Public Health

Selecting A Topic

The ability to develop a good research topic is an important skill. An instructor may assign you a specific topic, but most often instructors require you to select your own topic of interest. When deciding on a topic, there are a few things that you will need to do:

• Brainstorm for ideas.
• Choose a topic that will enable you to read and understand the articles and books you find.
• Ensure that the topic is manageable and that material is available.
• Make a list of key words.
• Be flexible. You may have to broaden or narrow your topic to fit your assignment or the sources you find.

Selecting a good topic may not be easy. It must be narrow and focused enough to be interesting, yet broad enough to find adequate information. Before selecting your final topic, make sure you know what your final project should look like. Each class or instructor will likely require a different format or style of research project.

Brainstorming

Choose a topic that interests you. Here are some questions that help generate topic ideas:

• Do you have a strong opinion on a current social or political controversy?
• Did you read or see a news story recently that has piqued your interest or made you angry or anxious?
• Do you have a personal issue, problem, or interest that you would like to know more about?
• Is there an aspect of a class that you are interested in learning more about?

Write down any key words or concepts that may be of interest to you. These terms can be helpful in your searching and can be used to form a more focused research topic.

Be aware of overused ideas when deciding a topic. You may wish to avoid topics such as abortion, gun control, teen pregnancy, or suicide unless you feel you have a unique approach to the topic. Ask the instructor for ideas if you feel you are stuck or need additional guidance.

Background Information

It's important to have some background knowledge on your topic before you dive into your research. To gain background knowledge on your topic, you might read an article on the top two or three topics you are considering.

Reading articles on your topic enables you to get an overview of the topic and lets you see how your idea relates to broader, narrower, and related issues. It also provides a great way to find words commonly used to describe the topic. These keywords may be very useful to your later research.

If you can't find an article on your topic, try using broader terms or ask for help from a librarian.

Once you have identified some keywords, the next step is to find background information on your topic. Background information and research:

• Provides a good overview of the topic if you are unfamiliar with it.
• Helps identify important facts -- terminology, dates, events, history, organizations, etc.
• Can help refine your topic.
• Leads to bibliographies, which provide additional sources of information.

Background information can be found in:

• Articles
• Dictionaries
• Encyclopedias
• Textbooks
• Websites

These and other sources are often listed on our research guides.

Brainstorming Keywords

The keywords you use can have a large impact on the results of your research. Using the “right” words will speed up the research process, while the “wrong” words can bring to it to a halt.

Before you can begin searching for information, you need to brainstorm and identify keywords related to your topic. Keywords can be easily be found by scanning: 

• Your research topic and questions.
• Articles found from background research.
• Bibliographies found at the end of books and articles relating to your topic.

Keep track of the words that are used to describe the topic. This will help when searching in different databases, because not every author uses the same keywords to describe the same topic. Some questions you may ask are:

• What were the important words found in the article?
• Are there synonyms for these words? Example: "heart disease" and "cardiovascular disease"
• Are there broader (less specific) or narrower (more specific) words to use? Example: "smog" is more specific than "air pollution," but "children" is less specific than "kindergartners."

Not every database or article uses the same words to describe the same topic, so look for suggested keywords or subject terms during your search.

If you are still struggling:

• Use a thesaurus to identify synonyms.
• Find pictures related to your topic, then describe them.
• Brainstorm keywords with a librarian, your instructor, or a friend.

Watch the video below to learn more about choosing keywords.

Database Searching

Use library resources to search for the articles, books, and other sources of information that you need.

• Use your list of keywords to search the library's databases.
• Use database limiters to shorten and focus your list of results. Limiters like "Full Text," "Peer-Reviewed," and date ranges can be very helpful.
• You may start searching and not be able to find the type of information you need right away. Be flexible. You may have to broaden or narrow your topic or use different keywords in your search. You may have to do several searches to find what you are looking for.

When completing searches on library databases:

Carefully Select Search Terms

• Keywords: Use specific words to describe your topic including synonyms and alternate terms, such as abbreviations and scientific terms.

