LibGuides: Natural Sciences Resource Guide: Topic/Research Question

Choose a Topic

Find ideas in:

Your syllabus
Your text
Class discussion
Your life
Current events

What's a Research Question?

The basic formula for a research question is:

How does x relate/impact/cause y?

For a good research question you’ll usually have one more component, something to make it a bit more specific, like a place, time, group of people, etc. Try using the Five W's.

Find Background Information

Background information helps you:

Start thinking about your topic
See the big picture
Identify major issues
Discover something that interests you

Use quality, professionally produced sources to familiarize yourself with the topic (not just Google and Wikipedia).

Try some of these:

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
A collection of over 500 specialized reference works covering every major subject.
Britannica Academic This link opens in a new window
Encyclopaedia Britannica, along with a world atlas, world factbook, journals, magazines, images and videos.

Narrow Your Topic

Consider these questions:

Ask yourself open-ended questions to focus your topic. You don't have to answer all of the questions. Some might not apply or be helpful.

Use the five w's:

Who: demographic focus (gender, age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status
What: aspects and impacts of the topic (sociological, psychological, economic)
Where: geographic location
When: either present day or a particular time period in the past
Why/How/So What!: importance, significance (societal, individual)