Picking an Effective Research Topic


Narrowing, Broadening, & Revising

Please watch the following 3-minute video for an illustration of the often challenging process of developing an effective research topic that is not too broad or too narrow.

  • Pay particular attention to the concept of a cyclical, rather than linear process for choosing a research topic.
  • After viewing the video, you should have a much better idea of how to choose an appropriate research topic, and also how to narrow or broaden the topic based on initial background research.

Additional viewing options: Turn on closed captions with the "CC" button, or use the text transcript Links to an external site. if you prefer to read.


Citations & Attributions

"Picking Your Topic IS Research! Links to an external site." by NCSU Libraries Links to an external site. is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 Links to an external site.