Use Advanced Search Techniques

• Phrase Searching: Some databases and search engines will allow the use of quotations to search for an exact phrase or words together in a paragraph or sentence. This also may be referred to as proximity searching.
  • Example: "air pollution" Retrieves sources with the complete phrase instead of "air" in one sentence and "pollution" in another, unrelated sentence.
• Boolean Operators: Boolean operators are connector words, such as AND, OR, and NOT, that are used to combine or exclude keywords in an electronic database search string. Using Boolean operators can make your search more focused and yield more precise results.
  • Use AND to retrieve records containing all search terms. AND will reduce and refine the results.
    • Example: business AND ethics
  • Use OR to retrieve records containing one, both or all of the search terms. OR will expand the search and retrieve more results.
    • Example: hotels OR motels
  • Use NOT to exclude terms in a search. Be cautious when using NOT, useful search results may be omitted.
    • Example: java NOT coffee
• Truncation: The asterisk * symbol is used to expand results by instructing the computer to look for the root of the word and all alternate word endings. This symbol may substitute for any number of characters at the beginning, middle or end of a word.
  • Example: child*  retrieves child, children, childhood

• Wildcards: Similar to truncation, The hash # wildcard substitutes a symbol for one letter of a word.This is useful if a word is spelled in different ways, but still has the same meaning.

  • Examples: wom#n = woman, women;   colo#r = color, colour

Access Davis Library's databases here:

Sources Evaluation

Evaluate Your Sources: The ABCD's

Knowing where information is coming from, who wrote it, and why they wrote it, is an important step in doing research. When examining a source, remember the ABCD's to determine if a source is credible. Ask yourself the following questions:

Authority

• Who published this material?
• What is the author's credentials or expertise?
• What is the author's relationship to the topic?
• What organization is sponsoring the website?

Bias

• Is the article one-sided or taking into account multiple sides?
• Is this source reporting on the facts or based on opinion?
• Is the purpose of the article to inform or persuade?

Currency

• When was this article written?
• Are the author's references close to the article’s publication date?
• Is the site maintained and updated?

Documentation

• Does the author “back up” their argument or claim with links or references?
• Does the author provide evidence for their opinion or claim?
• Can you verify the accuracy of the information though citations?
• Is information cited properly?

Types of Resources

Scholarly, Peer Reviewed Journals

Articles from scholarly, peer reviewed journals are reviewed and approved for publication by scholars/experts in the field. The purpose of the article is to publish the results of research. Extensive citations will be at the end of the article.
   Examples: Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Journal of Accountancy.

Books and eBooks
Books provide broad and foundational coverage of a topic. Books often explore topics in detail, providing comprehensive background and analysis. Books are not peer reviewed, but are reviewed by the publisher's editor(s) prior to publication.

Government Websites
Government websites have .gov as their designated domain. They are often a great place to search for statistical information. However, it can be challenging to search and navigate to the information you need
   Examples: https://www.usa.gov and https://nces.ed.gov

Trade Journals

Articles in trade journals are written and read by professionals in a specific industry. The purpose of the article is to report industry trends, practical advice, and industry news.
   Examples: Harvard Business Review, Chronicle of Higher Education.

Newspapers

Published daily, newspapers are often the first to report a newsworthy story. These articles provide enough information to report the news story with the information they have at the time, but often do not go in to great detail.
   Examples: New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today.

Watch the video below to learn more about peer reviewed articles.

Create An Outline

Organize your thoughts before writing by using an outline. Using an outline when writing a research paper helps you organize your thoughts, structure your arguments logically, and ensure your paper is coherent and well-supported. Identify the key points of your research, which will serve as the main sections or headings in your outline. Make sure they flow logically and are presented in a coherent order. Add supporting details, evidence, or examples under each key point to strengthen your argument and guide your writing. Include quotes or data you've gathered during research to show how each section connects to your thesis. An outline not only keeps you focused while writing but also helps you spot gaps in your research early, making the writing process more efficient and effective.

Write A Rough Draft

Citing Your Sources

Why Cite?

Accurately documenting sources used for research is an important part of the writing and research process. Documentation is important because:

• It is used to give credit for information originally written elsewhere.
• Documentation enables others to find the same information again.
• Failure to give credit for drawing on the work of others is considered plagiarism.

Citation Styles

There are many citation styles but the most popular ones are:

• APA (American Psychological Association): for sciences and social sciences
• MLA (Modern Language Association):  for literature, arts, and humanities

Physical guides are available to use in the library, or you can see the staff at the Jenkins Center on campus as a quick resource.

The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) is also great for quick APA and MLA reference styles.

To learn more about citations, visit our Citation Help guide here: