Research Guides: Public Safety Administration: Graduate Research Methods: Develop a Topic

1. Develop Topic Ideas

Need help coming up with a topic for your research?

Scan your textbook.
Browse current journals, magazines and newspapers.
Search encyclopedias -- try the Encyclopedia Britannica search box on this page.
Discuss topics with your instructor, a librarian or a classmate.

2. Develop Your Research Question

Once you have selected a topic, the next step is to develop research questions.

Write down what you already know or don't know about the topic.
Use that information to develop questions.

TIPS:

Use probing questions such as why? what if? how?
Avoid "yes" and "no" questions.

Use an encyclopedia to discover more information about your topic

Credo Reference: Academic Core Collection This link opens in a new window
Full-text online versions of over 900 published reference works in a variety of major subjects. These include general and subject dictionaries, encyclopedias, images, and videos.

3. Identify Keywords

The keywords you use can have a profound impact on the results of your research. Using the “right” words will speed up the research process, while the “wrong” words can bring to it to a halt.

Before you can begin searching for information, you need to identify keywords related to your topic. Key terminology can be easily be found by scanning:

Your research questions
Articles found from background research
Bibliographies found at the end of books and articles

If you are still struggling:

Use a thesaurus to identify synonyms -- try the thesaurus search on this page.
Brainstorm keywords with a librarian, your instructor, or a friend.