The Research and Writing Process: A Step-by-Step Guide: Choose a Topic

Once you have selected an initial topic, the next step is to develop research questions. To begin:

• Write down what you already know or don't know about the topic.
• Using the information you wrote down, develop questions you'd like to answer when doing your research.
  • Use probing questions such as why? how? what if? should?
• From the book, Teaching Information Literacy Concepts: Lesson Plans for Librarians, some questions that can help determine if a research question is appropriate for academic research:
  • Can the question be answered yes or no?
  • Can the question be answered in one sentence or a single paragraph?
  • Have entire books been written to answer this question?
  • Would this question be answered by compiling a set of facts or a list?
  • Does the question ask for a conclusion to be drawn once the facts are known?
  • Would answering this question help someone else who has an interest in the topic? (Bravender, McClure, and Schaub 188)
• When developing research questions, employ analysis of a topic:
  • What are the causes and effects?

Using Generative AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, etc.)

Generative AI tools, when used responsibly and intelligently, can sometimes be helpful in this phase of the research process. Perplexity AI in particular can be quite helpful, in that it is designed with this type of research task in mind. What's more is Perplexity provides real (not hallucinated) sources and citations for its output, so it is generally more highly regarded by academics than other LLMs, such as ChatGPT.

When entering a prompt (query) be sure to give the GenAI tool some context clues so it can better and more appropriately assist you.
Context clues should include things like:

• Your topic
  "My topic is _____ ."
• Potential things you're interested in learning about your topic
  "I'm curious about ______ but I'm also curious about ______ ."
• What exactly you need help with
  "I need help coming up with a research question."  
• What type of student you are
  "I'm a college student..."  OR  "I'm a high school student..."
• Who your audience is
  "My audience is a group of my peers."  OR  "My audience is my professor." 

So rather than "What's a good research question about climate change?", a good prompt query might be something like:
"I'm a college student writing a paper about climate change and my audience is my peers. I'm interested in its impact on marine life but I'm also interested in ways the average person can help out. I need help coming up with some potential research questions."  

Example: Endangered Species Act

What do or don't I know about the Endangered Species Act (ESA)?

I know it's a law that protects animals, and their habitats, that are in danger of extinction. I believe the law only protects habitats that are within the U.S. boundaries. I know at one point bald eagles and grizzly bears were on the list, but I thought they had been removed. I know there has been a lot of controversy recently about adding polar bears to the list. I don't know what it takes for an animal to be removed from the list and I don't know what the penalties are for violating this act.

Research Questions

• What was the Endangered Species Act (ESA) designed to protect -- animals only or ecosystems too?
• What animals/habitats outside of the United States boundaries are covered by the act?
• What other countries have legislation to protect animals/habitats?
• What animals are currently on the endangered species list?
• How does an animal get added/removed from the list?
• What penalities are imposed on those who violate the act?

Before you can begin searching for information in a print or online resource, you need to identify keywords, or the most essential and significant words related to your topic. (Think of keywords as like social media tags.) Keywords can  be found easily by scanning:

• Your initial research questions
• Encyclopedia / Wikipedia and other articles used when conducting background research
  Search Credo Reference or Wikipedia to find background research articles!
• Brainstorm keywords with a librarian or your instructor
• Make a list or use the worksheet below to keep track of keywords related to your topic. Keep it with you when you start your research.

Using Generative AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, etc.)

Generative AI tools, when used responsibly and intelligently, can sometimes be helpful in this phase of the research process. 

When entering a prompt (query) be sure to give the GenAI tool some context clues so it can better and more appropriately assist you.
Context clues should include things like:

• Your topic
  "My topic is _____ ."
• Your research question
  "My research question is ______ ."
     and / or
  Potential things you're interested in learning about your topic
  "I'm curious about ______ but I'm also curious about ______ ."
• What exactly you need help with
  "I need help coming up with a list of potential keywords and search phrases."  
• What type of student you are
  "I'm a college student..."  OR  "I'm a high school student..."

So rather than "What are some good keywords about climate change?", a good prompt query might be something like:
"I'm a college student writing a paper about climate change and my research question is [insert question here]. I need help coming up with a list of potential keywords and short phrases to use when searching for sources of information."  

To sum up, the keywords you use can have a profound impact on the results of your research. It is normal to conduct several searches with different keywords or keyword combinations before you find the best results.

IS YOUR TOPIC TOO BROAD?

If you are finding too much information, your topic may be too broad. Consider narrowing it by using the 5 W's:

• WHO: What group/population are you interested in?
  • BY AGE? Children, Adolescents, Adults, Elderly…
  • BY ETHNICITY/RACE? Native Americans, Hispanic, White/Caucasian, Latinx…
  • BY GENDER IDENTITY? Women, Men, Trans, LGBTQ…
  • BY COUNTRY? Americans, Latin Americans, Mexicans…
  • OTHER? Military veterans? Survivors of ____ ? Gamers?...
  • A COMBINATION?? Ex. Native American LGBTQ Adolescents
• WHAT: What is it about this topic that you want to know?
  • Statistics?
  • Risk factors?
  • Pros and Cons?
  • Causes/Reasons?
  • Treatments?
  • Proposed solutions?
  • Trends?
  • Correlation to / Relationship between…?
• WHERE: Where is this happening? 
  • What geographic region do you want to focus on? U.S.? N.M.? Santa Fe? Etc.
• WHEN: Is there a time period you’re interested in? 
  • The last 5 years?
  • Today?
  • A certain decade/century?
  • The future?
• WHY: aka The “So what?” Factor
  • Why should your audience care about this topic? 
  • What’s interesting about it? 
  • Why is this issue important?

IS YOUR TOPIC TOO NARROW?

If you are not finding enough information, your topic may be too narrow. Consider broadening it by:

• Exploring related issues (Wikipedia and Credo Reference can be great for help with this!)
• Comparing or contrasting the topic with another topic
• Expanding the:
  • WHO: population considered
  • WHERE: geographic area discussed
  • WHEN: time period covered
• Choosing an alternative topic that is not so recent -- your topic may not be covered in published research yet
• Choosing an alternative topic that is more popular -- your topic may only be covered in popular magazines and tabloids

EXAMPLES

Broad Topic: Climate change

Narrower Topic: How will climate change impact sea levels and the coastal United States?

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Narrow Topic: Does cartoon viewing cause violent behaviors in children under the age of five?

Broader Topic:  What are the negative effects of television viewing on children and adolescents?