Choosing a Topic
Before you begin to search, think about your topic idea(s) and ask yourself if you can properly address it in a 7-10 page paper. Alcohol Abuse is a huge topic that you couldn't tackle in a paper of that size, but you could narrow and focus it to:
racial disparity in treatment for alcohol abuse in the United States
Other examples might be:
| Too Broad | More Focused |
| Pornography |
public library policies on viewing pornograhy depictions of BDSM in popular media |
| Tattoos |
job-seeking and hiring of tattooed former offenders social attitudes towards tattooed women |
Once you have a narrowed topic, identify the main ideas
Then, brainstorm synonyms for those terms.
| Main Idea | Keywords |
| alcohol abuse treatment | in-patient programs, rehab, rehabilitation centers, detox, court-ordered treatment programs, Alcoholics Anonymous, alcohol use disorder, alcohol-induced disorders, naltrexone |
| racial disparity | ethnic disparities, underrepresented populations, minorities, urban, suburban, low-income, discrimination, ethnic disparities, african americans, latinos, ethnic groups |
| united states | america, us, washington state, american, western, national |