Draft 2 - ILI Digital Credentialing: Identify a Topic

What is exploratory research and why should you do it?

Exploratory research is used to investigate a problem that is not clearly defined in order to have a better understanding of it. Why should exploration be the first step of any research project? Watch this brief video to find out why!

Once you have chosen a topic to write about, it is very tempting to take a stance and focus your research on finding articles to support your position. Instead, your initial research should focus on exploring your topic. This is important because you need to develop enough understanding to avoid:

• Living in an echo chamber, or a limited perspective of agreeable opinions;
• Jumping to unsupportable conclusions;
• Misinterpreting sources or leaving out important information.

With thorough exploration you can identify how you can best participate in and contribute to the scholarly conversation. General topics have a vast array of perspectives, subtopics, and narratives that are worth exploring. Exploring the topic allows researchers to determine which aspects or arguments are noteworthy to investigate and how they can add their own ideas to the scholarly conversation. It will help you recognize a topic that is too broad and needs to be narrowed down. You can tell your topic is too broad if, when exploring it, you see tens of thousands of articles and even whole books are written on the topic. As encouraging as it may seem to find so many results when exploring, you don't have time to write a book. If your topic is too broad, you will read way too many articles and end up with so much information that, when you start writing, you'll struggle to organize it all. To prevent this, examine the article titles and abstracts that you find when exploring - look for sub-topics or themes that keep coming up, like certain regions or populations impacted by the problem you are interested in. Studying your problem in a specific region or population can make it more manageable.

What strategies should you use to effectively explore your topic?

There are four tips you must follow to ensure you explore your topic as thoroughly as necessary:

• Use multiple keywords when searching - developing keywords for searching is a skill in itself that we will explore in more depth in another section of this guide. But you must be willing to try multiple keywords when searching. That means: try variations of a word (like microplastics and micro-plastics and microplastics); try synonyms (like microplastics and plastic pollution) and most importantly when you are exploring, try different angles of the same topic (using the strategies discussed below).
• Search for information in multiple locations - use as many of the search locations suggested below as possible (class materials, encyclopedias, computer searches), to seek as many perspectives as possible. Different types of sources will provide widely varying information.
• Seek to expand your knowledge on your topic. For example, if you already know microplastics harm fish by altering their hormonal levels, look for other biological systems that microplastics alter or damage. Alternatively, if you've found one article that explains how microplastics alter hormonal levels, look for additional articles that propose other explanations for the same problem.
• Intentionally seek opposing viewpoints - if most of the sources you read come to the same conclusion, make an effort to find an opposing viewpoint. This helps you avoid bias and be more credible. It also allows you to address opposing viewpoints in your own paper. Finding opposing viewpoints is essential to identifying controversies in the current scholarly conversation and, therefore, finding research gaps.

Where should you explore your topic?

When we suggest you search in multiple locations, where should you search? Some tools you might use to explore a topic include:

Class Materials Was there a reading or class discussion that caught your interest? Using class reading or a discussion topic from lectures can be a great start to exploring the differing perspectives and discussion points related to your topic. The reading or discussion could provide interesting themes and concepts on your topic that you can explore in the research phase. This does not mean the same thing as saying “My professor gave me a topic” or “My professor provided me a list of acceptable topics.”

Encyclopedias and other reference materials from the library Encyclopedias contain a comprehensive overview of topics. Researchers utilize encyclopedias to find discussion points or to narrow their focus on a given topic. Our library has both online and physical encyclopedias available for all. 

A quick google search is another great way to find more information on a given topic. With google, you can find public encyclopedia entries on sites like Wikipedia, and popular articles on your topic that may appear on blogs or newspaper sites. While professors advise their students not to have sites like Wikipedia in the final copy of the works cited page, it is a great tool to find the basic information on a given topic that you can use to get started. You could search for controversies on your topic to gauge what interests you and gain different perspectives on your topic.

Multidisciplinary library databases General databases, like Academic Search Complete, will often return many results that might suggest aspects of your topic that other scholars are currently studying.

What should you try to learn when exploring your topic?

