Research Ideas, Sources of

Identifying the research idea is the first step in the research process. Finding a topic may sound easy, but it is often a challenging task. If a scholar is early in his or her research career, the scholar may have a hard time figuring out what he or she wants to study. To get started, it might be helpful for the scholar to reflect on the reasons he or she decided to study in the field of communication. What were the questions that one was seeking to answer and which do the scholar still feel passionate about addressing? Which subjects of communication hold some value for the scholar? What aspects of communication phenomena interest the scholar? What communication-related problems does the scholar want to solve? As research is a process of asking questions and searching for answers, reflecting on the questions posed here is a solid first step, particularly if a scholar is just getting started with research in his or her career. If one is a more advanced communication researcher, the problem may be the opposite: there may be too many topics of interest to study with too little time. Scholars can come up with research ideas from a wide variety of topics, but selecting from such a wide range of topics can become frustrating or overwhelming.

As a general rule, the research topic should be something that the scholar is highly interested in and interesting enough for the scholar to devote weeks and months to the research. Research involves substantial commitments of time and effort and scholars do not want to study something that proves to be a chore. At the same time, scholars should be able to provide very good reasons why anyone should commit their time learning more about the topic that they chose, especially if they plan to share their results at a conference or publish their study in a journal. Often, these reasons are related with the practical and theoretical implications of a study. Thus, it is important for a researcher to ask “so what?” and try to come up with reasons for other people to be interested in the topic by considering the perspectives of future audiences.

Research ideas can emerge from a wide range of experiences and contexts. In the remainder of this entry, readers will find a list of common sources for research ideas, including everyday life, previous studies, and conversations. Research topics can emerge from one of the sources or some combination of them. The entry concludes with an examination of what makes ideas “researchable.”