SOC 388: Sociology of the Family in America (Elizabeth Dingler)

A topic is a general inquiry you are interested in answering. It is not a statement, but a question. 

Examples: Are same-sex parents as effective at raising children as heterosexual parents? How does the incarceration of a parent affect a child's concept of family? How has the concept of childhood changed, and what is its impact on current day society?

 Steps to formulate a topic:

Read your assignment and note any requirements.

• Is there a required page length?
• How many sources do you need?
• Does the paper have to be in a specific format like APA?
• Are there any listed goals for the topic, such as synthesizing different opinions, or applying a theory to a real-life example?

Formulate a general idea.

• Look at your syllabus or course schedule for broad topic ideas.
• Think about reading assignments or class lectures that you found interesting.
• Talk with your professor or a librarian. 
• Check out social media and see what has been trending that is related to your course. 
• Read and watch the news to see if there is anything going on related to your course. 

Do some background research on your general idea.

• Read an encyclopedia entry.
• See what your course notes and textbook say about the subject.
• Google it.
  • Here is a video on how to Search Google Effectively 

Mind map it.

• Video on how to do a mind map. 

Write out your topic question & reread the assignment criteria.

• Have you Defined Your Topic?
• Can you answer your question well in the number of pages required? 
• Does your topic still meet the requirements of the paper? Ex: is the question still about the sociology of the American family?
• Is the topic too narrow to find research? 

The following tutorial from Forsyth Library will walk you through the process of defining your topic.