PADM 6840 – Research Methods Fall 2022
This exercise is designed to help you develop a thoughtful topic for your research project. This will assist you in writing your introduction section of the paper. Answer the following questions to help you better understand and refine your thinking about your research topic.
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A. What research topic are you interested in?
Choose a public administration, urban management, community issue or problem that matters to you. Don’t have a topic? You may need to do some background research to find out more about it first. Browse the following the online library resources for inspiration: Gale Virtual Reference Library, Credo Reference, Oxford Reference, or Sage Knowledge CQ Researcher, Opposing Viewpoints, or TED talks. |
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B. What specific part of the topic are you interested in?
Brainstorm or do a refined library search to identify possible sub-topics if any is considered of interest. |
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C. Why are you Interested in this topic?
In 2 or 3 sentences, explain why you are interested this topic (Examples: This directly impacts me or someone I know by…, or Hearing about this topic stimulated me to learn more because…) |
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| D. Think about the following elements of your topic. | |||
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WHO
Who is involved? Whom does it affect? Is there a specific population you want to focus on? Identify the primary stakeholders and their opinions. |
WHAT
What is the problem or issue? Consider the “so what” of your topic. Why should it matter to others? |
WHERE
Is there a geographic location or an organization you want to focus on? Where does it fall on moral spectrum (good/bad/just)? |
HOW
How does one aspect of your topic affect another? How serious is the issue/problem? |
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E. Do some background reading.
Search Google, Wikipedia, and the online library resources Gale Virtual Reference Library, Credo Reference, Oxford Reference, or Sage Knowledge to find basic background information to refine your topic and answer the questions below. |
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Did you Identify any major concepts or themes related to your topic?
A good way to enter the conversation of a field or discipline is to study the vocabulary and theories. |
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List the concepts or themes here:
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Define the basic terms used in this issue.
Consider the varying ways that stakeholders define key terms. Do different people define or “see” things differently? Example: X defines “racial profiling” as _________, but Y explains it as _________, which includes implicit (or unconscious) bias. |
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List and define the terminologies here:
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Could you Identify any scholars or experts who do research in your topic?
They may be identified or listed as Further Resources. |
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List the experts/scholars here:
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Did you find any additional keywords to use when you search?
Keywords change based on who is speaking, for example, a scholar might say “preadolescent,” whereas a journalist might say “tween.” |
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List new keywords here:
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F. Create a Concept Map for your topic.
Using everything that you now know about your topic, create a concept map. To get started, look at the example concept map below. For more examples of concept maps, visit https://search.credoreference.com/ |
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Example Concept Map
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| G. List a few possible questions about your specific topic area. | |||
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H. Choose one to be your main research question.
Analysis (why or how) questions are best. |
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J. Make your question as clear and specific as possible. Specify what you mean for all general words (e.g. women, media). |
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K. Write a brief problem statement.
Describe the problem: In a sentence or two, describe a problem that could be addressed in your topic or area of research. (Example: “Smokers often relapse because of complex physical and psychological factors). Specify the gap and justify the investigation: What is unknown or unresolved? Why should we bother investigating it? (Example: We don’t know what combination of physical and psychological factors is most often associated with smoking relapse.) |
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