- Be as specific as possible when defining your topic.
Examples:
I need annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for the United States, France and Germany for the last 20 years.
What is the average SAT score by race for the last 10 years?
- Identify key concepts and scope including unit of measure, time frame, frequency and geographic coverage. See Define Unit of Analysis.
- Search key literature in your field. A good place to start is other student dissertations and bibliographic databases in your field. See Review Literature.
If you need help narrowing down your topic or identifying bibliographic database try browsing Online Databases by Category or set up a consultation with your Subject Specialist Librarian
