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FAQs

First-Year English

HOW DO I CHOOSE A TOPIC FOR A RESEARCH PAPER?

There are many possible ways to choose research topics, but one of the fastest ways to choose a credible topic is to obtain a copy of the "Indexes and Database" handout in the library. Looking under the heading of print indexes, use the specialized print indexes--ignore the computer databases--as a way to quickly choose a topic. Since these specialized print indexes--Social Science Index, Humanities Index, The Education Index, The Humanities Index, The Art Index, The General Science Index, The Business Index--will get you to specific, credible materials immediately, rather than choosing your topic before you see if there is research available, instead choose a general topic that you are interested in like "adoption" then find a corresponding specialized print index--The Social Science Index. Look up the "adoption" heading. Then scan the actual titles of the articles listed to help you focus and limit the topic to the specific aspect of adoption that you may want to write about. Start at the first entry under "adoption" and use a scratch paper to start categorizing the types of possible topics, making a new entry for every new possible limited topic. For example in the Social Science Index under the topic of "adoption," you will find specific articles on these types of topics--teen mothers and adoption, open adoption, legal and illegal adoptions, mandatory disclosure of health background of adoptive children, special needs adoptions, and so forth. If a limited topic under "adoption" repeats itself, keep a tally of the total number of articles on each limited topic. Choose your limited topic by selecting the one with the most articles you have interest in writing about. By checking all ten years of indexes, there will be ample materials available for your paper using this method.

By using this method for choosing a research topic, you save time because you don't have to keep choosing topics and then researching to find available information. Instead, you choose a general subject area and then focus or limit your topic based on sources that are already available. You also save additional time because the sources in these specialized indexes are usually credible.

One Method of Choosing a Topic

Topic Number of Articles on Limited Topic

teen mothers and adoption
open adoption
legal and illegal adoptions
special needs adoptions l l l l
l l
l l l l l l
l l (4)
(2)
(6)
(2)

(Other limited topics can be found by examining the titles of articles under the heading "adoption" in the Social Science Index.)

franco@pvc.maricopa.edu

Topic	Number of Articles on Limited Topic
teen mothers and adoption open adoption legal and illegal adoptions special needs adoptions	l l l l l l l l l l l l l l	(4) (2) (6) (2)