Each time I teach GEOL-3160, there is one or more students who have trouble coming up with a research topic. Whether this is due to a lack of interest, a lack of imagination, poor search skills, a lack of familiarity with recent research in the geosciences, or some shortcoming on my part, I do not know. However, this document is intended to give you an idea of what kind of topic you are looking for, and how to choose a topic.

The most important criteria for selecting a topic are: (1) you should be interested in the subject, because you will be doing library research and a lot of reading and writing on this topic; (2) it should be a current topic, one that is actively being researched and published in geoscience  journals; (3) you should have ready access to the research journals where these articles are published, i.e. they should be available through Walker Library.

Part B of Exercise 1 is designed to make you familiar with whether the topic is current (#2 above), and whether our library can support research on a particular topic (#3 above). Only you can determine #1.

This is a research review paper. Therefore, you must write about specific characteristics of your topic that were only recently determined and reported in geoscience journals. Suppose you decide on "methane hydrates" (a hot topic circa 2004) for your research. Do NOT base your paper on explaining what methane hydrates are, where they are found, and what they might be used for. That is what you do in high school for a book report.

Rather discuss the latest research discoveries concerning "methane hydrates." Write about differences of opinion over how methane hydrates form, what compounds serve as their organic source, or their potential effects on global warming. Include detailed information about the science of your topic & support that detail with data from your research sources, as well as citing your sources. Include graphics and tables from your sources that support and clarify the information you write about. General concepts can be worked in around these major points, but they cannot be the bulk of your paper!

Note: Perhaps the best way to select a topic is to go to the stacks in the library and find several recent copies of the journal Geology or GSA Bulletin. Then begin looking through these until you find a paper that you think is interesting. Skim the paper, read at least the abstract and conclusions, and make sure it is something you would like to know more about. If so, then look at the bibliography (the references at the end of the paper). If you see several (at least 5 or 6) fairly recent citations (last 5 years or so) and they are published in journals that are in our library (such as Geology or GSA Bulletin) you may have found yourself a topic!

• Examples of research topics students have recently chosen:

1. Paleoseismicity of the Cascadia Subduction Zone.
2. Recent discoveries of the Martian ROV "Opportunity."
3. Coral reef decline in the Central American Barrier Reef, Honduras and Belize.
4. Aspects of the Larsen B Ice Shelf Collapse

• Examples of research topics that were too broad, or not current include:

1. The San Andreas Fault (not current, too broad)
2. Variations in the size of the ozone hole over Antarctica (not current, too broad)
3. Theories for cave development in Tennessee (not current)
4. Driving factors for the 1993 Puerto Rico landslide (too narrow, not current)

• Example of topics that are appropriately narrow, and recent:

1. Character of fault movement associated with the Indonesian tsunami, Dec. 26, 2004.
2. Variation in gas composition associated with volcanic eruptions in the Soufriere Hills, Montserrat.