Hello, RMCAD community! My name is Rhiana (she/her), and I am the new writing tutor at the SCL. I have a BA in English Writing and I am working toward earning my Master of Library and Information Science. I am excited to get to know students, faculty, and staff at RMCAD. If you need help with a writing assignment, please feel free to schedule an appointment with me. 

So, here are a few helpful tips to consider when choosing a research topic...

Choosing a research topic is an important first step in the writing process. If your writing assignment spans across the entire term, you’ll want to select a topic that interests you because eight weeks is a long time to study a single idea. You’ll feel more motivated and remain more engaged if you genuinely care about the topic. However, you’ll also want to consider if the topic is a good choice in terms of the amount of information you’ll be able to find. You may have a topic in mind that you’re excited to write about, but you might not be able to find enough information or the right kind of information to meet the assignment requirements. It’s frustrating to spend a lot of time working on an assignment and later realize you’ll have to start over. Often, being thorough at the beginning of an assignment makes your life easier during the rest of the term.

So, here is a strategy you can use to choose a research topic that is interesting and has enough information:

  1. Make sure you understand the assignment requirements. Start by asking the following questions:

    • How many sources do you need? 

    • What types of sources are acceptable (scholarly, popular, government, etc.)? 

    • What information do you need to find out about the topic? 

    • Does the topic need to cover anything specific (a certain time, a certain place, etc)?

  2. Make a list of topic ideas that you find interesting or matter to you. Try to answer the following questions:

    • Based on the assignment requirements, what kinds of topics might fit well? Try to come up with a variety of ideas.

    • Is there a topic you already know quite a bit about but want to explore in greater detail?

    • Is there a topic you know a little bit about but want to learn more?

  3. Spend some time researching each of your topic ideas.

    • Make notes about what you already know about each topic and/or what you’re curious about.

    • Using your notes, brainstorm a couple keywords for each topic idea and brainstorm a couple keywords that reflect the assignment requirements. For example, if your assignment requires you to write about the relationship between culture and art for a historical group of people of your choice and you choose “Vikings,” you might brainstorm the following keywords: “culture” “art” “vikings”

    • Using your keywords, search multiple resources for information about your topic ideas. Don’t limit your search to Google because you might find information within the RMCAD Library’s academic databases that isn’t available on Google. 

    • For each topic idea, make notes about how much information you find, what kinds of information you find, and how you think the information relates to the assignment requirements.

  4. Choose the research topic idea that will allow you to be most successful. Think back to the assignment requirements and answer the following questions:

    • Which one of your topic ideas has the largest amount of information?

    • Which one of your topic ideas has the most relevant information?

    • Which one of your topic ideas best meets the assignment requirements overall?

  5. If none of your topic ideas seem like a good choice for the assignment, consider taking the following steps:

    • If you feel dissatisfied after researching all of your topics, try brainstorming more topic ideas and repeat steps 1-4. 

    • Try to remain flexible and think about topics that are different from your first set of topic ideas. Try coming up with a broader topic or a narrower topic.

    • Always contact your instructor if you need clarification or if you have doubts about your topic ideas.

    • Reach out to the SLC if you feel stuck or need help with any of these steps.