Unit 3: Defining a Research Topic

Lesson 2: State your Topic as a Question


Once you have selected a topic to research, ask yourself what exactly you want to find out about that topic. To do this, restate your topic as a question.

Stating your topic as a question will help you manage your ideas, clarify your approach, and narrow your focus. In fact, posing more than one question about your topic will give you several options.

Let’s say you have selected drinking and driving as your topic. Asking the following questions helps focus this topic.

How does drinking affect driving?

What are the laws on drinking and driving?

What are the statistics on drinking and driving?

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