When we suggest you search using multiple terms and angles, including opposing viewpoints, what should you try to learn? You should explore until you are able to answer the journalistic questions about your topic. For example, you should learn:

• Who is involved (who is this author I am studying/how did their life impact their writing; who was involved in/impacted by this historic event; who is impacted by this disease;  etc)?
• What is involved (what happens in this novel and what aspects of society does it reflect; what is the timeline of this historic event; what effects are caused by this environmental issue; etc)?
• Where did this happen (where is the cultural setting of this novel; where did this historic event take place; where is this environmental impact most severe; etc)?  
• When did this (novel, historic event, environmental issue) happen or begin?
• Why is this (novel, historic event, environmental issue) significant or important? Why should anyone care about it?

Overall, you are trying to identify a research problem that you'd like to investigate and try to solve. Watch this video to learn more:

Demonstrate your research skills

Earn the Effective Exploration Credential

We have discussed strategies to effectively explore your topic. Demonstrate you can implement these strategies by utilizing the tool below and submitting it at the link provided.

Keep your exploratory research organized

As you compile information on your topic, keep it organized!. This will help you analyze trends and identify the most interesting avenues to research. Some strategies to organize your information include:

Concept maps

Concepts maps are especially useful when you are exploring your topic to help you organize the different issues that arise from your general topic. They help you see the various directions your research might take so you can identify the one most interesting to you. How can you approach creating a concept map? You can draw one on paper or create one using a free online tool. Watch this video to learn more:

A chart

Another possible tool when exploring your topic is to create a chart that organizes the different themes that emerge as you explore.

For example, in this chart, the researcher recorded: their sources (ex. the source author, Omar, and the page number), what they learned in each source they consulted (ex. "explains hormonal impact" is a quick summary to help the researcher remember the main point of this article) and noted emerging themes they learned as they did their searches (ex. they found articles on "how ingestion kills fish," How yields are reduced" etc).  Charts are most useful when you have narrowed your topic a bit. They help identify what areas need more exploration (like "effects on livelihood" in the sample chart) and organize different issues that may be associated with a single over-arching theme (like the different ways fish are affected). If you find too few articles on a theme, that may indicate an area that needs more study. If you find too many issues associated with one theme, that might be an area where you need to narrow your topic.

You might find another organizational style works better for your particular topic. It doesn’t matter how you organize your information. It just matters that you do so in a manner that helps you find the aspects of your topic that you’re most interested in that will eventually guide your thesis development.

A research log

The most thorough method to organize your research is a research log. The research log is always helpful, and keeping one is an important habit to develop, but for more advanced research papers, a research log is essential. A research log records more than a concept map or a topic themes chart. These tools record the themes, or possible research directions, that emerge as you explore. A research log records this information and it also records:

• how you searched (the evolution of your keywords)
• where you already searched
• new searches your results suggested to you, that you want to follow up on

It typically concludes with a concept map or chart that synthesize the results of your exploration.

A research log is important for longer, more complex research projects because it is impossible to complete the exploration for a complex project in one session. You will need some sort of aid to help you remember where and how you searched, as well as new ideas that emerge as you search.

See the sample research log linked below for ideas on how you might format an exploration research  log.

Demonstrate your research skills

Earn the Organized Explorer Credential

We have discussed strategies to effectively organize the information you gather as you explore. Demonstrate you can implement these strategies by submitting a completed Exploration research log, including a concept map or theme chart  at the link provided below.

What is a research gap?

Academic writing is a constant back and forth discussion on scholarly topics. With varying perspectives, approaches, methodologies, insights and writing methods, each researcher who submits a paper and publishes it adds themselves to an ongoing scholarly conversation on the topic at hand. Students' essays and research papers are another part of this conversation. Like any conversation, it is not interesting if all you are doing is summarizing or repeating what another person has said. Look at these two sample conversations:

Conversation 1

Conversation 2

In conversation 1, the third speaker just echoes what the other two speakers already said. They don't add anything new or interesting. They're kind of boring to talk to! In conversation 2, the third speaker adds another reason to explain why the team is so good. They knew something no one else had said and added it to the conversation - this is "identifying a research gap" and it leads to way more interesting conversations. Identifying a research gap means you are looking for an area or angle on your topic that has been explored very little or not at all. You can add your unique knowledge you gained through analysis of texts or experimental data to the conversation. Doing this in normal conversations, like about the football team, is something we do automatically, but how can you know what new information you can add to a scholarly conversation? You need to find the research gap.

