be to choose a good topic the first time around. Please write as much as you can.

Turning your Topic into a Question
After going through the pieces you’ve written on multiple topics, start to narrow them down. Consider how interested you are in the topic, how debatable it is, and how well you will be able to research it. Then, turn your topic into a question (which will further develop/change/evolve throughout your project)

For example, some of my questions could be the following: •	Why are students so resistant to reading and writing poetry? What can be done about it? •	Should same-sex couples be allowed to adopt children in Ohio? •	How has the rising popularity of fast food restaurants contributed to the rising obesity rates in the US?

Note each question is framed a little bit differently; for example, the first question asks “why” and “what,” the second question is a “yes” or “no” question, and the third is a “how” question. Any of these types of questions can work for your project.