Introduction to Library Research

The first step in the research process is to identify the types of information you need, which means that you need to choose a topic and identify what you need to know about that topic. 

This section of the Introduction to Library Research tutorials will provide an overview of the following:

• brainstorming and choosing a topic;
• gathering background information for your topic;
• and refining your topic by narrowing or broadening your scope.

Video Review

There are a couple of key things to consider when brainstorming potential topics:

Review assignment requirements

• Are there topics you can or cannot research?
• What is the scope of the assignment?
  • How long is the paper?
  • How in-depth does your argument have to be?
• Are there certain types of sources you are required to use?
  • For example, scholarly journal articles or newspaper articles

Identify topics that interest you

You can ask yourself questions like:

• Do you have a strong opinion on a current event, issue, or controversy?
• Did you see or read a news story that interested you? Did you see any current events on social media that interested you?
• Do you have a personal issue, problem, or interest that you would like to learn more about or explore more?
• Is there a topic you have reviewed in class that you want to learn more about?

A good topic is . . . 

• Something you are interested in
• Appropriate for the scope of the assignment
• Requires thought—can’t be answered with a “yes” or “no”
• Able to be supported by evidence

Need help brainstorming?

• Talk to your friends, coworkers, parents, etc. Tell them about the assignment and run ideas by them
• Do initial background research to see if any topics spark your interest 
• Ask your instructor for help choosing an appropriate topic for the assignment
• Stop by the library and ask for help--good chances are you're not the only one asking for help with your research

Once you narrow down your topic, or have a couple of ideas that you are deciding between, it is time to gather background information. You can use library resources to help gather this general background information. Try starting with one of these databases:

Find a couple of background articles on the topic(s) you are considering. For each topic consider:

• How does the topic relate to broader, narrower, or other related issues?
• What is your perspective on the topic? How does it relate to other perspectives?
•  What are some key ideas/trends you notice about the topic?

Once you get a sense of the topic(s), your perspectives and other’s perspectives on the topic(s), it will be easier to decide if you are interested in researching the topic, and what approaches you can take when writing your argument. 

Doing this background research is also important because it helps you figure out if you need to narrow or broaden your ideas, or if there is enough evidence (credible sources) to help support your argument. At this stage, you may decide to go back and brainstorm or explore alternative topics, and that is okay. Research is not a linear process and it is common to have to repeat and re-think your search. 

Introduction to Library Research Tutorial:

When you finally select a topic and start researching, it is common to have to refine your topic a bit.

Narrowing your topic

Narrowing your topic is important when you are researching a broad subject or idea that can be approached from many angles.

Here are some options to consider when narrowing the scope of your topic:

• Singular aspect or sub-area: limit your topic to one piece of the overall issue. For example, if you are looking at treatments for cancer, try narrowing your scope to a specific type of cancer.
• Time: consider a specific time period or compare changes over time. For example, if you are looking at smoking as a risk factor for cancer, you could compare and contrast public attitudes towards smoking in the 1990’s versus in the 2010’s.
• Population or group: limit by age, race, sex, gender, occupation, or other group qualities. For example, you could do research on breast cancer risk factors for women over the age of 40.
• Geographic location: choose a particular geographic region, country, state, or city. For example, you could examine the number of cancer-related hospitalizations in a specific state.

Narrowing and specifying your topic can help make the assignment at hand manageable and less overwhelming. However, it is possible to get too specific when narrowing a topic, which will also make it harder to find information to support your argument.

Broadening your topic

If you’re having trouble finding enough information, it is possible that your topic is too narrow. You may not be finding enough information for many reasons, including:

• Your topic is too specific: try to generalize your topic a bit by adjusting the population or geographic area you are looking at. For example, if you are doing research on the effect of rising housing costs on college students in Montana, having the scope narrowed to Montana might be too specific to find relevant information like news articles or research studies. We can try broadening the search by removing or broadening the geographic location. If we are able to find research on the effects of rising housing costs on college students in the United States, we can make an argument that similar effects are happening in our own communities locally. 
• Your topic is too new: if you are researching a recently breaking event, it is likely you will only find news articles on the topic and not research or journal articles. If you are not finding enough information, you may need to revise your topic.

Trouble finding Information

Other reasons you might have trouble finding information:

• You have not checked enough, or the right databases: different databases cover a different range of subjects. Just because one database does not have significant coverage for your topic does not mean that another database will be the same.
• You are using jargon or language not used by the database: Try to think of all the ways the database you are using might refer to your topic. Are there synonyms you can use as search terms? If you run into trouble, check the database’s thesaurus. Also pay attention to the terms that you are seeing the database use to describe your topic and match your search language to those terms.