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Westchester Community College Harold L. Drimmer Library

Steps in the Research Process: Finding a Topic

Use this guide to become a more skillful researcher. Learn how to develop research questions, choose credible sources, evaluate your sources, cite them correctly, and avoid plagiarism

Choosing and Developing a Topic

CHOOSING A TOPIC -PURDUE ONLINE WRITING LAB -  provides a good introduction on understanding your assignment and choosing a topic.

 

 

Selecting a Topic - Resources

Library Databases
  • ​​Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center  - Covers current social issues. Includes viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles.

  • Gale Ebooks  - A collection of encyclopedias and handbooks on many subjects. Searchable as a group or individually.

On The Web

  • ProCon.org  - Provides resources for critical thinking and to educate without bias. We research issues that are controversial and important, and we present them in a balanced, comprehensive, straightforward, transparent, and primarily pro-con format at no charge.
  • New York Times Topics Guide - Each topic page collects all the news, reference and archival information, photos, graphics, audio and video files published on topics ranging from A M Castle & Company to Zyuganov, Gennadi A. This treasure trove is available without charge on articles going back to 1981.

    The Rand Corporation - Topics - The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges tohelp make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and mor prosperous. RAND is non-profit, non-partisan and committed to the public interest.

    PewResearch - Topics -  A detailed listing of Pew Research Center polling and demographic topics and subjects.

 

Picking a Topic IS Research

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