ENG 101 - Technology

3. Narrow Your Topic

Once you've done some initial background reading, it's time to narrow down your topic to what you really want to write about.  Remember your assignment requirements and consider what you've read thus far.

Ask yourself:

What aspect of the topic do I want to focus on?

What interests me about the topic?

What do I want to write about?

As you start to narrow this down into a thesis, you'll want to continue to look for more sources. As you read, you might tweak or adjust your topic/thesis.  In order to help you find more related sources about your topic, you'll want to identify keywords to help you search.

Keywords

As you think about what concepts you want to write about, think about what particular words might be found in a good article about that topic.  For instance, if you are writing about the effects of technology in the classroom.  Think of related keywords:

As you decide what concepts you want to write about, think about what particular words might be found in a good article about that topic.  For instance, if you are writing about social media's influence on mood, think about related words that might bring up articles related to the aspects you want to explore.

It helps to surround search phrases with quotation marks. This lets the computer know you are searching for that specific phrase. For example, you could start with a general search:

"social media"

Then, to find more specific information, combine search terms to find specific aspects about social media. Unlike Google, our databases work best when using connector terms, such as and​ or or. Here are some examples:

"social media" and mood

"social media" and depression

"social media" and anxiety

You then might decide to look for even more specific information:

Instagram and "body image"

Keywords work best by trial-and-error. Never do only one search. Some keywords will work better than others, and some keywords may lead you to different articles than you found in your first search.  Search the databases with the keywords you selected to find relevant articles. And remember to ask a librarian if you need assistance coming up with keywords or looking for sources.

Subject Headings

Here are some LCSH (Library of Congress Subject Headings) that may help you find resources on technology and social media:

• Social media
• Online social networks
• Information technology--Social aspects
• Internet and youth
• Internet and teenagers
• Electronic surveillance
• Cyberbullying
• Education, Higher--Effects of technological innovations on
• Big data
• Data mining
• Fake news
• Virtual reality