Too Broad
Too Narrow
Food Safety
History of organic food labeling of pork products in Portland, Oregon
History of U.S. presidency
Women’s rights in Morpeth England during July 1732
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by Antony W
June 6, 2024
Learning how to select a research topic can be the difference between failing your assignment and writing a comprehensive research paper. That’s why in this guide we’ll teach you how to select a research topic step-by-step.
You don’t need this guide if your professor has already given you a list of topics to consider for your assignment . You can skip to our guide on how to write a research paper .
If they have left it up to you to choose a topic to investigate, which they must approve before you start working on your research study, we suggest that you read the process shared in this post.
Choosing a topic after finding your research problem is important because:
Picking a topic for a research paper can be challenging and sometimes intimidating, but it’s not impossible. In the following section, we show you how to choose the best research topic that your instructor can approve after the first review.
Below are four steps to follow to find the most suitable topic for your research paper assignment:
If your professor has asked you to choose a topic for your research paper, it means you can choose just about any subject to focus on in your area of study. A significant first step to take is to consider topics that interest you.
An interesting topic should meet two very important conditions.
First, it should be concise. The topic you choose should not be too broad or two narrow. Rather, it should be something focused on a specific issue. Second, the topic should allow you to find enough sources to cite in the research stage of your assignment.
The best way to determine if the research topic is interesting is to do some free writing for about 10 minutes. As you free write, think about the number of questions that people ask about the topic and try to consider why they’re important. These questions are important because they will make the research stage easier for you.
You’ll probably have a long list of interesting topics to consider for your research assignment. That’s a good first step because it means your options aren’t limited. However, you need to narrow down to only one topic for the assignment, so it’s time to start brainstorming.
You aren’t doing research at this stage yet. You are only trying to make considerations to determine which topic will suit your research assignment.
The brainstorming stage isn’t difficult at all. It should take only a couple of hours or a few days depending on how you approach.
We recommend talking to your professor, classmates, and friends about the topics that you’ve picked and ask for their opinion. Expect mixed opinions from this audience and then consider the topics that make the most sense. Note what topics picked their interest the most and put them on top of the list.
You’ll end up removing some topics from your initial list after brainstorming, and that’s completely fine. The goal here is to end up with a topic that interests you as well as your readers.
Check once again to make sure that your topic is a subject that you can easily define. You want to make sure the topic isn’t too broad or too narrow.
Often, a broad topic presents overwhelming amount of information, which makes it difficult to write a comprehensive research paper. A narrow topic, on the other hand, means you’ll find very little information, and therefore it can be difficult to do your assignment.
The length of the research paper, as stated in the assignment brief, should guide your topic selection.
Narrow down your list to topics that are:
Topics that meet these two conditions should be easy to work on as they easily fit within the constraints of the research assignment.
You probably have two or three topics by the time you get to this step. Now it’s time to read the background information on the topics to decide which topic to work on.
This step is important because it gives you a clear overview of the topic, enabling you to see how it relates to broader, narrower, and related concepts. Preliminary research also helps you to find keywords commonly used to describe the topic, which may be useful in further research.
It’s important to note how easy or difficult it is to find information on the topic.
Look at different sources of information to be sure you can find enough references for the topic. Such periodic indexes scan journals, newspaper articles, and magazines to find the information you’re looking for. You can even use web search engines. Google and Bing are currently that best options to consider because they make it easy for searchers to find relevant information on scholarly topics.
If you’re having a hard time to find references for a topic that you’ve so far considered for your research paper, skip it and go to the next one. Doing so will go a long way to ensure you have the right topic to work on from start to finish.
If you’ve found your research topic but you feel so stuck that you can’t proceed with the assignment without some assistance, we are here to help. With our research paper writing service , we can help you handle the assignment within the shortest time possible.
We will research your topic, develop a research question, outline the project, and help you with writing. We also get you involved in the process, allowing you to track the progress of your order until the delivery stage.
About the author
Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.
