This guide contains links to the most used business resources at the Stephen B. Luce Library.
Narrowing Your Topic
Choosing a Specific Topic in Three Steps
1. Choose any topic or topics in the universe. - "e.g., something about mergers and acquisitions"
2. Be a little more specific about your topic. - "e.g., advantages versus disadvantages of leveraged buyouts"
3. Be a lot more specific about your topic - "e.g., Marvel Entertainment from leveraged buyout to bankruptcy to $4 billion valuation"
4. Repeat these three steps three or more times to give yourself a few examples of topics to choose from. When you have a few examples, choose the topic that you feel meets your course requirements, the needs of your intended (or imagined) audience, and/or has the most relevant source material to support it. .
Once you feel terrifically solid about the topic you have chosen, you are ready to Narrow Down Your Topic. Always remember that you can go back to research at any time of your writing process.
Narrowing Down in a Few Steps
During the first three steps, you chose a topic. For some, this topic may seem like it's ready to be written about, but the level of precision required in the context of academic writing requires writer-researcher to go through a few additional steps.
In other words, many articles have already been written that describe various aspects of organic matter decomposition, so we must narrow down our chosen topic so that we can focus our research efforts on a more precise question or thesis statement.
Narrowing a Topic in Three Steps, Starting from a Topic that Was Selected Using the Three-Step Choosing a Topic Process.
1) Make one or two more words more specific.
In this case, we replaced the word "buyout" with takeover and replaced "bankruptcy" with reorganization to make the topic we wish to write about as precise and as specific as possible.
2) OK, we've added a few words to make the topic more specific. Now turn the topic into a complete sentence that actually makes a statement.
3) Make the sentence as precise and arguable as possible.
Source: Neil Cunningham Sophia Learning - Retrieved 3/12/20
Tips for Article Searching
Organizing Strategy - Creating An Outline
Outlines are tools used to organize written ideas about a topic or thesis into a logical order. Outlines arrange major topics, subtopics, and supporting details. Writers use outlines when writing their papers in order to know which topic to cover and in what order. Outlines for papers can be very general or very detailed.
The most common type of outline is an alphanumeric outline, or an outline that uses letters and numbers in the following order:
I. Roman Numerals
A. I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, etc.
B. Represent main ideas to be covered in the paper in the order they will be presented
II. Uppercase Letters
A. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, etc.
B. Represent subtopics within each main idea
III. Arabic Numbers
A. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, etc.
B. Represent details or subdivisions within subtopics
IV. Lowercase Letters
A. a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, l, m, etc.
B. Represent details within subdivisions
Outline with main ideas, subtopics, subdivisions and details:
Thesis: Drugs should be legalized.
I. Legalization of drugs would reduce crime rates
A. Prohibition
1. Before Prohibition, crime rate related to alcohol were low-to-medium
2. During Prohibition, crime rates related to alcohol were high
a. Arrests for drunkenness and disorderly conduct increase 41%
b. Federal prison population increased 366%
3. After Prohibition, crime rates related to alcohol were very low
B. Amsterdam/Netherlands
1. Before Amsterdam had legalized marijuana, drug-related crime rates were high
2. After Amsterdam had legalized marijuana, drug-related crime rates dropped
II. Legalization of drugs would benefit the economy
A. Taxes
1. Local taxes
2. State taxes
3. Federal taxes
B. Business Owners
1. Drug production
2. Drug quality testing
3. Drug sales
III. Legalization of drugs would benefit public health
A. Quality of drugs would increase
1. Fake/dangerous drugs eliminated
2. Fake/placebo drugs eliminated
3. Amount of active ingredient standardized and stabilized
B. Drug users with addiction issues would get more help
1. Hospitals
2. Clinics
3. Public health clinics
C. Your people would be less likely to start drugs
Full-sentence outline:
Example of a full-sentence outline:
Warming Our World and Chilling Our Future
Thesis Statement: Today I want to share what I have learned about global warming and its causes.
I. Global warming is alive and well and thriving in Antarctica.
A. In winter 1995, an iceberg the size of Rhode Island broke off.
B. In October 1998, an iceberg the size of Delaware broke off.
C. All of us have a lot at stake.
1. Now, I am what you call a “country mouse.”
2. I love the outdoors.
3. You can be a “city mouse,” and like clean air, good water, and not having to worry about sun.
D. Today I want to share what I have learned about global warming and its causes.
II. Global warming is a gradual warming of the Earth from human activities (citation).
A. It is characterized by a high concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
1. Each year five tons of CO2 are pumped into the atmosphere (citation).
2. The carbon dioxide traps heat.
3. 1998 set temperature records (citation).
B. Carbon pollutants also eat a hole in the ozone layer (citation).
1. In 1998 this hole set a size record.
2. This allows more ultraviolet radiation to reach Earth.
C. If this problem is not corrected; we may see disastrous results (citation).
1. There could be dramatic climate changes.
a. There could be drought in the middle of continents.
b. There could be many severe storms.
c. There could be rising sea levels that would destroy coastal areas.
2. There could be serious health problems.
a. There could be an increase in skin cancer.
b. There could be an increase in cataracts.
c. There could be damaged immune systems.
D. Now that you understand what global warming is and why it is important, let’s examine its major causes.
III. The loss of woodlands adds to global warming (citation).
…..
IV. Industrial emissions accelerate global warming (citation).
…..
V. Personal energy consumption magnifies global warming (citation).
…..
VI. In conclusion, if you want to know why we have global warming, listen for the falling trees, watch the industrial smokestacks darkening the sky, and smell the exhaust fumes we are pumping into the air.
A. Gore told a story on how global warming can sneak up on us.
B. Addressing the National Academy of Sciences, the vice president said, “If dropped into a pot of boiling water….”
C. The more we know about global warming, the more likely we are to jump and the less likely we are to be cooked.
What does a good outline look like? Phan, Anna, Rasmussen College LibAnswers , accessed 3/12/2020
Analyzing Keywords and Key Phrases
Search databases using keywords, such as concepts or subject phrases, that are linked together by and, or, not used to identify articles and sources. Once you have identified your topic, selecting your keywords is pretty simple.
|
Concepts |
women |
fashion magazines |
anorexia |
|
Related terms: |
woman |
fashion models |
bulimia |
|
|
female |
modeling industry |
eating disorders |
3. Create your search by combining your keywords using and, or, not
You can also use parentheses to combine your search strings:
(woman or female) and (fashion magazines or modeling)
4. Follow the database-specific language.
As you do your searching, keep track of the words that appear in the detailed descriptions, or records, of your results list in the fields that will be labeled with headings such as subjects, descriptors, or subject headings.These synonyms and related terms are the specific vocabulary used to describe your search term in that database or discipline. Using these in your search can often improve your search results by making it more accurate and efficient/less time.
Understanding Keywords – How To Do Library Research Binghamton University Libraries, retrieved 3/13/20
Optimize Using Multiple Databases
NOTE: The databases listed above are available from our library home page under A-Z Databases.
Remember to always try using database limiters to limit to Peer Reviewed Articles and Full Text. This will give you peer review articles that you can access/download/read immediately. Always try to place limits on your database searches in order to fine tune and focus your research on applicable material.