LibGuides: UGS 302: Global Indigenous Media / McDonough: Choosing and developing a topic

Choose a topic, narrow a topic

What makes a good topic?

You want to choose a topic that is 'researchable'. That means, there is something written about this topic or aspects of this topic; people are arguing about and engaged with this topic.
You want to choose a topic that is narrow and defined enough to explore in a short research paper.

Start very broad and search these resources to learn more about your topic. You want to know:

What are the controversies surrounding your topic?
Who cares, specifically, about your topic?
What words do people use to talk about your topic? This will help you build a rich and varied keyword collection to use in searches.

Try these resources:

Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
Most current edition. Unlimited users.
Updated regularly. A database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources. Fully searchable across all files. A list of sources included in our subscription is available.
For more information on ebooks see the Ebook Guide
AFI (American Film Institute) Catalog‎ This link opens in a new window
Includes full production and cast information, plus extensive plot summaries and production notes by AFI experts on each motion picture covered.
Updated regularly. Compiled by specialist researchers at the American Film Institute (AFI), this is one of the main resources for American films providing an exhaustive view of American features produced between 1893 and 1974. Includes full production and cast information, plus extensive plot summaries and production notes by AFI experts on each motion picture covered. Records are updated twice yearly with TV and movie adaptations and life details on previously released films.
The AFI Catalog documents nearly 48,000 films produced in the United States or financed by American companies. More than 17,500 entries cover the early years of American film from 1893 to 1910.
Also included is a full listing of the Top 10 films from 2000 forward. The AFI records the year's most outstanding achievements in film and honours these at the annual AFI Awards. The site includes information on the chosen films listed in alphabetical order within each year the film was premiered.

All in one search on Library homepage
Some of you have some niche topics - sometimes an all in one search is your best bet. Searches encyclopedias, news and academic articles.

Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Not the most precise search, but casts a wide net.
Google Scholar uses the popular Google search engine to enable searches for scholarly materials such as peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from broad areas of research. It includes a variety of academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories and universities, as well as scholarly articles available across the web. Google Scholar includes full text and citations.
Use this link to access Google Scholar, and see our Google Scholar Guide for information on using this resource.
If you encounter a warning about the security certificate when using the FindIt@UT tool in Google Scholar, you can learn more about that using this guide.