Things You'll Need:
- Electronic Personal Organizers
- Floppy Disks
- Personal Organizers
- Computers
- Software For Doing Backups
- Word-processing Software
- Floppy disks
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Step 1
Thumb through your old class notes and textbooks for topics that grab you.
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Step 2
Make a list of these topics.
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Step 3
Eliminate topics based on such issues as level of interest (how excited do you get when you think about it?), practicality (too broad? too narrow?), and how significant a contribution it will make to your discipline.
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Step 4
Go through the remaining topics with as many people as you can, but at least with your department's academic advisors. They will help you eliminate more topics.
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Step 5
Consult with fellow students as well; they'll offer not only great ideas, but also sympathy.
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Step 6
Ask as many professors as possible what they know about work that's already been done on the topics that remain.
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Step 7
Find this work, and see how similar or different it is from your own ideas. If it's too similar, you've just eliminated another possibility.
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Step 8
Choose whichever of the remaining topics interests you the most.
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Step 9
Keep in mind that your topic is a work in progress, and allow yourself to be flexible. It's inevitable that some aspects of your topic will change as you progress in your research and writing.








Comments
Anonymous said
on 2/23/2006 It's best to start talking to professors before the end of your junior year so you can start working over the summer if you need to.