Ideas for topics:
Search terms, sometimes called keywords, are used in the databases to help you find articles about your topic. You have to use single words and short phrases instead of the entire topic statement. Here is how to choose search terms:
1.) Write out your topic statement
2.) Pull out the main concepts
Take your topic statement and circle the main concepts. The circled words will be your search terms.
3.) Brainstorm synonyms
Think of some synonyms for each search term. These will be helpful later in the databases to expand your search.
Thinking about the questions below will help you if your topic is too broad.
Broad topic example: Sleep habits
Questions to Consider:
Take some or all of these questions to form your topic statement:
PSY105: Introduction to Psychology by Diana Hellyar is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License unless otherwise noted.
This guide has been edited, updated and adapted in January 2024 from the original as cited above by Lauren St. Pierre and retains a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License unless otherwise noted.
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