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CHAPTER 2
Finding a Topic
An important component of the research process is helping students identify special problems or issues that
are worthy of extended research. The following classroom activities will train students in matters of topic
selection, preliminary reading, topic restriction, and consideration of purpose and audience. The worksheets, if
photocopied and distributed to the students, will give you immediate feedback on each student’s progress.
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY 2.1: Narrowing the Subject
One of the easiest approaches to limiting a topic is to have students reflect on their personal experiences and
how their lives relate to a topic. Ask your students to restrict the topics below by relating each to at least three
personal experiences:
a. balancing work and school
b. dance
c. violence in the schools
d. health care costs
e. sports
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY 2.2: Refining the Topic
Narrowing a topic to a specific point is essential in research. Ask students to restrict the topics below so that
each could serve as a narrowed focus of research:
a. hybrid automobiles f. movie ratings
b. cloning g. rap music lyrics
c. abortion h. Carson McCullers
d. nuclear power i. the modern jet fighter
e. the family j. women’s rights
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITY 2.3: Using Research Questions
Research questions focus a student’s attention on three aspects of preliminary inquiry: (1) the topic is well
focused and limited, (2) the topic raises an issue or presents a problem worthy of examination, and (3) the
topic invites research into outside sources. The use of research questions is explained in WRP, section 2a.
Provided below are a few topics that might provoke classroom discussion in which students must frame
appropriate research questions:
compulsive gambling E-mail security and Internet privacy
plants of a freshwater pond political campaign finance reform
Far From the Madding Crowd freedom of the press
“Dulce et Decorum Est” hiking the Appalachian Trail
online CD buying talk radio
You might develop the discussion in this way: suggest one of the topics and require students to ask probing
questions to build a network of questions about the issues of the subject. A twenty-minute session with your
students will go a long way toward demonstrating the use of questions as a way to generate ideas.
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY 2.4: Restricting the Subject
An important aspect of limiting a subject is to judge whether a topic is suitable, too broad, or opinionated.
Have students critique the following topics as suitable subjects for preliminary investigation.
a. living with AIDS (too broad)
b. religious bias in selected nursery rhymes (acceptable)
c. pollution levels in the Chesapeake Bay (acceptable)
d. protection acts for Manatees in Florida (acceptable)
e. immunization (too broad)
f. the life of Mahatma Gandhi (too broad)
g. John Steinbeck’s short stories (too broad)
h. isolation in Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums” (acceptable)
i. causes and cures for drinking- water pollution (acceptable)
j. The Shining, by Stephen King (too broad)
k. devices of irony in Alexander Pope’s poetry (too broad)
l. fishing as therapy for mentally ill children (acceptable)
m. fishing at the ocean (too broad)
n. the life of Helen Keller (too broad)
o. alcoholism as a disease (acceptable)
p. Protestant Reformation (too broad)
q. censorship of American television (acceptable)
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r. love is a form of religion (acceptable)
s. the energy rip-off: nuclear power (opinionated)
t. the image of water in Whitman’s Leaves of Grass (acceptable)
u. abortion is murder! (too sensational)
v. nuclear war (too broad)
w. racial pride is not racial prejudice (acceptable)
x. abortion is a woman’s personal choice (acceptable)
y. buying a car (too broad)
z. country music is for hicks! (opinionated)
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY 2.5: Using the Internet to Refine Your Topic
The worldwide computer network consists of millions of computers and computer files that form a huge library
of source materials. The Internet can be used as a subject directory for finding and narrowing an idea to a
specific topic. The use of a search engine can be especially beneficial when a learner has no preconceived
notion about what to write about. Show students how to use the searching ability of the Internet, including
the use of Boolean expressions (see WRP, 2c). Enter a general topic, such as “mythology,” to demonstrate
how the Internet will supply many subtopics. Very important to this process is to enter two or three words into
the search—“mythology + goddess + love”—in order to narrow the search and locate a specific topic for
examination.
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY 2.6:
Using the Library’s Electronic Databases to Find and Narrow a Subject
In harmony with your librarian, conduct a tour of the library and its facilities. In particular, students should be
shown how to use databases such as InfoTrac, ERIC, or Proquest. Remember, however, that the student’s
mission is to find a topic. Show them how to use the computer’s searching ability. Enter a general topic, such as
“television,” and show them how the database will supply many subtopics (see WRP, 2d). Train them to enter
two or three words—“television, children, advertising”—in order to narrow the search and to produce a
specialized list.
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY 2.7:
Using the Library’s Electronic Book Catalog to Find a Topic
The Electronic Book Catalog helps students move from general subjects to subtopics and then to specific
books. Using the subject of Child Abuse Agencies, show students how the computer will supply many
subtopics (see WRP, 2e). To move to subtopics more quickly, train student researchers to enter a phrase—
“agencies for abused children.”
