Refining Your Topic
You will begin to refine your topic as soon as you first have a vague idea what to research and will continue to refine the topic until your last draft is written. In that sense, refining a topic is not a step in the research process, but an ongoing effort. As you learn more about a subject, your understanding of it changes; as your understanding changes, so will your topic. There are several factors to consider as you refine a topic.
FACTOR ONE: Explore the possibilities.
Be open minded and don't limit yourself. The approach you take in refining a topic may take you in any number of directions, and it may be a good idea to keep several options open for as long as you can. Only as you weigh the strengths and weaknesses of each, will it be time to focus on just one direction. As you read and research what others have explored and written down, let that be a guide to help you refine your topic. You must also keep in mind that you will need to bring a fresh approach to a subject that is all your own.
FACTOR TWO: Write something down.
Writing something down, even a single sentence, can help you think clearly. You can write it down on a note card or email yourself a note. As your continue to refine the topic, the idea in that sentence may grow to a paragraph or an outline. Moving your ideas from your head to a piece of paper or onto a computer screen will force you to think about the topic. Writing forces you to abandon vague notions or fuzzy thinking and helps you produce a clear, coherent thought.
FACTOR THREE: Focus, focus, focus.
Once you have started with a general concept you need to limit your topic to put it in focus. There are any number of ways in which you can do this. They include, but, of course, are not limited to those old five W's: Who, What, When, Where, and Why.
FACTOR FOUR: Think of questions that you would want your research to address.
Asking questions about your topic will give you a direction for your focus. The library may have thousands of sources for you to sort through. Knowing what questions you want to address will help determine which sources are the most relevant for you to use.
FACTOR FIVE: Stay true to your focus as you continue to refine.
Consider the whole project. Keeping a clear focus in mind during each part of the project will help you sort through and evaluate sources. Your research will make you more knowledgable about your subject, but you can also be distracted. Staying focused will help direct the way you refine your topic and keep you from being led away from the main thesis even as you may alter your original thesis. Research is not compiling little piles of unconnected facts. A clear focus will help tie your ideas together and allow you build a cohesive unit.
