Research @ Reynolds Libraries

If you are having trouble selecting your topic for a research assignment or paper, you can get topic ideas and overviews by browsing:

• library databases
• web sites
• books

The sources listed on this page can help you formulate your thesis statement.

Created by Hartness Library, Vermont Tech and the Community College of Vermont.

The library has several sets of books (click on links below) that will help you come up with topic ideas as well as help you narrow down your topic.  

1. After you click on any link below, browse the titles from the catalog results list to get topic ideas.
2. If you find a title that interests you, click on the title from the results list to view the full catalog record which will include the book's chapters.  These chapter titles may give you some ideas on how to narrow down your topic.
3. These books can be checked out of the library and will also serve as a resource for your research assignment.

• Compact Research Series
• Current Controversies Series
• Opposing Viewpoint Series

Encyclopedias can also give you topic ideas.  Review the subjects and titles in our Gale Ebooks collection of specialized encyclopedias to find topic ideas.

Topic Ideas Handout

Topic Ideas Worksheet