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Unit 4: Search Methods
Lesson 3: Broaden Your Topic
Finding little to no information on a particular topic means your topic is too narrow. You need to broaden your topic.
How Do You Broaden a Topic?
Broaden your topic by thinking more generally. Select more general keywords, or omit the keywords that overly specify your research question.
To broaden the narrow topic, “the effects of teenage drinking and driving in Florida during the 1990s,” eliminate one or more of the topic’s specifications or keywords.
- What are the effects of teenage drinking and driving in Florida? Removed: 1990s
- What are the effects of drinking and driving in Florida? Removed: teenage and 1990s
- What are the effects of drinking and driving? Removed: Florida, teenage, and 1990s
Remember: a topic is occasionally so new that published resources do not yet exist.