ULM Library LibGuides: History: Beginning Research in History

Refining and Developing Your Topic

Exploring Your Topic
Refining Your Topic

Before you develop your research topic or question, you'll need to do some background research first.

Some good places to find background information:

Your textbook or class readings
Encyclopedias and reference books
Credible websites
Library databases

Try the library databases below to explore your topic. When you're ready, move on to refining your topic.

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Credo Reference is a general reference solution for learners and librarians. Offering 551 hundred highly-regarded titles from over 70 publishers; Credo General Reference covers every major subject. Credo Reference is an online reference service made up of full-text books from the world's best publishers. It's a great source to consult when trying to determine a topic for your research paper.
Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia This link opens in a new window
The Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia database indexes over 25,000 records, covering an array of topics. Full text for each record may be easily accessed by double clicking on the topic from the display. The database contains various images, offers brief biographies as well as information in a variety of subject areas.
Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
Full-text reference books on topics including business, history, law, literature, philosophy, psychology, religion, science, travel, and more. Fully searchable and browsable.
History Reference Center This link opens in a new window
History Reference Center offers full text from more than 1,620 reference books, encyclopedias and non-fiction books, cover to cover full text for more than 150 leading history periodicals, nearly 57,000 historical documents, more than 78,000 biographies of historical figures, more than 113,000 historical photos and maps, and more than 80 hours of historical video.
History Reference eBook Collection This link opens in a new window
The History Reference eBook Collection features full text for more than 1,620 reference books, encyclopedias and non-fiction books from leading history publishers. The database also includes full text for more than 150 leading history periodicals. Further, the database contains nearly 57,000 historical documents, more than 77,000 biographies of historical figures, more than 37,000 historical photos and maps, and more than 80 hours of historical video.

Now that you've done some background research, it's time to narrow your topic. Remember: the shorter your final paper, the narrower your topic needs to be. Here are some suggestions for narrowing and defining your topic:

Is there a specific subset of the topic you can focus on?
Is there a cause and effect relationship you can explore?
Is there an unanswered question on the subject?
Can you focus on a specific time period or group of people?

Describe and develop your topic in some detail. Try filling in the blanks in the following sentence, as much as you can:

I want to research ____(what/who)____

and ____(what/who)____

in ____(where)____

during ____(when)____

because ____(why)____.

Finding Sources

The types of sources you need to find will depend on the type of research project you are working on. Always read your assignments carefully, and contact your professor if you have questions regarding the types of sources you should be using!

To get started, visit the Find Articles & Databases, Find Books, or Find Websites pages to view recommended resources or see below for tips on searching more effectively and evaluating a source's credibility.

Evaluating Sources

Using quality, credible resources in your research is important, and there are many methods of evaluating resources. Choose the method that works best for you. Below is a handout on the CRAAP method for evaluating sources.

CRAAP Method

Tips for Searching in Databases

Use Boolean Connectors AND, OR, and NOT to refine your searches!

AND narrows a search (cats AND dogs)
OR broadens a search (cats OR dogs)
NOT excludes a term (dogs NOT puppies)

Use Truncation, Wildcards, and other Methods to Limit your Search!

Add an asterisk mark ( * ) to the end of a keyword to include its variations (e.g., librar* for library, libraries, librarian, librarians, librarianship etc.) in a search.
Use a question mark ( ? ) within words to search for single character variations (e.g., wom?n for woman or women).
Use quotation marks ( " " ) around words to create keyword phrases (e.g., "green marketing")
Check the database you are using for other ways to limit your search.