narrowing research topic worksheet

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Importance of Narrowing the Research Topic

Whether you are assigned a general issue to investigate, must choose a problem to study from a list given to you by your professor, or you have to identify your own topic to investigate, it is important that the scope of the research problem is not too broad, otherwise, it will be difficult to adequately address the topic in the space and time allowed. You could experience a number of problems if your topic is too broad, including:

• You find too many information sources and, as a consequence, it is difficult to decide what to include or exclude or what are the most relevant sources.
• You find information that is too general and, as a consequence, it is difficult to develop a clear framework for examining the research problem.
• A lack of sufficient parameters that clearly define the research problem makes it difficult to identify and apply the proper methods needed to analyze it.
• You find information that covers a wide variety of concepts or ideas that can't be integrated into one paper and, as a consequence, you trail off into unnecessary tangents.

Lloyd-Walker, Beverly and Derek Walker. "Moving from Hunches to a Research Topic: Salient Literature and Research Methods." In Designs, Methods and Practices for Research of Project Management . Beverly Pasian, editor. ( Burlington, VT: Gower Publishing, 2015 ), pp. 119-129.

Strategies for Narrowing the Research Topic

A common challenge when beginning to write a research paper is determining how and in what ways to narrow down your topic . Even if your professor gives you a specific topic to study, it will almost never be so specific that you won’t have to narrow it down at least to some degree [besides, it is very boring to grade fifty papers that are all about the exact same thing!].

A topic is too broad to be manageable when a review of the literature reveals too many different, and oftentimes conflicting or only remotely related, ideas about how to investigate the research problem. Although you will want to start the writing process by considering a variety of different approaches to studying the research problem, you will need to narrow the focus of your investigation at some point early in the writing process. This way, you don't attempt to do too much in one paper.

Here are some strategies to help narrow the thematic focus of your paper :

• Aspect -- choose one lens through which to view the research problem, or look at just one facet of it [e.g., rather than studying the role of food in South Asian religious rituals, study the role of food in Hindu marriage ceremonies, or, the role of one particular type of food among several religions].
• Components -- determine if your initial variable or unit of analysis can be broken into smaller parts, which can then be analyzed more precisely [e.g., a study of tobacco use among adolescents can focus on just chewing tobacco rather than all forms of usage or, rather than adolescents in general, focus on female adolescents in a certain age range who choose to use tobacco].
• Methodology -- the way in which you gather information can reduce the domain of interpretive analysis needed to address the research problem [e.g., a single case study can be designed to generate data that does not require as extensive an explanation as using multiple cases].
• Place -- generally, the smaller the geographic unit of analysis, the more narrow the focus [e.g., rather than study trade relations issues in West Africa, study trade relations between Niger and Cameroon as a case study that helps to explain economic problems in the region].
• Relationship -- ask yourself how do two or more different perspectives or variables relate to one another. Designing a study around the relationships between specific variables can help constrict the scope of analysis [e.g., cause/effect, compare/contrast, contemporary/historical, group/individual, child/adult, opinion/reason, problem/solution].
• Time -- the shorter the time period of the study, the more narrow the focus [e.g., restricting the study of trade relations between Niger and Cameroon to only the period of 2010 - 2020].
• Type -- focus your topic in terms of a specific type or class of people, places, or phenomena [e.g., a study of developing safer traffic patterns near schools can focus on SUVs, or just student drivers, or just the timing of traffic signals in the area].
• Combination -- use two or more of the above strategies to focus your topic more narrowly.

NOTE: Apply one of the above strategies first in designing your study to determine if that gives you a manageable research problem to investigate. You will know if the problem is manageable by reviewing the literature on your more narrowed problem and assessing whether prior research is sufficient to move forward in your study [i.e., not too much, not too little]. Be careful, however, because combining multiple strategies risks creating the opposite problem--your problem becomes too narrowly defined and you can't locate enough research or data to support your study.

