How can this situation be characterized, described, classified, or analyzed?
After writing the questions, I would write my responses, deciding which particular questions and responses interest me the most. Perhaps, for instance, I would find myself most interested in the effects of development on the "natives" of small towns, particularly the inevitability of increased property taxes. This process of questioning thus provides me with a specific, narrow, well-defined focus within the vast issue of development of small towns in the Rocky Mountain region.
Related Information: Topic Cross
The topic cross helps you to narrow your topic by using a visual strategy. Just as you would focus a camera or a microscope, you arrange key words and phrases about your topic in such a way that they eventually point to your specific area of interest.
Example of a Topic Cross The first step in the process of using the topic cross is brainstorming. Spend a few minutes listing words and phrases that come to mind when you think about your topic. Then decide which words and phrases are most interesting and arrange them in a hierarchy, moving from general (at the top of the list) to specific (at the bottom of the list). This hierarchy will become the vertical axis of your cross. Demonstration: If my topic is "development of small towns in the Rocky Mountain region," I might generate the following useful ideas in brainstorming (arranged from general to specific).
I would write this list in an imagined middle column of a piece of blank paper or a computer screen, leaving plenty of space between each item. Then I would scan the list to determine where my real interest lies. Which topics in this list will be too broad to write about, given my writing assignment? Which will be too narrow? In this case, I might choose "economic effects on impoverished landowners" as a workable topic area. Once I had thus identified my area of interest, I would begin listing words and phrases about or relevant to that item, placing them on the horizontal axis of my topic cross. The list I would generate about "economic effects on impoverished landowners" might look like this:
Examining this list, I might decide that "rising property taxes" is a sufficiently narrow topic that is not too narrow to develop with my own ideas and research I might do. By using this strategy, I have arrived at a narrow, workable topic.
If your writing assignment requires research, you will probably find that the research process itself will dictate how broad or narrow your topic should be. We have all had the experience of doing a library search on a word like "environment" and coming up with thousands of sources. Almost as common is the experience of searching for a term like "cultural animation" and coming up with only one source that seems useful. The topics we choose are often directly related to our research processes and their results.
It is important to remember that a narrow topic is not the same thing as a thesis statement. Unlike a topic, a thesis makes a claim of fact, provides a claim of value, or makes a recommendation about a topic under consideration. For example, your narrowed topic might be "the underemphasis on foreign language in U.S. secondary schools." A focused thesis statement making a claim about this topic might read, "U.S. secondary schools should require elementary students to take at least one course in a foreign language sometime during the 4th through 6th grades."
Transforming a workable topic into a possible thesis is really just a continuation of the narrowing process, with an emphasis on what you want to say about your topic. In this way, it is much like the "hypothesis" stage of the scientific method. You arrive at a thesis by attempting to make a statement about the topic you have chosen.
A working thesis is a tentative statement that you make about your topic early in the writing process, for the purpose of directing your thinking early. This thesis is likely to change somewhat or to be abandoned altogether as you move through the writing process, so it is best not to become too enamored of it.
There are two components of a working thesis. The first is, quite simply, your topic; and the second is your tentative statement about your topic. For example, if my narrowed topic is
"Rising property taxes in small towns in the Rocky Mountain region..."
I might add the following statement about that topic:
"...cause longtime residents and landowners in those towns not to be able to keep their property."
As I begin whatever research is necessary to support this thesis, I might find that I can't make this much of a claim. Or I might find that there are complexities that I hadn't considered. As I uncover new information about my topic, I will want to alter my working thesis accordingly, until it is workable and supportable.
A In The St. Martin's Handbook , Third Edition [italics], Andrea Lunsford and Robert Connors suggest a process for moving from a topic to a research "hypothesis," by way of examining the "issue" at hand and framing this issue as a "research question." The following is an example of how I might move from topic to hypothesis if my narrowed topic is "rising property taxes in small towns in the Rocky Mountain region."
This hypothesis, like a working thesis, is simply an early speculation on what I might find when I begin to research. As I read more and more about my topic, I will probably find that I need to make changes to the hypothesis in order to make it a supportable thesis. As I uncover new information about my topic, I will want to alter my working thesis accordingly, until it is workable and supportable.
One of the greatest challenges in written argument is determining what it is that you would like to (and are able to) say about your topic.
Before you begin drafting an argument paper, you need to decide (tentatively, at least) what it is that you will be arguing about the topic you have chosen. The following prompts should help you focus your argument from a topic to a position on that topic. What is your topic? (e.g.--Rising property taxes in small towns in the Rocky Mountain region) What are three controversies associated with this topic? (e.g.--Rising property taxes make the town affordable only to the wealthy. This changes the flavor of the town. It forces long-time land owners to sell their land.) What are three questions people might ask about these controversies? (e.g.--Are these rising property taxes, which are the results of development in small towns in the Rocky Mountain region, forcing long-time land owners out of their home towns? Are rising taxes and land values changing the whole cultural and economic foundation of the towns? Given the effects of rising property taxes on impoverished land owners in small towns, is development in this area a good idea?) Decide which of these questions you are most interested in exploring. (e.g.--Given the effects of rising property taxes on impoverished land owners in small towns, is development in this area a good idea?) Now list several ways people might respond if you asked them your question. (e.g.--No, because impoverished land owners are unable to maintain the new standard of living. Yes, because development is always a good idea. Yes, because development is inevitable, and we can do nothing about it. Perhaps, but city planners and local governments must find ways to protect the interests of impoverished land owners when they determine property taxes.) Finally, decide where you stand in this range of responses. Think of a thesis that expresses your view. Write out your thesis and revise it throughout your research process until it is specific and takes a single arguable position. (e.g.--Because impoverished land owners in small towns in the Rocky Mountain region are often badly hurt by the rising property taxes resulting from development, city planners and local governments must find ways to protect the interests of these land owners when they determine property taxes.)
Don Zimmerman, Journalism and Technical Communication Professor Writers' understanding of topics and their fields of study allow them to focus on a specific topic. Following a good problem solving process or scientific method can help you select a topic. Whereas on the job, topics emerge from day to day activities. When working, you don't need to look for topics to write about. Your respective field/job responsibilities allow you to find the problems.
The ways that topics are approached and the types of topics that are discussed vary from discipline to discipline. It is important to investigate the types of topics that are discussed (and the ways that they are discussed) in your own discipline. As a writer, it is necessary to determine what topics are talked about and why in your own discipline (or in the discipline for which you are writing). This can be done by way of talking to professionals in the discipline, looking at relevant journals, and conducting Internet and database searches (to name a few possibilities).
Related Information: Browsing Journals Important to Your Discipline
Almost every discipline has journals that are associated with it, and scholars in the discipline depend on these journals in order to remain informed about what topics are being discussed. For example, scholars in the field of psychology rely on psychological journals; doctors rely on medical journals; and English professors rely on literary journals. Because journals are at the center of each discipline's current discussions, it is a good idea to browse them when looking for current topics. If you are unsure of how to go about doing this, talk to a professor in your discipline, a reference librarian in your library, or a librarian in your library's Current Periodicals room. These people can usually provide you with a few titles of important journals relevant to your field. Once you have these titles, you can locate a few issues of each journal in the Current Periodicals room, sit down for an hour or two, and look through the articles to see what is being talked about and what interests you.
Related Information: Online Searches and Databases
One way of getting to the sources which will discuss topics current to your discipline is by searching the various computer databases and search engines related to that discipline. A database is simply an arrangement of information by way of similar subject matter. Some multidisciplinary scholarly databases include ResearchGate, Google Scholar, and OpenAlex. There are more specialized databases as well for almost every discipline. For example, if you were researching a topic for a Sociology essay on group behavior of Deadheads, you might go to the Social Sciences Index to find sources related to your topic. For information on how to find relevant and useful databases, talk to the reference librarian in your library, or ask an expert in your field which databases they use regularly.
Related Information: Talking to Professionals in Your Discipline
One of the most efficient ways to learn what topics are currently being discussed in your discipline is to talk to the experts: instructors and other professionals working within that discipline. We often forget that these people can be valuable resources to us, and can point us toward books, journals, databases, and other sources of information that scholars in our various fields use often.
Harvard Extension School - ' Choosing a Topic '
Purdue OWL - ' Choosing a Topic '
USU Libraries - ' Choosing a Research Topic '
York College - ' Choosing a Topic and Identifying Keywords '
Nesbitt, Laurel, Dawn Kowalski, & Andrea Bennett. (2022). Choosing and Refining Topics. Writing@CSU . Colorado State University. https://writing.colostate.edu/guides/guide.cfm?guideid=20
Warning: The NCBI web site requires JavaScript to function. more...
An official website of the United States government
The .gov means it's official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.
The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.
NCBI Bookshelf. A service of the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
Methods Guide for Effectiveness and Comparative Effectiveness Reviews [Internet]. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2008-.
The refinement of topics for systematic reviews.
Investigators: David I Buckley , MD, MPH, Mohammed Ansari , MBBS, MMedSc, MPhil, Mary Butler , PhD, Clara Williams , MPA, and Christine Chang , MD, MPH.
Published: January 24, 2013 .
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Effective Health Care (EHC) Program conducts systematic reviews on a range of health care topics. Topics are nominated by a variety of stakeholders. Nominated topics undergo a refinement process to ensure that the Key Questions are relevant, of appropriate scope, and will ultimately yield a useful systematic review. Topic refinement investigators gather input from Key Informants, topical experts, and a literature scan to inform changes in the PICOTS (population, intervention, comparator, outcomes, timing, and setting), analytic framework and Key Questions. Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPCs) have approached the topic refinement process in similar and different ways. AHRQ convened a work group to assess current approaches and to develop recommendations for best practices; we report our findings here.
We formed a workgroup of four investigators from four different EPCs in the United States and Canada and one AHRQ Project Officer. All participants held experience in topic refinement. We generated a prioritized list of methodological questions and possible guiding principles considered in the topic refinement process. We discussed each issue until we reached agreement.
A refined topic should address an important health care question or dilemma; consider the priorities and values of relevant stakeholders; reflect the state of the science; and be consistent with systematic review research methods. The guiding principles of topic refinement are: fidelity to the original nomination, public health and/or clinical relevance, research feasibility, responsiveness to stakeholder input, reducing investigator bias, transparency, and suitable scope. We describe the mechanics of the topic refinement process, and discuss approaches and variability in methods used by EPCs to engage Key Informants, integrate and synthesize input, and report findings. Practical suggestions and challenges in preparing and recruiting Key Informants, facilitating engagement, synthesis, and reporting are described and discussed. Decisions about integrating input from various sources require investigator judgment in the application and balance of the guiding principles. The relative importance and application of these principles will vary by topic and purpose of the systematic review. Variability in topics precludes a prescriptive approach to application of the guiding principles. Transparency and consistent documentation of decisions are important for public accountability and integrity of the topic refinement process.
Systematic reviews that are accurate, methodologically rigorous, and as relevant and useful as possible for stakeholders require that topics be well refined. This report details guiding principles and methodological recommendations that may help investigators to better refine topics for systematic reviews, both within and outside of the EHC Program.
“A prudent question is one-half of wisdom.” — Francis Bacon
Systematic reviews aim to improve health outcomes by developing evidence-based information about which interventions are most effective for which patients under specific circumstances, and to disseminate that information to patients, clinicians, and decisionmakers. 1 Systematic reviews are used by a variety of organizations to inform clinical guidelines, 2 health care policies, 3 and insurance coverage decisions. 4 The Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) Program, part of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Effective Health Care (EHC) Program, conducts systematic reviews on topics related to a range of health care issues nominated by a variety of stakeholders. Stakeholders may represent patients, consumers, advocacy organizations, clinicians, researchers, agencies that issue guidelines, policymakers, industry, or health care organizations. Involving stakeholders in the nomination process provides an opportunity for end users of research to participate in asking and answering questions about health care.
To provide useful answers, systematic reviews must ask the right questions. Challenges arise when stakeholder-nominated topics are not ideally formulated for the broadest public health and/or clinical relevance, or not formulated to be researched feasibly using accepted systematic review methods. Additionally, nominations might not ideally reflect the state of the science or technical aspects of the topic. Conducting systematic reviews may be difficult or impossible for topics that are inadequately precise or overly inclusive in their description of the populations, interventions, comparators, and/or outcomes of interest. Alternatively, topics that are overly narrow might be feasibly expanded to have broader relevance than that intended in the original nomination. To ensure that systematic reviews provide the most useful answers, topics nominated by stakeholders generally need to be refined so that the Key Questions are relevant and feasibly researchable.
In 2007, investigators with the EPC Program began developing methods for topic refinement that were iteratively modified and eventually formalized into a Topic Refinement Document ( Appendix A ). Since 2009, the program has used this document as a guide for systematically conducting topic refinements and as a template for drafting summary reports for individual topic refinements. To date, this document has provided the most complete methodological guidance for topic refinement. Although the Topic Refinement Document stipulates the required phases and common elements of topic refinement, different EPCs have approached specific aspects of topic refinement in both similar and different ways. This variation among EPCs provided an excellent opportunity to learn and consider the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches to topic refinement. Therefore, AHRQ convened a work group to synthesize and assess current approaches to topic refinement and to develop methods recommendations for best practices. This report details the work group's findings, including guiding principles and methodological recommendations that may help investigators to effectively refine topics for systematic reviews, both within and outside of the EPC Program.
Topic refinement is one of several major stages in the process of producing a systematic review through the EPC Program; it bridges the initial stage of topic nomination and development and the latter stage of conducting the systematic review (see Figure 1 ). During topic nomination and development, a team of investigators reviews stakeholder-nominated topics and determines which nominations meet program inclusion criteria and should be recommended for topic refinement and systematic review. These recommendations are based on EPC Program principles, priority conditions, and specific selection criteria. 5 Selected topics then undergo the topic refinement process addressed in this report.
Major stages in producing a systematic review.
The primary goal of topic refinement is to formulate research questions that can be addressed by a systematic review; the goal is not to answer the questions. A refined topic includes three principal elements: (1) clearly articulated population(s), intervention(s), comparator(s), outcome(s), timing, and setting(s) of interest—collectively referred to as the PICOTS; 5 , 6 (2) well-written Key Questions that are precise, detailed, and clearly focused; and (3) an analytic framework that represents the relationships between the elements of the PICOTS and the Key Questions. 7 - 10 The topic refinement process includes a number of steps that begin with preliminary materials from the initial topic nomination and development stage and end with the refined topic and summary report being sent to the systematic review team for use in developing the systematic review protocol. These steps are outlined in Figure 2 .
The process of topic refinement. AHRQ = Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; EPC = Evidence-based Practice Center; PICOTS = population, intervention, comparator, outcomes, timing, and setting
The steps of topic refinement fall into two main phases—an initial phase in preparation for interviews with Key Informants, and a second phase that starts with Key Informant interviews and includes subsequent refinement and reporting of the topic. The Topic Refinement Document ( Appendix A ) provides a template for preparing a Topic Refinement Summary Report in the initial refinement phase. This is used for the Key Informant interviews and contains a narrative on the background and context of the topic, provisional PICOTS, provisional Key Questions, a provisional analytic framework, and a list of issues to discuss with the Key Informants. In preparing this report, the topic refinement team will conduct a targeted literature scan and may consult with topical experts. The Key Questions reflect important decisional dilemmas faced by stakeholders and clearly define the logic and scope of the topic. The Key Questions and analytic framework are formulated around specified PICOTS of interest. Typically, topic nominations present the elements of the PICOTS in a general form. Therefore, refining and focusing the PICOTS is a critical task of topic refinement.
Through Key Informant interviews in the second phase of refinement, the team elicits input on issues that cannot be resolved with a limited literature search and/or that require the perspective, experience, or technical knowledge of experts or other stakeholders. The Key Informants' input is considered, synthesized, and, when appropriate, incorporated into modifications of the provisional Key Questions and analytic framework, all of which is then described in the topic refinement summary report. The refined PICOTS, Key Questions, and analytic framework are posted online for broader stakeholder input before finalizing refinement. This topic refinement process typically takes about 4 months.
In this report, we use the term “preliminary” to refer to elements of a topic that are developed prior to the topic refinement process. This includes the proposed Key Questions formulated by the nominating stakeholder and/or the topic nomination and development team. We use the term “provisional” to refer to the elements of the initial topic refinement phase. These “provisional” elements are: (1) descriptions of the PICOTS of interest; (2) Key Questions for the systematic review; and (3) an analytic framework. These represent the first stage of refinement, based on the work of the topic refinement team, a scan of the literature, and input from topical experts. These elements are considered provisional because they still do not include the input of multiple Key Informant stakeholders, whose views, expertise and values may lead to further refinement. Finally, we use the term “refined” to refer to the elements of the topic in their modified form after the topic refinement team has considered and integrated input from stakeholders (Key Informants and/or public commentary).
AHRQ's EPCs have produced summary reports of the refinement of approximately 100 topics for systematic reviews, using the EPC Topic Refinement Document. However, while the Topic Refinement Document stipulates the required elements to be included in the Topic Refinement Summary Report, it provides only general guidance on how to actually conduct the various steps of the process. A previous methods paper presented some guidance for topic refinement in similarly general terms. 5 With this guidance, EPCs have approached the details of topic refinement in a variety ways. This variation offered an opportunity to learn from the experience of different EPCs, to synthesize that experience into a more detailed description of the topic refinement process, and to generate more detailed guidance for this important stage in the production of systematic reviews through the EPC Program. To that end, AHRQ convened a work group to assess the topic refinement process and develop recommendations for effective approaches to topic refinement.
By producing a more detailed description of topic refinement, including guiding principles and best practices, we hope to provide useful guidance that will make the topic refinement process more consistent, deliberate, and transparent. However, we expressly did not seek to develop prescriptive recommendations to be uniformly applied in all cases. Topics vary in their requirements for refinement, and different investigators may use different but equally valid rationales to make different but equally valid topic refinement decisions. Therefore, we sought to articulate viable approaches to the numerous aspects of topic refinement and to discuss the relative advantages and disadvantages of different approaches. Rather than prescribing exactly how investigators should conduct every topic refinement, we sought to offer guidance to help EPC investigators make better decisions about how to approach topic refinement.
We convened a work group consisting of four investigators from four different EPCs in the United States and Canada and one Project Officer from AHRQ. All investigators had direct experience conducting topic refinements for the EPC Program and the Project Officer had broad experience of the topic refinement process as it has been followed across numerous EPCs. In addition, a research associate with experience as a topic refinement team project manager provided input on the logistics and management aspects of the topic refinement process.
Our work group followed previously described basic principles for developing methods guidance in the EPC program. 9 In particular, we recognized that the subjectivity and variability inherent in the topic refinement process limits the use of empirical evidence in developing guidance. Therefore, our work group used a best-practice approach based upon (1) the direct topic refinement experience of the work group members, (2) our critical assessment of completed topic refinements from other EPCs, and (3) input on an initial draft of this report from EPC investigators representing all but one AHRQ EPC.
As a first step, work group members each described their own EPC's approach to topic refinement, including their routine procedures as well as perceived strengths, challenges, and problems with the approach. The AHRQ Project Officer then described successful and unsuccessful procedures used by other EPCs not directly represented by the work group members. In this way, group members gained familiarity with the procedures of other EPCs, identifying shared practices as well as unique aspects of each EPC's topic refinement process. Next, each work group member individually reviewed three topic refinement summary reports and other pertinent documents (such as call minutes, disposition tables, and protocols) previously produced by EPCs other than their own. We compared these to elucidate: (1) similarities and differences between the elements of the original PICOTS and the Key Questions that were refined, (2) rationales used in making refinements, (3) sources of input that influenced the decisions to refine (e.g., topic refinement team judgment, Key Informant input, literature scan), and (4) how the process was reported.
Based on these careful examinations of current practice in topic refinement, we compiled a list of questions for the work group to consider in detail. These questions addressed a range of issues and concepts that were (1) challenging for many EPCs, (2) incompletely articulated in topic refinement summary reports, and/or (3) especially variable between EPCs. We generated an initial list of 33 items, which we consolidated according to common themes into a list of 17 items for the work group to discuss. In the course of our deliberations, we further consolidated these items and categorized the relevant issues into three main categories, as presented in the Results section of this report: The overall purpose of topic refinement; guiding principles; and the mechanics of conducting a topic refinement.
We discussed each of the items during eighteen 90-minute teleconference meetings over 12 months. All meetings were audio recorded, and detailed minutes of the meetings were subsequently reviewed and discussed by all group members. When possible, the work group strove to elaborate on the basic description of topic refinement contained in the Topic Refinement Document, particularly regarding various elements of the mechanics of conducting a topic refinement such as the initial topic refinement, engaging stakeholders, synthesis, and reporting. We also strove to assess critically each item on the list and to synthesize a set of recommendations to guide the topic refinement process. We worked to achieve consensus in our recommendations regarding general guiding principles. Recognizing the legitimate variability in the requirements of different topics and in approaches to the mechanics of topic refinement, we sought to describe different viable approaches and discuss their relative merits. EPC investigators representing all but one EPC provided input on the draft report. Additional experts in systematic review were invited to provide external peer review of this draft report; AHRQ and an associated editor also provided comments. The draft report was posted on the AHRQ Web site for 4 weeks to elicit public comment. We addressed all reviewer comments and revised the final report as appropriate.
The results are organized in three sections: What is Topic Refinement , Guiding Principles , and The Mechanics of Conducting a Topic Refinement . This third section combines a description of an aspect of the topic refinement process (e.g., initial topic refinement phase) with a discussion of various best practices and issues for investigators.
Refinement implies making changes to attain a better fit with a certain standard. In this sense, the goal of topic refinement is to improve a nominated topic so that it is a good and accurate fit with a number of criteria (see Box 1 ). A well-refined topic accurately and precisely reflects the health care question or dilemma the systematic review is intended to address. It aligns with the priorities and values of a broad range of relevant stakeholders and users of the systematic review. It should accurately reflect the state of the science and technical aspects of the topic. It should be compatible with systematic review research methods.
Criteria that a refined topic should fit.
Nominated topics may be inadequately precise, overly inclusive, or overly narrow in their descriptions of the populations, interventions, comparators, and/or outcomes of interest. Hence, refinement of a topic for public health and/or clinical relevance and for research feasibility may involve narrowing the focus of some elements of the PICOTS, expanding some elements, or both. This process more closely resembles sculpting in clay than sculpting in marble.
Topic refinement investigators strive to optimize the fit of the topic with all of the categories in Box 1 . To do so may require a balanced compromise that considers the relative importance and/or practicality of the criteria. For example, certain stakeholders might nominate a topic highly relevant for their own constituency but also very narrowly focused. A topic refinement investigator might recognize the potential for viably expanding the focus of such a topic to be more broadly relevant to other stakeholder groups, with little or no reduction in relevance to the nominating group. At the same time, the results of a literature scan might suggest that certain aspects of the question have already been adequately answered and therefore should not be included in a new review. Decisions that produce relevant and researchable (and therefore useful) Key Questions lie at the heart of the topic refinement process.
In refining a topic, investigators make numerous decisions to include, exclude, or otherwise modify aspects of the populations, interventions, comparators, outcomes, and settings of interest. They also decide how these elements of the PICOTS should relate to one another as formulated in the Key Questions and analytic framework. Our reviews and discussion of previous topic refinements suggested that investigators variably consider and apply principles when making decisions and refinements; however, the basis upon which these decisions are made has not been previously formalized.
We identified seven guiding principles to be routinely and systematically considered in the course of refining a nominated topic for a systematic review (see Box 2 ). These are: (1) fidelity to the original nomination; (2) relevance; (3) research feasibility; (4) responsiveness to stakeholder input; (5) reducing investigator bias; (6) transparency, and (7) suitable scope. Four principles (fidelity, responsiveness, minimizing investigator bias, and transparency) relate primarily to the conduct of the topic refinement process, and three relate more to the topics themselves (relevance, research feasibility, and suitable scope). These inter-related principles for topic refinement are consistent with those previously described in the EPC guidance for conducting systematic reviews, including relevance, timeliness, objectivity, scientific rigor, public participation, transparency, and emphasis of a patient-centered perspective. 11
Guiding principles for topic refinement.
To satisfy a certain principle an investigator may have to compromise on satisfying another principle. For example, to increase the relevance of a nominated topic that specified a very limited population or setting an investigator might substantially broaden the scope of the PICOTS. In turn, this broader scope might reduce the feasibility of researching the topic. Given that topics vary widely, the relative importance of each principle may also vary according to the topic being refined. Hence, these recommendations are not meant to prescribe how these principles should be applied or balanced for individual topics, only that they be considered. Inevitably, skilled investigators will use their judgment and discretion in refining topics, often making trade-offs between various objectives. We envision investigators using the following seven guiding principles for more systematic and explicit decisionmaking.
The EHC Program is committed to addressing patient-centered health care questions that are tied to the concerns and decisional dilemmas of a broad range of stakeholders—from patients to advocacy groups to professional societies. And while the program does not necessarily strive to satisfy the specific purposes of given nominators, maintaining fidelity to the original nomination assures that topics and systematic reviews are based on real-world issues that are important to stakeholders. Fidelity to the nomination also assures that the systematic review will have relevance to a ready audience. Topic refinement might change the PICOTS and with them the aims of the review. Investigators should be mindful of the initial intent of the nominator as they narrow or broaden a topic so that the resulting review can be useful to a broad range of stakeholders.
Topics should be relevant to decisional issues that matter to the users of the systematic review, and should include outcomes that matter to patients even when the evidence may be scarce. 12 Some nominated topics of high relevance to the nominator may be too narrowly framed to be of great use to a broader audience. Thus, topic refinement investigators may broaden or change the scope of the topic to increase its relevance. For example, in the original nomination of a topic on the effectiveness of case management 13 the nominator specified case management performed by certified nurse case managers. The literature scan and input from Key Informants suggested that case management is frequently conducted by nurses without special certification and by professionals other than nurses. Therefore, the topic was expanded to be more broadly inclusive and relevant to a wider variety of case managers (while maintaining fidelity to the original nomination).
The investigator refines the topic to reflect the underlying clinical logic, which includes the relevant clinical concepts and beliefs about the mechanism by which interventions may improve health outcomes 9 . This requires an understanding of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the arguments for (1) including particular populations, interventions, comparators, outcomes and settings, and (2) the proposed relationships between these elements. This understanding should be reflected in the analytic framework and Key Questions. A topic might be generally relevant for a particular issue or audience, but its relevance is limited if the details of the formulated analytic framework and Key Questions do not reflect the intrinsic clinical logic of the topic. For example, the original nomination for a topic on the treatment of pressure ulcers 14 included as an outcome the progression of an ulcer to a more advanced stage. Key Informants emphasized that traditional staging systems imply a natural progression in wound severity that ignores variability in etiology. They also emphasized that progression of stage may not always be a relevant outcome. Therefore, the refined topic did not include progression of stage as an explicit outcome of interest.
Research feasibility pertains to the practicality of conducting a review using systematic review methods within a specified timeframe and budget. Factors that affect research feasibility are the complexity of the health care issue of interest; the clarity and precision of the Key Questions; the relative heterogeneity of the PICOTS elements; the scope of the topic; and the size and nature of the evidence base.
Key questions that explicitly address the clinical logic and complex aspects of a topic enhance the feasibility and improve the usefulness of the systematic review. For example, a topic was originally nominated in very general terms as “Can screening and surveillance for colorectal cancer using fecal DNA analysis improve health outcomes?” 15 As nominated, this topic did not reflect the underlying complexity of the issue. To make the clinical logic of the topic explicit, the team included Key Questions and an analytic framework that addressed test characteristics, test performance compared with established screening methods, acceptability and adherence to testing, optimal screening intervals, impact on patient-centered outcomes, and harms. Making these important aspects of the topic explicit enhanced its research feasibility.
The clarity and precision of the Key Questions and PICOTS directly influence systematic review inclusion and exclusion criteria. Questions that are unclear or vague may be cumbersome or too complex to answer. Precise Key Questions allow for clearer decisions about the evidence and its synthesis, producing more accurate and efficient reviews. Similarly, the heterogeneity of the PICOTS may also affect research feasibility. A topic that includes diverse populations, interventions, outcomes and/or settings may be more cumbersome to research. A heterogeneous mix of PICOTS and Key Questions may make evidence synthesis more complicated and presentation of the findings less clear.
The scope of a topic may also affect research feasibility. If a topic addresses numerous health care issues, or aspects of an issue, the synthesis of the evidence and communication of findings may be challenging. The topic refinement team may have to decide whether to conduct one systematic review should include them all or multiple more narrowly focused reviews. Such decisions should consider whether a high degree of inclusiveness would allow for clear and precise Key Questions, and whether a lower degree of inclusiveness would reduce relevance for decisionmaking.
Closely related is the influence of the evidence base. If the evidence base is large, it may be unwieldy and impractical to extract and synthesize the relevant literature within available resources. This might suggest the need to split the topic into multiple reviews, or to further focus and narrow the Key Questions. Investigators should consider whether such refinements would reduce the relevance of the review. Conversely, a small evidence base does not necessarily imply that the topic is not feasibly researchable. If certain questions are deemed highly relevant for important decisional dilemmas, then characterizing the evidence base—even if it is lacking—may be useful. Other aspects of the evidence base may also affect research feasibility, such as the design and quality of included studies.
As an example, an original nomination that included both screening for hepatitis C virus (a population health question) and treatment of hepatitis C virus (an individual health question) was refined and divided into two separate systematic reviews due to complexity of the Key Questions, volume of literature, and timeliness of review. 16 , 17 Key Informants emphasized the importance of understanding treatment effects, and inclusion of new treatment regimens and testing options. The Key Questions were revised to capture the complexities raised by Key Informants, and significantly expanded the scope of the review. To feasibly and adequately review the literature in a timely fashion at the level of detail emphasized by stakeholders, two separate reviews were developed in tandem.
To assure that topics are tied to real-world concerns and decisional dilemmas, the topic refinement team is responsive to the input of stakeholders, including those making public comments. Key Informants may differ in their perspectives, understanding, values, and priorities about the health care issues. It is not a goal of topic refinement to reach consensus among stakeholders. Consensus may arise spontaneously, suggesting that the PICOTS and Key Questions are on target. However, a lack of consensus may be equally useful in highlighting an area of disagreement that the team may further explore before making a refinement decision.
By considering the viewpoints and priorities of a broad range of stakeholders, the team may reduce the potential bias of singular views and avoid investigator tunnel vision. This does not imply, however, that the topic refinement team must comply with or incorporate all stakeholder input. Stakeholders can provide the investigators with a diversity of perspectives to consider, but the ultimate topic refinement decisions belong to the topic refinement team.
A topic refinement investigator serves as an arbiter who weighs and integrates information and viewpoints from various sources (literature, topical experts, and Key Informants). Each investigator also brings their experience, expertise, perspective, and values, which could bias the process. Numerous aspects of the topic refinement process can reduce the possible effect of investigator bias. First, as a deliberative process among members of a team, the assumptions and viewpoints of investigators can be made explicit and discussed. In this way, the team can become aware of their possible biases. This awareness allows them to more easily consider their views in relation to other input garnered during topic refinement. The deliberative nature of the process also facilitates the explicit consideration of possibly conflicting views of experts and/or stakeholders. Second, the EHC Program enforces a conflict of interest policy for investigators. 18 Third, a topic refinement team considers input from diverse stakeholders whose viewpoints and priorities may challenge the assumptions of investigators, identify gaps or inconsistencies in thinking, and provide insight into different values related to the questions of interest. Finally, topic refinement is a structured process that formalizes the steps of gathering and processing information, making refinement decisions, and transparently reporting those decisions. The consistency and structure of the process can help to assure that topic refinement investigators openly and judiciously consider various relevant viewpoints, including those that are new or different than their own.
The evidence that influenced crucial topic refinement decisions and the rationale underlying critical refinements should be clearly and explicitly described and documented. This principle is important for public accountability, scientific rigor, and efficiency in the subsequent steps of conducting the systematic review.
Whitlock et al. 5 described public accountability as an ethical requirement for topic identification and selection in the EHC Program, because EHC decisions affect the allocation of limited public resources for comparative effectiveness research. The same principle and rationale apply to the topic refinement process. Stakeholders will have different perspectives and priorities regarding a given topic. Interested parties should be able to determine if and how their priorities were considered in the topic refinement process. Not all stakeholder input will necessarily have been included in the topic refinement process, but transparency allows for public accountability.
Transparency in reporting can also provide important insight into how the research process affected the outcome. The unavoidable subjectivity in the topic refinement process precludes its replication as in a controlled experiment. Yet, this same element of subjectivity makes transparent reporting all the more desirable for a rigorous process. The judgment and discretion of individual investigators will always come into play. This implies that two investigators or topic refinement teams presented with the same original topic nomination could make different decisions and refinements and thereby produce two topics with different PICOTS and Key Questions from a single original topic. Documenting the influence of specific assumptions, evidence, stakeholder input, and rationales allows a critical reviewer or a stakeholder to understand the basis upon which particular refinements to the topic were made.
Transparent documentation of the topic refinement process can also be of value in the subsequent stages of the systematic review. A clear record of the topic's evolution that describes the factors and thinking behind refinements can improve the efficiency and coherence of the systematic review process. This helps to prevent unnecessary duplication of effort on previously addressed questions while providing background context in light of which new questions can be considered.
Summary reports from different EPCs have displayed considerable variability in the detail and transparency of documentation. To make these reports more reliably transparent, we recommended changes to the Topic Refinement Document, including more explicit instructions and a structured guide for more complete reporting of the evolution of the topic. These changes have been incorporated into an updated document ( Appendix A ) and are described in the section on “Reporting,” below.
The scope of a topic refers to its relative degree of inclusiveness as reflected in the PICOTS, Key Questions, and analytic framework. The designated scope of a topic is related to a variety of factors, including the topic's intended relevance and research feasibility. A topic of narrow scope might be restricted to a single form of an intervention in a particular subpopulation with one outcome of interest and a single setting; it may lack the most relevance. In contrast, a topic of broad scope might include various forms of the intervention in the general population and include multiple outcomes and settings; it may present challenges for research feasibility. A suitable scope is sufficiently inclusive to have high relevance and usefulness for decisionmakers, and yet is not so broad as to reduce the coherence of the review and the precision of its findings.
The scope may also vary according to the complexity of the PICOTS elements and their interrelationships as expressed in the Key Questions. For example, a topic on the use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) for treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) 19 included multiple types of DMARD and multiple subtypes of JIA. In addition to the breadth of scope directly related to including numerous interventions (DMARDs) and numerous subpopulations (JIA subtypes), the scope of the topic was further broadened to include the question of variable effectiveness of different DMARDs with different JIA subtypes.
The scope of a topic may also be a function of the level of detail in the Key Questions. In general, higher specificity and detail in the PICOTS and Key Questions will constrain the focus of the topic and limit its scope. That is not to say that a topic with highly detailed Key Questions is always of narrow scope, as a topic of broad scope by virtue of addressing numerous issues with many Key Questions might have a high level of detail in those questions. Scope is distinct from the other principles, in that a description of the suitable scope is a goal of topic refinement and not a principle, per se. However, refinement decisions must usually consider scope in much the same way as the other principles.
The three major stages of a topic in the EPC program (topic nomination and development, topic refinement, and systematic review) are guided by separate but complementary criteria and principles. Infrequently, the topic refinement team may discover (perhaps through input from Key Informants or a more detailed literature scan) that that the topic as proposed no longer fulfills the program's selection criteria. Even though the considerations and purposes of topic development and topic refinement are separate and distinct, a topic in the refinement period must still fulfill the original selection criteria. If the topic cannot be reframed to fulfill the selection criteria it may not proceed to a systematic review.
Similarly the topic refinement team is mindful of the principles for the conduct of the systematic review. The application of topic refinement guiding principles can facilitate the principles for the conduct of the systematic review. Exercising the principles of responsiveness and relevance can promote a patient-centered approach to the evidence. The engagement of relevant stakeholders can elucidate the clinical logic. For example, during the topic refinement process for point-of-care testing for hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), the topic refinement team learned that another systematic review on the same topic was underway. 20 The Key Informants felt that it answered their questions; it was the decision by the team and AHRQ that a new systematic review on this topic would be duplicative and would not add to the current body of knowledge.
In another example, the topic refinement team for enzyme replacement therapy for lysosomal storage disease 21 discovered that evidence was limited for the relevant outcomes for this rare condition. The team weighed several factors in addition to the small body of evidence on long-term effectiveness and harms, such as the inclusion of many study types (small trials, case series, and case reports) and the high potential for impact (affirmed by the absence of systematic reviews and by the Key Informants). Considering these factors, the team proceeded with a different type of EPC report, a technology brief, rather than a systematic review. The alternative report was more appropriate for the volume of the literature and the state of the science, while still providing information that would be relevant, timely, and useful for decisionmakers.
During topic refinement in the EHC Program, nominated topics are ushered through several phases ( Figure 2 ). Although the essential phases of the process follow a logical temporal sequence, the resulting changes in the topic may not always flow in a linear and predictable way. The outcome of one phase (e.g., Key Informant interviews) may lead to a revision in the outcome of a previous phase (e.g., Key Questions developed in the initial topic refinement). Certain aspects of the topic will fall into place before others, in no set order. Furthermore, the details of how a given phase of the process is conducted will differ depending on the nature and requirements of the particular topic; the skills, expertise, and experience of the topic refinement team; the particular Key Informants; and the resources of the individual EPC. Investigators must apply judgment and discretion when planning and conducting the various phases of the process.
The degree of refinement required will vary across topics. Some topics begin with clear and relevant Key Questions and well-defined PICOTS that accurately reflect the clinical logic; in these cases little may change during the topic refinement stage. Other topics may be less clear or complete and require more substantial refinement. In either case, all topics undergo the entire topic refinement process.
Topic refinement requires a variety of skills. Members of the team should have (1) expertise in the methods of systematic review research, (2) knowledge of health care and/or health services, (3) the ability to search and understand health care research literature, (4) the ability to converse fluently with topical experts, (5) the ability to effectively engage stakeholders, (6) skill in the methods described in this report, and (7) project management skills. In addition, a topic refinement team needs to have knowledge of the particular health care topic of interest. It is not expected that each or any member of the team will have all of these skills, just that they have the skills collectively as a team.
EPCs have configured their topic refinement teams in different ways. Teams may include one or more investigators (M.D. or Ph.D.), one or more research associates/assistants, and a research librarian. Depending on the topic, this core team might be supplemented with a topical expert and/or a statistician. Some EPCs use a dedicated core team that leads all of the EPC's topic refinements. Other EPCs employ a single team to lead both topic refinement and the systematic review. Each approach has its own advantages and disadvantages, and EPCs should consider which approach best suits their organization and resources.
The use of a dedicated topic refinement team has the advantages of consistency, efficiency, and iteratively improved expertise. An experienced team that has conducted multiple topic refinements may acquire finer skills in the topic refinement process. In addition, having a dedicated topic refinement team may help to clearly distinguish the different objectives of the refinement stage and the systematic review stage. The goal of topic refinement is to formulate the questions, and the goal of the systematic review is to answer those questions. When formulating the questions it is important not to let considerations of the possible answers overly influence the formulation of the questions. This may be more difficult to achieve if the refinement and systematic review teams are the same.
An advantage to using a single team is improved continuity and efficiency throughout the topic refinement and systematic review process. When the systematic review commences, the team will already be familiar with the topic, facilitating the transition from the topic refinement phase to the systematic review phase. In addition, if further evolution of the Key Questions, analytic framework, and PICOTS is needed the team will be familiar with the issues considered during refinement, which may facilitate decisions about any additional changes to the topic. EPCs using a dedicated topic refinement team approach have addressed this need for continuity between the stages by including at least one of the topic's systematic review investigators as a member of the refinement team.
During the initial topic refinement phase, the topic refinement team will conduct an additional literature scan to supplement the guidance compiled during topic nomination and development. The purpose of this literature scan is two-fold: (1) to help the investigators better understand the topic, its clinical logic, and the decisional dilemmas; and (2) to familiarize the team with the extent of the relevant literature. The literature scan is a targeted search and review of the evidence, which is not fully synthesized. The intent of the literature scan is to provide insight about the research feasibility, relevance, and scope of the subsequent systematic review.
The members of the topic refinement team will not necessarily be experts in the topic, in which case they may conduct informational interviews with topical experts. These interviews provide insight into technical issues, controversies, and the current state of knowledge about the topic. Specific interview questions should be crafted to help clarify basic issues of the topic or uncertainties that arise in the course of reviewing the topic nomination materials and the literature scan.
Guided by a literature scan, input from topical experts, and discussions among themselves, the team develops the provisional PICOTS, analytic framework, and Key Questions. These provisional forms of the essential topic elements will then be used as the basis for interviews with the Key Informant panel (described below). The PICOTS, analytic framework, and Key Questions are interdependent and complementary, and usually evolve together—with changes in one usually carrying through to the others.
Appendix B provides an example from an actual review to illustrate the refinement of a few aspects of a topic. Figure B1 shows the changes to the preliminary nominated PICO (without Timing or Setting) and the nominated question of interest as they were refined into their provisional form. Table B1 charts the identified need for changes to particular elements of the nominated topic, the changes that were made, and the rationale for the refinements. This appendix does not provide a comprehensive description of the entire refinement of the topic. Rather, it illustrates a systematic approach to refining a select few aspects of a single topic. Such an approach can be comprehensively applied to the initial refinement of all aspects of a given topic.
The provisional PICOTS should be patient-centered and relevant for decisionmaking, regardless of what the topic refinement team anticipates will be found in the current literature. 5 For example, outcomes that matter most to patients, such as quality of life or morbidity, are generally more important than intermediate outcomes such as biomarker values. And, comparators that reflect real-world clinical practice or standard of care (and hence are relevant to decisionmaking) are generally preferable to placebo or no treatment.
Refining the PICOTS often involves a balance and tradeoffs between the different PICOTS elements; i.e., inclusion of one element might have restrictive implications for other elements. For example, an outcome of particular interest may not be applicable to certain subpopulations; or constraining the population of interest may limit the relevance to certain interventions. When making refinement decisions about the PICOTS, the topic refinement team considers the principles discussed above, including fidelity to the nomination, scope, relevance, and research feasibility.
The analytic framework illustrates the relationships between the PICOTS and the Key Questions; these inform the systematic review scope and inclusion criteria. This can be useful for both the investigators and the end users of the systematic review—especially when the questions represent a complex logic chain—because the framework highlights the decisional context of Key Questions. The analytic framework depicts our understanding and assumptions of the clinical, biological, or health services underpinnings of the mechanisms through which an intervention is presumed to affect outcomes. Patient-centered outcomes occupy the final causal position in the framework. Causal intermediates or surrogates of the primary outcomes are shown more proximally in the framework. These “intermediate outcomes” are important if associated with patient-centered health outcomes or important for decisionmaking.
The choice of patient-centered and intermediate outcomes reflects the priorities and values of stakeholders and the clinical logic of the topic. An understanding of the clinical logic may come from the literature scan, input by topical experts, and/or the topic refinement investigator's expertise. This may be affirmed or revised later by input from Key Informants or public commentary. The analytic framework has been described in more detail previously. 7 - 10 An example of an analytic framework is in Appendix B .
The Key Questions guide the systematic review. As with the analytic framework, the Key Questions reflect the clinical logic and the important decisional dilemmas of the topic. A fundamental goal of topic refinement is to formulate precise, detailed, and clearly focused Key Questions that elucidate the health care issue of interest. At a minimum, the questions explicitly include the basic elements of population(s), intervention(s), comparator(s), and outcome(s) (PICO). They may also include timing and setting (TS). Each element of the PICOTS and their respective relationships should be specifically and unambiguously described.
Good Key Questions are formulated without judgments about the likelihood of the extant literature to answer them. The Key Questions address patient-centered health outcomes (e.g., quality of life, mortality, hospitalization rates), intermediate outcomes (e.g., diagnostic test characteristics, biomarker values), harms, and factors that may influence effect estimates and introduce heterogeneity in results. To investigate these factors, investigators may include additional Key Questions about subpopulations, different forms of the intervention, or specific settings. See Appendix B for an example of provisional Key Questions.
The topic refinement team obtains input from stakeholder groups through the engagement of Key Informants. The Key Informant panel is a small number of individuals, who reflect the perspectives of those who would make decisions with the findings of the report, as well as those who would be affected by those decisions. Key Informant input can improve the systematic review, help ensure that the research reflects the needs of diverse groups, and facilitate the diffusion and implementation of findings.
Key Informants provide:
Key Informants also provide input from diverse viewpoints. For example these individuals may: describe their experiences with a particular technology; share their opinions about the advantages or disadvantages about specific treatments; describe usual care from the perspective of their organization or specialty; share their opinions about the contribution of the proposed systematic review in improving health care; and/or elucidate important factors and values that affect their decisionmaking (see Appendix A for additional detail). With this input the topic refinement team can better understand real-world context; decisional dilemmas from a variety of perspectives; and controversies and reasons for divergent views. This in turn helps to inform the scope of the review, and improves the relevance and applicability of the results of the evidence review for decisionmakers.
The topic refinement team first identifies relevant stakeholder categories for the Key Informant panel. The team should ensure that the Key Informants represent the diversity of viewpoints on the topic. Unless clearly not relevant for a particular topic, patients or their representatives should always be included. The importance of other stakeholder groups will vary according to the topic and the particular issues or dilemmas to be considered. For topics known to be controversial or associated with particularly challenging dilemmas, Key Informants representing the important opposing viewpoints should be enlisted. Although the number of Key Informants varies by topic and the nature of the questions of interest, the typical range has been 6 to 12 individuals.
The topic refinement team may have a preliminary list of stakeholders from the topic nomination development phase. Key Informants might be identified by contacting professional, industry, or advocacy organizations; by contacting experts whose publications are identified in the literature scan; by referral of the AHRQ Project Officer, who may know of relevant stakeholders who have participated in the EHC Program; by referral of topical experts; or by referral of potential Key Informants (both those who elect to participate and those who do not).
Recruitment and scheduling of Key Informant interviews can be time consuming. Generally it requires multiple communications and coordination of schedules. Some potential Key Informants will decline to participate or will be unavailable during the designated timeframe. Therefore, making a prioritized list of more than one potential candidate for each stakeholder category is helpful. The initial invitation to participate should include a brief introduction to the EHC Program and their role in the topic refinement process; a description of the topic and the interview process; and information about the time and preparation required to participate.
The topic refinement team considers various factors when grouping Key Informants for interviews. These factors include the number of individuals, the types and variety of stakeholder groups, and the specific issues to be addressed. Determining the desired composition of the groups for individual interviews requires the judgment of the topic refinement investigators. For example, if the interview were to focus primarily on an issue requiring particular expertise, the size and heterogeneity of the group could be limited. Similarly, if the topic refinement investigators sought to explore the tension between differing views of an issue, a larger and more heterogeneous group might be desirable (e.g., a patient advocate, a clinician, and an industry representative). Patients or consumers may be more comfortable expressing their views when in a single stakeholder group. The team should carefully consider the type of information needed to further refine the topic and then compose the individual Key Informant interview groups accordingly.
The size of the group in a single interview may affect the quality of engagement, the detail and depth of the discussion, and the ease of facilitating the interview. An overly large group may not allow for all Key Informants to fully express their views within the allotted time. Similarly, trying to hear from too many participants and to address all questions on the interview agenda may preclude exploration of a particular question to the desired level of detail. Compared with smaller groups, a large group is more likely to include participants with a wider diversity of opinions, personalities, and communication styles, all of which may challenge the interviewer's ability to guide and focus the discussion. Larger groups might be viable if the issues for discussion are limited and the Key Informant group is sufficiently homogeneous. Larger groups do offer the potential advantage of reducing the time demand on the topic refinement team; but this advantage may not outweigh the disadvantages.
Determining the best size and composition of interview groups involves balancing the factors mentioned above with practical considerations such as the interview timeframe, schedules of the Key Informants, and available time of the topic refinement team. In our experience, two to four Key Informants per interview is effective and efficient for most topics. For eliciting very specialized and/or voluminous information, one-on-one interviews with particular individuals may be beneficial.
Key Informant interviews provide a means for the topic refinement team to gather information and better understand stakeholder opinions, values, and priorities. Consensus among participants however is not the goal. Generally, the team conducts interviews over a period of about 3 to 4 weeks, followed by several additional weeks to synthesize and incorporate input. The interviews are not conducted with the same high level of methodological and analytical rigor that would be used in focus group research (e.g., coding of transcripts, reaching saturation). Rather, they are an efficient way of eliciting input from stakeholders in as complete and thorough a manner as possible within the practical timeframe of the overall systematic review process.
The interviews are usually conducted via teleconferencing, although face-to-face interviews are sometimes possible. The interviews are scheduled to allow adequate time (typically about 60 to 90 minutes). Oftentimes a core member of the topic refinement team facilitates the interviews. Adequate preparation is essential to successful Key Informant interviews. Key Informants are sent advance materials that review the general purpose of topic refinement and clarify their role in the process; the provisional PICOTS, Key Questions, and analytic framework; and a list of the salient issues and questions to structure and guide the discussion. The list should also include open-ended, jargon-free questions that invite input on any aspect of the topic.
In preparation, the topic refinement team generates a well-considered list of clear and specific discussion questions to guide and structure the interviews. These should be questions about which the team is uncertain and/or which require the input of particular stakeholders. These may be questions that the team has not been able to adequately address with the literature search or in discussion with topical experts, or they may be questions that require additional stakeholders' perspectives, experience, or viewpoints. Questions that explicitly invite comments on the provisional PICOTS, analytic framework and Key Questions can provide useful input that might not emerge spontaneously. In particular, a question about which outcomes are important for stakeholders in making decisions can improve the relevance of the systematic review. And, asking for general input not specific to prepared questions may elicit important unanticipated perspectives.
The facilitator may open the interview by briefly reviewing the essential information contained in the preparatory materials. Such an introductory review will help clarify the goals of the interview, the meaning of PICOTS, the analytic framework, etc. Effective facilitation is essential for effective Key Informant interviews, and the general principles of effective facilitation have been described elsewhere. 12 Critical elements of good facilitation include assuring that all participants are included and allowed to fully express their views; posing effective followup questions that clarify and/or probe the subject more deeply; synthesizing various contributions and advancing the discussion by reformulating questions or just moving to the next agenda item; and reserving one's own opinion beyond that required to elicit and explore the views of the participants. Ultimately, effective facilitation requires good familiarity with the topic and the issues faced in the initial refinement.
The facilitator's job can be more challenging if the group is heterogeneous, either by design or circumstance. Generally, for a more diverse mix of Key Informants, the facilitator should emphasize questions at the intersection of the participants' varied backgrounds. For example, in an interview that includes a patient advocate and a clinician, the facilitator should avoid medical jargon and technical issues and emphasize questions for which all group members can be expected to have an opinion on an equal basis.
A detailed record of the interviews can be useful for reliably considering all relevant input. Such a record also aids the team in producing a summary report that accurately depicts the interviews and the decisions reached by the team. Various methods are used across EPCs to document the content of Key Informant discussions. Typically minutes are taken of interviews and circulated to participants. Recording and transcribing the interviews provides an even more complete record. Team members from at least one EPC use a standard form for this purpose. The form includes sections for (1) recording participants' input related to specific PICOTS elements, (2) observations and thoughts of the team member, and (3) questions as to whether any issues raised should be incorporated into future interviews and/or warrant specific refinements to the topic. It provides a structure for debriefing after the interview and helps ensure that important issues are not missed in the synthesis once all the interviews have been completed.
An essential aspect of the topic refinement process is the integration and synthesis of the information that the team gathers from various sources (literature scan, topical experts, and Key Informants). They consider whether to integrate this input, and how it will affect the analytic framework, Key Questions and PICOTS. These decisions about integration and synthesis are informed by the guiding principles. The importance of each principle may vary by topic, and the team will consider the extent to which a principle is applied, and the balance of one principle with another. Although this report describes effective practices and approaches to topic refinement, the variability between topics makes it impractical to apply the principles in a prescriptive manner. Some issues of synthesis were mentioned in the guiding principles section; this section discusses in greater detail how topic refinement investigators may balance specific principles.
Some refinement decisions are straightforward, and the team may incorporate information that addresses those issues in the course of gathering the information. For example, a nomination might not specify all subclasses of an intervention drug of interest, and the team might easily clarify with the literature scan or topical expert that an additional subclass is also clearly relevant. For other issues the team may intentionally delay a decision to gather additional input because the issue is complex, controversial, or best addressed by another source of information. For example, a Key Informant might indicate that a proposed outcome measure is not appropriate even though the literature scan showed that the measure is commonly used. In such a case, the team might wait to discuss the issue with subsequent Key Informants and/or topical experts before making a decision. Occasionally an issue previously settled is reconsidered in light of additional information or a subsequent decision about another issue.
The team may encounter various challenges in deciding how to synthesize different information, particularly when sources of input conflict. Differences may arise between the original nomination and Key Informant input. For example, the topic nominator may intend to use the systematic review as the foundation of a clinical guideline, and will specify particular interventions. Key Informants may identify additional interventions and comparators that reflect clinical practice and decisional dilemmas. The team will then balance fidelity to the original nomination with responsiveness to stakeholder input and suitable scope to ensure that the systematic review is relevant and useful to the nominator and for other stakeholders.
In other instances Key Informants may disagree on an issue. The team cannot be responsive to all input, and must judiciously decide which input to integrate. In making these decisions, the topic refinement investigator can consider the nature of the evidence, the opinions of experts, the team's own expertise with the topic and/or systematic review methods, and other EHC program principles such as patient-centeredness and public health relevance.
If a topic is limited in its scope by the needs of the nominator or input from Key Informants, the literature scan might reveal a small evidence base, in which case the team may have to balance the research feasibility of the topic with programmatic considerations about the broader relevance and usefulness of the proposed review. In other cases, the literature scan may reveal a large evidence base after further refinement of the clinical logic with Key Informant input; and the team may have to balance responsiveness to stakeholder input, research feasibility, and suitable scope to yield a useful and timely review.
The multiple opportunities for modifying a topic underscore the importance of consistently reporting decisions and the team's rationale for those decisions. This is important for the topic refinement team, for AHRQ, and for other EPC colleagues who may undertake the topic when it proceeds to the evidence review phase.
The topic refinement summary report documents the evolution of a topic through the refinement process, and may be used as a reference throughout the lifecycle of the topic in the EHC program. The topic refinement team may use this document for internal communication about reasons for changes through the topic refinement process. For the evidence review team, the topic refinement summary report may provide an historical document to understand previous decisions, inform discussion of similar issues, accurately respond to the Technical Expert Panel or peer reviewers about decisions made during topic refinement, assist with framing controversial issues in the evidence report, and contribute to discussion of future research needs in the evidence report. The AHRQ program officer may refer to this document to respond to stakeholder queries and to ensure consistency with EHC principles and criteria.
Generally the topic refinement summary report:
Historically, the topic refinement summary reports have not included formal documentation of changes made after public posting of the draft Key Questions, PICOTS and analytic framework; or details of the initial literature scan. These changes are reported in other documents generated during the topic refinement process.
The workgroup observed variability in the content and level of detail in individual summary reports in the following areas:
The workgroup noted that other documents generated in the course of topic refinement (e.g., call minutes with the Project Officer and Key Informants) sometimes provided highly detailed documentation of discussions. However, the topic refinement summary reports frequently did not capture sufficient detail about the important issues and decisions that affected the topic scope.
While transparency does not require detailed documentation of every change and step in the process, disclosure is important for establishing confidence in the refined document—the confidence of patients, reviewers, nominators, decisionmakers, and policymakers. To improve the transparency and consistency of reporting, the workgroup recommended and integrated guidance into the updated topic refinement document ( Appendix A ):
Although the full topic refinement summary report is not posted publicly, the analytic framework, PICOTS, and Key Questions are posted for public comment (see next section ). In addition, a high-level summary of input and changes are reported in the protocol during the systematic review stage.
In addition to Key Informant interviews, public posting offers an important means of capturing input from a broader sample of stakeholders. This also promotes transparency and stakeholder input, important aspects of the EHC Program. A document outlining the proposed scope (draft Key Questions, PICOTS, and analytic framework) is posted for public comment on the EHC Web site for 4 weeks (see Appendix A ). The document also provides sufficient background to apprise the reader of the importance of the topic, uncertainties pertaining to clinical practice, potential impact on patient care, and the potential contribution of the proposed review. Any individual may comment; and commenters have included patients and other consumers, advocacy organizations, health care professionals, professional organizations, and industry representatives. Public comments may provide additional insights about the relative importance of outcomes and PICOTS elements to specific stakeholders, relevance of questions, additional relevant and interested stakeholders, clarity of wording, and potential approaches to frame the eventual evidence report.
Some individuals may attempt to answer the Key Questions rather than to comment on them. Nonetheless, such responses are still of value because they may point to relevant literature and guidelines, identify ongoing work by other organizations, highlight areas of low and high clinical uncertainty, provide insight into clinical or usual practice, and affirm the need for a new review. For example, for a recent review on inguinal hernia repair, 22 public input affirmed the importance and relevance of the topic and provided comments about certain procedures most commonly performed in the United States. This input affirmed that the review addressed the diversity of decisions and factors in inguinal repair, including surgical approach, fixation technique, mesh type, surgical experience, and setting. It also resulted in the elimination of two questions related to nonmesh procedures; expansion of questions related to three distinct populations; and reorganization of questions pertaining to mesh types and fixation methods.
At the end of the public comment period, the topic refinement and/or systematic review team reviews all comments. Additional revisions are documented in the topic refinement summary report. The revised Key Questions, PICOTS, analytic framework, and general highlights of comments and responses are included in the systematic review protocol. These elements are considered final after input from the Technical Expert Panel during the conduct of the systematic review.
To date, EPCs have conducted approximately 100 topic refinements. These topics represent a broad and diverse range of health care issues, each with its own clinical dilemmas, technical questions, coverage implications and/or policy challenges. Although the EHC Program stipulates the phases and common elements of topic refinement that EPCs must include, various EPCs have approached aspects of topic refinement in both similar and different ways. This variation among EPCs provided an excellent opportunity to learn and consider the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches to topic refinement. Our work group has reviewed the approaches used by various EPCs. We critically assessed the topic refinement process, and identified lessons learned. We have developed a set of guiding principles and identified practical approaches to conducting a topic refinement. The points of our report are presented in Box 3 . Through the review of topic refinement summary reports, we offer recommendations to improve the reporting and transparency of the topic refinement process. Given the variability between topics and topic refinement investigators, these recommendations are not meant to be prescriptive. Skilled investigators must inevitably apply judgment and discretion in refining topics. Therefore, we envision investigators using these principles for more systematic and explicit decisionmaking.
Key points.
While these recommendations can enhance and improve the process of topic refinement, our approach was limited in a number of ways. We were not able to assess the effect of topic refinement on the content of the systematic review, nor could we assess its effect on the uptake and presumed usefulness of the systematic review by stakeholders. While the opportunity existed to review public and peer review comments of the draft systematic reviews, the ability to make conclusions about the effect of topic refinement (or its elements) would be limited because of the input of other stakeholders during the systematic review process; other elements that affect perceived usefulness; and readability. While the topic refinement process is described as a linear process, oftentimes it is iterative and topic refinement summary reports may not reflect all considerations of investigators. The workgroup had a limited number of individuals from the EPC program, and thus a limited number of perspectives, but all workgroup members had experience in topic refinement across various EPCs, and the Project Officer had substantial additional experience working with other EPCs. Additional insights from direct contact with other EPC investigators might have informed our results. However, we did receive critical input from EPC investigators representing all but one AHRQ EPC, and we revised the final report accordingly.
The EPC Program's current methods for topic refinement were developed and have iteratively evolved since 2007. In that time, investigators learned lessons about the relative strengths and limitations of various approaches and aspects of topic refinement. The recommendations in this report were developed from our work group's synthesis and assessment of approaches used by various EPCs to date. Questions still remain about many facets of the topic refinement process. How to most effectively identify and engage stakeholders? How to better understand the effects of the inherent subjectivity of the process and to modulate those effects when possible? We expect that methods will continue to evolve and that more will be learned about the best approaches to these and other challenges.
Hemoglobin A1c or glycated hemoglobin level
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Effective Health Care
Evidence-based Practice Center
Population, intervention, comparator, outcome, timing, and setting
Scientific Resource Center
sponsors systematic reviews and the translation and dissemination of research findings to inform decisionmaking and improve the quality of health care services.
EPCs are institutions in the United States and Canada contracted by AHRQ to develop systematic reviews and technology assessments on topics relevant to clinical and other health care organization and delivery issues. The EPCs also conduct research on methodology of systematic reviews.
This is a small number of stakeholders that provide input to the topic refinement team. They share their diverse perspectives and understanding of real-world context on specific topics during interviews facilitated by the topic refinement team. This in turn helps to inform the scope of the review, and improve the relevance and applicability of the results of the evidence review for decisionmakers.
These are individuals that suggest topics for systematic review. He/she lends the topic initial direction and form by providing information about the questions, the affected population, the health-related benefits and harms.
This group is composed of investigators and other individuals with expertise in topic content, systematic review methodology, health care, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement.
This is an individual who represents AHRQ and serves as a point of contact to the Evidence-based Practice Center and its investigators. The Project Officer provides oversight to ensure consistency with the program processes, scientific methods, and principles.
are individuals who have relevant content expertise and who are easily accessed by the topic refinement team. These may be clinicians or other health care providers, researchers, or other individuals who are well versed with the topic. These individuals provide input early in the topic refinement process before Key Informant interviews. These interviews provide insight into technical issues, controversies, and the current state of knowledge about the topic.
are individuals or groups with an interest in the clinical decision and the evidence that supports that decision. These end users of research may be patients or caregivers, practicing clinicians, representatives of professional or consumer organizations, payers, policymakers, industry representatives, or others involved in health care decisionmaking. The EHC programs strives to include stakeholders in the research enterprise from the beginning to improve the end product and facilitate the diffusion and implementation of the findings. Involving relevant stakeholders also helps to ensure that the research reflects the various needs of all diverse users.
Download MS Word (89K)
Note: DMARD= disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug, JIA=juvenile idiopathic arthritis, KQ=key question, NSAID=nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, PICO=population, intervention, comparator, outcome.
View in own window
Original Element | Source of Input | Comment | Decision | Change | Rationale |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominated KQ | Local expert, literature scan | There are at least six subtypes of JIA, with distinct clinical characteristics and different treatment approaches. The amount of published literature for each subtype varies substantially. | Specify in the KQ that subtypes of JIA exist and that the population of interest will include children with any subtype. | Added detail about subtypes makes the key questions more specific, and improves the accuracy and research feasibility of the SR. Inclusion and analysis by JIA subtypes might expand the scope and heterogeneity of the SR; however the literature predominately addresses two subtypes and reduces this concern. | |
PICO (Intervention): Corticosteroids; Synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs); Biologic DMARDs | Literature scan, Key Informant | Corticosteroids are commonly used as first-line treatment for most cases of JIA. | Remove as a intervention, and include as a comparator | Intervention: DMARDs | This change reflects the standard of care and the literature. This does not significantly compromise fidelity to the original nomination. The principal dilemma relates to DMARDs and not corticosteroids; this makes them better suited as a comparator for DMARDs. |
PICO (Outcome): Outcomes include looking at potential harms and benefits of various treatments | Literature scan, Key Informants, Local Experts | Specific outcomes are not included | Include relevant outcomes, and specify them in the key questions and PICO | Distinguishing between patient-centered outcomes and intermediate outcomes elucidates the underlying relationship of the outcomes and the logic of the SR | |
Nominated KQ | Literature scan, key informant, local experts | The outcomes listed do not reflect the clinical logic typically seen in AFs and refined KQs. The nominated topic places patient-centered outcomes (e.g., patient functioning) and intermediate outcomes (e.g., radiographic joint damage) in the same key question. | Formulate key questions specific to the outcome categories (patient-centered outcome; intermediate outcome). | Accuracy and research feasibility are improved by including specific outcomes in the KQ. Distinguishing patient-centered outcomes from intermediate outcomes elucidates the underlying relationship of the outcomes and the logic of the SR. | |
Nominated KQ | Literature scan | Many studies use ACR Pediatric 30, a validated composite measure of improvement of JIA. It includes patient –centered outcomes and intermediate measures. Some measures of the Peds 30 were included in the nominated materials. | Include mention of Peds 30 measure in the AF. | In the AF, asterisks (*) have been added to the outcomes that are constituents of the Peds 30 measure. | The literature scan provided added detail about relevant outcomes, including that part of the ACR Pediatric 30. This improves the accuracy and research feasibility of the review. |
* Measures used in the “ACR Pediartic 30” definition of improvement
Note: CRP=C-reactive protein, DMARD= disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug, ESR = erythrocyte sedimentation rate, KQ = key question, ROM=.range of motion
Does treatment with any of a variety of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), alone or in combination, improve health outcomes (i.e. pain control; clinical remission; quality of life; parent/patient global assessment; mortality; function; or growth and development) compared with placebo, NSAIDs and/or corticosteroids, or other DMARDs?
Does treatment with any of a variety of DMARDs, alone or in combination, improve other outcomes (i.e. active joint count; number of joints with limited ROM; laboratory measures of inflammation; physician global assessment; or radiographic change) compared with placebo, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and/or corticosteroids, or other DMARDs?
Is improvement with other outcomes associated with improvement in health outcomes?
Does treatment with any of a variety of DMARDs, alone or in combination, result in additional troublesome or serious harms compared with placebo, NSAIDs and/or corticosteroids, or other DMARDs?
How do the efficacy, effectiveness, safety or adverse effects of treatment with DMARDs differ between each of the various subtypes of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)?
Comparative Effectiveness Reviews are systematic reviews of existing research on the effectiveness, comparative effectiveness, and harms of different health care interventions. They provide syntheses of relevant evidence to inform real-world health care decisions for patients, providers, and policymakers. Strong methodologic approaches to systematic review improve the transparency, consistency, and scientific rigor of these reports. Through a collaborative effort of the Effective Health Care (EHC) Program, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the EHC Program Scientific Resource Center, and the AHRQ Evidence-based Practice Centers have developed a Methods Guide for Effectiveness and Comparative Effectiveness Reviews. This Guide presents issues key to the development of Comparative Effectiveness Reviews and describes recommended approaches for addressing difficult, frequently encountered methodological issues.
The Methods Guide for Comparative Effectiveness Reviews is a living document, and will be updated as further empiric evidence develops and our understanding of better methods improves. Comments and suggestions on the Methods Guide for Effectiveness and Comparative Effectiveness Reviews and the Effective Health Care Program can be made at www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov.
This document was written with support from the Effective Health Care Program at AHRQ.
None of the authors has a financial interest in any of the products discussed in this document
Suggested citation: Buckley DI, Ansari M, Butler M, Williams C, Chang C. The Refinement of Topics for Systematic Reviews: Lessons and Recommendations from the Effective Health Care Program. Methods Research Report. (Prepared by Oregon Evidence-based Practice Center under Contract No. 290-2007-10057-I.) AHRQ Publication No. 13-EHC023-EF. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; January 2013. www .effectivehealthcare .ahrq.gov/reports/final.cfm
Disclaimer: The findings and conclusions in this document are those of the authors, who are responsible for its contents; the findings and conclusions do not necessarily represent the view of AHRQ or the Veterans Health Administration. Therefore, no statement in this report should be construed as an official position of these entities, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge and thank the following individuals for their contributions to this project: Basmah Rahman, M.P.H., and Ngoc Wasson, M.P.H., for their administrative and project management support; Leah Williams, B.S., and Jeannine Ouellette for editing and formatting this paper; and associate editors Stephanie Chang, M.D., M.P.H., and Mark Helfand, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.
Peer Reviewers
Michelle Brasure, Ph.D.
Project Director, Minnesota
Evidence-Based Practice Center
Minneapolis, MN
Timothy S. Carey, M.D., M.P.H.
Co-Director, RTI-UNC
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC
Emma Irvin, B.A.
Director, Research Operations, Systematic Review Program
Institute on Work & Health
Toronto, ON, Canada
Joseph Lau, M.D.
Program Director, Tufts University
Tufts Medical Center
Melissa McPheeters, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Co-Director, Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, TN
Denise O'Connor, Ph.D.
Editor, Cochrane Effective Practice and Organization of Care Group
Australasian Cochrane Centre
Monash University
Victoria, Australia
Parminder Raina, Ph.D.
Director, McMaster University
McMaster University
Hamilton, ON, Canada
Thomas Ratko, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Blue Cross Blue Shield
Technology Evaluation Center
Washington D.C.
Gillian Sanders-Schmidler, Ph.D.
Director, Duke University
Duke University
Jodi Segal, M.D., M.P.H.
Associate Director, Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Baltimore, MD
Paul Shekelle, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, Southern California
RAND Corporation
Santa Monica, CA
Jonathan R. Treadwell, Ph.D.
Associate Director, ECRI Institute
ECRI Institute
Plymouth Meeting, PA
C. Michael White, Pharm.D., FCP, FCCP
Director, University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
Hartford, CT
Your browsing activity is empty.
Activity recording is turned off.
Turn recording back on
Connect with NLM
National Library of Medicine 8600 Rockville Pike Bethesda, MD 20894
Web Policies FOIA HHS Vulnerability Disclosure
Help Accessibility Careers
Part of the book series: Springer Texts in Education ((SPTE))
1092 Accesses
As you continue to plan your journey, you will recognize the need to further refine your travel interests beyond simply visiting the usual sights. You would want to determine your specific interests in stopping to review particular places.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Subscribe and save.
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Institutional subscriptions
Alvesson, M., & Sandberg, J. (2013). Constructing research questions: Doing interesting research . Sage.
Book Google Scholar
Clark, I. L. (2007). Writing the successful thesis and dissertation: Entering the conversation . Prentice Hall.
Google Scholar
Thomas, R. (2019). Little quick fix: Turn your literature review into an argument . Sage.
Download references
Authors and affiliations.
Rohrer College of Business, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, USA
Robert S. Fleming
Campbell Library, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, USA
Michelle Kowalsky
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Correspondence to Robert S. Fleming .
Reprints and permissions
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Fleming, R.S., Kowalsky, M. (2021). Refining Your Research Topic. In: Survival Skills for Thesis and Dissertation Candidates. Springer Texts in Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80939-3_17
DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80939-3_17
Published : 15 September 2021
Publisher Name : Springer, Cham
Print ISBN : 978-3-030-80938-6
Online ISBN : 978-3-030-80939-3
eBook Packages : Education Education (R0)
Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:
Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.
Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative
Policies and ethics
When we are given a choice of topics to write on, or are asked to come up with our own topic ideas, we must always make choices that appeal to our own interests, curiosity, and current knowledge. If you decide to write an essay on same sex marriage, for instance, it is obvious that you should make that decision because you are interested in the issue, know something about it already, and/or would like to know more about it. However, because we rarely write solely for our own satisfaction, we must consider matters other than our own interests as we choose topics.
A topic is the main organizing principle of a discussion, either verbal or written. Topics offer us an occasion for speaking or writing and a focus which governs what we say. They are the subject matter of our conversations, and the avenues by which we arrive at other subjects of conversations. Consider, for instance, a recent class discussion. Although your instructor determined what topic you discussed initially, some students probably asked questions that led to other topics. As the subjects of our discussions lead to related subjects, so do the topics we write about lead to related topics in our academic studies. However, unlike the verbal conversations we have, each individual piece of writing we produce usually focuses on a single topic. Most effective writers learn that when they present a well-defined, focused, and developed topic, they do a better job of holding their readers' attention and presenting appropriate information than if they had not attempted to place boundaries on the subject of their writing.
In academic writing, topics are sometimes dictated by the task at hand. Consider, for example, that you must conduct a lab experiment before you can sit down to write a report. Or perhaps you have to run a statistical program to get your data. In these situations, your topic is determined for you: You will write about the results of the work you have completed. Likewise, your instructor may simply hand you a topic to explore or to research. In these situations, you are delivered from both the responsibility and the rewards of choosing your own topic, and your task is to try to develop an interest in what you have been given to write about.
More often, however, you will have a bit more leeway in choosing topics of your own. Sometimes you will be asked to find a topic of interest to you that is grounded in ideas developed in shared class readings and discussions. Other times, your assignment will be anchored even less, and you will be responsible for finding a topic all on your own. Many students find that the more freedom they are given to pursue their own interests, the more intimidated they are by this freedom, and the less certain they are of what really is interesting to them. But writing assignments with open topic options can be excellent opportunities either to explore and research issues that are already concerns for you (and which may even have been topics of earlier writing) or to examine new interests. A well chosen writing topic can lead to the types of research questions that fuel your academic interests for years to come. At the very least, though, topics can be seen as occasions for making your writing relevant and meaningful to your own personal and academic concerns.
Before choosing and narrowing a topic to write about, consider why you are writing and who will read what you write. Your writing purpose and audience often dictate the types of topics that are available to you.
In the workplace, purpose and audience are often defined for you. For instance, you might have to write a memo to a co-worker explaining why a decision was made or compose a letter to a client arguing why the company cannot replace a product. In either case, your purpose and audience are obvious, and your topic is equally evident. As a student, you may have to work a little harder to determine which topics are appropriate for particular purposes and audiences.
Oftentimes, the wording of your assignment sheet will offer clues as to the reasons why you are writing and the audience you are expected to address. Sometimes, when assignment sheets are unclear or when you misunderstand what is expected of you, you will need either to ask your instructor about purpose and audience or to make your own educated guess. However you arrive at the purpose and the audience of your writing, it is important to take these elements into consideration, since they help you to choose and narrow your topic appropriately.
Steve Reid, English Professor It's important to circle an assignment's key words and then ask the instructor to clarify what these words mean. Every teacher has a different vocabulary. My students always ask me what I'm looking for when I give an assignment. As a writer, you need to know what the words mean in your field and what they mean to your instructor.
Many times, an assignment sheet or verbal assignment given by an instructor will reveal exactly what you are being asked to do. The first step in reviewing an assignment sheet is to circle key words or verbs, such as "explain," "describe," or "evaluate." Then, once you've identified these words, make sure you understand what your instructor means by them. For example, suppose your instructor asks you to describe the events leading up to World War II. This could mean explain how the events prior to World War II helped bring about the beginning of the war, or list every possible cause you think led to the war, or describe and analyze the events. Inquiring before you start writing can help you determine your writing purpose and the expectations of your intended audience (usually your instructor).
