A good topic idea can from almost anywhere... personal experiences,
suggestions from friends and classmates, your textbook, a television
show, you name it! Just be sure you are truly interested in the topic
and try to use the experience to learn something new - something that
might be useful to you in your life.
If you are having trouble coming up with something, here are some good places to look around for topic ideas:
Depending on what you already know about the topic you choose, you may or may not need to gather some background information. Background information usually provides an overview of a broad topic and can help you form a better, narrower idea of what you want to research. This kind of information is generally found in encyclopedia and other reference books. Know the fastest and easiest way to find background information? Ask a reference librarian!
What do you want to know? "To Research" means to find out about something; you must first ask a question in order to discover or develop any idea. Starting with a good question will give you a tremendous advantage in research and writing. A very common research problem is beginning with the answer before asking the question. A research question is not the same as a thesis statement. In other words, a research question is an open-ended beginning not an endpoint. Examples of good research questions include:
