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Your topic
- Don’t be too specific
- Keep this in mind for your working hypothesis:
- broad enough to promise a variety of resources
- narrow enough for you to research in depth
- original enough to interest you and your readers
- worthwhile enough to offer information and insights of substance
- "do-able", meaning sources are available to complete your research (in the time allotted to you)
- Revise your focus as you work
- Expand the scope as you search back – if you aren’t finding relevant materials.
- Don’t commit too soon to any one hypothesis. Use it as a first step that will take you to new information that may inspire you to revise. Be flexible.
- Give yourself time to explore possibilities.
- It is more a spiraling or iterative activity than a linear one.