Your purpose helps you to narrow a topic, since it demands particular approaches to a general subject. For example, if you're writing about how state policy affects foreign language study in grades K-12 in Oregon, you could have several different purposes. You may need to explain how the Oregon law came about; that is, what influenced it and who was responsible. Or perhaps you would need to explain the law's effects, how curriculum will be altered, etc. Another purpose might be to evaluate the law and to propose changes. Whatever purpose you decide to adopt will determine the questions which give direction to your topic, and (in the case of a research paper) will suggest the type of information you will need to gather in order to address those questions.
Steve Reid, English Professor You have to be careful so your topic is not too narrow for your audience. You don't want readers to say, " Well, so what? I couldn't care less." One the most important roles a topic plays is impacting an audience. If your topic gets too narrow and too focused, it can become too academic or too pedantic. For example, every year at graduation, I watch people laugh when they hear the title of a thesis or dissertation. The students who wrote these documents were very narrowed and focused, but their audiences were very restricted.
Having a clear idea of the audience to whom you are writing will help you to determine an appropriate topic and how to present it. For example, if you're writing about how state policy affects foreign language study in grades K-12 in Oregon, you could have many different audiences. You could be writing for teachers, administrators at a specific school, students whose educational program will be affected by the law, or even the PTA. All of these audiences care about the topic since they are all affected by it. However, for each of them you may need to provide different information and address slightly different questions about this topic. Teachers would want to know why the policy was created and how it will affect what goes on in their classrooms. Parents will want to know what languages their children will be taught and why. Administrators will want to know how this will change the curriculum and what work will be required of them as a result. Knowing your audience requires you to adapt and limit your topic so that you are presenting information appropriate to a specific group of interested readers.
Most writers in the workplace don't have to think about what's workable and what's not when they write. Writing topics make themselves obvious, being the necessary outcome of particular processes. For example, meetings inspire memos and minutes; research produces reports; interactions with customers result in letters. As a student writer, your task is often more difficult than this, since topics do not always "find you" this easily.
Finding and selecting topics are oftentimes arduous tasks for the writer. Sometimes you will find yourself facing the "blank page" or "empty screen" dilemma, lacking topic ideas entirely. Other times you will have difficulties making your ideas fit a particular assignment you have been given. This section on "Choosing a Workable Topic" addresses both of these problems, offering both general strategies for generating topic ideas and strategies for finding topics appropriate to particular types of writing assignments that students frequently encounter.
Don Zimmerman, Journalism and Technical Communication Professor I look at topics from a problem solving perspective and scientific method. Topics emerge from writers working on the job when they're in the profession, following major trends, developments, issues, etc. From the scientific perspective, topics emerge based on solid literature reviews and developing an understanding of the paradigm. From these then come the specific problems/topics/subjects that professionals or scientists address. Writers generate topics from their professional expertise, their understanding of the issues in their respective disciplines, and their understanding the science that has gone before them.
While your first impulse may be to dash off to the library to dig through books and journals once you've received an assignment, you might also consider other information sources available to you.
Related Information: Making Use of Computer Sources
One valuable source of topic ideas is an Internet search. Many sites can provide you with current perspectives on a subject and can lead you to other relevant sites. You can also find and join newsgroups where your general subject or topic is discussed daily. This will allow you to ask questions of experts, as well as to read what issues are important.
Related Information: Making Use of Library Sources
It is always helpful, particularly in the case of writing assignments which demand research, to visit the library and talk to a reference librarian when generating topic ideas. This way, you not only get to discuss your topic ideas with another expert, but you will also have more resources pointed out to you. There is usually a wealth of journals, reference books, and online resources related to your topic area(s) that you may not even know exist.
Related Information: Talking to Others Around You
The people around you are often some of the best sources of information available to you. It is always valuable to talk informally about your assignment and any topic ideas you have with classmates, friends, family, tutors, professionals in the field, or any other interested and/or knowledgeable people. Remember, too, that a topic is not a surprise gift that must be kept from your instructor until you hand in your paper. Instructors are almost always happy to discuss potential topics with a student once he or she has an idea or two, and getting response to your work early in the writing process whenever possible is a good plan. Discussing your topic ideas in these ways may lead you to other ideas, and eventually to a well-defined topic.
Most topic searches start with a subject. For example, you're interested in writing about languages, and even more specifically, foreign languages. This is a general subject. Within a general subject, you'll find millions of topics. Not only about every foreign language ever spoken, but also about hundreds of issues affecting foreign languages. But keep in mind that a subject search is always a good place to start.
Every time you use Yahoo or other Internet search engines, or even SAGE at the CSU library, you conduct a subject search. These search devices allow you to review many topics within a broad subject area. While it's beneficial to conduct subject searches, because you never know what valuable information you'll uncover, a subject always needs to be narrowed to a specific topic. This way, you can avoid writing a lengthy book and focus instead on the short research paper you've been assigned.
Kate Kiefer, English Professor Most often the occasion dictates the topic for the writing done outside academe. But as a writer in school, you do sometimes have to generate topics. If you need help determining a topic, create an authority list of things you have some expertise in or a general list of areas you know something about and are interested in. Then, you can make this list more specific by considering how much you know and care about these ideas and what the target audience is probably interested in reading about.
In looking for writing topics, the logical first step is to consider issues or subjects which have concerned you in the past, either on the basis of life experience or prior writing/research. If you are a journal writer, look to your journal for ideas. If not, think about writing you have done for other writing assignments or for other classes. Though it is obviously not acceptable to recycle old essays you have written before, it is more than acceptable (even advisable) to return to and to extend topics you have written about in the past. Returning to the issues that concern you perennially is ultimately what good scholarship is all about.
Related Information: Choosing Topics You Want to Know More About
Even though your personal experience and prior knowledge are good places to start when looking for writing topics, it is important not to rule out those topics about which you know very little, and would like to know more. A writing assignment can be an excellent opportunity to explore a topic you have been wanting to know more about, even if you don't have a strong base knowledge to begin with. This type of topic would, of course, require more research and investigation initially, but it would also have the benefit of being compelling to you by virtue of its "newness."
Related Information: How to Pull Topics from Your Personal Experience
It is a good idea to think about how elements of your own life experience and environment could serve as topics for writing, even if you have never thought of them in that way. Think about the topics of recent conversations you have had, events in your life that are significant to you, problems in your workplace, family issues, matters having to do with college or campus life, or current events that evoke response from you. Taking a close look at the issues in your immediate environment is a good place to start in writing, even if those issues seem to you at first to be unworthy of your writing focus. Not all writing assignments have a personal dimension, but our interests and concerns are always, at their roots, personal.
Before attempting to choose or narrow a topic, you need to have some ideas to choose from. This can be a problem if you are suffering from the "blank page or screen" syndrome, and have not even any initial, general ideas for writing topics.
As writers, some of our best ideas occur to us when we are thinking in a very informal, uninhibited way. Though we often think of brainstorming as a way for groups to come up with ideas, it is a strategy that individual writers can make use of as well. Simply put, brainstorming is the process of listing rough thoughts (in any form they occur to you: words, phrases, or complete sentences) that are connected (even remotely) to the writing assignment you have before you or the subject area you already have in mind. Brainstorming works best when you give yourself a set amount of time (perhaps five or ten minutes), writing down anything that comes to mind within that period of time, and resisting the temptation to criticize or polish your own ideas as they hit the page. There is time for examination and polishing when the five or ten minutes are over.
Freewriting is a technique much like brainstorming, only the ideas generated are written down in paragraph rather than list form. When you freewrite, you allow yourself a set amount of time (perhaps five or ten minutes), and you write down any and every idea that comes to mind as if you are writing a timed essay. However, your freewrite is unlikely to read like an organized essay. In fact, it shouldn't read that way. What is most important about freewriting is that you write continuously, not stopping to check your spelling, to find the right word, or even to think about how your ideas are fitting together. If you are unable to think of something to write, simply jot out, "I can't think of anything to write now," and go on. At the end of your five or ten minutes, reread what you have written, ignore everything that seems unimportant or ridiculous, and give attention to whatever ideas you think are worth pursuing. If you are able to avoid checking yourself while you are writing for that short time, you will probably be surprised at the number of ideas that you already have.
Clustering is a way of visually "mapping" your ideas on paper. It is a technique which works well for people who are able to best understand relationships between ideas by seeing the way they play themselves out spatially. (If you prefer reading maps to reading written directions, clustering may be the strategy for you.) Unlike formal outlining, which tends to be very linear, clustering allows you to explore the way ideas sprawl in different directions. When one thought leads to another, you can place that idea on the "map" in its appropriate place. And if you want to change its position later, and connect it with another idea, you can do so. (It is always a good idea to use a pencil rather than a pen for clustering, for this very reason.)
This is a good strategy not only for generating ideas, but also for determining how much you have to say about a topic (or topics), and how related or scattered your ideas are.
Related Information: Example of Brainstorming
Ideas on a Current Issue:
Related Information: Example of Freewriting
Problem: Development of Small Towns in the Rocky Mountain Region
When I grew up in Anyoldtown, New Mexico, it was a small town in the smallest sense: no movie theaters, no supermarkets, nothing. We had to go into town for the things we needed. Land sold for $2000 an acre. Now it sells for about $50,000 an acre. Anyoldtown was also primarily hispanic, and the families who lived there had very little. Now the people who live there are mostly white and almost exclusively professionals: doctors, lawyers, stockbrokers, and an endless number of people who have money that seems to have come from nowhere. There are good things to be had there now: good restaurants, good coffee, and all the other things that come along with Yuppie invasion. But those things were had at quite a cost. People who used to live in Anyoldtown when I was a kid can no longer afford to pay property taxes. I can't think of anything else to write now. Oh, yes...these people made a killing off the sale of their land and properties, but they had to give up the places they had lived all their lives. However, by the time they sold, Anyoldtown was no longer the place where they had lived all their lives anyway.
Sometimes your ways of generating topics will depend on the type of writing assignment you have been given. Here are some ideas of strategies you can use in finding topics for some of the more common types of writing assignments:
Essays responding to or interpreting texts.
Essays in which you evaluate, essays in which you propose solutions to problems.
The great challenge of using personal experience in essays is trying to remember the kinds of significant events, places, people, or objects that would prove to be interesting and appropriate topics for writing. Brainstorming, freewriting, or clustering ideas in particular ways can give you a starting point.
Here are a few ways that you might trigger your memory:
Interview people you've known for a long time.Family members, friends, and other significant people in your life can remember important details and events that you haven't thought about for years.
Try to remember events from a particular time in your life. Old yearbooks, journals, and newspapers and magazines can help to trigger some of these memories.
Think about times of particular fulfillment or adversity. These "extremes" in your experience are often easily recalled and productively discussed. When have you had to make difficult choices, for instance? When have you undergone ethical struggles? When have you felt most successful?
Think about the groups you have encountered at various times in your life. When have you felt most like you belonged to or were excluded from groups of people: your family, cliques in school, clubs, "tracked" groups in elementary school, religious groups, or any other community/organization you have had contact with?
Think about the people or events that "changed your life." What are the forces that have most significantly influenced and shaped you? What are the circumstances surrounding academic, career, or relationship choices that you have made? What changes have you dealt with that have been most painful or most satisfying?
Try to remember any "firsts" in your experience.What was your first day of high school like? What was it like to travel far from home for the first time? What was your first hobby or interest as a child? What was the first book you checked out of the library? These "firsts," when you are able to remember them, can prove to have tremendous significance.
One word of caution on writing about personal experience: Keep in mind that any essay you write for a class will most likely be read by others, and will probably be evaluated on criteria other than your topic's importance to you. Never feel like you need to "confess," dredge up painful memories, or tell stories that are uncomfortable to you in academic writing. Save these topics for your own personal journal unless you are certain that you are able to distance yourself from them enough to handle the response that comes from instructors (and sometimes from peers).
Students are often asked to respond to or interpret essays, articles, books, stories, poems, and a variety of other texts. Sometimes your instructor will ask you to respond to one particular reading, other times you will have a choice of class readings, and still other times you will need to choose a reading on your own.
If you are given a choice of texts to respond to or to interpret, it is a good idea to choose one which is complex enough to hold your interest in the process of careful examination. It is not necessarily a problem if you do not completely understand a text on first reading it. What matters is that it challenges, intrigues, and/or evokes response from you in some way.
Related Information: Writing in the Margins of Texts
Many of us were told at some point in our schooling never to write in books. This makes sense in the case of books which don't belong to us (like library books or the dusty, tattered, thirty year-old copies of Hamlet distributed to us in high school). But in the case of books and photocopies which we have made our own, writing in the margins can be one of the most productive ways to begin the writing process.
As you read, it is a good idea to make a habit of annotating , or writing notes in the margins. Your notes could indicate places in the text which remind you of experiences you have had or of other texts you have read. They could point out questions that you have, points of agreement or disagreement, or moments of complete confusion. Annotations begin a dialogue between you and the text you have before you, documenting your first (and later) responses, and they are valuable when you attempt at a later time to write about that text in a particular way.
One of the most common writing assignments given is some variation on the Arguing Essay, in which students are asked to take a position on a controversial issue. There are two challenges involved in finding topics for argument. One challenge is identifying a topic that you are truly interested in and concerned about, enough so that whatever research is required will be engrossing (or at the very least, tolerable), and not a tedious, painful ordeal. In other words, you want to try to avoid arriving at the "So what?" point with your own topic. The other challenge is in making sure that your audience doesn't respond, "So what?" in reading your approach to your topic. You can avoid this by making sure that the questions you are asking and addressing are current and interesting.
Related Information: Examining Social Phenomena and Trends
In The St. Martin's Guide to Writing , Third Edition, Rise B. Axelrod and Charles R. Cooper discuss the importance of looking toward social phenomena and trends for sources of argument topics. A phenomenon , they explain, is "something notable about the human condition or the social order" (314). A few of the examples of phenomena that they list are difficulties with parking on college campuses, negative campaigning in politics, popular artistic or musical styles, and company loyalty. A trend , on the other hand, is "a significant change extending over many months or years" (314). Some trends they list are the decline of Communism, diminishing concern over world hunger, increased practice of home schooling, and increased legitimacy of pop art. Trying to think in terms of incidental, current social phenomena or long-term, gradual social trends is a good way of arriving at workable topics for essays requiring you to take a position.
Related Information: Making Sure Your Approach to Your Topic is Current and Interesting
In choosing a topic for an arguing essay, it is important to get a handle not only on what is currently being debated, but how it is being debated. In other words, it is necessary to learn what questions are currently being asked about certain topics and why. In order to avoid the "so what" dilemma, you want to approach your topic in a way that is not simplistic, tired, outdated, or redundant. For example, if you are looking at the relationship of children to television, you probably would want to avoid a topic like "the effects of t.v. violence on children" (which has been beaten to death over the years) in favor of a topic like "different toy marketing strategies for young male v.s. female viewers of Saturday morning cartoons" (a topic that seems at least a bit more original).
As a student writer, you are usually not asked to break absolutely new ground on a topic during your college career. However, you are expected to try to find ground that is less rather than more trampled when finding and approaching writing topics.
Trying to think in terms of incidental, current social phenomena or long-term, gradual social trends is a good way of arriving at workable topics for essays requiring you to take a position.
Related Information: Sources of Topics
When trying to rediscover the issues which have concerned you in the past, go back to journal entries (if you are a journal writer) or essays that you have written before. As you look through this formal and informal writing, consider whether or not these issues still concern you, and what (specifically) you now have to say about them. Are these matters which would concern readers other than yourself, or are they too specific to your own life to be interesting and controversial to a reading audience? Is there a way to give a "larger" significance to matters of personal concern? For example, if you wrote in your journal that you were unhappy with a particular professor's outdated teaching methods, could you turn that idea into a discussion of the downfalls of the tenure system? If you were frustrated with the way that your anthropology instructor dismissed your comment about the ways that "primitive" women are discussed, could you think of that problem in terms of larger gender issues? Sometimes your frustrations and mental conflicts are simply your own gripes, but more often than not they can be linked with current and widely debated issues.
When given an assignment which asks you to work with a controversial issue, always try to brainstorm points of controversy that you recall from current or past courses. What are people arguing about in the various disciplines? Sometimes these issues will seem irrelevant because they appear only to belong to those other disciplines, but there are oftentimes connections that can be made. For example, perhaps you have been asked in a communications class to write an essay on a language issue. You might remember that in a computer class on information systems, your class debated whether or not Internet news groups are really diverse or not. You might begin to think about the reasons why news groups are (or aren't) diverse, thinking about the way that language is used.
If you are not already an avid newspaper and magazine reader, become one for a week. Pore over the different sections: news, editorials, sports, and even cartoons. Look for items that connect with your own life experiences, and pay attention to those which evoke some strong response from you for one reason or another. Even if an issue that you discover in a newspaper or magazine doesn't prove to be a workable topic, it might lead you to other topic ideas.
If you are at a loss to find an issue that lights a fire under you, determine what fires up your friends, family members, and classmates. Think back to heated conversations you have had at the dinner table, or conduct interviews in which you ask the people around you what issues impact their lives most directly. Because you share many experiences and contexts with these people, it is likely that at least some of the issues that concern them will also concern you.
It is useful to browse the Internet for current, controversial issues. Spend some time surfing aimlessly, or wander through news groups to see what is being discussed. Using the Internet can be one of the best ways to determine what is immediately and significantly controversial.
Although some essays that students are asked to write are to be based solely on their own thoughts and experience, oftentimes (particularly in upper level courses) writing assignments require research. When scoping out possible research topics, it is important to remember to choose a topic which will sustain your interest throughout the research and writing process. The best research topics are those which are complex enough that they offer opportunities for various research questions. You want to avoid choosing a topic that could bore you easily, or that is easily researched but not very interesting to you.
As always, it is good to start searching for a topic within your personal interests and previous writing. You might want to choose a research topic that you have pursued before and do additional research, or you might want to select a topic about which you would like to know more. More than anything, writers must remember that research will often carry them in different directions than they intend to go, and that they must be flexible enough to acknowledge that their research questions and topics must sometimes be adjusted or abandoned. To read more on narrowing and adjusting a research topic, see the section in this guide on Research Considerations.
Related Information: Flexibility in Research
As you conduct your research, it is important to keep in mind that the questions you are asking about your topic (and oftentimes, the topic itself) will probably change slightly. Sometimes you are forced to acknowledge that there is too much or too little information available on the topic you have chosen. Other times, you might decide that the approach you were originally taking is not as interesting to you as others you have found. For instance, you might start with a topic like "foreign language studies in grades K-12 in Oregon," and in the process of your reading you might find that you are really more interested in "bilingual education in rural Texas." Still other times, you might find that the claim you were attempting to make about your topic is not arguable, or is just wrong.
Our research can carry us in directions that we don't always foresee, and part of being a good researcher is maintaining the flexibility necessary to explore those directions when they present themselves.
Related Information: How Research Narrows Topics
By necessity, most topics narrow themselves as you read more and more about them. Oftentimes writers come up with topics that they think will be sufficiently narrow and engaging--a topic like "multiculturalism and education," for instance--and discover through their initial reading that there are many different avenues they could take in examining the various aspects of this broad issue. Although such discoveries are often humbling and sometimes intimidating, they are also a necessary part of any effective research process. You can take some comfort in knowing that you do not always need to have your topic narrowed to its final form before you begin researching. The sources you read will help you to do the necessary narrowing and definition of your focus.
Related Information: Research Topics and Writing Assignments
When you are choosing a research topic, it is important to be realistic about the time and space limitations that your assignment dictates. If you are writing a graduate thesis or dissertation, for instance, you might be able to research a topic as vast and as time-honored as "the portrayal of women in the poetry of William Blake." But if your assignment asks you to produce a five-page essay by next Tuesday, you might want to focus on something a bit more accessible, like "the portrayal of women in Blake's `The Visions of the Daughters of Albion.'"
Related Information: Testing Research Topics
Early in your research and writing process, after you have found a somewhat narrow avenue into your topic, put the topic to the test to see if you really want to pursue it further in research. Rise B. Axelrod and Charles R. Cooper, in The St. Martin's Guide to Writing , Third Edition, suggest some questions writers might ask themselves when deciding whether or not a research topic is workable:
Students are often asked to write essays in which they evaluate something: a product, a piece of writing, a restaurant, an advertising campaign, or some other entity related to their areas of study. Sometimes when you are given this type of writing assignment, you are also given a very specific topic on which to write. Other times, you are asked to find a topic for evaluation on your own.
Related Information: Comparing and Contrasting
After brainstorming a list of possible topics for evaluation, you may find it difficult to determine whether or not you will be able to effectively evaluate those topics. One way of stimulating your mind's evaluative tendencies is to try comparison and contrast. For example, if you are thinking about evaluating a local Thai restaurant, and you are having trouble coming up with points on which to evaluate it, try comparing and contrasting it with another local Thai restaurant. When we begin to compare two items, ideas, places, or people, we invariably wind up evaluating.
Related Information: Generating an Authority List
If the choice of topics to evaluate is open to you, try brainstorming a list of skills, activities, places, or subjects that you consider yourself to be an authority about. A list like this is a good starting point for just about any essay, but it is particularly useful in evaluation. If you are an avid rock climber, for instance, it makes perfect sense for you to evaluate climbing equipment, since your experience will provide you with a basis for evaluation. It may still be necessary to do research, but you will have a head start even before you begin researching.
Related Information: Questions to Ask Yourself as You Evaluate
In testing possible topics for evaluation, you might ask yourself some very general questions about your initial thoughts. Rise B. Axelrod and Charles R. Cooper, in their St. Martin's Guide to Writing , Third Edition, suggest a few such questions:
As a writer, you will sometimes be asked to speculate on possible solutions to known problems. Although the process of problem solving is itself quite difficult, one of the greatest challenges about that process is the matter of finding a topic that lends itself to your purpose.
Related Information: Evaluating and Problem Solving
Problem solving is an extension of the evaluating process. If in the past you have written evaluative essays which identify certain problems, these essays might offer you some topic ideas and starting points. You might also look to personal writing you have done (like journal entries) or recent conversations you have had as ways of recalling the types of problems that you have identified in your general environment.
Related Information: Focusing on Solvable Problems
Obviously, not all problems are appropriate topics for short problem solving essays. For example, if your instructor assigns a ten-page problem solving essay dealing with a current problem of your choice, you might want to avoid a topic as vast as "racism." However, if you were to focus on a more context-specific version of this hulking problem, you might find a workable topic (say, for instance, minority enrollment on your campus). For assignments like these, it is important to choose problems that appear solvable (or at least approachable) in the time and space you have available to you.
Related Information: Identifying Problems Within Communities
One excellent source of topics for problem solving essays is your immediate environment. Think about the groups or communities to which you belong: your neighborhood, college, family, ethnic and cultural groups, religious and political groups, workplace, and recreational groups. Try to brainstorm a list of problems that you can readily identify in any of these communities, then consider both how solvable these problems are and how appropriate they are to your writing assignment.
In order to choose a topic, you need to have several available to choose from. It is best to avoid being committed to one topic at this first stage of the writing process, since not every topic will pan out. Writers are usually more successful when they have a selection of topics which they can put to the test to determine whether or not they are workable (given the writing assignment).
The scope of a topic depends on how much time and space you have to write and how much detail you are trying to use. For example, describing all the causes of World War II in three pages is impossible. You would have to either narrow your topic some more or write hundreds of pages to adequately discuss every cause. Defining your topic before you start writing will save you time and help you to research and/or to develop your thinking in a clear, methodical way. It is important to examine the topics we choose to determine whether they are too broad (or, in some instances, too narrow) for the writing assignments we are given. Once you have decided that a topic is too broad to be appropriate to your assignment (which is most often the case), you will need to have ways to narrow it. You will also want to consider, when writing essays that require research, how your research resources and limitations affect your choice of topics.
Kate Kiefer, English Professor If a writer doesn't present details quickly enough, then the topic is usually too broad. If the reader can expect the paper to go in one direction, but it goes in another, the topic is usually too broad or not stated precisely enough. If I can ask six million questions about whether the writer will include this or that point, the topic is too broad. If I do a library search and turn up 200 listings (or an Internet search and discover 1,000 hits), the topic is too broad.
A topic is too broad to be workable when you find that you have too many different (but oftentimes remotely related) ideas about that topic. While you want to start the writing process with as many ideas as possible, you will want to narrow your focus at some point so that you aren't attempting to do too much in one essay.
Where essays requiring research are concerned, your topic is too broad if you are able to find thousands of sources when conducting a simple library or Internet search. For example, conducting a search on "foreign languages in Oregon" will provide you with policies, foreign language departments, and cultural issues (just to name a few). When this happens, you can try various narrowing strategies to determine what most interests you about your topic area and what relates to your own life most readily. For instance, if you plan to study abroad, focusing on the language you'll be speaking might be a way to narrow the scope of your original topic, "foreign languages in Oregon."
Steve Reid, English Professor You have to careful so your topic is not too narrow for your audience. You don't want readers to say, " Well, so what? I couldn't care less." One the most important roles a topic plays is impacting an audience. If you get so narrowed and focused, a topic can become too academic or pedantic. For example, every year at graduation I watch people laugh when they hear the title of a thesis or dissertation. The students who wrote these documents were very narrowed and focused, but their audiences were very restricted.
Though student writers most often face the challenge of limiting a topic that is too broad, they occasionally have to recognize that they have chosen a topic that is too narrow or that they have narrowed a workable topic too much. A topic is too narrow if you can't find any information about it. For example, suppose your foreign language subject to, "foreign language policy in South Dakota." Although you might have a strong interest in this topic, South Dakota may not have a specific policy about foreign languages. If you have chosen the topic, "teaching Chinese in elementary schools," and your research attempts have been fruitless, it may be that you are considering a topic that no one else has previously presented. In other words, no one has determined that Chinese should be a major language taught as commonly as Spanish or French. If this happens to be the case, keep your topic in mind, because it could very well be an excellent topic for a graduate thesis or dissertation. However, it is also likely to be a difficult topic to handle in a ten-page essay for an education class, due in two weeks.
If your topic is too narrow, try making it broader by asking yourself related questions.
Once you've found a different direction in which to move with your topic, you can try narrowing it again.
One of the first things writers do when they realize that they need to narrow the scope of their topic is to ask themselves the "w" questions so familiar to journalists: Who? What? Where? When? and Why? (and oftentimes, How?) These questions can help you locate your specific points of interest within your general topic area. For example, to narrow a topic like "foreign languages," you could begin with the "what" and "when" questions and decide you are interested in "foreign language studies in grades K-12." Asking the "where" question, you might arrive at "foreign language studies in grades K-12 in Oregon." And asking the "who" question might cause you to limit the topic again to "state policy regarding foreign language studies in grades K-12 in Oregon." Each time you add something specific to your topic, you place "restrictors" on it, thereby narrowing it. Then, when you conduct a library or Internet search, you can use these "restrictors" as key words.
Related Information: Looping
Looping is an extended version of freewriting in which you begin with an initial five-minute freewrite on a general topic, then select out of that bit of writing the sentence or idea that interests you the most. You then use that sentence or idea as the basis for your next five-minute round of freewriting. You continue this process of elaborating informally on specific ideas until you come to a point where your topic seems sufficiently narrow, researchable, and appropriate to your writing assignment.
Example of Looping If I am freewriting on the general (and overly broad) topic of "development of small towns in the Rocky Mountain region," I might start with the following initial ideas: Problem: Development of Small Towns in the Rocky Mountain Region When I grew up in Anyoldtown, New Mexico, it was a small town in the smallest sense: no movie theaters, no supermarkets, nothing. We had to go into town for the things we needed. Land sold for $2000 an acre. Now it sells for about $50,000 an acre. Anyoldtown was also primarily hispanic, and the families who lived there had very little. Now the people who live there are mostly white and almost exclusively professionals: doctors, lawyers, stockbrokers, and an endless number of people who have money that seems to have come from nowhere. There are good things to be had there now: good restaurants, good coffee, and all the other things that come along with Yuppie invasion. But those things were had at quite a cost. People who used to live in Anyoldtown when I was a kid can no longer afford to pay property taxes. I can't think of anything else to write now. Oh, yes...these people made a killing off the sale of their land and properties, but they had to give up the places they had lived all their lives. However, by the time they sold, Anyoldtown was no longer the place where they had lived all their lives anyway. Rereading what I have written, I might decide that what interests me the most and seems most appropriate to the writing assignment I have been given is my idea about the property tax dilemma. With this in mind, I would write a second "loop" on this area of my thinking, perhaps even starting my freewriting with the exact sentence I used in the first "loop:" People who used to live in Anyoldtown when I was a kid can no longer afford to pay property taxes. This is unfair, because these people spent their entire lives in this town, and land was all they had. Theoretically, the Yuppie Invasion doesn't drive out the "townies" or "natives" of a small town, but in actuality, land values and property taxes (as well as cultural influences, of course) make it impossible (and oftentimes undesirable) for people to hold onto their own land. People have to sell, because if they don't, they can no longer afford to maintain the standard of living that their town has taken on (in more ways than one). This issue obviously has class implications, but I'm sure it also relates to cultural (ethnic) issues as well. This is where I would need to begin researching, if I wanted to see who was most negatively affected by rising property taxes and land values. In rereading this second loop, I might decide that my ideas toward the end of the paragraph interest me the most. I could write another loop expanding these specific ideas on race, class, and property taxes, or I might decide that I have (as my freewrite suggests) arrived at the point where I need to begin researching.
