Narrowing Your Topic
Many topics need to be narrowed; however, if
your topic is already too narrow it can be broadened by reversing the procedure.
Steps toward narrowing your topic include:
1. Do preliminary reading to become familiar
with many facets of the topic.
2. Decide on one aspect of your topic or one
focus within your topic.
DIFFERENT TOPICS ARE LIMITED BY DIFFERENT METHODS
TIME SPAN: Renaissance broad
Queen Elizabeth
Early reign of Queen
Elizabeth,
1558-1570 narrow

PLACE: England broad
London
Westminster
Abbey narrow
SUBJECT Psychology broad
AREA:
Behavioral psychology
Skinnerian
psychology narrow

SPECIFIC Minorities broad
GROUP:
Minorities in America
Native Americans
Navajo narrow
__________________________________________________________________
SPECIFIC EVENT French
Revolution broad
OR CATEGORY:
Napoleonic Wars
Campaigns against
Prussia and Russia,
1806-07
Battle at Eylan,
1807 narrow

SPECIFIC Female
Novelists broad
INDIVIDUALS:
American Female
Novelists
American Female
Novelists of the
South during 1950s
and 1960s
E. Welty, C.
McCullers,
and K. A.
Porter narrow
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FORMULATING A RESEARCH
QUESTION
Some people prefer to formulate a research
question. To do that, consider some of the following approaches:
CONTROVERSIES: What are the
arguments for or against capital punishment?
What are
the arguments for and against for-profit hospitals?
TRENDS: Is the
trend toward mergers and corporate takeovers beneficial to
the economy?
Is the
trend toward smaller families a response to economic conditions
or simply the result of later marriages?
PROBLEMS: What are some
of the problems resulting from one- parent families?
What are
some of the problems related to foreign aid?
EFFECTS: What are
the effects of television on the reading levels of children
6-8 years of age?
What are
the effects of ozone depletion?
INFLUENCES: What are the
influences of social direction on civil rights legisltation?
What
influences on language has advertising had?
CAUSES: What are
some of the causes of mid-career crisis?
What are
some of the cultural causes of obesity in American society?
MORE EXAMPLES
Broad Topic pollution women
Restricted
Topic
acid rain
women in business
Narrowed Topic
acid rain in the U.S. successful female
. executives in U.S.
corporations
Research Question What are the
effects of
Do successful female
executives
acid rain in the U.S.? share
common personality traits?

Broad Topic dance food
Restricted Topic ballet eating habits
Narrowed topic The New York
City vegetarianism
Ballet
Company
Research
Question What are the
strengths of What are the
nutritional and
Balanchine’s choreography health advantages
of vegetarianism?
with the NYC ballet?
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