RESEARCH TOPIC DEVELOPMENT

A successful research project starts with a good

topic. But how can you decide what topic?
 What is meant by “Research”?

Research = “a close and careful study”

To explore the answers for a question, that
the answers are not immediately available
Not to answer a closed question;
meanwhile, to answer from different
resources and viewpoints
To do a research is to expand the
knowledge base of a certain subject, and
even to explore new knowledge, so as to
benefit the society
Research Topic or a ”problem

1.A topic is the main organizing

principle guiding the preparation of a
research report
2.Topics offer us an occasion for writing
and a focus that governs what we
want to say.
3.Topics represent the core subject
matter of scholarly communication
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC
How to Begin

A
1.Do not expect choosing a topic
for research project to be a quick B
or easy task”

2.You should be thinking about it

C
right from the start of this course
at least right from now. D
The research topic
Selecting and defining a research
topic is the first step in applying
the scientific method.
The research process is not linear
and is often a process of trial and
error.
The research topic provides focus
and structure
The research topic should be This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

relevant and of interest to you

SOURCES OF RESEARCH TOPICS

• Theories an organized body of concepts,

generalizations, and principles that can be studied.
• Personal/professional questions items that
researchers may find of interest.
• Replication repeating previously completed studies.
• Library search searching library databases for topics
requiring further investigation.
• Sponsoring agencies guidelines and projects that
various entities are willing to support.
CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD TOPIC

The topic is interesting

The topic is researchable
The topic is ethical
The topic has theoretical or practical importance
The topic is manageable for you given your current skills,
resources, and time available.
Criteria for selecting a
research topic

• Relevance
• Avoidance of duplication
• Feasibility
• Political acceptability
• Applicability
• Urgency of data needed
• Ethical acceptability

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

What are the limitations when selecting a
research topic?

•must be of graduate quality

•must be feasible for given timeframe
•must be original and creative
•must be consistent with scientific method of inquiry
•must be accountable to pre-established educational and
economic guidelines
•must be ethical
•must be respectful of human subjects rights
•must have potential for making a significant professional
contribution
Caution, do not confuse title with topic.

• A title is the name for the topic being

investigated.
• A topic is a problem, question, or issue that can
be examined for suitable resolution through
collecting, compiling, and analyzing data.
• A research endeavour cannot be successful unless
the problem to be investigated has been clearly
identified.
NEW NORMAL: LESS CONTACT ECONOMY
 Novelty 99%

www.fikes.unsoed.ac.id (0281) 6572772

 NOVELTY
Theory/new concept
Method or new standard

New Product
New Prototype

Trade Mark with new function

Mark with new specification
This Photo by Unknown Author is
licensed under CC BY
Research Novelty Review

Showing the state of the art on the

latest scientific development

Have specific advantages over

existing products/technology
(time, material feasibility, price etc.)

The advantages of accuracy,

explanation and correction of
weaknesses in previous
theories/concepts/science
 Novelty explanation in the proposal
W
he
re
1.Explanation of the urgency / benefit i si
t?
of the research after the purpose
statement
2.New conceptualization construction
in the explanation of theory or
literature review
3.Indicators of parameters
achievement on the research
methods and results.
STEPS OF DEVELOPING A
RESEARCH TOPIC

Formulate a research theme

Formulate a specific research
topic
Narrow down / Expand your
research topic (if necessary)

A
C BY-S
der C
ns ed un
lice
or is
Auth
own
Unkn
o by
Phot
This
Choosing a good
research has two
main steps:

Step 1: Select a broad

topic of interest.
Step 2: Narrow it down
to an effective
research topic once
you have learned a
little more.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

Good research questions are

1. Answerable
2. Narrow enough to be covered
sufficiently in the required number
of pages
3. Broad enough that you can actually
find information
4. Abstract enough to require analysis
Strategies on formulating a
research theme
You need to consider the followings
when you are developing a research
theme:
• To choose a theme that is relevant to
your course of study
• To think of themes and topics that you
feel interested in. as you will work on
the same topic through out the
coming months
• To think of argumentative topics
 Strategies on formulating a research theme

Possible ways to dig out a research theme:

• Glance through books and journal articles about

your course
• Pay much attention to the issues that people are
discussing in the society
• Read more newspapers and journal articles to get
more inspirations on different viewpoints of issues
• Glance through a subject guide of your course of
study
Helping hands in formulating a
research theme

If you are not sure of your research

theme, you can:
• Discuss with your instructor or
teaching assistants
• Discuss with your peers to get
more inspirations
• Get help library resources
From research theme to a research
question