Booth, Wayne C. The Craft of Research . Fourth edition. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2016; Coming Up With Your Topic. Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth College; Narrowing a Topic. Writing Center. University of Kansas; Narrowing Topics. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Strategies for Narrowing a Topic. University Libraries. Information Skills Modules. Virginia Tech University; The Process of Writing a Research Paper. Department of History. Trent University; Ways to Narrow Down a Topic. Contributing Authors. Utah State OpenCourseWare.

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Developed by Doug Achterman, 2003

Selecting a Research Topic

Why should i narrow my research topic, considerations, topic selection process.

• Topic Selection Strategies
• EBSCO's Research Starters
• Defining Scope

If you have a need to conduct research for a course at any level, you should understand the significance of narrowing down your research topic.  Reasons for narrowing down a research topic are:

• The field you are studying is much too broad, so you cannot formulate a research question or hypothesis from it.
• You are not quite sure what you want to cover in your research project/paper.
• You feel overwhelmed by the research topic you have already selected.
• Your assignment requires you to research a topic that has not yet been covered (research gap).

Before you begin your search for a research topic, there are some things to consider that could impact the topic you choose:

• In what field of study is your assignment?  In what course is your project?
• Does your assignment require you to research a specific topic within a particular discipline?
• How narrow or broad does your topic need to be?
• Who will be reading your paper?
• Will you be presenting your project to an audience?
• What type of paper are you writing?  This may determine the scope of your topic.

The process of narrowing down a research topic can be illustrated by the image below ("Choosing & Using Sources," 2016).  It illustrates the process of thinking about all potential research topics, then narrowing it down to a specific research question.  This diagram can assist you in determining your topic because it illustrates how all possible topics and subjects transform into your final research topic.  It is also recommended that you refer to your assignment instructions for guidance on topic selection.

All possible topics:  Represents all potential topics in your field of discipline.  This is often overwhelming, so it is typical to rule out irrelevant topics to create a "smaller" pool of topics.

Assigned topic:  This is a combination of determining topics that are interesting to you and that fulfill your assignment requirements.  You might have more than one topic, so you may need to narrow them down further.

Topic narrowed by initial exploration:  This results from conducting preliminary research on your assigned topic(s).  During this process, you will learn more about the topics you are considering.  From there, you can determine if the topic is still of interest.

Topic narrowed to research question(s):  From the information you have learned in your preliminary research, you formulate a research question that identifies what your paper/project will attempt to discover.

The video below from Wilsey Library demonstrates how to narrow down a general research topic.

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• Last Updated: May 22, 2023 10:46 AM
• URL: https://library.tiffin.edu/selectingaresearchtopic

Narrowing Your Topic: Home

Topic narrowing guides.

Unsure of where to start on narrowing you topic? Try some of the below handouts to get you started.

• Choosing a Topic and Search Terms From University of Virginia
• Develop a Research Question From Indiana University
• Narrowing a Topic From Minnesota State University Mankato
• Narrowing Your Topic from Subject to Thesis From Temple University

Narrowing Your Topic

• How to Narrow a Topic
• Finding a Topic

Have you been assigned a research paper, but you don't know where to start? That's okay! Many students struggle with topic selection. One of the most common issues is picking a topic too broad for the scope of the paper.

Why are broad topics a problem?

• You could find too much information, making it difficult to select which information to include and which to exclude.
• You might find information that is too general, making it difficult to compose a clear thesis statement.
• You find information that covers a wide variety of ideas that can't all be covered in one paper, causing you to go off on unnecessary tangents.

What can you do to narrow your topic?

You first will want to gather some background on your topic. Ask yourself some of the following questions:

• What are the main concepts of this topic?
• What are the issues surrounding this topic?
• What are some key terms that are being used to describe the topic?

If you need to present an opinion or argument about your topic, supported with academic resources, another good option is to formulate consequence based question, such as "What are the consequences of X on Y?" Here are some examples of what that may look like:

• What are the consequences of allowing individuals to conceal and carry handguns on college campuses?
• What are the consequences of not basing college admission on standardized tests?
• What are the consequences of erasing student loan debt on our economy?

