choosingatopic

11.ThreerequirementsforGPtopicchoice•Interesting:attractreadersandhelpsustainingeffortsorimpetustofulfillthepaper•Significantorworthwhile:withobviousorpotentialtheoreticalorpracticalvaluesoastobenefittoexpandorrenewknowledgeandimprovethesociety•Manageableorfeasible:withinyourknowledgeandcapability2.Focusingonatopic•Therearemanyaspects/sidestoanysubjectordisciplinethatwestudyatauniversity.Onewayofbreakingdownasubjectintoanumberofsmallersub-topicsistolookatthesubjectclassificationsprovidedbyalibrary.Forexample,underthesubjectofEducationwemayhaveEducationinChina,PrimaryEducationinChina,PrimaryEducationinGuangdongProvinceinChina,etc.•Thisshowsthatwecancontinuenarrowingdown(focusingupon)thetopicofourstudy.Forourresearchitisalsopossibletohaveamaintitleandasub-titleasinForeignLanguageEducationinChina:TeachingEnglishWritingSkillstoPrimarySchoolStudentsinGuangdongProvince.•Onethingtorememberisthatwecannothaveaverylongtitlefortheresearchpaper.Itmaythereforebenecessarytofurthernarrow2downthesubject.ThiscanbedoneintheIntroductionsectionofourarticlebyclausessuchasTheaimofthispaperisto…,Thispaperdealswiththeteachingof…,etc.Bothinthetitleandsubsequentfocusinginthetextweshouldavoidusingcomplexandtechnicallanguage.Goodresearchpapersstartwithsimpleanddirectthoughtsthatcaneasilybereadandunderstood.•Topicchoosingmainlydependsonyourpriorinterest,knowledge,andwhat’smostimportant,therelatedsources/referencematerials.3Askingquestionswhileplanningtheresearch•Oneimportantfactorinchoosingthetopicistofindoutwhetherornotitisresearchableandmanageable(a:isitworthresearching,b:areyouresourcefulenoughtodotheresearch?)•Expertsinthefieldhavesuggestedthatweasksomequestionswhileweareplanningourstudy.Thefollowingaresomeimportantquestions:•Isthetopicresearchable,giventime,resources,andavailabilityofdata?•Isthereapersonalinterestinthetopicinordertosustainattention?•Willtheresultsfromthestudybeofinteresttoothers(e.g.,inthestate,region,nation)?•Isthetopiclikelytobepublishableinascholarlyjournal?(or3attractivetoanexaminationcommittee?)•Doesthestudy(a)fillavoid,(b)replicate,(c)extend,or(d)developnewideasinthescholarlyliterature?•Willtheprojectcontributetocareergoals?Suggestionsabouthowtochoosetopic1.You’llbespendingalotoftimeonaresearchpaper,soitisparticularlyimportanttoselectatopicthatyoureallyenjoyworkingwith.Howevertopicchoosingisusuallynotthatsimple!•Tomakeyourprojectasuccess,you’llhavetoensurethatthetopicisstrong,aswellasenjoyable.A:makesureyouknowwhatitis.Inventing/producingapaperonasubjectaboutwhichyouknownothingistough.B:chooseasubjectyouareinterestedin.Thenyoucankeepsustainingefforttofinishit.2.Itisimportanttoselectmorethanonetopicfromthestart.Findthreeorfourtopicsthatinterestyou,then,gotothelibraryoranInternet-connectedcomputerathomeandconductapreliminarysearchofeachtopic.•Determinewhichprojectideacanbesupportedwithplentyofpublishedmaterial.Thisway,youwillbeabletoselectafinaltopicthatisbothinterestingandfeasible.3.PreliminarySearches•Chooseatopicanddoabasiccomputersearch.Takenoteofthe4typesofsourcesthatappearforeachtopic.Ifyoumaycomeupwithfiftywebpagesthatconcernyourtopic,butnobooksorarticles,Thisisnotagoodresult!avarietyofsources,toincludearticles,books,andencyclopediareferences.Don’tselectatopicthatdoesn’tappearinbooksandarticles,aswellasonwebsites.•Ifyoufindatopicthat’swidelyresearchedandseemstobeavailableinanumberofbooksandjournals,makesurethosearebooksandjournalsthatyoucanuse.•Inshort,always,takeafewstepsinthebeginningtomakesurethatyourtopicwillberelativelyeasytoresearchoverthedaysandweekstocome.Youdon’twanttoinvesttoomuchtimeandemotioninaprojectthatwillonlyleadtofrustrationintheend.4.Giveupthetopicatthestartifyouknowyou’regoingtorunintotroublefindinginformationforyourpaper.Ifnoorverylittleavailableresearchcanbefoundonyoursubject,youcan’tfinishyourpaperbyyourself.5.Theearlieryoustart,themoretimeyou'llhavetoproofread,reviseandenjoy.Justthink,you'llbetheenvyofyourfriendsifyoufinishyourpaperaweekaheadoftime.Andifyouhaveatopic,somebodyormaybe,evenseveralothersofyourschoolmatesareprobablyboundtoberesearchingthesametopicasyouare,andsureasyou'reliving,they'regoingtocheckoutallthegoodbooks.