Once you’ve decided on a research topic, you’ll need to narrow it down into a thesis statement or a research question. You will save tens of hours because you will be able to conduct more focused searches much earlier in your research process as you complete this step.
As many tutors will explain, narrowing down a research topic not only simplifies your writing process but also encourages an in-depth investigation of the topic. It also shapes how you will conduct the research projects in high school and during undergraduate studies.
Selecting a great research topic necessitates approaching the problem from the outside in. Starting with a broad topic and narrowing it down to the point where you can define what you’d like to discover rather than only what you’d like to “ write about “ is always a good common practice.
If you’ve been provided with a general topic to explore, a set of problems to research, or you’ve been asked to come up with your own topic, you should make certain that the scope of the research problem relevant to this study isn’t overly broad before proceeding.
The good news is that you can follow the steps below to narrow down the focus of your entire paper to a specific topic:
Begin by writing down your broad area of interest. Employee turnover, for instance, could be the general topic area.
Every research study focuses on specific individuals. Pick your group of interest and narrow your research paper topic based on demographic factors.
Reduce the scope of your research paper by age group, occupation, ethnicity, gender, and so on.
For example, international college graduates who are entering the workforce face a number of difficulties.
As a good example, consider the nursing industry and its turnover.
In the next step, consider the factors that influence turnover among registered nurses in a particular specialty area.
As an illustration, consider the stress and turnover experienced by registered nurses in the emergency units.
To explain this, let’s say workplace stress has a serious influence on the turnover of registered nurses in emergency departments across the United States.
An example of a fine-tuned topic is “Emergency Department stress is correlated with increased Turnover among nurses in Ohio, United States.
When a professor tells a group of college students that the topic they chose is too broad, they get discouraged. This is a very common occurrence. What is the best way to determine whether your topic is too broad?
Even if you can summarize the subject in one or two words, such as school cheating, capital punishment, drug abuse, or overweight teens, the subject is obviously too broad to be considered in isolation.
Similarly, if you go to the library and realize that you are staring at a whole section of books that can be used as sources for your study subject, the topic is likely to be too broad. A good topic should be focused on a specific problem or question that needs to be addressed. If you are looking for books that can effectively address a specific research problem, you should look for four to five books (or even fewer) on a shelf.
The likelihood that your topic is too broad is increased if you have difficulty coming up with a thesis statement for your research paper.
If you don’t do this, you will find it difficult to complete the study problem within the time and space constraints. The choice to write on a very broad PhD research topic may present a number of difficulties to the writer. The issues are as follows:
Other challenges that you could encounter include:
That is why you should narrow the scope of your research early on in the writing process. You won’t try to cram too much information into a single research paper this way.
(a) multiple angles.
One lens should be chosen and used to view a research problem in more detail. The other option is to narrow your attention to a single perspective. For example, instead of researching the various factors that contribute to cancer, researchers could look into how smoking can lead to lung cancer.
Determine whether the initial unit or variable of analysis can be subdivided into smaller components, allowing you to analyze them with greater precision as you progress. An investigation into teenage tobacco use, for example, can be narrowed down to chewing tobacco only, rather than all forms of tobacco use or teenagers in general. A more effective strategy would be to target male teenagers who chew tobacco in a specific age range and geographic region.
Data collection methods can limit the scope of interpretive analysis required to address your research problem depending on the methods used to collect the data. For example, you can design a single case study to generate data that does not necessitate the same level of explanation as data generated from multiple case studies.
Overall, investigating a smaller geographical unit means focusing on a more specific topic area. Rather than studying trade relations in Asia, you could instead concentrate on trade relations between China and Malaysia as a case study to guide you through the process of explaining challenges in that region.
Learn how two or more variables or are related to one another by conducting an investigation. When you design a study around the correlation of different variables, you are able to narrow the scope of your investigation. The following are some examples of variables to keep an eye out for:
Researchers can assign timelines to study periods if desired. In general, the shorter the time span of a study, the more narrowly focused the study’s focus becomes. For example, instead of focusing on the trade relations between China and the United States, consider the trade relations between China and the U.S. between 2015 and 2020 as a whole.
Concentrate on a specific group of people, phenomena, or locations when researching a particular topic. As an example, a study on the development of better housing near schools may concentrate solely on condominiums, universities, or construction materials.
You can pick at least two of the suggestions above to help you narrow down your search to a specific topic.
It is critical to narrow down a research topic. We hope the guidelines will be useful to you.
In summary, you can either narrow down a broad topic provided by your instructor, or you can develop your own topic first and narrow it down later after receiving feedback (some teachers give this freedom). In either case, you should make certain that your narrowed topic is specific and contains more than a couple of words rather than only a few word.
Always remember that you want to be able to write a strong thesis statement from the topic and then proceed to write a paper on it. You can seek feedback from your peers or your instructor to determine whether the topic is interesting and worth writing about. As you can see, writing on a specific topic is much easier than writing on a topic that is too broad.
Are you one of those who have been burning the midnight oil to understand the concept of narrowing a research topic? Do you want to know how to narrow down a research topic painstakingly? Well, my friend, this post is specifically customized to help you accomplish just that.
Read on to learn everything you need to know about narrowing research topics from gurus.
It is a topic that focuses on one important concept. When you search online for a broad topic, you will find thousands of results for you to look through.
A general case is mostly summed up in one or two words, as seen in the broad topic examples below:
In such instances, the research problem’s scope underpinning the study is too broad. Students will therefore face rough handling issues due to the avalanche of information available. The consequences will be a shallow research paper that does not cover every section of a particular concept.
The pointers to a broad research topic are as follows:
Finding too much information: If you land on hundred upon thousands of articles on the subject of research Data is broken into specific aspects: You will find several bits of the same topic in your search results An issue that can sum up in one or two words: These will be broad terms that suggest a more comprehensive view of the concept It does not address a specific problem: Such a topic generally looks at a research question instead of delving into the nitty-gritty.
If this is what you have been doing and you want to learn how to narrow a research topic, help is on the way!
A narrow topic usually has many concepts and focuses on a specific group or geographic area. When you search out this kind of matter on your browser, you will find few, if any, results. The main feature of a narrow topic is that it addresses a specific problem or question.
Several problems arise from a broad research topic. However, when you customize your case to a specific niche, you will enjoy the following benefits:
Determining how to narrow down a topic is a crucial challenge for most college and university students. It may come as a surprise to you that even some post-graduate students have it rough when narrowing down a general topic.
We can break down every concept to some degree despite its complexity. Remember that your professor will be marking over 100 papers, and if your topic is not specified, you might end up writing the same thing as your classmate.
But what’s the secret to narrowing down educational research topics?
Before you think of finding research paper help, our experts have collated a list of guidelines to help you narrow your research topic effortlessly:
For instance , instead of studying the different vaccines used for coronavirus, learn how the Pfizer vaccine effectively provides immunity against COVID-19.
For instance , a study on online writing help among college students can be narrowed down to essay writing services instead of all writing assistance forms. Having such a topic will help you cover this aspect adequately.
For instance , instead of studying general US elections, focus on senatorial polls in a particular state.
Example : different variables to consider are male and female, cause and effect, opinion and reason, compare and contrast, problem and solution, and group versus the individual.
Example : instead of studying the Black Lives Matter Movement’s rise, focus on the Black Lives Matter protests from January 2020 to February 2021.
For instance , a survey of enhancing racial and gender equality may focus on workplaces, schools, religious organizations, or government institutions alone.
Some of the quality narrow topic examples include: why more males are contracting coronavirus or why the youth are excessive internet users.
For instance , when you are talking about exam cheating, look at (who, why) students cheat in exams or the effects of students cheating in exams.
By following the expert guidelines above, you will not try to do too much in one research paper at the expense of your sleep, money, and academic grades. The tips are practical and applicable to students of all levels.
With a narrow topic, you will be able to write a great thesis statement and proceed to write an all-inclusive paper on it.