Lastly, you can use the worksheets to the left of this column as a guideline. Using the 5 W's (Who, What, Where, When, and Why) can another way to narrow a topic.

Adapted from Finding & Narrowing Your Topic LibGuide, BYU Libraries, https://guides.lib.byu.edu/stepbystep and Narrowing a Topic Idea , USC Libraries, https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/narrowtopic

Completely stumped on finding a topic? First, take a deep breath! It's normal to struggle even thinking about a topic.

While your final topic should never be broad, it sometimes helps to start broad and then narrow. Ask yourself some questions to help brainstorm:

• What am I interested in?
• What have I heard in the news lately?
• What is something is that is personally affecting me?
• Is there something my family or friends are concerned about?

If you are still stumped, check reputable news websites to see what the top stories of the day might be or browse some of the issues databases the library has through GALILEO. Just be sure that the information you are reading could be considered a reliable source .

(Adapted from "Finding and Narrowing Your Topic, BYU Libraries, https://guides.lib.byu.edu/stepbystep )

Narrowing Your Topic Video

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• Need a Topic?
• Form a Research Position
• Background Research
• Brainstorming Strategies This link opens in a new window

Narrow Down Your Topic: Example #1

Narrow down your topic: example #2, try narrowing down your topic....

• Choosing Keywords
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Forming a Research Question

Topic Development

Concept Map

Topics/Thesis

• #1 Blank Worksheet Complete the attached Topic Development / Pre-Search Worksheet.
• #2 Blank Worksheet (Long Version) Complete the attached Research Exploration Form.
• #2 Fracking Example (Long Version - with additional Social Justice questions)
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Current, Controversial Topics: A Research Guide

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Narrow Your Topic Worksheets and Tutorials

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Click on the chat icon in the lower right side of the page or visit our Ask a Librarian site  to search or browse our FAQs.

• Narrowing Your Topic Worksheet (PDF) Valencia College Library
• Mind Mapping Your Topic Tutorial Maintained by University of Arizona Libraries
• Should I Rethink My Search? (Tutorial) You often won’t find what you're looking for the first time you search. Complete this tutorial to learn strategies for rethinking your search for better results. Maintained by University of Arizona Libraries
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1 Narrowing a Topic

Defining your research question is a process of working from the outside in: you start with the world of all possible topics (or your assigned topic) and narrow down until you have focused your interest enough to be able to state precisely what you want to find out, instead of only what you want to “write about.”

Going through this process can be the hardest part of doing research, but once you have a question that is realistically scoped (not too broad, not too narrow) it will guide the rest of your work.

 The Process of Narrowing a Topic

ACTIVITY: Which Topic is Narrower? 

Now it’s your turn. Practice thinking about narrower topics with these 3 examples. Click the arrow to show the next question.

TIP: Use Some of the 5 W’s to Help Narrow Your Topic to a Searchable Question

Your assignment is to write on the topic of higher education. You decide you want to write about the high cost of tuition, but that is still too broad.

Start by asking some or all of the following questions.

From asking these questions, you might come up with a research question like this:

“How does the high cost of tuition impact the degree completion of mature college students?”

Image: “ Rq-narrow ” by Teaching and Learning, University Libraries is licensed under CC BY-4.0 .

Doing Research Copyright © 2020 by Celia Brinkerhoff is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Jumbo ‘Spectra’ Worksheets for Narrowing Topics and Locating Positions

In this activity, students use a pair of worksheets to create a visual mapping of research questions to help them focus their topic and their inquiry and identify positions beyond "yes" and "no."

Activity title:  Jumbo “Spectra” Worksheets For (1) Narrowing Topics & (2) Locating Positions

Author: Ethan Plaut (Adapted from an activity by Marvin Diogenes)

Course:  PWR 1 & PWR 2

Schedule (time in the quarter):  I created the first worksheet for use early in the TiC, the second for early in the RBA (after students have collected multiple sources), but they can be used at various times.

