Choosing Your Topic
Explore Your Interests and the Course Theme
When you are thinking about selecting a research topic, ask yourself some of the following questions.
- About what subjects or topics are you curious?
- What subjects do you like to study?
- What do you like to read?
- What do you like to watch (i.e., movie themes or topics, documentaries)?
- What topics have you enjoyed learning about in this class or others?
Use your answers to these questions to learn more about topics that interest you in general reference library databases such as:
- Gale Virtual Reference Library A database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research.
- Oxford Reference Access to all Oxfords Dictionaries, Companions, and Encyclopedias in one place, covering 25 different subject areas, with new titles and editions added throughout the year. Includes continuous updating and exclusive online-only content. Over 2 million entries in almost 450 titles.
Or try exploring individual, tertiary, subject-specific or specialized reference sources such as:
Encyclopedia of Gender and Society by
Provides timely comparative analysis from internationally known contributors.
Encyclopedia of Motherhood by
In human society, few institutions are as important as motherhood, and this unique encyclopedia captures the interdisciplinary foundation of the subject in one convenient reference. This three-volume set explores major topics related to motherhood, from geographical, historical, and cultural entries to anthropological and psychological contributions.
Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender by
Gender studies have become a major academic field in the past 25 years, providing a lens through which to reexamine and reevaluate knowledge in every area of human interaction and activity. The Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender encompasses the various concepts of sex and gender that have arisen from the critical study of those subjects worldwide, as well as the emerging reimagination of the more traditional humanities and social sciences. Broad theoretical essays address issues of sex and gender at the personal and the social level; others examine issues of identity, status, class, ethnicity, race, and nation; of sexuality and the body; of social institutions and the structures of representation - all through the lens of gender. With a truly global perspective, topics of individual entries include changing conceptions of the feminine, the family and masculinity, religion, morality, cultural images, medical practice, public health, economy and society and many more. In addition, the work discusses the influences of gender studies on various academic disciplines, examining how it has transformed and utilized methods and theories that have evolved. 01
