Choosing and developing your topic can be the most difficult part of research, but it is an important part of the research process. This step in the research process helps you to narrow down what you want to focus on to something you can write about in the 2000-2500 word limit you were given. On this page, you'll find some topic suggestions as well as some tips for narrowing down your topic.
The following are some ideas on what you could focus on your your assignment. You'll have to narrow these topics down to something more specifically related to race and/or gender in medicine for your paper. This is not a comprehensive list of topics, just some ideas. Feel free to check in with Mrs. Iriwn with your research ideas.
The following topics are off limits for this assignment:
See the "Ideas from the Book" tab to see some topic suggestions. Take a look at the book again to see if you find any themes interesting enough that you want to write about them. See Mrs. Irwin if you have any questions.
As you narrow down your topic, you want to generate a question that you can use to drive your research. A research question defines what you want to know and will help you focus as you find sources and write your paper. The answer to your research question will be your thesis so you will want to make for sure your question is open-ended (and can't be answered with a "yes" or a "no"). Since this is an argumentative essay, you may already have your thesis, and that's fine, but it is important to be flexible. If the sources you are finding is disproving your thesis, be willing to change it or modify it.
There are a lot of ways to narrow down a topic and the way you choose will depend on what you already know and what will work best for your learning and research style. It's always best to start with browsing reference sources, especially when you don't know much about your topic (see the box off to the right to learn more about reference sources). Once you know a little bit more about your topic, choose one of the following methods to help you narrow your topic:
Freewriting is exactly what it sounds like. Take a few minutes and let your thoughts flow. Try summarizing what you know about your topic already and underline or highlight things that interest you. Make lists of what you've learned, what you want to learn, or what you don't quite understand. Do this activity in a way that you feel will benefit your research process. There are two rules: 1) you should put pen to paper rather than use the computer 2) set a time period (anywhere from 5-15 minutes) and just keep writing even if you feel you don't have anything else to write. This is dedicated time to search your brain for what you know, without the distractions that a computer often poses.
Another way of narrowing your topic is through a preliminary search. The idea is that you do a general search for your topic in either the databases or Google and look at the results you get. You'll learn a lot about your topic without even clicking on a single search result. Look for keywords, concepts, phrases, and ideas that are consistently mentioned in your results. In Google, take a look at the bottom of the page to see the related searches. Write all of these concepts down to and look over what you've found to help you decide what avenue you want to pursue in your research.
The concept of "cubing" takes its name from the shape because just as a cube has six sides, this technique requires you to look at your topic from six different perspectives. The topic is at the center of the cube and you will need to describe, compare, associate, analyze, apply, and argue for or against your topic.
Concept mapping (also known as mind mapping) is another way you can narrow your topic. The idea is that you write your topic at the center of the page and then surround it with other narrower topics or concepts. You connect these to the main topic or to each other with lines to help show their relationship. You can do this with pen and paper or with concept mapping software such as Bubbl, or MindMup (all free). For more on concept mapping, see the video below.
Sometimes, you don't know a lot about the topic you have chosen and that makes it difficult to narrow your topic. In this case, it is helpful to look at reference sources to learn more about the basics of your topic.
Reference sources provide general, background information on a topic including facts, figures, definitions, statistics, and more. They provide key facts about a topic that can clarify some of the topic's finer points. They can help you narrow your topic by introducing you to narrower topics or even issues and controversies within your topic - any of which you might choose to focus on in your research. Common examples of reference sources are encyclopedias, dictionaries, and atlases.
Reference sources can be found in the library as well as in the library databases. See below to learn more about the reference sources in our databases.
