General Guide to Library Research

A good paper or project usually comes from a topic that interests you:  

• Think about things you've seen on social media or the news. 

  • Can you turn one into a research topic?

• Look through class readings. Which do you find interesting? 

• Think about topics that are discussed in your major. 

• Talk to your professor, classmates, or a librarian.  

• Do some quick searches in Google to test out and refine any ideas you have.  

Focused on a specific major, industry or occupation?

It can be helpful to start your research by asking yourself questions like:

• What are people in this field talking about right now? What are the hot ideas? 

• What concerns do people in this field have? What problem am I trying to solve?

• Are there areas of improvement or opportunity for this field, business or industry? What are they? 

Mind mapping is a technique to explore different angles on your topic.

You can make your own mind map on paper or use a tool to create one.

Below is an example of what a mind-map might look like, with the main topic in the center and subtopics surrounding it:

If you want to use an online tool to help with mind mapping, here are some options. Many others are available if you search on the web: