Researching and Narrowing Your Topic You should begin researching your topic for Project 1 early to make sure that it is of great interest to you and that you can make informed decisions about the position you will take as you develop your argument. Being knowledgeable about your topic will enhance your credibility as a writer and help you with the assignments leading up to your final draft. You may listen to this video on Narrowing Your Topic, which gives tips for focusing a topic that are specific to the requirements of the assignments in this class: https://youtu.be/MUv6VzkiGAg Also, refer to the specific directions for Projects 1 and 2. Remember, you can write about the same topic in both projects. (This is not a requirement but highly suggested.) Even if you feel you understand the foundation of your topic and are ready to commit to a position before reading any source material, it is strongly recommended that you go through the process of reading one or two sources to make sure that your grasp of the subject is not limited to word-of-mouth discussion or biased information. One of the most frustrating moves with research is a rush to choose an argument, followed by an attempt to seek out sources that support that argument. Many students who have taken that approach found themselves unable to dig up the sources to do so and had to return to the initial stages of topic/argument development -- a significant waste of time. To complete this task: Spend some time reading and gathering background information about your topic for Project 1. Use the ASU library databases and web resources to make sure there is comprehensive information in credible/academic and scholarly sources. Avoid drawing all of your sources from newspapers, magazines and websites. Search for scholarly articles from journals to supplement your research. The databases below are the best for your project: Library One Search Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost) Google Scholar Lexis Nexis Academic Find most ASU Libraries' books, articles from newspapers, journals, magazines and more – with just one search! A great starting place for any topic. It covers all subject areas, includes articles from both popular magazines and scholarly journals, and has loads of full text. Searches specifically for scholarly literature, including peerreviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from all broad areas of research. Find articles from a wide variety of academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories and universities, as well as scholarly articles available across the web. Offers newspaper articles from around the country and the world. ERIC JSTOR PsycINFO Alt-Press Watch Access World News Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education to provide extensive access to education-related literature. ERIC provides coverage of journal articles, conferences, meetings, government documents, theses, dissertations, reports, audiovisual media, bibliographies, directories, books and monographs. Short for Journal Storage – It is a digital library containing digitized issues of academic journals and primary sources. Published by the American Psychological Associations. Documents indexed include journals, articles, books, dissertations and more. It is a full text database of selected independent newspapers, magazines, and journals of the alternative press. It provides an alternative to mainstream media perspectives on local, national, and international issues. It offers newspaper coverage from around the US and around the world. Next, present your research findings, answering the following questions about your Project 1 topic: 1. What is your topic? Is it an arguable issue about causes or effects? It should be. Your topic should be specific to your local experience – one within your academic, professional, or local community – and highly focused. Please avoid approaching topics at a global or national level. Also, avoid speculating on future effects of an event that has not yet occurred. For example, speculating on how making texting illegal in the Arizona would affect the accident rate is too broad in scope and looks at the future effect of something that has not yet occurred. Instead, you could argue how the passage of a ban against texting in your local community has led to a specific series of effects in that area. Remember that Project 1 is not an explanatory essay in which you only describe the causes or effects of a topic but a research-based persuasive essay in which you try to convince your intended audience that the causes or effects you take a position with and argue for are in fact the causes or effects of the issue, and other causes or effects are unlikely or refutable. 2. How does this issue impact a specific community of which you are a member? Why does it matter to your community? 3. Besides your community, which other groups are impacted by this topic? What are their perspectives or positions on this issue; in other words, what do they argue are the causes or effects of this issue? 4. Where did you stand on your issue before you researched it? How is your position changing and becoming more specific? How has your topic become more specific as a result of your research? 5. After you researched your issue, what new information did you uncover and from which specific sources did you find it? What research do you still need to conduct? What other scholarly sources will you consult to obtain more information about your topic? Stuck? If you are still having trouble deciding what to write about, try looking at the links below to get some ideas. Keep in mind, however, that many of the topics proposed on these sites are focused at a national or global level and, therefore, you must narrow them to your field of study, your work, or your community to meet the requirements of the assignments in our class. • • • • CQ Researcher An A-Z list of topics on current issues in the news. It is a reliable place to find balanced, unbiased overviews. Times Topics Each topic links to newspaper articles from the New York Times. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center See an A-Z list of current controversial issues covered in this database. It provides pro and con sources for each topic. Points of View A resource similar to Opposing Viewpoints licensed by the Arizona State Library
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