This document provides guidance on selecting and narrowing a research topic for an assignment. It recommends choosing a topic that is interesting, relevant to the context, and debatable with available sources. Topics should be appropriately broad or narrow depending on the assignment. Common, easily answered, or overly broad topics should be avoided. The document then discusses ways to narrow a topic, such as through demographic categories, types of questions to ask, or disciplinary lenses. It provides examples of how to narrow the topic of education according to different filters. Finding an issue within the topic allows for analysis and positioning.