UGS 302: Children, Schools & Democracy / Payne

Choosing a topic is research - and it's the hardest part. Here are some common problems and how to fix them:

Problem:

You chose a very broad topic - ex. Charter Schools

You can write many books about charter schools, but you are writing a very short research paper on the topic.

Solution:

Narrow your topic by focusing on a particular controversy - ask, Who cares about  my topic? (who are the stakeholders, who is impacted?), What are they arguing about? (What is the problem? What different solutions do they propose?)

Problem:

You chose an obscure topic - something on which there is little written.

Solution:

Choose your topic after doing some reading in encyclopedias (listed below). Your task is to find an argument that you can tap into and explore the conversation. Search across a few articles to explore and use the suggested bibliographies to find richer sources.

Problem:

You are finding sources from one side of the argument, but not another.

Solution:

Background information articles will layout many sides of a conversation. Also use viewpoint articles from across the political spectrum (see Find Opposing Viewpoints). When reading scholarly research articles, use the introduction, where the authors lay out their claims, to find points of disagreement.

This screenshot is from Gale Virtual Reference, but you can use the same strategy in any multi-line search.