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITY 2.8: Addressing the Reader
A sense of audience is important for research writers. Provided below are different topics. Accompanying each
is a set of questions about audience. Use these to provoke classroom discussion on how to address the reader
for a paper that will differ as approaches to the topic change. (See also WRP, 2g).
a. Ralph Ellison, author of Invisible Man
How might you approach this topic if your audience were:
A group of literature scholars?
Members of a historical society?
A group of sociologists?
b. Software for microcomputers
How might you approach this topic if your audience were:
Potential purchasers?
Fellow students who were also designing software?
Professional programmers for microcomputers?
c. In folklore, the Mermaid was a supernatural, sea-dwelling creature with the head and upper body
of a beautiful woman and the lower body of a fish. Mermaids were said to have the ability to
foretell the future.
How might you approach this topic if your audience were:
A church Sunday school class?
A body of folklore enthusiasts?
The readers of a journal on mythology?
d. Shoplifting and/or industrial theft
How might you approach this topic if your audience were:
Persons in middle-management who will read your essay in a trade journal?
Social workers who will read your report on local conditions in your hometown?
Professional sociologists who will read your essay in the Journal of Sociology?
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITY 2.9: The Thesis Statement
For this activity, students will rate the following preliminary thesis statements as “good,” “adequate,” or
“poor.” Allow students the opportunity to improve any that they label “poor.” NOTE: these are preliminary
thesis statements; even good ones might not qualify as acceptable final theses. (See also WRP, 2f).
1. Some people talk in metaphors. (poor; who would disagree?)
2. The image of water in Whitman’s Leaves of Grass usually signals a rebirth to a new life. (good)
3. For many children, school is a place of trouble, and their main business of the day is staying out of trouble
as much as possible. (good)
4. In his novels, William Faulkner writes about Southern blacks. (poor, too obvious and lacks focus on
an issue)
5. Video game systems are overrated. (poor, needs a sense of direction)
6. A woman’s place in the United States is no longer “in the home.” (adequate)
7. America is falling apart. (poor, no clear sense of direction)
8. The city is a symbol of a labyrinth in Thomas Hardy’s fiction. (good)
9. The pastoral elegy is a good sort of poem. (poor)
10. The bullfight is a mythic tragedy understood by few Americans. (good)
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WORKSHEET 2-A: Using Research Questions
NAME:________________________________________________________________
DIRECTIONS: Listed below are research questions. Mark each appropriate space with an X if (1) the topic is well
focused and limited; (2) the topic raises an issue or presents a problem worthy of examination; and (3) the topic
invites research into outside sources. (See also WRP, 2a.)
1. What are the primary industries of Naples, Italy?
Well focused _______ Raises an issue_______ Invites research_______
2. What really caused the corruption in Mark Twain’s “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg”?
Well focused _______ Raises an issue_______ Invites research_______
3. What role did the city of Alexandria play in the ancient world?
Well focused _______ Raises an issue_______ Invites research_______
4. Why must American drivers continue to depend on foreign oil?
Well focused _______ Raises an issue_______ Invites research_______
5. Why do sports teams have mascots and nicknames?
Well focused _______ Raises an issue_______ Invites research_______
6. Are mandatory seat belt laws really necessary?
Well focused _______ Raises an issue_______ Invites research_______
7. What is the standard for standardized tests? Who am I being judged against? Why?
Well-focused _______ Raises an issue_______ Invites research_______
8. What role did the NAACP have in Civil Rights efforts during the 1960s?
Well-focused _______ Raises an issue_______ Invites research_______
9. What new construction techniques were initiated by Frank Lloyd Wright in the twentieth century?
Well-focused _______ Raises an issue_______ Invites research_______
10. Do programs for gifted students need special state-mandated funding?
Well-focused _______ Raises an issue_______ Invites research_______
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WORKSHEET 2-B: Brainstorming Key Words
NAME:________________________________________________________________
DIRECTIONS: Brainstorming is a technique for bringing forth a great number of different and stimulating ideas
that focus on one issue. Instead of “weighing ideas” as they are written down, amass as many ideas in words
and short phrases as you can think of for a period of one to two minutes. Speculate and brainstorm about your
topic to locate issues that concern you (see WRP, 2a). Begin with your topic, such as this one:
Snow as an image in Robert Frost’s poetry
The trick now will be finding an issue, a concern, a problem. So let’s brainstorm by listing various responses to
the poetry:
Snow is good, white, and pure.
Snow covers over the ugliness.
Snow is mysterious.
It is cold, icy, and dangerous.
It is a two-edged symbol—dangerous purity.
I like the conflict of the two words.