Did you know that you can have a topic that is too narrow? The effects of this are devastating and may frustrate your entire research process. Indicators of an issue that is too narrow are as follows:
Such a topic may give you a paragraph at most, and you know what this means for your grades! However, you can avoid this by:
Keep in mind that the topic you settle on will determine the course of your research process. An issue that is too narrow will confine you to a particular corner, whereas a broad one will have you jumping here and there.
If you wish to explore more narrowing topic examples, you can visit our feature-rich website. Moreover, our professional writers are more than willing to help you narrow down your topic to something manageable.
Try our top-notch thesis writing help today and see your grades soar higher than the eagles!
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Published on November 11, 2022 by Shona McCombes and Tegan George. Revised on November 20, 2023.
Choosing your dissertation topic is the first step in making sure your research goes as smoothly as possible. When choosing a topic, it’s important to consider:
You can follow these steps to begin narrowing down your ideas.
Step 1: check the requirements, step 2: choose a broad field of research, step 3: look for books and articles, step 4: find a niche, step 5: consider the type of research, step 6: determine the relevance, step 7: make sure it’s plausible, step 8: get your topic approved, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about dissertation topics.
The very first step is to check your program’s requirements. This determines the scope of what it is possible for you to research.
Some programs have stricter requirements than others. You might be given nothing more than a word count and a deadline, or you might have a restricted list of topics and approaches to choose from. If in doubt about what is expected of you, always ask your supervisor or department coordinator.
Start by thinking about your areas of interest within the subject you’re studying. Examples of broad ideas include:
To get a more specific sense of the current state of research on your potential topic, skim through a few recent issues of the top journals in your field. Be sure to check out their most-cited articles in particular. For inspiration, you can also search Google Scholar , subject-specific databases , and your university library’s resources.
As you read, note down any specific ideas that interest you and make a shortlist of possible topics. If you’ve written other papers, such as a 3rd-year paper or a conference paper, consider how those topics can be broadened into a dissertation.
After doing some initial reading, it’s time to start narrowing down options for your potential topic. This can be a gradual process, and should get more and more specific as you go. For example, from the ideas above, you might narrow it down like this:
All of these topics are still broad enough that you’ll find a huge amount of books and articles about them. Try to find a specific niche where you can make your mark, such as: something not many people have researched yet, a question that’s still being debated, or a very current practical issue.
At this stage, make sure you have a few backup ideas — there’s still time to change your focus. If your topic doesn’t make it through the next few steps, you can try a different one. Later, you will narrow your focus down even more in your problem statement and research questions .
There are many different types of research , so at this stage, it’s a good idea to start thinking about what kind of approach you’ll take to your topic. Will you mainly focus on:
Many dissertations will combine more than one of these. Sometimes the type of research is obvious: if your topic is post-war Irish poetry, you will probably mainly be interpreting poems. But in other cases, there are several possible approaches. If your topic is reproductive rights in South America, you could analyze public policy documents and media coverage, or you could gather original data through interviews and surveys .
You don’t have to finalize your research design and methods yet, but the type of research will influence which aspects of the topic it’s possible to address, so it’s wise to consider this as you narrow down your ideas.
It’s important that your topic is interesting to you, but you’ll also have to make sure it’s academically, socially or practically relevant to your field.
The easiest way to make sure your research is relevant is to choose a topic that is clearly connected to current issues or debates, either in society at large or in your academic discipline. The relevance must be clearly stated when you define your research problem .
Before you make a final decision on your topic, consider again the length of your dissertation, the timeframe in which you have to complete it, and the practicalities of conducting the research.
Will you have enough time to read all the most important academic literature on this topic? If there’s too much information to tackle, consider narrowing your focus even more.
Will you be able to find enough sources or gather enough data to fulfil the requirements of the dissertation? If you think you might struggle to find information, consider broadening or shifting your focus.
Do you have to go to a specific location to gather data on the topic? Make sure that you have enough funding and practical access.
Last but not least, will the topic hold your interest for the length of the research process? To stay motivated, it’s important to choose something you’re enthusiastic about!
