1. Strongly interest you.
2. Be creative.
3. Fit the scope of the assignment.
1. Name Your Topic
Try describing your work in a sentence. For example:
- I am studying Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
2. Suggest a Question
Question something about your topic that you do not know or that you want to understand.
- I am studying Ruth Bader Ginsburg because I want to find out her reasoning behind her famous dissent in the Burwell v Hobby Lobby case.
3. Motivate the Question / Find Rationale
Explain what you hope to get out of your research.
- I am studying Ruth Bader Ginsburg because I want to find out her reasoning behind her famous dissent in the Burwell v Hobby Lobby case, so that my readers might understand her role in advancing women's rights in the United States.
Source: Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., & Williams, J. M. (1995). The craft of research.
Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, p. 56