This document provides guidance on developing an assignment topic through refining a topic into a question and determining significance. It instructs the reader to start with a broad topic related to their assignment parameters, then narrow it by adding focus on specific communities, types of media, or religious practices. Examples are given of refining the broad topic of "Social Media & Religion" into "Use of prayer on Twitter by geographically dispersed people." The document also covers developing a question about the topic, determining what aspect the research will explore and why to establish significance, and identifying keywords to aid in database searches. It concludes with an overview of finding primary and secondary sources.

1. Framing the Context:
Topic Development & Specialized
Database Search
Elizabeth McKeigue & Nicole Branch
Santa Clara University Library
Image courtesy of flickr user Jeff Babbitt

2. Objectives
• Practice a model to help develop
assignment topics
• Become familiar with library resources
for popular and scholarly sources
• Develop a strategy for searching for
sources for your assignment
Image courtesy of flickr user Kirsten Pauli

3. Developing Your Topic
Topic -- Question -- Significance
Image courtesy of flickr user D. Robert Wolcheck

4. Choosing Your Topic
• An interesting subject that came up in class
• Something you are passionate about
• A topic you would like to learn more about
Image courtesy of flickr user Evelyn Flint

5. Assignment Parameters
• Religion & media
• New media (2006-Present)
• Extend or add to something that came up in
class
Image courtesy of flickr user Evelyn Flint

6. Warm up
• Write down your topic as it currently exists
• If you don’t have a topic yet, write down a
topic related religion and new media

7. Developing Your Topic
Topic -- Question -- Significance

8. Topic
Social Media & Religion

9. Focus your topic
• If you can state your topic in 2-3 words, it is
too broad.
• Narrow your topic by adding focus:
Specific community/religion
Type of media
Religious practice

10. Examples
• Specific Community
» United States; Christians
• Type of new media
Twitter, Facebook, blogs
• Religious practice
» Prayer; Proselytizing

11. Topic
Social Media & Religion
• Use of prayer on Twitter by geographically
dispersed people

12. Discussion
• Describe your primary topic to your neighbor.
• Integrate a context to develop your topic.
• Specific community/religion
• Type of new media
• Religious practice

13. Developing Your Topic
Topic -- Question -- Significance

14. Question
• Add a question such as how, why, or in what
ways to your topic.
• In what ways does prayer on Twitter impact
community identity among geographically
dispersed people?

15. Common Mistakes
• Avoid questions with one word answers or
that cannot be answered within limits of the
assignment.
• Avoid questions that are too vague or cannot
be answered with research.
• Avoid speculation without evidence.

16. Question
• In what ways does prayer on Twitter impact
community identity among geographically
dispersed people?

17. Writing Reflection
• Transform your topic into a question.
• Incorporate
How
Why
In what ways

18. Developing Your Topic
Topic -- Question -- Significance

19. Significance & Inquiry
• What do you want to explore?
• My research will explore ….. Because I want to find
out…

20. Twitter, Prayer & Community
My research will explore
The use of prayer on Twitter by geographically
dispersed people
Because I want to find out
» In what ways character length, use of hashtags, and
sharing/responding to prayer impacts the community
identity of geographically dispersed people.

21. Significance
My research will explore
The use of prayer on Twitter by geographically
dispersed people
Because I want to find out
» In what ways character length, use of hashtags, and
sharing/responding to prayer impacts the community
identity of geographically dispersed people.

22. Inquiry
My research will explore
The use of prayer on Twitter by geographically
dispersed people
Because I want to find out
» In what ways character length, use of hashtags, and
sharing/responding to prayer impacts the community
identity of geographically dispersed people.

23. Reflection & Discussion
Apply significance to your question
• My research will explore___________
because I want to find out ___________.

24. Thesis Statement
My thesis is that the brief nature of tweets, use
of hashtags to join together individuals with
common interests and social interaction of
retweeting can create a global community
identity for those who pray on Twitter.

25. Significance & Inquiry
Explore:
• Hashtags
• Character length
• Retweeting/social interaction

26. Questions?

27. Identifying Keywords
My research will explore
The use of prayer on Twitter by geographically
dispersed people
Because I want to find out
» In what ways character length, use of hashtags, and
sharing/responding to prayer impacts the community
identity of geographically dispersed people.

28. Identifying Keywords
My research will explore
The use of prayer on Twitter by geographically
dispersed people
Because I want to find out
» In what ways character length, use of hashtags, and
sharing/responding to prayer impacts the community
identity of geographically dispersed people.

29. Finding Primary & Secondary Sources
• Explore the difference between primary &
secondary sources
• Identify & explore popular sources
• Find scholarly articles
• Go to the guide, answer the poll questions

30. Primary & Secondary Sources
Primary & Secondary Sources- Joshua Vossler: https://vimeo.com/81897081

31. In Class Activity 1
• Work in pairs
• Go to list of Primary Source Resources
• Choose one of your topics and look for an article
or other source that provides context or
background to your research question
• Share with the class

32. In Class Activity 2
• Work on your own
• Go to list of Secondary Source Resources
• Look for an article or other source on your topic that
provides analysis or a response to your research
question
• Answer the questions in Poll 3. I will share your
responses with Prof. Drescher and you will get class
participation credit

33. Questions?
Any last questions about
• Topic Development
• Database searching
• Search strategy
• Primary & secondary or popular & scholarly sources

34. Nicole Branch
Instruction Librarian
nbranch@scu.edu
408.554.5436
Thank you to flickr users:
Jeff Babbitt
Evelyn Flint
Kirsten Pauli
& D. Robert Wolcheck
for sharing their work through
creative commons license.
Elizabeth McKeigue
Instruction Librarian
emkeigue@scu.edu
408.554.6927