Resource Guides: Research assignments: Find a Topic

Start Your Research
How to narrow a research topic (from UCSC)

Geography, dates, location, gender & age are just a few of the ways you can narrow your research topic. We recommend starting with one of these resources:

CQ Researcher: Find in-depth background information on controversial and current issues. Browse Recent Reports or By Topic to paper topic ideas. Reports written by CQ staff writers.
CREDO Reference: An excellent source for background information! Credo Reference has 3.2 million entries from more than 450 encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, guides, and atlases in all fields.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context : This Gale portal features a range of perspectives on important issues and related references to bring research on these perspectives to light.
Search in the Library catalog for "your topic and Opposing viewpoints" or "your topic and Taking sides". These book series cover the 'pros' and 'cons' of current issues.

How to narrow a research topic

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window Credo Reference has 3.2 million entries from more than 450 encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, guides, and atlases in all fields. Sources are selected from major publishers, such as Bloomsbury, Cambridge University Press, Elsevier, Greenwood, Penguin, Routledge, Sage, Thames and Hudson, Wiley, and more. Bangor Public Library provides access via its in-house workstations.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window Explores a single hot issue in the news in depth each week. Topics range from social and teen issues to environment, health, education and science and technology. There are 44 reports produced each year including four expanded reports.
Academic Search Ultimate This link opens in a new window Academic Search Ultimate, the flagship database within the Academic Search family, boasts an extensive collection of 10,033 active full-text journals, a significant portion of which undergo peer review and are featured in prominent citation indexes. It covers a wide range of subject areas offering thousands of international journals to provide global context to research as well as videos to support and enhance the research experience. With a total journal retail value of $3,573,743.05, it stands as the largest database in the Academic Search suite.
American Community Survey This link opens in a new window Data Profiles have the most frequently requested social, economic, housing, and demographic data. Each of these four subject areas is a separate data profile. The data profiles summarize the data for a single geographic area, both numbers and percent, to cover the most basic data on all topics.

CFR (Council on Foreign Relations) Education ...a valuable resource offering students and educators free supplemental content on complex global affairs and foreign policy issues. Our extensive library, grounded in best pedagogical practices and expert insights, equips students with the knowledge, skills, and perspective necessary to navigate today's most critical global challenges.

Statistical Abstracts of the United States through 2011 This link opens in a new window **The U.S. Census Bureau terminated the collection of data for the Statistical Compendia program effective October 1, 2011.** This electronic version of the Statistical Abstract provides access to approximately 1500 statistical tables drawn from published and unpublished data from federal agencies plus some state and private sources. Click Contents and Index to find specific tables. Use the Table of Contents to select tables from a list of broad topics (e.g. Population or Transportation). Use the Index A-Z to identify more specific topics (e.g. pets or jogging). Updated annually.

ProCon.org The Pros and Cons of controversial issues. The mission statement at ProCon.org is: "Promoting critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship by presenting controversial issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan, and primarily pro-con format."
Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia Wikipedia is a multilingual, web-based, free-content encyclopedia project supported by the Wikimedia Foundation and based on a model of openly editable content. The name "Wikipedia" is a portmanteau of the words wiki (a technology for creating collaborative websites, from the Hawaiian word wiki, meaning "quick") and encyclopedia. Wikipedia's articles provide links designed to guide the user to related pages with additional information.

Please click on image below for Keywords tutorial.

This Keyword tutorial from Auburn University is described as:
This resource is intended for those who need to search a library database in order to find sources for research and writing activities.

Learning outcomes:
Recognize that the careful selection of keywords can help focus your research
Apply strategies to select relevant keywords and synonyms for your own research

Brainstorming Your Topic

Time to Brainstorm

A concept map can be a helpful way to brainstorm around your topic and figure out exactly what you want to talk about for your assignment. Keywords are what you will use to conduct research on your topic. We have a helpful worksheet you can work through to figure out keywords for your topic. Check out the example sheet below the concept map video for guidance.

Research assignments

Brainstorming Your Topic

Time to Brainstorm

Or watch this video on keywords: