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Boxer Library

Academic Writing Guide

Steps to findings a topic

Getting Your Project Started

Finding a research topic is often not as simple as picking any topic, and then conducting a study. One of the best ways to create a great study is to have a strong foundation in the form of a solid research question. Creating this question sometimes takes some work, because your topic might not have evidence immediately available. In most situations, researchers start with a general set of terms or concepts, and then use existing literature to guide the creation of that question. In the search process, it is not uncommon for researchers to alter their question to reflect the available literature. The process for finding the best topic varies slightly based on if you are assigned a topic vs. you come up with your own. The table below outlines the process for each scenario. 

You are Given a Topic You choose a topic from pre-determined choices You choose the topic

Example: A faculty member asks you to create a paper around the question, What interprofessional communication skills are needed for health professionals to effectively communicate with other professions?

  1. Identify the main concepts in the question. 
    • Example concepts: interprofessional communication, health professionals
  2. Choose databases to search. (See table at the bottom of the page for options)
    • Example: You choose to search PubMed and CINAHL)
  3. After examining your results, identify themes or topics.
    • Example: You find a good amount of articles on the communication skills of pharmacists, and decide to concentrate on pharmacists for this paper.
  4. If you have a new focus for the paper, re-write the question.
    • Example: The new question is: 
      • What interprofessional communication skills are needed for pharmacists to effectively communicate with other professions?

Example: A faculty member gives you the following list of topics to choose from for a paper:

  • Interprofessionalism and geriatrics
  • Interprofessionalism and student run clinics
  • Interprofessional education  and medical students 
  1. Pick a topic that interest you, and identify terms to describe those topics.
    • Example: You choose interprofessionalism and geriatrics.
    • You identify the terms interprofessional practice and seniors.
  2. Choose databases to search. (See table at the bottom of the page for options)
    • Example: You choose to search PubMed and CINAHL)
  3. After examining your results, identify themes or topics.
    • Example: You notice that there are interesting articles about dementia screening for seniors and interprofessional practice. 
  4. Write a topic question.
    • Example: What impact does interprofessional practice have on dementia screening in seniors? 

Example: You need to do a study on some aspect of interprofessionalism for your thesis.

While working at a student run free clinic, you wonder if a scale exists to measure patient satisfaction after care in a student run interprofessional clinic. 

  1. Identify key terms or concepts.
    • Example: patient satisfaction, student run clinic, interprofessional practice
  2. Choose databases to search. (See table at the bottom of the page for options)
    • Example you use PubMed. 
  3. Search for articles to see if there is sufficient research already done on this topic. Pay attention to the conclusions to get ideas of new ways to look at the research topic. 
    1. Example: You notice that there are a lot of studies on patient outcomes but not patient satisfaction. This indicates your project may have a positive impact to the amount of literature in this topic. 
  4. Write out the topic.
    • Example: Developing a scale to measure patient satisfaction after care from a student led interprofessional clinic. 

Library Tutorials

One of the first steps in creating a research problem is to search the literature.

You do this for a few reasons:

  • You want to make sure your proposed research question has not already been answered.
  • Obtain background information to provide context for your topic.
  • Finding evidence that will guide the creation of your research question. 

Boxer Library Resources to Find Literature

Library Resource What is it? When to use it?
CINAHL Complete  Provides full text access to hundreds of nursing and allied health journals indexed in the CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature). Additional materials include Evidence-Based Care Sheets and Quick Lessons which provide concise overviews of diseases and conditions and outline the most effective treatment options.
  • If you are looking for information normally found in allied health or health policy.
  • Some of these topics are not listed in PubMed. 
Cochrane Library  A collection of databases containing high quality, in-depth evidence to assist in healthcare decision making. Includes the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, which provides peer-reviewed systematic reviews and protocols.
  • If you are looking for systematic reviews in the health sciences.
  • Remember systematic reviews are a great place to find references. 
LibrarySearch  The Boxer Library's new next-generation discovery service. One search box is all you need to search multiple databases at one time. Search for articles and other information by keyword or by title.
  • Use if you are searching a general topic.
Ovid Medline  Provides advanced features for searching the National Library of Medicine's MEDLINE database, which contains over 22 million biomedical citations.
  • Use if you are looking for articles related to biomedical fields. 
  • Use if you are using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
  • Use if you want to easily limit by article type 

 
PsycInfo  A database of peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science & mental health.
  • Use if you are doing research related to psychology or behavioral sciences.
PubMed  A database that includes over 22 million biomedical citations from MEDLINE. While it does not provide full text access for every citation in the database, PubMed will link you to all full text articles that are currently available through the Boxer Library electronic collection.
  • Use if you want the newest research in the biomedical sciences.
  • Use if you want to use limiters such as publication date, article type and more.