Criminal Justice: Broadening / Narrowing Your Topic

If your topic is unfamiliar to you or if you are finding too little information, you may want to broaden your search. To broaden a topic, look for more general or less specific terms.

Example:

Topic: Young, Asian-American mothers

• Teen Pregnancy
• Single Parenthood
• Parent-Child relationships

If you are finding too much information or if your information is too general, you may want to narrow your search. To narrow a topic, select terms that are more specific or descriptive.

Example:

Topic: Global Warming

• Renewable Energy
• Electric Cars
• Water Crisis

Water Crisis

• Water Pump
• Water Farms
• Windmills

Windmills

• Windmills in the United States
• Windmills in a foreign country : Africa

Thesis:  How successful are windmills in Africa?