OWHL Guides: Research Without Pain: 1a. Choose a Topic

Quick Links

Databases: A to Z The complete list of databases available to you through the OWHL. To search for History specific databases click the "All Subjects" dropdown and select "History and Social Science."
Library Catalog Search items at Phillips Academy or broaden your search to include items offered to you by the NOBLE network.
NoodleTools Helps you stay organized and create citations

Full Text Finder This link opens in a new window This resource allows you to search for specific journal titles in the OWHL's collection and see which databases have the full text articles.

TIP:

In your journal, record spontaneously those quotations, ideas, questions, observations, and associations that move you, 
the reader. Also record the page where you can later find the source of your responses.

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Choose a Topic

"Do not hunt for subjects, let them choose you, not you them." --Samuel Butler

Choosing a topic is the first step in the research process. It is itself a process and is facilitated by close reading of the primary text, aided by a reading journal. Here are the steps:

Growing awareness of interesting qualities within the primary text
Choosing an area of interest for research
Asking productive questions that help explore and evaluate a topic
Creating a preliminary research question
Revising and refining to form a working thesis

Still stuck? Use this handy THESIS BUILDER to help choose a topic.