A research question is the

real “question” that you
need to find the answer by
doing your research paper
or project
Strategies to developing a research
topic
1.NOT to think of a “closed”
question, which means not much
elaboration and explanation can
be made.
2.Try to use the 5W method to
brainstorm about the topic (Why,
What, When, How and Which
 Note-taking in developing a research
You should take notes when you read on:

• Some interesting viewpoints that are

related to your research topic
• New developments and new trends of
topic
• Keywords and subject headings that you
found remarkable for your further
research
• Some quotations that are catchy or
memorable This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
 How to organize the materials and develop a
research question?
When developing a research question, researchers often
visualize the research concepts. Why visualize? It is an easy
way to find the logic and the relationship among different
concepts, so as to dig out a research question
Here are 2 suggestions:
• Draw a radial diagram to show the
relationships between an event/incident/
phenomenon and the smaller concepts (or
causes).
• Draw a Venn diagram to show the
relationship and different areas of the main
topics you choose. Usually overlapping area This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

is the area you can further investigate into

More hints on developing a research

Ask yourself these questions when

developing a research question:
•Is the topic interesting?
•Do you want to know more about it?
•Would information be too hard to
find?
•Is the scope of the topic far too
difficult for you?
•Is the topic too limiting?
Selecting and developing an
interesting topic
1. Personal - Identify an area of interest
2. Practical - Identify an available
population and/or setting for the study
3. Feasible – Consider an issue/s related to
the area of interest that can be studied
4. Important – Identify a worthwhile
research question
5. Ethical – Make certain conducting the
study will not harm anyone Source:
Narrowing the topic

1.Focus on a specific TYPE or CLASS

2.Focus on a particular PLACE or REGION
3.Focus on a certain TIME PERIOD
4.Focus on a certain ASPECT
Social, legal, medical, ethical,
biological, psychological, economic,
political, philosophical, etc.
5.Focus on a specific POPULATION
Gender, age, occupation, ethnicity,
nationality, educational attainment,
species, etc.
Sources of ideas

1.Your own experience and knowledge

2.Prior research findings
3.Using existing theories
4.Colleagues
5.Listservs
6.Scholarly sources – primary and
secondary
7.Other Professional experiences &
observations
 Generating ideas ~ examples
1. Evaluate service performance for current services
2. Identify gaps in service provision and recommend
measures to fill these gaps
3. Measure impact/effectiveness of a new approach to
information literacy teaching
4. Investigate potential new services e.g. use of
mobile technologies for alerting or accessing
resources
5. Identify best/good practice elsewhere and
introduce it to your own workplace
6. Look into improvement of database management
and curation activities
CHOOSING A RESEARCH TOPIC
how to approach your chosen topic

Step 1: Understand what the topic is

about.
• What are the key words in the
question /topic?
• Which questions am I going to
answer?
• Which sphere of knowledge does
it cover?
• What variables will be considered
• Etc. etc.
CHOOSING A RESEARCH TOPIC
how to approach your chosen topic

Step 2:
• Review related literature to help refine
how you will approach the topic and
fnding away to analyze it.
• Focus on identifying sources
(literature) that support as well as
refute this position.
1. Has anybody written about this-
2. If yes( what is it about specifically-
3. If no, what gap is my study filling in-
Choosing a Research Topic

CAUTION:
It is ok to review related literature to
help refine how you will approach
analyzing a topic and then discover that
the topic is not all that interesting after
all.
1.In that case, you can choose another
topic.
2.Do not wait too long to make a switch
and
3.Be sure to consult with your
supervisor First
GENERATING RESEARCH TOPICS
where, when & how
1.Usually students ask : “How do i
choose a topic”
2.If you lack ideas or wish to gain
focus, Perform some or all of the
following ACTIVITIES/strategies
Activity 1: Courses/ readings

1.Review your course readings!

(particularly the suggested
readings for topic ideas.
2.Do not just review what you have
already read but jump ahead in
the syllabus to readings that have
not been covered yet.
Activity 2: libraries

Search the library catalog for

a good, recent introductory
books and, if appropriate, more
specialized works related to the
discipline/area of your course
 Activity 3: Browse through some
current journals in your subject discipline

1.Even if most of the articles are not

relevant, you can skim through the
contents quickly.
2.You only need one to be the spark that
begins the process of wanting to learn
more about a topic.
3.Consult a librarian or your supervisor
about the core journals within your
subject discipline.
 Activity 4: Past essays
Think about essays you have written
for past classes and other coursework you
have taken or academic lectures and
programs you have attended.

1. Thinking back, what most interested you?

2.What would you like to know more about?

