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William Newhouse

ENC 1102

Professor Jennifer Taylor

February 21, 2017

Topic Reflection

When choosing a topic to research, many people find themselves running into the same

problem: Not knowing which topic to choose. Upon choosing my topic for this particular

research paper, I ran into those same obstacles. With the help of professor Taylor, I was able to

narrow my thoughts into 3 topics: The 2016 presidential election, the decline of attendees in the

Christian church, and ongoing racism between blacks and whites. All three topics may be good

research paper topics, but I would have to narrow the choice down to one that I would be able to

study within the span on 2-3 months.

One of the first things that came into mind when choosing a topic for this paper was the

Presidential Election of 2016. This event seemed to fit because it was relevant and it still plays a

major role in many lives in todays society. The topic is too broad; however, I would narrow it

down to the voters and how they voted. Most people who voted for trump are said to have done

so because he is a man (opposed to Hillary Clinton being a woman) or because he isnt a career

politician. It would be relatively hard to research every voter who voted for him due to the fact

that not a lot of people are proud to say that they voted for him now, but I would survey those

who do come forward. This survey would include heir name, age, ethnicity, financial status, and

why they voted for trump. At the end of the survey, I would ask if they are satisfied with how

hes done so far or if they wish that they had voted for Hillary instead. I believe that the topic
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does have potential to be a good choice for my research paper. The relevancy will allow me to

find up-to-date research on the topic and provide accurate facts. The problem I would run into

are fallacies in the surveys; these fallacies could be anything from inconsistencies to data that

doesnt correlate with my specific research. If I were to come in contact with this problem, Id

have to throw out a lot of that data and rely strictly on research. With that being said, I dont

think the topic of the 2016 presidential election would be the strongest choice for my research

topic because my specific research group can only be tested on the voters of Donald Trump and

nothing more.

My next topic choice, why there is a huge decline in the attendees of Christian Churches,

would require quite a bit more in-depth research. This topic presents a valid question among the

youth of our country. For the sake of this research paper, the topic would have to be narrowed

down to a certain group of people; I would choose young blacks because thats where the change

is most prevalent. Another problem I would run into is the time frame given to research the topic,

versus the amount of time needed to look into an issue this broad. My plan is to have a more

personalized data set in order to narrow the topic as small as possible. Narrowing the topic would

also allow for me to pinpoint an exact discourse community. To do my research, I would first

find out why the problem has presented itself and then compare the data to Christian

teachings; I already have background knowledge of both why this is happening and how

Christianity was introduced into the Negro community. After researching the How and Why of

the issue, I would then survey my peers that fit the demographics (Black, under the age of 21,

and Christian). Through this process, I can then start to formulate a conclusion on how this

problem started and why its occurring. I do believe this would be a great topic to choose,
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however I do not believe Id gave enough time to research the material necessary to give an in-

depth explanation of my findings.

My final choice of topics would be an in-depth analysis of racism. In order to present this

topic, I could present it in the format of a speech. Within this speech, I would give the definition

of the word racism and its origin; from there I would then present its role among our community

and history. In order to provide an in-depth analysis, I would have to give specific examples

among groups of people; I would choose its effects on the black and white communities. This

analysis would show everything from how racism is used to oppress blacks by the white

community and how it is impossible for the same to happen in reverse. The problem I would find

with this analysis is that not everything knows and understands the definition of racism, so its

interpretations become heavily opinionated. With this being said, I would try to steer away from

surveying as an outlet to provide facts; most of the time people tend to mix their opinion with the

fact of racism and the meaning isnt understood. In order to avoid this, I would research exact

occurrences and give specific examples of racism in America. My target group for the research

would remain broad, Blacks and whites, however I could narrow it down to certain instances

such as the workforce. I do believe it would be hard to completely steer away from opinion on

the topic of racism because every source is bias; I would have to try my best to keep the speech

as factual as possible. The research needed for this topic can also be done within the 2-3 month

time period given so it is possible to achieve my goal. It is very well possible to provide an

adequate amount of data to present this topic in a wholesome manner.

If I were to be asked to choose one of these topics and begin my research paper

tomorrow, I would choose my third topic. I believe that all three topics are valid and could be
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formulated into decent research papers, however the third topic provides an edge over the rest for

the time period given.