GS 113 A: Narrow Your Topic

1. Develop a working knowledge of the broad subject
2. Narrow your topic to fit the assignment
3. Develop your research question
4. Define the keywords or phrases for your question
   
1. Also define synonyms and related terms
   
5. Select the best e-resource to use
   
6. Construct a search statement
1. Use boolean operators and special search characters
   
7. Use limiters to refine your search
   
8. Evaluate your results to find the best information
   
9. Organize your sources
   
1. RefWorks
   
10. Summarize each article or chapter
    

The two documents here are tools to help you organize your thoughts when trying to refine a topic.

• After you have gotten your "working knowledge" from several reference articles on your subject
• Use whichever of these tools works best for you to refine your topic down to a managble level for a 10 page paper.