Selecting a topic
Find a topic
Topics don't grow on trees. Explore topics with this web site and database.
Start by browsing this resource:
- Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology, 4th ed.
- 900 topic overview articles.
- Use the Table of Contents. Click the triangles to open lists
- Use Choose a volume to view volume 2 and the rest of the articles..
-
Psychology Today: Search for articles inside this magazine.Click *Advanced Search* and enter your search terms in the empty search box.
There are 13,000+ articles in this popular magazine (sold at supermarkets). These articles don't have academic credibility, but they can point you to interesting research that is.
Suggestions for topics
How to create research questions using lists of psychological variables [Slides presentation]
-
Psychology often studies the relationship of two variables. This presentation shows how you can mix and match variables with different populations to ask a question and form a study.
Identifying Keywords
1. State your topic as a question.
What is the relationship between sleep and creativity?
2. Identify 2 -3 essential concepts in the question
What is the relationship between dreaming and creativity?
3. Identify synonyms for each concept, or examples of each concept, as well as other closely-related concepts.
| Concept 1: dreaming | Concept 2: Creativity | |
| Synonym: REM | Synonym: "Problem Solving" | |
| Synonym: | Synonym: Innovation |
4. Click Advanced Search.
- Each concept gets its own box.
- Link synonyms with the capitalized operator: OR
- Put multiword phrases in "quotation marks"
