Working with a Broad Topic
If your topic is too broad:
- You will have too much information to look through and use
- You will not have time to read everything that you find
- You will have too many issues to cover effectively
- Your assignment may lack depth
Focusing a Broad Topic
Here are some strategies for narrowing the scope of a question. They may be used individually or in combinations. Look how applying these strategies can focus the broad topic of “Internet security” to more defined workable topics.
| Strategy | Possible Applications | Narrower Topic |
| Time (When?) | 2006-2007? This year? The future? | Current Internet security initiatives |
| Place (Where?) | Local social norms and values Economic and political systems Languages Region, country |
Internet security initiatives in the United States |
| Population (Who?) | Gender, age, occupation, ethnicity, nationality, educational attainment, species, etc. | Filtering software and children’s access to Internet pornography |
| Viewpoint (Why?) | Social, legal, medical, biological, psychological, economic, political, philosophical? | Constitutionality of Internet filtering technology |
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