| Too Big! | Just Right! | Too Narrow! |
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Requires a book to answer well
So much to cover that you only can address generalities Pre-research yields thousands of results |
Can address the topic within the assignment parameters Can say something interesting and concise Pre-research yields 50-100 results |
Can be answered with "yes" or "no" or a quick Google search So narrow that there is little to say Pre-research yields a handful of sources |
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Examples: What are the ethical implications of using nuclear power? What is the role of cloud computing in commerce, corporate data management, and what is their impact on environmental sustainability? |
Example: What are the implications for local residents of restarting the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor to power Microsoft data centers |
Examples: Is the decommissioned Three Mile Island nuclear reactor safe to use? What do Microsoft data centers support? |
Once you have identified a broad topic area, you may benefit from learning more about it and seeing what has been published as a way to help you narrow your topic. Here are some great sources to learn more about your topic and what it involves:
It can also be helpful to discover what has already been published, either in scholarly publications or books. Searching for book reviews can be a great way to survey the contents of books before you read them so you can target the best sources!
If you are working with a topic related to a specific place or an event/issue that has broad interest, reading newspaper articles can be helpful in identifying why it mattered to people, how it affected communities, or other aspects of common life and interest.
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One approach:
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Another approach: Move from a b r o a d e r topic to a narrower topic
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Remember that a great topic addresses these two questions:
1. So what?
2. Who cares?
That is, a great topic is meaningful and applicable to an audience.
