Human Services Research Guide

Determining the Right Level of Specificity for Your Topic

Many researchers (even experienced ones) struggle with figuring out a topic that is not too broad and not too specific—one that hits the sweet spot between not too much information and still enough credible information to provide sufficient evidence for a position. Common knowledge topics are generally poor research topics--What is the point of researching something that everyone already knows about? Reporting new information that contradicts what is thought to be common knowledge could prove a strong topic provided that the new information comes from credible sources.

Factors Affecting the Scope of Your Topic and Research

• Your goal and/or the assignment instructions
• The type of paper or project you are producing
  • Is your paper a high-level overview of a topic for a web article, or an in-depth literature review for a thesis or journal article submission?
  • Are there length constraints on the final paper, article, presentation, etc.?
• Along with the previous bullet, who is your main audience?
• How new or under-studied is your topic? Sometimes you won't know until you do some background or pre-research.

Topic Scope Infographic

The diagram represents a spectrum of topics ranging from way too broad to way too narrow. It shows that getting to a workable topic can involve moving inward from the extremes until you arrive at the "just right topic"--one that is both manageable and researchable.

Diagram was created with Claude.ai 3.7 and an iterative series of prompts and adjustments. The diagram was then edited in Adobe Photoshop.

Just Right Topic Example (From Diagram) with Explanation 

This is a text-based summary of the diagram.

Effectiveness of Peer Support Programs for First-Generation College Students with Anxiety

• This topic is identified as "Just Right" because a researcher seeking academic literature should be able to find enough information in the form of scholarly source materials on first-generation college students with anxiety and the use of peer-support programs with this population or a closely related population.

Other Broader and Narrower Topics and Why They Are Not Ideal

Topics That Are Way Too Broad

• "Mental Health Issues in Society"
• "Impact of Poverty on Communities"
• "Social Work Interventions"

These topics are likely to be problematic because they

• Cover huge areas with countless possible variables, no specific context
• Do not address a focused research question; basic Who, What, When, Where, and Why should we care questions have not been used to reign in the scope
• Can lead to a paper/project that addresses findings superficially 

Topics that are Moderately Too Broad

• "Mental Health Services for College Students"
• "Effects of Food Insecurity on Urban Families"
• "Social Work Interventions in Public Housing"

While an improvement over the topics that are way too broad, topics that are moderately too broad can still cause similar problems with

• Too much literature to review in a meaningful way
• Not enough focus to present useful findings or insights

Sample Topic that is Way Too Narrow

• "The Effect of Twice-Weekly Peer Support Sessions on Test Anxiety Levels Among First-Generation Hispanic Female Engineering Students at XYZ University During Final Exams"

Finding academic literature on this very specific topic is likely to be impossible. Even searching for literature related to parts of the topic would probably be challenging, for example:

• A search on first-generation Hispanic college students AND engineering AND test anxiety AND female AND final exams AND peer support limited to peer reviewed studies published between 2020-2025 in the ProQuest Central database generates a list of 95 results, but the articles retrieved generally did not address one or more of the search terms. 
• To illustrate the previous bullet point, one article in the results reviewed past studies of various ways first-year students from a range of ethnic/cultural backgrounds and studying different disciplines used social supports in their overall stress management. While somewhat relevant, it did not single out engineering students, women, Hispanic/Latinas, final exams, or twice-weekly meetings of peer support groups.

Sample Topic that is Moderately Too Narrow

• Peer Support Program Implementation for First-Generation Hispanic College Students with Test Anxiety at Public Universities

Similarly to with the topic that is Way Too Narrow, it may be difficult to find scholarly literature that addresses enough of the important aspects of the topic labeled "Moderately Too Narrow."  It may not be impossible, but it is likely to be challenging. Depending on the project or paper you are working on, a "moderately too narrow" topic may make the task harder than necessary.

A Few Final Notes:

• Depending on the type of paper or project you are working on, you may need to include somewhat broader information than your "just right" topic to establish context.
• You may also find a very specific example that you want to include in your discussion of your "just right" topic, but you would not necessarily want to search based on that specific instance.
• There are not standardized rules that apply in all situations.