If you don't know what topic to choose, start with a general subject area, then browse the library shelves, databases, or the Internet for ideas.
Select a topic.
Example: Asthma
What do you already know about the topic? What do you want to say about the topic?
Example: Asthma is a respiratory condition. It can be life-threatening. People with asthma usually require treatment to control their symptoms. People with asthma often limit their activity.
What is your opinion on, or what do you want to investigate about your topic?
Example: I wonder if (or I think) child with asthma can safely participate in sports.
Select your search terms from your statement sentence.
Example: It can be healthy for children with asthma to participate in sports.
Select your search terms. Think of related keywords and variations to use as search terms.
Example:
|
asthma respiratory |
health (y) safe (ty) |
sports athletes activity exertion |
Use these words in search boxes in the library catalog, databases, and on the Internet to gather information to support your argument. Some will work, some will not. Keep track of which terms are useful and note which databases you searched.
Example that is too broad: Charter Schools.
Example that is too narrow: Charter school attendance by the children of Pennsylvania state senators.
Example that is just right: The differences between how republican and democratic state senators vote on charter school laws.
Magazines: a type of popular periodical read mostly for entertainment value or to get quick news related information. Written for a very broad and diverse audience so as many people as possible can understand the information found within. (These are titles you can easily find in places like grocery stores, newsstands and book store news racks and are fairly inexpensive). Articles in magazines will rarely be long or include exhaustive details and bibliographic information. Examples of magazines include: Time, People, and Entertainment Weekly.
Trade Publications: (also called trade journals; professional journals; trade periodicals; or trade magazines): a periodical or magazine that contains articles relevant to a specific trade, industry, or profession. The focus is on current news, trends and issues. Unlike scholarly journals, they do not contain original research and are not usually peer reviewed. Examples of trade publications include: Cardiology Today; Nation’s Restaurant News; Industrial Engineer.
Scholarly Journals: often peer-reviewed periodical titles that are written almost exclusively for a specific audience (those actually in the field) and by experts wishing to share their own information/research to other experts in their field. These titles can rarely be found at stores by general audiences. They include mostly expansive articles with exhaustive research. citations, and bibliographic information. Example of scholarly journals include: Laboratory Medicine, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, and Journal of Periodontology.
Articles from scholarly journals, magazines and newspapers covering every area of academic study and news.
Searches across all ProQuest databases. Articles from scholarly journals, magazines, and newspapers covering every subject area and news topics.
Topic overviews, contrasting viewpoints, articles, primary source documents, statistics, videos, and recommended websites.
Analytical reports on controversial issues from 1991 to the present. Includes background, chronology, tables and maps, and pro/con statements.
