- University Libraries Databases
- WMU Research Guides
- ATYP: Literary Analysis
- Developing a Research Topic
ATYP: Literary Analysis
Creating a Concept Map
A concept map can help plan out your research by getting all your ideas out of your head and on paper. Connecting different concepts together organizes your thoughts into groups of similar ideas so you can communicate your ideas as connected parts of a whole instead of a disconnected list.
Start by thinking of main characters, objects/symbols, and major events. How are they connected? Are there any overarching themes? What about the social, political, or economic context of the book or author? Could they be analyzed or interpreted differently depending on a literary theory* being applied?
*A literary theory is a school of thought or type of literary analysis. Some examples are: feminist theory, ecocriticism, and post-colonial theory.
Broad Themes to a Research Focus
Broad Ideas or Themes
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Specific Ideas
Once you have some broad ideas, try to narrow it down to something more specific. For example, if you are interested in researching Simon's kindness:
- Theme: Kindness in Lord of the Flies
- Keywords: Lord of the Flies, Golding, dystopian literature, Simon,
- Keywords for kindness: Morality, Goodness, Simon, social contract, socialization, psychology, morals, social conventions, civility
Be open to revising your research question as you read your sources.
You may discover that your initial thesis is not quite right or needs to change to something that can be argued with the evidence you have found.
Sample Concept Map
Exploring Information
If you're having trouble coming up with a topic, do simple searches in Google, Library Search, and Google Scholar for the book you are researching. Are you finding anything different or more specific about a certain aspect of your topic?
- What words are being used in titles and abstracts (article summaries) to describe the topic?
- Are there names, dates, places, things, etc. that are repeatedly mentioned?
- Is there anything more specific about a topic that sounds interesting?
Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
Encyclopedias and dictionaries are a great place to get a quick definition or brief overview of a topic.
- CQ Press Library This link opens in a new window Created and hosted by CQ Press, the CQ Press Library is the definitive reference resource for research in American government, politics, history, public policy, and current affairs. A wealth of CQ Press resources and years of journalistic and editorial expertise are combined in this indispensable reference collection. These reference products offer researchers—whether students, scholars, professionals, or interested citizens—a range of tools for discovering and understanding CQ Press's authoritative content. The suite includes CQ Almanac, CQ Researcher Plus Archive, Supreme Court Yearbook, and Politics in America.
- Opposing Viewpoints in Context This link opens in a new window More than 14,000 pro/con viewpoint essays, 5,000+ topic overviews, 300+ primary source documents, 300+ biographies of social activists and reformers, more than 775 court-case overviews, 5 million periodical articles, nearly 6,000 statistical tables, charts and graphs, nearly 70,000 images and a link to Google Image Search, thousands of podcasts, including weekly presidential addresses, premier NPR programs and more.
- Credo General Reference This link opens in a new window Full-text online from over 400 encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference books. Search a topic, build a concept map, or browse information sources organized by subject. Find text, images, sound files, sortable data tables and more.
- Biography in Context This link opens in a new window Search over 600,000 biographies on more than 500,000 people by name, occupation, nationality, ethnicity, birth/death dates and places, or gender as well as keyword and full-text. Also includes full-text articles from more than 300 magazines and newspapers.
- Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window More than 200 dictionaries, encyclopedias, language reference and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press. In addition to text, some sources include maps, illustrations, and Web links. Users can search one resource, a group of selected resources, or all of them at once. Regularly updated. This subscription is limited to five simultaneous users. Please log out when finished.Included in this database are the following titles: Encyclopedia of the EnlightenmentEncyclopedia of the Middle AgesThe Oxford Classical DictionaryThe Oxford Dictionary of ByzantiumThe Oxford Dictionary of the RenaissanceThe Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation
