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Thesis and Essay Writing

Understanding Your Assignment

Understanding the requirement is the first step. 

  • Read the requirement/instruction of your assignment.  
    • Assignment type (e.g. speech, thesis, essay, or research paper) 
    • The purpose of the assignment (e.g. persuasive, analytical, literature review, or comparison/contrast paper)
    • The length/size of the assignment (e.g. the length of the paper, or the depth of the project)
    • Specific types and numbers of references/sources needed (e.g. news articles, scholarly articles, visuals, or books) 
  • Refresh your knowledge of the course by reviewing the lecture notes.
  • Consult your instructor if something is unclear to you.

Initial Scoping Search

Choosing an interesting topic for your research:

  • Idea Generator - Pick an idea that interests you using the idea generator.   
  • Research Project Topic Idea Generator - This site can help you identify some research topics for your project.
  • ProCon.org - Facts, news, and thousands of diverse opinions on controversial issues in a pro-con format.
  • Google News or Yahoo News - A search on Google or Yahoo news will show you the topics that are currently being discussed.
  • Your subject guide - Conduct a search by using your keywords on databases from the guide. 

Prepare a list of initial keywords and search terms from your proposed topic. e.g. if you wish to research cybercrime, the next step is:

  • Narrow down your topic (e.g. cyberbullying and teenagers)
  • Add a clarification term to focus on the topic (e.g. cyberbullying in social media among teenagers)
  • Create a search strategy using synonyms (e.g. cyberbullying or cyberharassment; teenager or youth or youngster or adolescent)
Cyberbullying Teenager Social Media
cyberharassment youth social network
online bullying adolescent  

  • Does anyone else work in the same area? 

  •  Are there any key authors or journals?

  • Are there any other suitable keywords & search terms for a comprehensive literature search?

  • Can you identify gaps in existing research and refine your research question?

  • Do you need to narrow the scope of your research or impose other limitations on it?

  • What are the implications of carrying out this research?   How will it influence society?

  • Write a summary of your findings - key papers, authors, and journals.

  • Discuss them with your supervisor. With this discussion, a more specific research question for your project can be identified.

  • Look at the methodologies used in the papers you selected. Do you need to learn more about these techniques? 

  • Evaluate the results of your initial scoping search - can you identify a broader range of more relevant keywords? Is it necessary to narrow your search based on various factors, e.g. date, language, geography? Have you determined key authors or journals? 

Refine Your Topic

  • Make sure your topic is manageable. 
    • Doing background reading can help you determine the scope of your topic. 
      • Britannica Academic - Britannica Academic is a consolidated searchable collection of authoritative references, including Encyclopedia Britannica brief articles, Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary with a thesaurus, magazines, periodicals, images, videos, websites, and the Britannica book of the year.
      • Gale's Topic Finder - Topics are displayed in a wheel or tile format. You will find more subtopics to explore by clicking on a term. There is a pane on the right side of the screen that updates with each new topic to provide you with information about that particular subject.
    • Focus on a manageable topic and avoid overwhelming information.
  • Using the 5 Ws to refine your topic:
    • WHY did you choose this topic?  Why is it important to you?  What are your thoughts on these matters?
    • WHO are the information providers regarding this topic?  Who may publish information about it?  Who are the affected parties?  Are there organizations or institutions associated with the topic?
    • WHAT are the primary questions concerning the topic?  Are there debates on the topic?  Is there a variety of issues and perspectives that must be considered?
    • WHERE is your topic important: at the local, national or international level?  Which regions are affected by the topic?
    • WHEN is or was the topic significant?  Did it take place recently or in the past?  What time periods do you wish to compare?

    • Fill in the blanks in the following sentence: 

      I want to research ______(what/who)

      and ______(what/who)

      in ______(where)

      during ______(when)

      because _____(why)