SCD 432: Student Teaching Seminar (Pelkowski)

Invest in the process: Effective research writing relies on curiosity and fluidity. Research and writing are iterative and symbiotic processes: you will move between them as you explore and showcase your topic. Your goal is to choose or narrow the topic and identify the lens through which you and your reader understand it. The key is finding a way to look at your topic that is interesting to you. 

Consider the scope of the assignment: To begin focusing your topic, you will need to consider your initial perspective and existing knowledge. Ask yourself or discuss with a peer: 

• What do I already know about my topic?

• What interests me about this topic?

• What do I want to know about this topic? 

Consider the following questions as you brainstorm:

• What academic concerns are you considering for your topic?

• What do you already know about each of these areas?

• What gaps in knowledge do you need to fill in?

Use your preferred format brainstorming sheet to think it through.

1. Extract single keywords or short phrases.

Leave out articles ("a," "an," and "the"), prepositions or verb phrases (like "on," "in," "going to"), verbs (action words), and both adverbs and adjectives (descriptive words) when selecting keywords.  Instead, focus on the nouns in your sentence.

It's important to note that you do not want to use complete sentences when you start searching for sources.  Catalogs and databases struggle to identify relevant terms from full sentences, which is why you have to isolate those words in advance.

2. Experiment with synonyms.

Try to think of other words that have the same meaning as your keywords.  For example, if you started with the phrase "global warming," you might also want to try searching for "climate change."  An online or print thesaurus can help identify useful synonyms.

3. Brainstorm related terms or subtopics.

It helps to think of other words and phrases that relate to your topic.  This can be especially helpful if you are having trouble identifying good keywords or if you need to refine your research focus.  For example, if your initial topic was global warming, you might want to consider searching "acid rain," "air pollution," or "biodiversity."  Related terms are often more specific or less specific than your initial search terms.  Each combination will change the number, type, and relevance of your search results.