Selecting a Focus
When selecting your research topic, choose something that you are really interested in; it has to sustain your interest for a semester. Working out a topic that has potential for research needs careful consideration. A topic that is too broad will blow out - remember you have approximately a term to complete the research phase of this subject. A topic that is too narrow will be difficult to explore.
In this planning stage, the main goal is choose and topic and narrow your thinking to a specific point of research. For instance:
Activity 1: Brainstorming
Look at this PowerPoint to generate some ideas about your possible topic. Record your ideas on a word document, a piece of paper or through another program of your choosing.
![](http://www.weebly.com/weebly/images/file_icons/xls.png)
where_do_i_start_presentation.pptx |
Activity 2: Construct a way to showcase your thinking
Now that you have come up with some possible topics of interest, it is time to explore potential points of research within these topic. What is it about these broad ideas that you are really interested in? What could some possible points of research be?
To do well in this subject, you will need to show your thinking in some way, shape or form as you are collecting NATURAL EVIDENCE of your thinking. Expanding on your brainstorm ideas helps to break down these ideas further. It MIGHT be be useful to think about what you already know, and what you want to find out.
Your brainstorm expansion can be an electronic document OR a hand-drawn one (just don't lose it).
To do well in this subject, you will need to show your thinking in some way, shape or form as you are collecting NATURAL EVIDENCE of your thinking. Expanding on your brainstorm ideas helps to break down these ideas further. It MIGHT be be useful to think about what you already know, and what you want to find out.
Your brainstorm expansion can be an electronic document OR a hand-drawn one (just don't lose it).