Most programmes will require you to submit a brief description of your topic, called a research prospectus or proposal .
Remember, if you discover that your topic is not as strong as you thought it was, it’s usually acceptable to change your mind and switch focus early in the dissertation process. Just make sure you have enough time to start on a new topic, and always check with your supervisor or department.
If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.
Methodology
Statistics
Research bias
Formulating a main research question can be a difficult task. Overall, your question should contribute to solving the problem that you have defined in your problem statement .
However, it should also fulfill criteria in three main areas:
All research questions should be:
You can assess information and arguments critically by asking certain questions about the source. You can use the CRAAP test , focusing on the currency , relevance , authority , accuracy , and purpose of a source of information.
Ask questions such as:
A dissertation prospectus or proposal describes what or who you plan to research for your dissertation. It delves into why, when, where, and how you will do your research, as well as helps you choose a type of research to pursue. You should also determine whether you plan to pursue qualitative or quantitative methods and what your research design will look like.
It should outline all of the decisions you have taken about your project, from your dissertation topic to your hypotheses and research objectives , ready to be approved by your supervisor or committee.
Note that some departments require a defense component, where you present your prospectus to your committee orally.
The best way to remember the difference between a research plan and a research proposal is that they have fundamentally different audiences. A research plan helps you, the researcher, organize your thoughts. On the other hand, a dissertation proposal or research proposal aims to convince others (e.g., a supervisor, a funding body, or a dissertation committee) that your research topic is relevant and worthy of being conducted.
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Choosing Your Topic
Rethinking Your Topic
You may discover that you’re looking for information by search terms that are not the most effective. Databases use search terminology called Subject Terms . Find these descriptive words to help with your search. For example: "death penalty" is often classified as "capital punishment."
Write all of those search terms down to keep track of them. These terms might give you new ways of thinking about your topic.. Maybe come up with a question or two for things you’re curious about. Those questions will help you focus your paper.
Narrowing Your Topic
After you have found some information, try to narrow your topic. If your topic is too broad, it will be hard to keep a focus in your paper and the information range will be too large. Adjust your topic to a topic field that is specific enough to research without having large amounts of articles, but still general enough to have some relevant information sources.
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Strategies for Narrowing the Research Topic. A common challenge when beginning to write a research paper is determining how and in what ways to narrow down your topic. Even if your professor gives you a specific topic to study, it will almost never be so specific that you won't have to narrow it down at least to some degree [besides, it is ...
Narrowing a Topic - Choosing & Using Sources: A Guide to Academic Research. 1-Research Questions. 2. Narrowing a Topic. For many students, having to start with a research question is the biggest difference between how they did research in high school and how they are required to carry out their college research projects.
Begin the research and writing process using the following tips: Research your question: Now that you have a research question, you can begin exploring possible answers to it. Your research question allows you to begin researching in a clear direction. Create a thesis statement: Once you have a clear understanding of your research question and ...
This learning packet has broken down the process of selecting a topic into two large steps - choosing a topic and narrowing it down. To choose a general topic, follow the following steps: 1) Choose a topic area. Example: beer. 2) Take you topic area and describe it more specifically. Example: beer and microorganisms.
Ways To Narrow Your Topic. Here are some strategies to help narrow your topic: Aspect -- choose one lens through which to view the research problem, or look at just one facet of it. e.g., rather than studying the role of food in South Asian religious rituals, explore the role of food in Hindu ceremonies or the role of one particular type of ...
Enquire From The Professor - While searching for a research topic, request advice from your professor or supervisor to ensure you get the best topic for your course. In some cases, the supervisors can narrow down on the type of research that you can do. Thereby, making it easier for you to choose a topic. Check The Resources Available - It ...
Process of Narrowing a Topic. Visualize narrowing a topic as starting with all possible topics and choosing narrower and narrower subsets until you have a specific enough topic to form a research question. All Possible Topics - You'll need to narrow your topic to do research effectively. Without specific areas of focus, it will be hard to ...
