There is no precise recipe for developing a research project, but the most important first step is to find a question or issue that genuinely interests you, because you’ll be working on this question for the entire semester. Here are some initial steps:
Brainstorm | Read | Talk
BrainstormAs you probably know, the process of brainstorming is to let any and all ideas flow (in writing, if you’re doing this by yourself, or in conversation, if you’re with others). The goal is to get possibilities on the table, without censoring, analyzing or judging their quality or feasibility. Ask yourself what intrigues or puzzles you about your own behavior or the behavior of others you’ve observed in everyday life. Here are some prompts that can help you get started:
- I hate it when my roommate…
- My sister/brother/significant other and I are the exact opposites when it comes to…
- Why do people…
- I’m a psychology major because I’ve always been interested in…
- In Psych 212, my favorite part was...
- I read a great psych article about...
- I wonder whether pre-meds are as different from everyone else as the stereotype suggests…
- I think everyone is the same when it comes to…
- Everyone is different when it comes to…
- Some people seem to like…
You don’t have to use any of these prompts—they’re just meant to help get things going if you’re having trouble generating ideas.
ReadGo back to your readings from Psych 212 (or other Psych courses) and leaf through the Table of Contents or titles to remind you of different topics. Skim through your notes, paying particular attention to anything you triple-underlined, highlighted or made marginal comments about--just in case that meant you were especially interested/perplexed/curious/doubting about that topic.
Go to our Library site that has psychology-specific sources and information, including tips for finding topics, and hot links for on-line databases for psychology articles.
Go to our Library! While on-line resources are wonderful and very convenient, they do not substitute for actually browsing through the journals and the book stacks in the library. Online sources cannot read your mind and make the interesting leaps and connections that you make when you’re just browsing through different sources, letting titles catch your eye. (Incidentally, as you are looking for sources throughout the semester, “not available online” is not the same as “not available.” There will be sources that you cannot find online, but that are available in the library, or via inter-library loan (ILL). You are expected to track down the sources you need even if they are not online.)
TalkTalk to your friends, family, classmates, profs, librarians about what is interesting about the different ways that humans think, learn, interact, work, play, love, fail, feel, pursue, try, fight, sleep and simply exist.