Narrowing your topic
There are too many resources on my topic! How can I narrow my topic?
Ask yourself these questions?
WHO? Is there are particular population (age, gender, ethnic group, etc.) that is affected by this topic?
WHAT? What do I want to know about this topic?
WHEN? What time period am I examining?
WHERE? What environment does this topic fall into? Workplace, schools, etc.
WHY? Is there methodology or theory that needs to be analyzed?
Broad Topic
Narrowed Topic |
Media
↓
Media and people
↓
Television’s effect on adolescents
↓
Psychological effect of television on adolescents
↓
Violence on television and its psychological effect on school aged children
↓
Occurrence of physical violence on cartoons and the psychological effect on primary school aged children |
AIDS
↓
AIDS prevention
↓
Prevention of HIV via condoms
↓
Sales of condoms bought and used to reduce transmission of HIV
↓
Marketing of condoms pitched as a way to reduce transmission of HIV
↓
Packaging of condoms pitched to an urban market as a way to reduce transmission of HIV
|
Broadening your topic
There are no resources on my topic! How can I broaden my topic?
Think of paralell or alternate topics to your original topic.
Ask yourself these questions?
| |
OLD |
NEW |
| WHO? |
CSU San Marcos Freshmen |
College Freshmen or College Students |
| WHAT? |
Dorm rooms on campus |
Quality of residential life on college campuses |
| WHEN? |
1985 |
1980s or 1980-2000 |
| WHERE? |
San Marcos |
San Diego County or Southern California or California |
Still having trouble with your topic? Contact a librarian for more help.
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