Getting Started / Focusing your topic
- Oxford Bibliographies This link opens in a new windowOffers annotated bibliographies of the most important books and articles on specific topics in a growing range of subject areas. Particularly useful for anyone beginning research.
- Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new windowOnline version of many Oxford University Press reference works, ranging from specialized dictionaries and companions to major reference works such as the Encyclopedia of Human Rights, the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink, the Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States, and the Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History, among many others.
- Annual Reviews This link opens in a new windowThe Annual Reviews provide substantially researched articles written by recognized scholars in a wide variety of disciplines that summarize the major research literature in the field. These are often a good place to start your research and to keep informed about recent developments.
- NUsearch This link opens in a new windowNUsearch is the main search tool for Northwestern University Library, combining the library catalog with a wealth of other databases and online collections.
After you have an initial project idea, you can think deeper about the idea by developing a "Topic + Question + Significance" sentence. This formula came from Kate Turabian's Student's Guide to Writing College Papers. Turabian notes that you can use it plan and test your question, but do not incorporate this sentence directly into your paper (p. 13):
TOPIC: I am working on the topic of __________,
QUESTION: because I want to find out __________,
SIGNIFICANCE: so that I can help others understand __________.
Turabian, Kate L. Student's Guide to Writing College Papers. 4th edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 2010.
Remember: the shorter your final paper, the narrower your topic needs to be. Having trouble?
- Which specific subset of the topic you can focus on? Specific demographic groups, people, places, times
- Is there something about this topic that is not already addressed in scholarship?
- Is there a relationship you can explore:
- cause/effect
- compare/contrast
- current/historical
- group/individual
- opinion/reason
- problem/solution
News Sources: US, International, Current and Historic
Your Librarian
Jeannette Moss
Contact:
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2 North (Core) Rm. 2303
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Evanston, IL 60208
847-491-2169