“Dangerous purity” in Robert Frost’s poetry.
We’re doing pretty well so far. We have a topic and our purpose seems fairly clear: to examine snow as an
image in the poetry of Robert Frost. Now we must write the thesis, a proposition in the form of a declarative
sentence that asserts a position. It will set the direction of the discourse. It is important that the thesis contain
a limited topic and an attitude toward the subject.
The image of snow in Robert Frost’s poetry is a two-edged symbol of dangerous purity.
The important point is this: We now have a clearly defined goal for note-taking purposes. We can examine
Frost’s poetry with a purpose that is focused on his use of imagery. In each critical biography, we can look in
the index for the word snow.
Now, do the same with your subject. Brainstorm and write below a list of items and then search each one for a
possible thesis statement.
Preliminary thesis:
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
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WORKSHEET 2-C: Research Proposal
NAME:________________________________________________________________
DIRECTIONS: By now you should have a narrowed topic that looks interesting and promising to you. You
should also have a feel for the purpose of the study and a sense of your audience. Don’t worry about a title;
we’ll write one later on. For now, you need a research proposal that sets forth these essential parts:
1. The purpose of the paper (explain, analyze, or argue)
2. The intended audience (general or specialized)
3. Your stance as the writer (informer or advocate)
4. Your preliminary thesis statement
You may need more than one purpose and your role may be to inform, first, and to be an advocate, second.
Your preliminary thesis statement is not your conclusion; it merely points the critical direction of your study.
In the space below, write a brief research proposal and submit it to your instructor. (See also
WRP, 2g.)
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
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WORKSHEET 2-D:
Unit Test for Chapter 2
NAME:____________________________________________________________
DIRECTIONS: Answer each of the following as True or False.
1._____ Free writing is an exercise of nonstop writing of ideas about a general topic.
2._____ Clustering means to gather with a group of fellow students to debate an issue.
3._____ EBC means Electronic Book Catalog, a computer version of the card catalog.
4._____ CD-ROM database is a compact disk that roams the library and searches the shelves for specialized books
on a chosen subject.
5._____ A research proposal is a paragraph that explains a writer’s purpose, intended audience, role as the
speaker, and a preliminary thesis statement.
6._____ The purpose of a research study might be critical, analytical, or informational.
7._____ A critical purpose requires that you formulate judgments about an issue.
8._____ An analytical purpose requires that you separate the issues, comment on each one, and arrive at a
synthesis.
9._____ An informational purpose requires that you list facts on the subject and interject quotations by experts.
10.____ The computer-generated research paper is suspect and has no place on a college campus.
11.____ The audience for your paper should be only the instructor.
12.____ A thesis is a proposition that one can maintain or prove with evidence on the subject.
13.____ A preliminary thesis statement for a research paper means the possible or probable proposition that one
might argue in the paper.
14.____ A preliminary thesis may not be used as the final thesis statement in the finished research paper.
15.____ Topic restriction means narrowing your general subject to a specific problem or question.
16.____ A keyword search is most effective when two or three words are used.
17.____ InfoTrac, ERIC, and Proquest are examples of Electronic Book Catalogs.
18.____ Hypertext links on the World Wide Web are accessed by means of a browser, such as Microsoft Explorer.
19.____ A research journal records ideas on specific issues, research questions, notes, and free writing.
20.____ An abstract provides a summary of the research project in 500 to 1,000 words.
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ANSWER KEY TO WORKSHEETS
Answers to the Classroom Activities are provided within each activity. Below are answers to
the Worksheets.
WORKSHEET 2-A: Using Research Questions
1. Well focused ________ 6. Well focused ________
Raises an issue ________ Raises an issue ___X____
Invites research ___X____ Invites research ___X____
2. Well focused ___X____ 7. Well focused ___X____
Raises an issue ___X____ Raises an issue ___X____
Invites research ___X____ Invites research ___X____
3. Well focused ________ 8. Well focused ___X____
Raises an issue ________ Raises an issue ___X____
Invites research ___X____ Invites research ___X____
4. Well focused ___X____ 9. Well focused ________
Raises an issue ___X____ Raises an issue ________
Invites research ___X____ Invites research ___X____
5. Well focused ________ 10. Well focused ___X____
Raises an issue ___X____ Raises an issue ___X____
Invites research ___X____ Invites research ___X____
WORKSHEET 2-B: Brainstorming Key Words
Answers will vary.
WORKSHEET 2-C: Research Proposal
Answers will vary.
WORKSHEET 2-D: Unit Test for Chapter 2
1. true 6. true 11. False 16. true
2. false 7. true 12. True 17. false
3. true 8. true 13. True 18. true
4. false 9. false 14. False 19. true
5. true 10. false 15. True 20. false