 Activity 5: Online portals
Search online media source,
such as Ghana web, GTV/GBC, etc. (to see
if your idea has been covered in the news)

Use this coverage to refine your idea into

something that you would like to
investigate further but in a more
deliberate, scholarly way based on a
problem to research
Activity 6: Surroundings

More commonly, look around your

workshop, department, university
environment or society at large to
identify issues of concern to you

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

Considerations
Interest

1.A research endeavour is usually

time consuming and involves
hard work and possibly
unforeseen problems.

2.One should select a topic of great

interest to sustain the required
motivation.
Considerations
Magnitude (scope)

It is extremely important to select a

topic that you can manage within the
time and resources at your disposal.

Narrow the topic down to something

manageable, specific and clear.
Considerations
Measurement of Concepts

Make sure that you are clear about

the indicators and measurement of
concepts (if used) in your study.
e.g.
How do you measure these words?
congestion; efficiency; growth;
malfunction; etc This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
Considerations
Level of Expertise

Make sure that you have adequate

knowledge or expertise for the task
you are proposing since you need
to do the work yourself.
Considerations
Relevance/significance

Ensure that your study

a. adds to the existing body of knowledge,
b.bridges current gaps in knowledge, and
c. is useful in policy formulation.

This will help you to sustain interest in the

study.
Considerations
Availability of data

1.Before finalizing on your topic,

make sure that data are available.
2.Getting information for your
research is very critical to any
research.
Considerations
Ethical Issues

1.Ethical issues are research processes

and findings that affect the
sensibilities and rights of research
participants.
2.The effect the study on
the population and how these ethical
problems can be overcome should be
thoroughly examined at the problem
formulating stage.
Topic Selection
Topic selection is of the utmost importance in an
argument essay. The writer should focus on picking a
topic that is current and relevant to society and can be
argued logically.
It is best to avoid moral topics since they do not always
support logical discussion.
Additionally, any potential topic for an argument essay
should be current, debatable, researchable, and
manageable.
CURRENT

A current topic is one that has

not been over-debated and is still
being decided by society.
Most writers and readers are sick
of topics that have been debated
for years: abortion, the death
penalty, the legalization of
marijuana, etc.
Debatable
A debatable topic is one that has differing
viewpoints. In other words, it is a controversial issue.
Writing about how child abuse has consequences for
society is not debatable since no one would disagree
with this thesis.
On the other hand, debating whether the common
punishments for child abusers are effective or not in
deterring crime is debatable and can make for an
interesting and well supported essay.
Researchable

A researchable topic is one in which

the writer can find a variety of
credible and current sources.

In other words, the writer needs to

be able to find a multitude of
research performed by qualified
individuals to support the overall
argument.
Manageable
A manageable topic is one that can be successfully
performed within the page requirements of the essay.
Writing about widespread issues such as national or global
problems is often unmanageable in just a few pages.
To avoid this, most writers should begin with a basic subject
and then try to narrow the subject down to a more
appropriate level.
For example, if a writer is passionate about arguing for or
against the Health Care Reform Act that was passed by
Congress in 2010, he would be wise to narrow this topic. It
isn’t possible to argue for or against the entire law (the bill
itself is over 2,000 pages long!), but it may be possible to
argue for or against one portion of the law.
Let’s see how this works with an
example: eating disorders

This topic is too broad (general) to

write about in a short paper. We
need to make it narrower (more
specific).

www.fikes.unsoed.ac.id (0281) 6572772

Who?

TOPIC: EATING DISORDERS

Populations

Age NEW TOPIC:

Eating disorders
Gender
in elderly females

Race or
Ethnicity
What?

TOPIC: EATING DISORDERS

Types

Anorexia NEW TOPIC:

Anorexia in
Bulimia
elderly females

Compulsive
eating
When?

TOPIC: EATING DISORDERS

Timeframes

Current or NEW TOPIC:

historical
view Bulimia in middle-
aged females
Period of
life
Where?

TOPIC: EATING DISORDERS

Places

States NEW TOPIC:

Anorexia in
Regions
Australian women

Countries
Why?

TOPIC: EATING DISORDERS

Evaluate

Causes NEW TOPIC:

Successful
Treatments
methods for
treatment of
Outcomes compulsive eating
Mix n’ Match
Combine any number of elements that you derive from asking
these questions until you find an interesting topic to research.

Some examples:

• Causes and treatment of anorexia in college athletes

• Prevalence of bulimia in teen-age males in the United States

• Changes in treatment for compulsive overeaters, 1950-present.

Exercise

Is the Question Too Broad or Too Narrow?

THANK YOU