On Topic

I’ve gotten a couple of emails about one of the most frequent issues of this course: picking the right topic. Here’s really the only requirement for topics: looking into a question, a controversy, that you can investigate into and find research to support your claims.

Write about a controversy?

Write about a RATIONAL controversy

Summarizing a scientific discovery, then, isn’t enough. If what you’re writing about is a sure thing, like the chemistry behind baking, then you shouldn’t write about it. If you want to write about whether or not baking is good for someone’s mental health, that’s a topic worth a look (as long as you can find research into the neurology and psychology behind cooking/baking). Why? Because nobody can look up the answer on Wikipedia. Another way to think about it: can someone pose a rational argument against yours? If not, then it’s probably not a good topic. No one can pose a rational argument against facts like the sun makes plants grow–so explaining how is not a good idea. Another bad idea would be to argue that Tina Fey is funnier than Amy Poehler just because of your opinions. But if you found a way to scientifically evaluate that question (who’s funnier) and opinions, like looking at ratings, number of viewers, volume and frequency of laughs in stand up comedy, and maybe other ways that you could evaluate humor and popularity, you might have a chance at a good blog. (Maaybee….)

Another example: Writing about the observation that many people get colds in the winter is not a good idea. But writing about whether or not Vitamin C products are an effective method of fighting colds is interesting. Or writing about “natural” treatments (water, rest, Netipot) versus cold medicine would also be interesting.

mg_3503-300x200Another example (one of mine): Does music help or hurt your studying? Sure, you could do a Google search, but even the first page would be full of sites shouting complete opposite assertions. First I read what some of those had to say, and a few sparked me to think about the question on my own. What are the factors that could make it hurt you or help you? I decided to look into a few different variables: volume, genre, and type of homework. For sources, I read through academic journals and experiments (Best advice for those is to start by reading the abstract, the hypothesis, and the conclusion. Then look into other parts when you’re up for it and if you need to.). It wasn’t like there was one source for all of these lines of questions. I had to look into a number of different research papers, sometimes looking at things circuitously, to try to get the big picture. If you don’t have to do that, or at least something close to that, for your potential topic, then it’s probably not a solid topic. By the way, if you want to know what I found out about music, check it out.

Let me know what you think of this and whether you understand or not! Comment below if you’re up for it. And if you ever want to run a topic by me or the other TAs, we’re always around 🙂