Los Angeles Valley College Library: History Research Guide : Develop a Topic

Explore & Refine

Explore Your Topic
Refine Your Topic

A hiker cresting a mountain with the word "Explore"

Before you develop your research topic or question, you'll need to do some background research first.

Some good places to find background information:

Your textbook or class readings
Encyclopedias and reference books
Credible websites
Library databases

Try the library databases below to explore your topic. When you're ready, move on to refining your topic.

Find Background Information:

Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
Cross-searches full text of more than one hundred encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources covering arts and humanities, biography and genealogy, business, careers, education, literature, history, philosophy, information industry, law, government, medicine and health, multicultural studies, countries, religion, science, social studies, sports, technology, and women's studies.
History Reference Center This link opens in a new window
Covering topics in U.S. and world history from early civilizations through the 21st century, History Reference Center is a research database containing full-text journals, magazines, reference books, and primary source documents.
U.S. History in Context This link opens in a new window
Coverage of significant people, events and topics in U.S. history. Full-text content includes reference, magazine, academic journal, and news articles; also included are primary source documents, images, videos, audio files and links to vetted websites.
World History in Context This link opens in a new window
Coverage of significant people, events and topics in world history. Full-text content includes reference, magazine, academic journal, and news articles; also included are primary source documents, images, videos, audio files and links to vetted websites.

a glass beaker with gold liquid inside with the word "Refine" at the top

Now that you've done some background research, it's time to narrow your topic. Remember: the shorter your final paper, the narrower your topic needs to be. Here are some suggestions for narrowing and defining your topic:

Is there a specific subset of the topic you can focus on?
Is there a cause and effect relationship you can explore?
Is there an unanswered question on the subject?
Can you focus on a specific time period or group of people?

Describe and develop your topic in some detail. Try filling in the blanks in the following sentence, as much as you can:

I want to research ____(what/who)____ and ____(what/who)____

in ____(where)____ during ____(when)____ because ____(why)____.

Example: I want to research the Catholic Church and political institutions in medieval Europe during the Middle Ages because current events have me interested in the concept of "separation of church and state."

Video: How to Narrow Your Topic

The following video [3:34] will give you tips for narrowing your topic. Note: clicking on the image below will open the video in a new tab or window.