Research Support Services

“Which one should I start with: finding a topic, researching a topic, or both?”

How did you answer the above question? Do you spend most of your efforts actually researching a topic, or do you spend a lot of time and energy finding a topic? Ideally, you’ll want to spend fairly equal amounts of effort on both. Finding an appropriate and manageable topic can sometimes be just as hard as researching a topic.

A good research topic will have a body of related research which is accessible and manageable. Identifying a topic with these characteristics at the beginning of the research process will ultimately save you time.

Finding a research topic that is interesting, relevant, feasible, and worthy of your time may take substantial effort so you should be prepared to invest your time accordingly. Considering your options, doing some background work on each option, and ultimately settling on a topic that is manageable will spare you many of the frustrations that come from attempting research on a topic that, for whatever reason, may not be appropriate.

Remember that as you are searching for a research topic you will need to be able to find enough information about your topic(s) in a book or scholarly journal. If you can only find information about your topic(s) in current event sources (newspapers, magazines, etc.) then the topic might be too new to have a large body of published scholarly information. If this is the case, you may want to reconsider the topic(s).

So how do you find a research topic? Unfortunately there’s no directory of topics that you pick and choose from, but there are a few relatively easy techniques that you can use to find a relevant and manageable topic. A good starting point can be used for Finding a Research Topic based on FRIENDS Framework below.

Checklist for Determining Information Needs 🗹

• Clarity: Do you fully understand the topic?
• Relevance: Is the topic significant in your field?
• Depth: Can you find enough material to explore the topic comprehensively?
• Originality: Does it fill a gap or approach the subject uniquely?
• Practicality: Can the research be conducted within your constraints?

Primary & Secondary Sources:

Primary materials include firsthand information, which means you’re reading the author’s description of a certain topic or event in which he or she participated. Primary resources include scholarly study articles, books, and diaries. Primary sources, such as research publications, frequently lack in-depth explanations of terminology and theoretical assumptions. Readers of primary scholarly material should have a solid understanding of the topic matter. Use primary sources to get a firsthand description of an actual event and find original research in an area. Many of your papers will require primary sources.

Examples of primary sources are:

Original materials include journals, speeches, manuscripts, letters, interviews, records, eyewitness reports, and autobiographies.
Empirical scientific works, including research articles and clinical. Search source via DMS|OPAC

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Secondary sources describe, summarize, or discuss facts or details that were previously published in another source; in most situations, the author did not attend the event. This type of material is intended for a wide readership and will include definitions of discipline-specific words, historical context, significant theories and concepts, and summaries of major studies/events relevant to the topic. Secondary sources can be used to provide a summary of a topic and/or to find primary resources. Unless there is a compelling justification, do not include such sources in an annotated bibliography for doctoral-level work.

Examples of secondary sources are:

Publications such as textbooks, magazine articles, book reviews, commentaries, encyclopedias, and almanacs. Search source via Ezproxy|UTM-IR|UTM Open Science|UTM OPEN E-JOURNALS|Libmast|Open Access Initiatives

Searching strategies for a research topic are deliberate methods designed to efficiently identify and retrieve relevant information from various databases, journals, books, and other sources. A well-defined strategy ensures thoroughness and relevance in the search process. Developing effective search strategies is crucial for conducting thorough and efficient research. Here are some searching strategies that can be used:

• Phrase Searching: Use quotation marks [ ”     ” ] to search for exact phrases.
  👉🏼 “information literacy“

   

• Boolean Operators: Combine keywords with AND, OR, NOT to narrow or broaden your search.
  AND: Finds information containing both terms.
  👉🏼 “information literacy” AND “knowledge of information”
  OR: Finds information either term.
  👉🏼 “information literacy” OR “knowledge of information”
  NOT: Exludes specific terms from search results by returning items that contain the first choice term but not the second term.
  👉🏼 “information literacy” NOT “knowledge of information”

   

• Truncation and Wildcards:
  Truncation: Use an asterisk [ * ] to search for multiple endings of a word.
  👉🏼enviro* for environment, environmental, enviromentally
  Wildcard: Wildcards allow you to search for variations in spelling or singular/plural forms.
  Asterisk [ * ]: Represent zero or more characters.
  👉🏼comput* for computer, computing, computational & etc.
  Question mark [ ? ]: Represent exactly one character.
  👉🏼col?r for color or colour.
  Hash [ # ]: Represents a specific number of characthers.
  👉🏼neighb#r matches neighbor or neighbour.

   

• Field Searching: Specify where to search within a database, such as title, abstract, or author fields
  Title Search:
  👉🏼”artificial intelligence”: Searches for the exact phrase “artificial intelligence” in the title of the article.
  Author Search:
  👉🏼“Garcia, Maria”: Searches for articles authored by Maria Garcia.
  Abstract Search:
  👉🏼“sustainable development”: Searches for the exact phrase “sustainable development” in the abstract of the article.
  Subject Search:
  👉🏼“renewable energy”: Searches for the exact phrase “renewable energy” in the subject headings.
  Publication Search:
  👉🏼“Journal of Climate”: Searches for articles published in the “Journal of Climate”.

   

• Limiters: Use database features to limit results by publication date/year, language, document type, etc.

*To save time and keep your searching strategically, you can use this search log as a tool to keep you on track with your work. Download and save it via Search Log.

A literature review is “a summary of what the scientific literature says about your specific topic or question.” A literature review often organizes references based on subject matter, theory type, technique design, and so on. A literature review is much more exploratory than an annotated bibliography, and it must bring together information from several sources to produce a single, cohesive picture of the subject field.

Literature Gap and Future Research

The gap is the area that is yet to be researched or is not sufficiently explored in the study literature. It is sometimes referred to as the missing component or pieces. The population or sample (size, type, location, etc.), research methodology, data collecting and/or analysis, and other research factors or conditions could all be examples of this.

It is crucial to remember, nevertheless, that merely because you find a research gap does not imply that your research question merits further investigation. Make sure that the theoretical and/or practical ramifications of your research will be worthwhile. Stated differently, addressing the research topic could either modify, expand upon, or develop theoretical frameworks that influence research design, or it could enhance current practice.