How to identify gaps in the scholarly conversation

Be persistent / explore thoroughly- Finding something new to add to the scholarly conversation is important, even for shorter papers and ones in introductory classes. No matter the level of your research, you can't reliably identify research gaps if you haven't explored your topic thoroughly. For that reason, the most basic strategy to identify research gaps is to explore your research topic broadly and gather a wide range of scholarly articles on it. After reading a few articles, you may think you have found an interesting or unique angle, but if you don't narrow your search for articles specifically on that angle, you might miss existing research that already explored it.

Think critically - Another important consideration when working to identify research gaps is to critically read the articles you find while exploring your topic. Ask yourself questions like: are there additional texts that should be analyzed; a different critical theory to apply; a different population to explore; a different methodology to apply?

Pay attention to "suggestion for future research" - When learning to identify research gaps, a valuable strategy is to consider the suggestions for future research made in the articles you have read. Most scholarly articles contain a section called Discussion or Future Research. These sections may suggest research gaps. Scan for phrases like, "additional study is needed in..." or "a weakness of our study is..." or "the limitations of our study..." For example:

Vázquez-Rowe, I., Ita-Nagy, D., & Kahhat, R. (2021). Microplastics in fisheries and aquaculture: implications to food sustainability and safety. Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry, 29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsc.2021.100464

Advanced research projects

In upper-level research, especially when writing research papers for senior seminars, properly identifying a valuable research gap requires an even more exhaustive exploration of the literature on a given topic. In addition to the basic strategies mentioned above (critically reading previous scholarship and referring to previous scholars' suggested future research paths), some effective strategies to identify research gaps include:

Find seminal works: Many disciplines have acknowledged authorities, well-known scholars and publications that are widely considered “standard.” As you are researching, you will likely find references to these seminal works on your topic mentioned again and again in the scholarly articles you are reading. You may even find an article that says something like, "As XYZ says in their critically important study..." Don't depend on the summaries that other scholars have made of these seminal studies. Be sure to get a copy of the original work to read and analyze yourself. Also, understand that our understanding of issues evolves and, therefore, the authority of "seminal works" can and should be challenged.

Follow the research trail: When you identify a seminal work, use a tool like Web of Science or Google Scholar to find the scholars that cited that work in their study. Researchers call this citation mining. Read the titles and abstracts of these works to see what direction they took on your topic. That might eliminate a possible path or suggest new directions.

How can you find the articles that cited your seminal work? Watch these videos to learn how to use either Google Scholar or Web of Science to citation mine:

Citation mining in Google Scholar:

Citation mining using Web of Science

Web of Science is a library database. It can be found on the library databases page, under "Frequently used databases." It is a superior tool for citation mining.

Read meta-analyses, annotated bibliographies, literature reviews, and systematic reviews on your topic.  These types of papers provide a thorough overview of the previous research on the topic, as well as examining the trends and changes over a long period of time.

Some database make finding these types of resources easier. For example:

• In the PsycINFO and PsycARTICLES databases, you can select literature review, systematic review, and meta analysis under the Methodology section in the advanced search to quickly locate these.
• In CINAHL, you can select Systematic review under the Publication Type field in the advanced search.
• In Web of Science, check the box beside "Review Article" under the Document Type heading in the “Refine Results” sidebar to the right of the list of search hits.
• In Wiley Online, look for articles labeled "Review."

If the database you are searching does not offer a way to filter your results by document type, publication type, or methodology in the advanced search, you can include these phrases (“literature reviews,” "meta-analyses," or “systematic reviews”) in your search string.  For example, “micro-plastics” AND “literature reviews” could be a possible search that you could try.

Here is a video demonstrating how to find reviews in two multidisciplinary database, Web of Science and Wiley:

Demonstrate your research skills

Earn the Research Gap Identifier Credential

We have discussed strategies to effectively identify a research gap. Demonstrate you can implement these strategies by utilizing the tool below and submitting it at the link provided.

What is a research question?

Once you have done enough research to narrow your topic to something manageable, you are probably ready to formulate your research question. For college-level research, you will start out with a question, look at all the evidence and then draw a conclusion based on that evidence. Therefore, your research must begin with a research question that identifies what you are going to study.

In the arts and humanities, two common types of research papers are expository and argumentative papers. In an expository paper you develop an idea or critical "reading" of something, and then support your idea or "reading" with evidence. In an argumentative essay you propose an argument or a framework to engage in a dialog with and to refute an existing interpretation, and provide evidence to support your argument/interpretation, as well as evidence to refute an existing argument/interpretation. Expository research questions may seek to explain how specific examples of artistic expression or schools of thought function or fit within a given framework. Argumentative research questions often ask how artistic movements or schools of thought influence or are represented by specific visual or written expressions. Some examples include:

In the social sciences, a research question often asks how some issue, policy or event impacts/effects a group of people in a certain region or (historically) during a certain time period. Some examples include:

In the physical sciences, research questions typically explore the relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable. The dependent variable is the variable being tested. The independent variable is the variable you manipulate or vary in an experimental study to explore its effects on the dependent variable. Some example research questions include:

How do you formulate a research question?

To formulate your research question you might:

• Start with the topic that you have decided upon and then list all the questions that you'd like answered about it yourself. Brainstorm, alone or with another student, with a librarian or with your professor, on all the questions the topic raises in your mind.

• For beginning researchers, a good way to identify possible research questions is to look at previous studies on the topic. While reading the research studies, look for places where the authors of the studies mention "more research is needed" or "XYZ angle was not included in this study." These statements might indicate gaps in the current research.

• Another way to use existing studies is to identify a type of study that has been done on one population, but not another. For example, referring again to our microplastics research project, what if your preliminary research showed there have been many studies on the impact of microplastics on fishing yields in Asian countries, but few in Oceania? You might decide to study fishing yields in a country in that area of the world.

• A final way to use existing research studies to identify a research question is to look for indications of controversy. If numerous recent studies mention a particular angle of research on the topic is controversial, that indicates there is still a need for study on that angle.

What are the characteristics of a good research question?

Your classes will address in depth the characteristics of a good research question in your discipline. In the video below, we make a few generalizations about good research questions at the introductory level:

Demonstrate your research skills

Earn the Research Question Formulation Credential

We have discussed what is required to effectively define a research question. Demonstrate you can define a research question by utilizing the tool below and submitting it at the link provided.

The importance of focused research

Many beginning researchers believe, once they have their research question, they can start writing, using the sources they found during their exploratory research to support their claims. Certainly many of those sources will, indeed, be useful. But, exploratory research is not enough. Once you have a research question, you need to conduct additional, focused research. Why? Often, more focused research will help you:

• further define your research question and conceptualize specific terms;
• identify and operationalize your variables;
• suggest methodologies you might use to gather data.

Let's look at each of these ideas in the context of three research questions related to microplastics:

Humanities: How can fashion designers contribute to microfiber production?

Social sciences: What are consumers' attitudes towards laundry practices and the productions of microplastics?

Natural sciences: How does the inhalation of microplastics produced by clothes laundering impact lung capacity?

Conceptualization

Conceptualization is the process through which we specify what we mean when we use specific terms in research. Looking at the questions above, "fashion designers," "laundry practices" and "clothes laundering" are terms we may need to research further and conceptualize. What do you think of when you hear the phrase fashion designer? Luxury designers, like Versace or Louis Vuitton? Or do you think of fast fashion designers, like H & M? When you hear the term laundry practice, do you think of throwing your clothes in the washing machine? Or handwashing? Using powdered detergent or liquid? Or are you thinking of industrial, textile production and laundering? These details are important to define before you can design a methodology to collect data. Additionally, defining these terms will impact how you will conduct your focused research. Rather than using "fashion designer" as a keyword, as you might have done during your exploratory research, you will now focus your search on "luxury fashion designers" or "fast fashion designers" and perhaps search for the names of specific designers.

Operationalization

Operationalization is the process of turning abstract concepts into measurable observations. It allows the researcher to define their variables in a way that permits accurate measurement. To operationalize your research, you must think of the type of evidence you will gather. How will you know the impact of fast fashion on microplastics? Should you contrast company social media posts on their concern for the environment with statistics on how many microfibers their textiles produce? How will you measure people's attitudes towards laundry practices? Will you analyze consumer purchasing behavior? Ask them to rate their preferences/likely behaviors on a scale of 1-5? When studying laundry practices impact on lung capacity, how will you measure lung capacity?

