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HY 457/557 & PSC 490: Antisemitism Seminar: How to Develop a Topic

This guide is designed to support the HY 457/577 & PSC 490 course at USA.

What is a topic? How do I know if my topic is good?

A topic should have these qualities:

  • A topic has a scope. Your scope tells your audience what you'll talk about. It also helps you know if you've gone off track!
  • A topic has interest. Why do you care? Why should your audience care?
  • A topic can be researched and argued. Too basic question: How many hours of sleep does the CDC recommend for teenagers? More interesting question: Should parents limit teenagers' bedtime access to cellphones to promote better sleep?

As you research for your speech, your topic may shift. This is perfectly fine, and it is a way to make sure your final work reflects your research.

Mind Map or Free Association

You can create a research question in a less structured way. 

A mind map is a visual and kinetic way of building a topic into a research question. You use post-it notes or scraps of paper to visually rearrange and connect your ideas. 

  1. Write out your initial topic idea and place it in the center of your workspace. 
  2. Write out every related concept or word on separate pieces of paper. 
  3. Place every idea down on your workspace. 
  4. Rearrange the pieces of paper to put similar ideas together.
  5. Take pictures of each grouping that inspires you. 
  6. Use the grouped ideas to create a question. 

Free association is an exercise that doesn't need to be visual. You allow your thoughts to flow freely without interruption. You later review your thoughts and select what could be used in your research question.

  • Speaking and listening. Use a recording device like your phone. Talk freely about your topic to yourself or to another person. Later, review your recording and create a research question out of your chat.
  • Writing and reading. Write on paper on electronically. Write freely without any revisions or editing. Later, review your text and create a research question.

Structured Questions

You can create a research question, and explore a research topic, by answering structured questions related to an initial interesting topic. These questions help you choose a scope for your research question and will help you if you need to adjust your research question in the future. 

Questions are: 

  • Who? What populations or groups are involved in this concept? Are these people, plants, or animals? Who is affected by this phenomena? 
  • Where? Where does this event happen? Is there a specific physical environment? Do you want to limit your research to a state or a type of institution?
  • When? When does this event happen? Do you want to study a specific time frame? Do you have a decade you want to focus on? Is there a season or a time of day?
  • Why? Why does this event happen? What is an inciting factor? What effect or result do you want to focus on? Why does this topic matter to the population you are studying?
  • How? How does your topic happen? What factor do you want to focus on? How does your topic affect the world?