Related Information: Questioning
Alongside the basic "5 W's" ("who," "what," "when," "where," and "why") can be used more formal, directed questions provided by the classical rhetorical "topics." These questions function in four different ways, and can be categorized as follows:
Definition: | These questions help you to define your topic. |
Comparison: | These questions ask you to compare and contrast your topic with other related topics. |
Relationship: | These questions lead you to examine the causes and/or the effects of your topic. |
Testimony: These questions ask you to determine what has already been said or written about your topic. |
Example of Questioning If my general topic is "Development of Small Towns in the Rocky Mountain Region," I might try to narrow my focus by applying questions with specific functions to this topic area, thereby discovering which approach interests me most. Here are some of the questions I might ask:
Questions of Definition: | What is the situation in the Rocky Mountain region in terms of development? How can this situation be characterized, described, classified, or analyzed? |
Questions of Comparison: | How does development in this region compare with development in other regions? In what ways is it similar? In what ways is it different? |
Questions of Relationships: | What caused this problem of development? What changes occurred which contributed to the problem? What causes people to want to develop this region? What are the effects or the consequences of the development? Who is most directly affected by development of small towns? |
Testimony: | What do the "natives" or "townies" who have lived all their lives in these towns think about the development? What do contractors think? What have some towns done to control development? What research has already been done on this topic? What is the general opinion(s) in the Rocky Mountain region concerning development, and why? |
After writing the questions, I would write my responses, deciding which particular questions and responses interest me the most. Perhaps, for instance, I would find myself most interested in the effects of development on the "natives" of small towns, particularly the inevitability of increased property taxes. This process of questioning thus provides me with a specific, narrow, well-defined focus within the vast issue of development of small towns in the Rocky Mountain region.
Related Information: Topic Cross
The topic cross helps you to narrow your topic by using a visual strategy. Just as you would focus a camera or a microscope, you arrange key words and phrases about your topic in such a way that they eventually point to your specific area of interest.
Example of a Topic Cross The first step in the process of using the topic cross is brainstorming. Spend a few minutes listing words and phrases that come to mind when you think about your topic. Then decide which words and phrases are most interesting and arrange them in a hierarchy, moving from general (at the top of the list) to specific (at the bottom of the list). This hierarchy will become the vertical axis of your cross. Demonstration: If my topic is "development of small towns in the Rocky Mountain region," I might generate the following useful ideas in brainstorming (arranged from general to specific).
I would write this list in an imagined middle column of a piece of blank paper or a computer screen, leaving plenty of space between each item. Then I would scan the list to determine where my real interest lies. Which topics in this list will be too broad to write about, given my writing assignment? Which will be too narrow? In this case, I might choose "economic effects on impoverished landowners" as a workable topic area. Once I had thus identified my area of interest, I would begin listing words and phrases about or relevant to that item, placing them on the horizontal axis of my topic cross. The list I would generate about "economic effects on impoverished landowners" might look like this:
Examining this list, I might decide that "rising property taxes" is a sufficiently narrow topic that is not too narrow to develop with my own ideas and research I might do. By using this strategy, I have arrived at a narrow, workable topic.
If your writing assignment requires research, you will probably find that the research process itself will dictate how broad or narrow your topic should be. We have all had the experience of doing a library search on a word like "environment" and coming up with thousands of sources. Almost as common is the experience of searching a term like "cultural animation" and coming up with only one source that seems useful. The topics we choose are often directly related to our research processes and their results.
It is important to remember that a narrow topic is not the same thing as a thesis statement. Unlike a topic, a thesis makes a claim of fact, provides a claim of value, or makes a recommendation about a topic under consideration. For example, your narrowed topic might be "the underemphasis on foreign language in U.S. secondary schools." A focused thesis statement making a claim about this topic might read, "U.S. secondary schools should require elementary students to take at least one course in a foreign language sometime during the 4th through 6th grades."
Transforming a workable topic into a possible thesis is really just a continuation of the narrowing process, with an emphasis on what you want to say about your topic. In this way, it is much like the "hypothesis" stage of the scientific method. You arrive at a thesis by attempting to make a statement about the topic you have chosen.
A working thesis is a tentative statement that you make about your topic early in the writing process, for the purpose of directing your thinking early. This thesis is likely to change somewhat or to be abandoned altogether as you move through the writing process, so it is best not to become too enamored of it.
There are two components of a working thesis. The first is, quite simply, your topic; and the second is your tentative statement about your topic. For example, if my narrowed topic is
"Rising property taxes in small towns in the Rocky Mountain region..."
I might add the following statement about that topic:
"...cause longtime residents and landowners in those towns not to be able to keep their property."
As I begin whatever research is necessary to support this thesis, I might find that I can't make this much of a claim. Or I might find that there are complexities that I hadn't considered. As I uncover new information about my topic, I will want to alter my working thesis accordingly, until it is workable and supportable.
A In The St. Martin's Handbook , Third Edition [italics], Andrea Lunsford and Robert Connors suggest a process for moving from a topic to a research "hypothesis," by way of examining the "issue" at hand and framing this issue as a "research question." The following is an example of how I might move from topic to hypothesis if my narrowed topic is "rising property taxes in small towns in the Rocky Mountain region."
This hypothesis, like a working thesis, is simply an early speculation on what I might find when I begin to research. As I read more and more about my topic, I will probably find that I need to make changes to the hypothesis in order to make it a supportable thesis. As I uncover new information about my topic, I will want to alter my working thesis accordingly, until it is workable and supportable.
One of the greatest challenges in written argument is determining what it is that you would like to (and are able to) say about your topic.
Before you begin drafting an argument paper, you need to decide (tentatively, at least) what it is that you will be arguing about the topic you have chosen. The following prompts should help you focus your argument from a topic to a position on that topic. What is your topic? (e.g.--Rising property taxes in small towns in the Rocky Mountain region) What are three controversies associated with this topic? (e.g.--Rising property taxes make the town affordable only to the wealthy. This changes the flavor the flavor of the town. It forces long-time land owners to sell their land.) What are three questions people might ask about these controversies? (e.g.--Are these rising property taxes, which are the results of development in small towns in the Rocky Mountain region, forcing long-time land owners out of their home towns? Are rising taxes and land values changing the whole cultural and economic foundation of the towns? Given the effects of rising property taxes on impoverished land owners in small towns, is development in this area a good idea?) Decide which of these questions you are most interesting in exploring. (e.g.--Given the effects of rising property taxes on impoverished land owners in small towns, is development in this area a good idea?) Now list several ways people might respond if you asked them your question. (e.g.--No, because impoverished land owners are unable to maintain the new standard of living. Yes, because development is always a good idea. Yes, because development is inevitable, and we can do nothing about it. Perhaps, but city planners and local government must find ways to protect the interests of impoverished land owners when they determine property taxes.) Finally, decide where you stand in this range of responses. Think of a thesis that expresses your view. Write out your thesis and revise it throughout your research process until it is specific and takes a single arguable position. (e.g.--Because impoverished land owners in small towns in the Rocky Mountain region are often badly hurt by the rising property taxes resulting from development, city planners and local government must find ways to protect the interests of these land owners when they determine property taxes.)
Don Zimmerman, Journalism and Technical Communication Professor Writers' understanding of topics and their fields of study allow them to focus on a specific topic. Following a good problem solving process or scientific method can help you select a topic. Whereas on the job, topics emerge from day to day activities. When working, you don't need to look for topics to write about. Your respective field/job responsibilities allow you to find the problems.
The ways that topics are approached and the types of topics that are discussed vary from discipline to discipline. It is important to investigate the types of topics that are discussed (and the ways that they are discussed) in your own discipline. As a writer, it is necessary to determine what topics are talked about and why in your own discipline (or in the discipline for which you are writing). This can be done by way of talking to professionals in the discipline, looking at relevant journals, and conducting Internet and database searches (to name a few possibilities).
Related Information: Browsing Journals Important to Your Discipline
Almost every discipline has journals that are associated with it, and scholars in the discipline depend on these journals in order to remain informed about what topics are being discussed. For example, scholars in the field of psychology rely on psychological journals; doctors rely on medical journals; and English professors rely on literary journals. Because journals are at the center of each discipline's current discussions, it is a good idea to browse them when looking for current topics. If you are unsure of how to go about doing this, talk to a professor in your discipline, a reference librarian in your library, or a librarian in your library's Current Periodicals room. These people can usually provide you with a few titles of important journals relevant to your field. Once you have these titles, you can locate a few issues of each journal in the Current Periodicals room, sit down for an hour or two, and look through the articles to see what is being talked about and what interests you.
Related Information: Online Searches and Databases
One way of getting to the sources which will discuss topics current to your discipline is by searching the various computer databases and search engines related to that discipline. A database is simply an arrangement of information by way of similar subject matter. For example, if you were researching a topic for a Sociology essay on group behavior of Deadheads, you might go to the Social Sciences Index to find sources related to your topic. For information on how to find relevant and useful databases, talk to the reference librarian in your library, or ask an expert in your field which databases he or she uses regularly.
Related Information: Talking to Professionals in Your Discipline
One of the most efficient ways to learn what topics are currently being discussed in your discipline is to talk to the experts: instructors and other professionals working within that discipline. We often forget that these people can be valuable resources to us, and can point us toward books, journals, databases, and other sources of information that scholars in our various fields use often.
Lauel Nesbitt and Dawn Kowalski. (1994-2024). Choosing and Refining Topics . The WAC Clearinghouse. Colorado State University. Available at https://wac.colostate.edu/repository/writing/guides/.
Copyright © 1994-2024 Colorado State University and/or this site's authors, developers, and contributors . Some material displayed on this site is used with permission.
IMAGES
COMMENTS
The Crossword Solver found 30 answers to "a thesis and topic that's excited refined person", 12 letters crossword clue. The Crossword Solver finds answers to classic crosswords and cryptic crossword puzzles. Enter the length or pattern for better results. Click the answer to find similar crossword clues . A clue is required.
Today's crossword puzzle clue is a cryptic one: A thesis and topic that's excited refined person. We will try to find the right answer to this particular crossword clue. Here are the possible solutions for "A thesis and topic that's excited refined person" clue. It was last seen in British cryptic crossword.
A good thesis has two parts. It should tell what you plan to argue, and it should "telegraph" how you plan to argue—that is, what particular support for your claim is going where in your essay. Steps in Constructing a Thesis. First, analyze your primary sources. Look for tension, interest, ambiguity, controversy, and/or complication.
A refined topic will make it easier to formulate a clear and focused thesis statement. Consider narrowing down broad topics to specific aspects or angles that are underexplored or particularly interesting. Step 4: Formulate Your Thesis Statement. Now that you have a refined topic, you can formulate your thesis statement.
Example Thesis B. Version 1: Eating disorders are a significant problem among college-aged students. Version 2: Eating disorders are a significant problem among college-aged men because they negatively affect academic performance, socializing, and overall psychological well-being. Version 3: Eating disorders among college-aged men are ...
To recap, the "Big 5" assessment criteria include: Topic originality and novelty. Value and significance. Access to data and equipment. Time requirements. Ethical compliance. Be sure to grab a copy of our free research topic evaluator sheet here to fast-track your topic selection process.
Conclusion. To choose a thesis research topic, find something you're passionate about, research widely to get the big picture, and then move to a more focused view. Bringing a fresh perspective to a popular theme, finding an underserved audience who could benefit from your research, or answering a controversial question can make your thesis ...
Finding background information on your topic can also help you to refine your topic. Background research serves many purposes. If you are unfamiliar with the topic, it provides a good overview of the subject matter. It helps you to identify important facts related to your topic: terminology, dates, events, history, and names or organizations.
Step 2: Write your initial answer. After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process. The internet has had more of a positive than a negative effect on education.
A thesis is typically a one sentence statement in the first paragraph, or beginning, of your project that states your purpose. Thesis statements should be arguable, specific, detailed, and meaningful. Additional resources for help in developing a thesis statement: Developing a strong thesis statement - Purdue OWL
Step 5: Narrow down, then evaluate. By this stage, you should have a healthy list of research topics. Step away from the ideation and thinking for a few days, clear your mind. The key is to get some distance from your ideas, so that you can sit down with your list and review it with a more objective view.
A working thesis is "working" because it guides your research at the same time that your research tweaks it. A working thesis is far enough along to serve as a viable research question-and-answer-pair, but it is still pliable and open to being altered or refined further as your research progresses and as you discover other, related research ...
The Crossword Solver found 30 answers to "a theses and topic that's excited refined person", 12 letters crossword clue. The Crossword Solver finds answers to classic crosswords and cryptic crossword puzzles. Enter the length or pattern for better results. Click the answer to find similar crossword clues . A clue is required.
Steps to Refining Your Topic. Once you have chosen a general topic idea the next step is to refine your topic and ulitmately to formulate a research question. Consider the points below to keep your research focused and on track. If you continue to have difficulties defining a topic talk to your instructor or a librarian.
Answers for a thesis and topic thatch exited refined person crossword clue, 12 letters. Search for crossword clues found in the Daily Celebrity, NY Times, Daily Mirror, Telegraph and major publications. Find clues for a thesis and topic thatch exited refined person or most any crossword answer or clues for crossword answers.
The topics we choose are often directly related to our research processes and their results. Moving from Topic to Thesis. It is important to remember that a narrow topic is not the same thing as a thesis statement. Unlike a topic, a thesis makes a claim of fact, provides a claim of value, or makes a recommendation about a topic under consideration.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Effective Health Care (EHC) Program conducts systematic reviews on a range of health care topics. Topics are nominated by a variety of stakeholders. Nominated topics undergo a refinement process to ensure that the Key Questions are relevant, of appropriate scope, and will ultimately yield a useful systematic review. Topic refinement ...
Answers for Like a thesis defense crossword clue, 4 letters. Search for crossword clues found in the Daily Celebrity, NY Times, Daily Mirror, Telegraph and major publications. ... A thesis and topic that's excited refined person (12) RADIESTHESIA: I read a thesis about the power used in dowsing ELIA "A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig" author
Continually revising, rewriting, and refining your research topic proposal is a natural part of the research and writing process. After completing a written draft of your proposal, you should set it aside for a short while. Give yourself some time away from your topic (maybe a week or two, but not more than a month), and then return to review ...
The topics we choose are often directly related to our research processes and their results. Moving from Topic to Thesis. It is important to remember that a narrow topic is not the same thing as a thesis statement. Unlike a topic, a thesis makes a claim of fact, provides a claim of value, or makes a recommendation about a topic under consideration.
Answers for a thesis and topic thats exited refined person crossword clue, 12 letters. Search for crossword clues found in the Daily Celebrity, NY Times, Daily Mirror, Telegraph and major publications. Find clues for a thesis and topic thats exited refined person or most any crossword answer or clues for crossword answers.
The Crossword Solver found 30 answers to "A thesis and topic that's excited refined person (12)", 12 letters crossword clue. The Crossword Solver finds answers to classic crosswords and cryptic crossword puzzles. Enter the length or pattern for better results. Click the answer to find similar crossword clues.
Answers for a theses and topic that's excited tefined person crossword clue, 12 letters. Search for crossword clues found in the Daily Celebrity, NY Times, Daily Mirror, Telegraph and major publications. Find clues for a theses and topic that's excited tefined person or most any crossword answer or clues for crossword answers.