Moving from topic to research question
Going from a Topic to a Research Question – use the 4 Ps:. During your initial readings, consider the following:
The group, population, or demographic involved
The issue in focus
The point of view or angle from which the issue is being approached
Both physical and incorporeal
Is there a difference between keyword searching and natural language? You may be able to type sentences and thoughts into Google, but a) the databases don’t work that way and b) natural language searching can lead to imprecise results
AND/OR/NOT
- ANDS - linking the nouns directly related to your topic
- ORS can be very important, especially if your idea is focused and specific, or if you are thinking about something that hasn’t been thoroughly treated in the literature, or something that could be described in more than one way.
- NOTS - words that aren't relevant that could otherwise show up in a search
Be aware that the language you might use to express your topic, might not be the language that will help you find your results – be flexible! notice the language in other articles! Use database subject headings (and bibliographies- more on that later)
Even if you are not sure what your research question is – thinking about the modality and population you are interested in is a start!