Strategies for focused research

The same research strategies that served you well for exploratory research work for focused research. When doing focused research you should search using a variety of search terms; search in a variety of databases; and search for a variety of viewpoints. And, like exploratory research, focused research requires you to organize, categorize and ultimately synthesize your results. A research log, like the sample linked below, is essential during focused research.

Demonstrate your research skills

Earn the Focused Research Credential

We have discussed strategies to effectively conduct focused research. Demonstrate you can implement these strategies by submitting a completed Focused topic research log, at the link provided below.

Qualitative vs quantitative research methodology

The type of methodology you will use for your research depends greatly on your field of study. Biologists, economists, historians, literature scholars - they all have vastly different methods of gathering evidence that suit their fields. For now, it would help to understand that in some fields, especially the humanities and some social sciences (literature, history, religion etc), research is often "qualitative." Qualitative research focuses on relationships between people or texts. It seeks to to understand people's beliefs, experiences, attitudes, behavior, and interactions and describe them in a non-numeric way. For example, a scholar of literature might exam a wide body of medieval texts to answer the question: How was the LGBTQ+  community portrayed in the writings of a certain author. To answer that question, the scholar will examine a body of texts for all references to LGBTQ+ characters or interactions and how they were portrayed/perceived by other characters. They will then draw a conclusion based on that evidence on the perception of LGBTQ+ characters by that author in that time period.

Physical and social scientists (ex. biologists, psychologists, economists), in contrast, typically conduct quantitative research. Quantitative research emphasizes objective measurements and the statistical, mathematical, or numerical analysis of data collected through direct experiments, observation of subjects, polls, questionnaires, and surveys, or by manipulating preexisting statistical data using computational techniques. The goal in conducting quantitative research study is to determine the relationship between one thing [an independent variable] and another [a dependent or outcome variable] within a population. Quantitative research designs are either descriptive [subjects usually measured once] or experimental [subjects measured before and after a treatment]. A descriptive study establishes only associations between variables; an experimental study establishes causality.

Often, research uses mixed-methods, meaning it combines elements of both qualitative and quantitative research design.

Watch the brief video below for more information about qualitative, quantitative and mix-methods research design:

You will focus more on discipline-appropriate methodologies in your classes.

Babbie, Earl R. The Practice of Social Research. 12th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage, 2010; Brians, Craig Leonard et al. Empirical Political Analysis: Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods. 8th ed. Boston, MA: Longman, 2011; McNabb, David E. Research Methods in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches. 2nd ed. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2008; Quantitative Research Methods. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Singh, Kultar. Quantitative Social Research Methods. Los Angeles, CA: Sage, 2007.

Once you have done some preliminary reading on your topic and you have developed your research question, you are ready to form your thesis statement or hypothesis. Depending on your discipline, your thesis or hypothesis will have very specific requirements. You will learn about those requirements in your classes. Here, we will make a general introduction to the thesis or hypothesis statement.

What is the purpose of the thesis / hypothesis?

Either thesis or hypothesis is a roadmap for your research. A thesis should give your reader a clear indication of what you expect to argue and a hypothesis gives a clear indication of what you will test. What is the difference between a thesis and a hypothesis? When do you use a thesis versus when do you use a hypothesis? The following sections will answer these questions and give you some general guidelines for formulating a good thesis or hypothesis.

The thesis statement

A thesis statement may be seen in quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research.

A thesis statement is a short, direct sentence that summarizes the main point or claim of an essay or research paper. It is developed, supported, and explained in the body of the essay or research paper by means of examples and evidence.

A good thesis statement:

• is stated in declarative form.
• tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion.
• is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.
• directly answers the research question.
• makes a claim that others might dispute and that you will support with evidence.

The following is an example of a strong thesis statement in the context of the introduction paragraphs of a history paper:

Ritchie, Daniel. “War, Religion and Anti-Slavery Ideology: Isaac Nelson’s Radical Abolitionist Examination of the American Civil War.” Historical Research, vol. 89, no. 246, Nov. 2016,   pp. 799–823. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/1468-2281.12134.

The hypothesis

Hypotheses are typically used in quantitative research.