Topic narrowed by initial exploration: This results from conducting preliminary research on your assigned topic (s). During this process, you will learn more about the topics you are considering. From there, you can determine if the topic is still of interest. Topic narrowed to research question (s): From the information you have learned in ...
Narrow Subject. Narrow Again. Your Topic. 1. Start with the General Topic. Let's say that your professor has given you the general subject of food and says you need to write a paper that is 3 - 5 double-spaced pages. Well, "food" is a pretty big topic. If you were going to discuss everything about food, you would be writing a book, or nine.
Narrowing a Topic and Developing a Research Question Reference Sources Reference sources are a great place to begin your research. They provide: • a way to identify potential research topics. • a starting point to gather information on your topic. • an introduction to major works and key issues related to your topic.
To recap, the "Big 5" assessment criteria include: Topic originality and novelty. Value and significance. Access to data and equipment. Time requirements. Ethical compliance. Be sure to grab a copy of our free research topic evaluator sheet here to fast-track your topic selection process.
How to Narrow Your Topic. The best way to narrow your topic is to apply a few of the old familiar question words, like who, what, where, when, why, and how. Eventually, you will see that the process of narrowing your research topic actually makes your project more interesting. Already, you're one step closer to a better grade!
Select a topic. Choosing an interesting research topic is your first challenge. Here are some tips: Choose a topic that you are interested in! The research process is more relevant if you care about your topic. Narrow your topic to something manageable. If your topic is too broad, you will find too much information and not be able to focus.
Choosing a Topic. Step 1: Topic Selection. Choosing your topic is one of the most important steps of your research assignment. Explore your Research Ideas. First check the assignment requirements. Make sure you can meet those requirements with the topic you pick. Then Ask yourself.
In the following section, we show you how to choose the best research topic that your instructor can approve after the first review. ... Often, a broad topic presents overwhelming amount of information, which makes it difficult to write a comprehensive research paper. A narrow topic, on the other hand, means you'll find very little ...
The keys to success are choosing the right topic, planning your paper effectively, selecting appropriate sources, and budgeting enough time to revise and complete the paper by the due date. Paraphrase. You aren't the only person who panics when you hear the words research essay. Remember that writing a research paper can be a rewarding and ...
The good news is that you can follow the steps below to narrow down the focus of your entire paper to a specific topic: 1. Pick a broad topic area to focus on. Begin by writing down your broad area of interest. Employee turnover, for instance, could be the general topic area.
Research Paper - Selecting/ Narrow a Topic. Which of the following is the best topic for a research paper? (Make sure it is narrow and takes a stance.) Click the card to flip 👆. Teachers should allow electronics in classrooms to help. increase student motivation and involvement. Click the card to flip 👆. 1 / 5.
Apply the answers to the 5W'ss: When you consider who, what, when, why, and where, you will be able to narrow it down to a specific topic. For instance, when you are talking about exam cheating, look at (who, why) students cheat in exams or the effects of students cheating in exams. By following the expert guidelines above, you will not try ...
Step 1: Check the requirements. Step 2: Choose a broad field of research. Step 3: Look for books and articles. Step 4: Find a niche. Step 5: Consider the type of research. Step 6: Determine the relevance. Step 7: Make sure it's plausible. Step 8: Get your topic approved. Other interesting articles.
The ideal approach is to create a list of research topics that fulfill the criteria, and then choose the best one. Because research paper topics can be pretty broad, creating a list helps you narrow down ideas and consider fresh alternatives. Of course, creating a list of research topics takes some effort. ...
Choose a topic you are interested in, and can find information about. Your opinion of the topic might change as you conduct your research and find out more about the subject. Choose a topic that is not too broad or too narrow. The first will be hard to keep focused and the second might be hard to find information about.
A 2016 book by a contemporary author about architectural styles of the nineteenth centuries. A 2019 magazine article about the history of the building and its current status as a national historic landmark. Dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, and annuals are ______ sources. general information. Which of the following describe keyword search ...