Questions to Ask Yourself

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QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

What do you already know about your subject?

What aspects of this topic interest you?
Where would you go to find out more?
How long has your subject existed? Is it a relatively new concept?

If your topic has been around for a long time (e.g., Shakespeare's plays), there tends to be more information published about it. But, if the topic is very new (e.g., nanotechnology), there may not be as much.

What broad discipline* does your topic fall into and how are you viewing your topic?

Thinking about the discipline will help you identify resources - plus, you may want to think about how you want to approach your topic (e.g., from a Sociological aspect? Political aspect? Historical aspect?

What kinds of resources would be useful for this paper/project?

Newspapers? (for current or contemporary first accounts?)

Magazine articles? (for popular viewpoints)or Journal articles? (for scholarly materials)

Books? (e.g., reference books for facts/statistics or in-depth studies)

Primary Resources? (e.g., letters, diaries, first-hand accounts, interviews - see Research Guide: Primary Sources for more information)

Government Documents?
Keep the following in mind:

How long do you have to do this paper/project?

How long does the paper/project need to be?

* A discipline is an area of study or branch of learning and often coincides with academic departments (e.g., History, English, Engineering, Biology, etc.).

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