Activity length:  Flexible. I devoted approximately 40 minutes per worksheet.​

Activity goals:

• Develop better understanding of the appropriate scope of paper topics and research questions.
• Brainstorm, narrow, and refine possible topics and questions for self and peers.
• Move from simplified Yes & No argumentation to more nuanced positions.
• Locate various sources’ positions within and outside a spectrum from “yes” to “no.”
• Identify various possible positions students might take on their issues.

Activity Details:  See handout .  

Editor's Note:  This activity works well on tabloid-sized paper (available in Sweet office supplies) and also is easily adapted for Google jamboard.

(originally shared winter quarter 2015)

• How to Get Help in the Library

Narrowing a Topic

• Finding Background Information
• Finding Scholarly Sources
• For ENGL101 Instructors
• Brainstorming Activity

Activity Instructions

To help develop a research question from a broad topic, use the quadrant below to guide a discussion. Start with a broad idea and gradually narrow down your focus by answering the following questions: 

Copy the activity above into your notebook or download the Brainstorming Activity Worksheet below.

• Brainstorming Activity Use this activity to help narrow a broad topic idea to a focused research question.

Example Brains torm

Let's say that our research topic is  Climate Change . 

Here we have taken a the broad topic of  climate change  and broken it down into several different potential papers.

For example, a paper on  the economic impact of ocean acidification on coastal fishing communities  is a very different paper than researching the  political impact of policy makers and pro-environmental legislation  or  public perception of scientific research about global warming .

All three of these potential topics are still about the broad topic of climate change, but here we have identified more narrow lines of inquiry that would make excellent ENGL 101 topics.

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• ENGL 1158--Lewis Spring 2024
• Narrowing a Topic

ENGL 1158--Lewis Spring 2024: Narrowing a Topic

• Evaluating Your Sources
• Citation Help
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• Last Updated: Apr 18, 2024 9:44 AM
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Welcome! In our session today, we are going to explore some ideas about information, doing research, and make friends with the library website. I will guide you through and am happy to answer questions now and in the future. Find me at jwhite15atuno.edu or 504-280-6548. 

Sage Advice about Narrowing a Topic

For most students, narrowing down a research topic makes a huge difference between how they carried out the research while in high school and how they should conduct their research projects in college.

Choosing a suitable research topic requires that you work from outside in. Often, you’ll start with a broader topic and narrow it down to a level where you can establish what you’d like to find out rather than only what you’d like to “write about.”

Whether you’ve been given a general topic to investigate, given several problems to study, or you need to come up with your own topic to study, you should ensure that the research problem’s scope underpinning the study isn’t too broad .

A Step-by-Step Example on Narrowing a Research Topic

To narrow down a specific topic, follow these steps:

1. Choose a general topic area.

An example could be  employee   turnover.

2. Give specific description of the topic area.

Example:  turnover in the nursing industry

3. Mention an aspect of the specific topic:

Example:  factors that affect turnover among registered nurses

To narrow down a topic’s focus, follow these steps:

4. Note down extra specifics about the topic.

Example:  Workplace stress and turnover among registered nurses.

5. Turn the topic into a sentence or statement.

Example:  Workplace stress has a significant   impact on turnover among registered nurses.

6. Fine-tune your topic’s focus using elements such as time, place, and relationship.

Example:  Workplace stress causes increased turnover among registered nurses in Brooklyn.

Once you have a narrowed topic, the next steps are to choose one or more databases to search and generate useful terms, called 'keywords', to help you discover relevant material in databases or the library catalog.   Use the Research Worksheet to help start this process!

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A question that is too broad may retrieve too much information. Here are some strategies for narrowing the scope of a question. They may be used individually or in combinations.

