1. Choose a topic that interests you (e.g. elder abuse)
2. Think of a specific question you want to answer (e.g. what are risk factors for elder abuse and neglect?)
3. Pick a topic that is manageable. If your topic is too broad, it will be hard to condense it all into one paper. If your topic is too narrow, you may have a hard time finding enough scholarly research for your paper.
4. What are the main concepts or keywords to describe your topic? Brainstorm and write a list. HINT: consider reading a short encyclopedia entry to generate ideas for keywords.
Refer to the helpful videos on the find articles page of this guide for a more in--depth description of these steps.
Check out this incredibly useful video from North Carolina State University on choosing a research topic:
What are the best sources of information for this topic? (Books, journal articles, statistics, newspapers, etc.)
Do you need facts and figures, a general review of a topic, or do you want a very specific treatment of a research area?
Books often give a better overview of a topic than a journal article.
Journal Articles are much shorter than books and tend to be more specific in nature.
Which do you need?
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