SW 302: Topics

You can build a research topic through a mind map. You can use pieces or paper or textboxes to arrange your ideas.

1. Place your initial idea in the center of your workspace. 
2. Write out every related concept separately. 
3. Put similar ideas together.
4. Use the grouped ideas to create a question. 

In free association, you allow your thoughts to flow freely without interruption. You later review your thoughts and select what is useful/interesting.

• 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 freely without any revisions or editing. Later, review your text and create a research question.

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?