
Depending on your field of study, some topics may require more time than others due to their complexity or scope.Īdditionally, if you plan on collaborating with other researchers or institutions in order to complete your project, additional considerations must be taken into account such as coordinating schedules and ensuring that all parties involved have adequate resources available. When considering a research topic, you should think about how much time will be required for completion. Of course, when you start out, you are not expected to be the world’s leading expert, but do should at least have some foundational knowledge. When evaluating the feasibility and practicality of a research topic, it is important to consider several factors.įirst, you should assess whether or not the research topic is within your area of competence. Once you’ve identified these sources, it’s time to look for a gap in the research and determine what new knowledge could be gained from further study. Consider factors such as author credibility (are they an expert in their field?), publication date (is the source current?), objectivity (does the author present both sides of an issue?) and relevance (how closely does this source relate to my specific topic?).īy researching the current literature on your topic, you can identify potential sources that will help to provide quality information. Once you’ve identified potential sources for your research project, take some time to evaluate them thoroughly before deciding which ones will best serve your purpose. However, be sure to evaluate any website before citing it as a source-look for evidence of authorship (such as an “About Us” page) and make sure the content is up-to-date and accurate before relying on it. You can also use search engines like Google or Bing to locate websites with useful information about your topic.

When searching for relevant sources, it’s important to look beyond just published material try using online databases such as Google Scholar or JSTOR to find articles from reputable journals that have been peer-reviewed by experts in the field. Additionally, they may contain data or statistics that can help support your argument or conclusions. These sources can provide reliable information on a wide range of topics. To do this, you should start by researching scholarly journals, books, and other academic publications related to your topic. Simply put, a key difference between a research topic and a research problem is scope the research topic provides an umbrella under which multiple questions can be asked, while the research problem focuses on one specific question or set of questions within that larger context.įinding quality sources is an essential step in the topic ideation process. What interventions have been successful in reducing teenage pregnancies?.How do different types of parenting styles affect teen pregnancy rates?.What factors contribute to higher rates of teenage pregnancy in certain communities?.

Within this broad category (the research topic) lies potential areas of inquiry that can be explored further – these become the research problems. This research topic could encompass any number of issues related to teenage pregnancy such as causes, prevention strategies, health outcomes for mothers and babies, etc.

To illustrate this distinction, consider a student who has chosen “teenage pregnancy in the United Kingdom” as their research topic.

A research topic is a broader label that indicates the focus of the study, while a research problem is an issue or gap in knowledge within the broader field that needs to be addressed. A research topic and a research problem are two distinct concepts that are often confused.