A hypothesis is a formal statement that predicts a measurable relationship between two or more variables. A well stated, researchable hypothesis:

• Is stated in declarative form
• Uses precise terminology and is stated as concisely as possible
• Aligns with the research question and problem statement and is consistent with known fact, previous research and theory
• Is testable
• Is a statement of relationship between variables

Types of variables:

To properly formulate a hypothesis, it is helpful to understand the different types of variables that it must operationalize:

--Dependent variable: the target organism; who or what is affected.
--Independent variable: who or what will affect the target organism; the variable the researcher will manipulate to see if it will make the dependent variable change.
--Control variable(s): variables that must be held constant to ensure that the independent variable is the only variable affecting the dependent variable.

Types of hypothesis

There are several types of hypotheses that you might formulate:

You have chosen a topic and conducted preliminary exploration on that topic and narrowed the focus of your research. Now, it is time to develop a research justification. 

What is a research justification?           

A research justification is a statement of the problem or the rationale of the study you are conducting. This is also referred to as the justification of the study. Research justifications explain the importance of your research and why you are investigating your study. For you to be able to elucidate the significance of your research is important. You will need to provide valid arguments with specific justifications relating to:

• the elimination of a research gap in the literature
• the solution to a specific problem

When writing your research justification, you can focus on 'eliminations' of gaps in research and 'solutions' to problems to argue the significance of your study. 

Demonstrate your research skills

Earn the Research Justification Credential

We have discussed the requirements to effectively write a research justification. Demonstrate you can write a research justification by submitting one you have written for your research here at Centre using the link provided.

What is a research plan?

A research plan is a framework that shows how you intend to approach your topic. A research plan is not a research proposal. A research proposal a structured, formal document that explains what you plan to research (i.e. your research topic), why it’s worth researching (i.e. your justification), and how you plan to investigate it (i.e. your research methodology). A research proposal is often required when writing a dissertation or applying for a grant.

A research plan may eventually include all the parts of a research proposal, but a research plan is a more informal, personal document with the purpose of helping you identify the required stages of your research process, so that you use your time wisely and don't neglect important areas of research.. It is a document that will change and develop as you conduct your research. There isn't a specific structure every research plan must use. As you become a more and more experienced researcher, you will identify what helps you plan a research project. The planning document you create is your personal reference and roadmap to help you stay organized and make sure you don't forget any part of your assignment/research project. Yours may look different from your peers, but the research plan is for your reference.

How do you develop a research plan?

There are several components of a research plan:

1. Identify the project requirements - for an academic paper, these requirements might include number of pages or number and types of sources. Different research projects will have different requirements, but all research is done for a purpose and having a clear understanding of that purpose and its requirements is the first step of creating a research plan.

2. Identify when will brainstorm topic ideas and what resources will you use.

3. Identify when you will explore your topic and what resources will you use.

4. Identify when you will gather primary source data and what resources will you will need. Will you need access to archival materials such as letters, diaries, or personal papers? Will you be able to access these materials in our library? Online? Will they be in a language you can read? Will you have enough time to review them once you obtain them? Will you need to conduct surveys, interviews or observations? Will you be able find and engage with appropriate subjects? Will you need IRB to use human or animal subjects? Will you need physical, chemical, genetic materials to experiment on and equipment to conduct the experiments? Can you access these materials and equipment? What notes must you keep on your experiments so that another researcher can replicate your results? Will you need datasets? Can you obtain them through open sources (ex the US census) or through our databases (ex. Statista or Social Explorer)? What methodology will you use to gather and examine your data?

5. Identify when you will gather secondary sources and what resources will you use. Centre has hundreds of databases. How will you know which are the best for your topic? Can you consult a research guide or a librarian?

6. Decide how will you keep track of and organize your data and sources. Will you use note cards, a chart, a notebook, Zotero?

7. Decide how will you assess your progress. How will you know you have enough primary and secondary sources? How will you know you have the right primary and secondary sources? How will you ensure you are finding diverse voices and perspectives?

Tips for creating a research plan

When you start a research project, start a research log dedicated to that project. Initially, it will be an evolving record of your ideas as you brainstorm topics. Write down all the possibilities/terms you encounter that might be interesting. One/some of these might evolve into a fruitful research problem and question. Cultivate the attitude that research is an idea-generation process and record all your ideas without dismissing any before exploring them at least a bit.

As you develop your topic and research question, give careful thought to the types of primary sources you'll need. Consult experts (your professor and librarians) regarding the availability of such sources.