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Sophomore Research: Narrowing Down Your Topic

• Finding a Topic
• Narrowing Down Your Topic
• Finding Information on Your Topic
• Web Resources
• Citing Your Sources

Making Your Research Topic "Just Right"

Now that you have a topic idea in mind and you've done a little pre-search, it's a good time to make sure the topic is "just right" - not too broad or not too narrow.

If your topic can be summed up in a word or two, like smoking, school violence, education, overweight kids, capital punishment, World War II, or rap music, your topic is too broad.

One reliable method to use to narrow a topic is to narrow it by asking questions about your topic such as: Who, What, Where , and When .

Look at the example from the graphic below.

The student has picked the very broad topic of eating disorders, because her teacher said to pick a topic that can affect teenagers. Many books have been written about eating disorders and the topic interests her because she has a cousin who suffers from an eating disorder.

Eating disorders is a very broad topic, so now the student can try to narrow her topic using who, what, where, and when questions. She can use a worksheet to help her narrow her topic, as illustrated below.

The Path to a Great Research Topic

Using a series of questions, you can narrow down your topic into a well-defined research topic.  Use this graphic to help you narrow down your research topic into something that is "just the right size" for your assignment. 

Think about each of the four context areas, and how they relate to your topic.

WHEN - This would be a time frame. It could be a current or historical view. It can also be a period in life, such as middle age, elderly, or adolescence.

WHERE - This would be locations or places. It could be regions, states, countries, etc. It could also be places like school, the workplace, college.

WHAT - This would be events or types of something, depending on the topic.

WHO - This would be the person, group, or a population defined by gender, race, ethnicity, educational level, nationality, occupation, species, or age.

After completing the worksheet, she could narrow her topic to -  The prevalence of bulimia in low-income teenage girls in the United States. 

You can also consider the following question areas to generate specific ideas to narrow down your topic:

1.       Problems faced in relation to your topic?

2.       Problems overcome in relation to your topic? 

3.       Motives for your topic?

4.       Effects on a group in relation to your topic? 

5.       Group affected by your topic? 

6.       Group benefited by your topic? 

Asking these types of questions about your topic can help you form the focused research questions which will enable you dig deeper into your topic. 

Adapted from Butler Senior High School Library

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Research 101 (A How-to Guide): Step 1. Choose a topic

• Step 1. Choose a topic
• Step 2. Get background information
• Step 3. Create a search strategy
• Step 4. Find books and e-books
• Step 5. Find articles
• Step 6. Evaluate your sources
• Step 7. Cite your sources

Step 1. Choose a Topic

Choosing an interesting research topic can be challenging.  This video tutorial will help you select and properly scope your topic by employing questioning, free writing, and mind mapping techniques so that you can formulate a research question.

Good Sources for Finding a Topic

• CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window Browse the "hot topics" on the right hand side for inspiration.
• 401 Prompts for Argumentative Writing, New York Times Great questions to consider for argumentative essays.
• ProCon.org Facts, news, and thousands of diverse opinions on controversial issues in a pro-con format.
• Room For Debate, New York Times This website, created by editorial staff from the New York Times, explores close to 1,500 news events and other timely issues. Knowledgeable outside contributors provide subject background and readers may contribute their own views. Great help for choosing a topic!
• US News & World Report: Debate Club Pro/Con arguments on current issues.
• Writing Prompts, New York Times New York Times Opinion articles that are geared toward students and invite comment.

Tips for Choosing a Topic

• Choose a topic that interests you!   
• Pick a manageable topic, not too broad, not too narrow. Reading background info can help you choose and limit the scope of your topic.
• Review lecture notes and class readings for ideas.
• Check with your instructor to make sure your topic fits with the assignment.

Picking your topic IS research!

• Developing a Research Question Worksheet

Mind Mapping Tools

Mind mapping, a visual form of brainstorming, is an effective technique for developing a topic.  Here are some free tools to create mind maps.

• Bubbl.us Free account allows you to save 3 mind maps, download as image or HTML, and share with others.
• Coggle Sign in with your Google account to create maps that you can download as PDF or PNG or share with others.
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