022_Selecting a Research Topic英美概况——纵览·博闻.pdf

College English for Academic Writing Selecting a Research Topic Introduction • General Principles • Steps in Research Topic Selection • Additional Tips • Practice General Principles • Choose a topic that is: – Interesting to you and to your readers; – Meaningful, having academic and practical appeal; – Manageable, given your time, energy and expertise. Steps in Research Topic Selection • Step 1: Brainstorm to get research topic ideas. – What do you know about a topic that might interest you and your readers? – Can you find enough reading materials or someone who is an expert on the topic? – Is there any theory related to the topic? – Are you able to approach the topic from different perspectives? – Do people have different opinions on the issues involved? Steps in Research Topic Selection • Step 2: Read general background information. – Start from encyclopedias or Wikipedia, or from textbooks. – Browse through the titles and abstracts of articles in the academic journals of a specific subject. – Formulate a few broad topics to work on. Steps in Research Topic Selection • Step 3: Focus in on your topic. – Theoretical approach: Cloning  Examine the theories surrounding the high rate of failures in animal cloning. – Aspect or sub-area: Human cloning  Investigate government regulation of cloning. – Time: Genetics  Contrast public attitudes in the 1950s versus the 1990s. – Population group: Genetics  Examine specific traits as they affect women over 40 years of age. – Geographical location: Cloning  Investigate cloning practices in Europe or the Middle East. Steps in Research Topic Selection • Step 4: Make a list of useful key words. –