How to Select the Best Topics for Research Papers: an Effective Guide

Choosing a good topic for your paper is not an easy thing to do. You might be provided with a list of topics to choose from, but in most cases, you need to find one by yourself.

1. Select an interesting topic area.

   The research process can be rather difficult and time-consuming, but working on a topic that interests you can make it more enjoyable and easy.

2. Make the idea more specific.

   If the topic is too narrow, you may find no information on it; vice versa, the broader your topic is, the greater amount of information you will get. It will be extremely hard for you to analyze all of it. You need to find a balance.

3. Create associations.

   You want your topic to be connected, for example, with psychology. Think of some words that are associated with it: disorders, personality, relations, emotions, love, complexes, manipulation, generation gap, parapsychology, dreams, etc. Now, you have plenty of ideas to generate a number of topics, like:

   • Psychology of love
   • Manipulation of the human mind
   • How colors affect our moods?
   • Phenomenology of jealousy
   • Disappointment in love: a phenomenological analysis”
   • Telepathy: myth or fact
   • Dream interpretations
4. Search for some sources.

   As soon as your research area is clear, you need to get some information that will help you develop your topic. Go to the library and find some books or periodicals connected to your subject. Encyclopedia articles can be of great use, as you can get a general description of the topic and find keywords correlating with it. Use the Internet to get the information you need.

5. Find a question to your answer.

   The next step is to create a research question. What do you want to investigate?

   For example, if you have chosen adolescent psychology as a topic area, then the question may be “What makes a student cool or uncool?”. So your topic may sound like

   “The concept of being cool: its origin and influence on teenage life”.

   If you are curious about psychological disorders, you may want to investigate how they affect human’s lives, their families, and careers.

   An example of the topic is “Mental disorders: the impact on everyday life.”

6. Adjust the topic.

   When you have a concrete topic, you can finally start your own research. Soon, you will become more familiar with the subject. It is quite normal that after a while, you may need to readjust your topic to the information you have found.

7. Seek you instructor’s advice.

   If you cannot decide which topic to choose, you may consult your instructor.