1.2 Creating a Topic
Once you have an idea, make sure that the topic you choose isn't too broad or too narrow. Searching for information on a broad topic will give you too many different articles, books, or sites. For example, searching for information on rock music in a database will give you articles about: 
...and more! To narrow down a topic, try focusing on a specific subtopic, a time period, or a particular group.
A topic that is too narrowly focused makes it hard to find information because there may not be many articles or books that cover it. If you're having a hard time finding relevant information, try widening your search by concentrating on only the most important aspects of your topic.
For the rest of this tutorial, our topic will be the history of rock music.
- rock and roll bands
- the history of rock music
- reviews of new albums
...and more! To narrow down a topic, try focusing on a specific subtopic, a time period, or a particular group.
A topic that is too narrowly focused makes it hard to find information because there may not be many articles or books that cover it. If you're having a hard time finding relevant information, try widening your search by concentrating on only the most important aspects of your topic.
For the rest of this tutorial, our topic will be the history of rock music.