Question number three: Can you cut the topic down to a manageable size? Be reasonable and realistic about what you can do in a short period, say, two to four weeks. If your topic is "The American Revolution", you'll scarcely have time to make a list of books on your subject, let alone read and analyze them. So try to find something specific, such as "The Role of Thomas Jefferson in the American Revolution" or "The Franco-American Alliance". Question number four: What questions can you ask about the topic itself? Questions help you get the topic down to a manageable size, discover its possibilities, and find the goal of your research, that is, the specific problem you want to investigate. Suppose you want to write about the issue of financing a college education - a topic not only current, but also directly linked to the lives of most college students and their families.