Choosing a topic:
1. Choose any topic in the universe (or as assigned by your professor)
e.g. Patient Safety
2. Be a little more specific about your topic
e.g. Medication errors
3. Be a lot more specific about your topic,
e.g. Medication errors and nursing role in preveiontion
4. Repeat these steps a few more times to give yourself a few examples of topics to choose from.
Narrowing your topic:
1. Make one or two words more specific,
e.g. Medication errors IV drugs dosage errors and bedside nurses role in prevention
2. Turn your topic into a complete sentence that actually makes a statement
e.g. Bedside nurses have a critical role in preventing intravenious drug dosage errors.
3. Make the sentence a precise and arguable as possible
e.g. By following existing care standards and practices in the preparation and diministration of IV medicines, bedside nurses have a critical role in improving patient safety and preventing medication errors in the pediatric hospital setting. (CINAHL Search)
Adapted from: Choosing and Narrowing a Topic to Write About (for Research Papers)
Some additional ways to broaden or narrow your topic (MIT Libraries: Selecting a Research Topic)
