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Legacy Library

PIO 101- Rick Smith: Thinking About a Topic

Useful library resources for PIO 101 class.

Brainstorming Ideas

Choosing a topic is the first step in the research process, and brainstorming can help you generate ideas for your project.  Brainstorming is asking some basic questions on what you know and what you might want to know more about. These are some questions that can be asked to get the wheels turning:

  • Has your instructor given you topic options?
  • Is there anything in the class lectures, notes, or textbook that you would like to know more about?
  • Do you feel strongly about a certain issue?
  • Do you have knowledge or experience with a topic?
  • Have you seen or heard anything that might interest you?

One of the objectives of brainstorming is to find keywords that describe your topic. A useful tool that can help identify keywords is the concept map. This link from  Penn State University Library can introduce you to the idea of concept mapping:

Outlining Topics With a Concept Map