Consider the steps of the scientific method:

Step 1: Observe behavior or other phenomena.
Step 2: Form a tentative explanation or hypothesis.
Step 3: Use the hypothesis to generate a testable prediction.
Step 4: Evaluate the prediction through planned and systematic observations.
Step 5: Using observations support or refute your original hypothesis.

You will find a research idea and select a topic. A research topic can be approached from many angles through brainstorming, which encourages you to quickly consider many appropriate solutions to a problem without judging or analyzing them. By using a mind map, which is a brainstorming tool, you can take a single word and extend and connect it to a web of many other words to identify possible research avenues. The mind map process relies on association, integration, and synthesis. Single words are usually connected in a web to show their relationship to other words. Mind mapping is just one way to move an idea from a general to a narrowed focus, which is the starting point for effective research. To help narrow your focus examine: Brainstorming and mind mapping for assignments at http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/quickrefs/25-brainstorming.xml

Next, choose a general research topic that interests you, and create a list of terms that relates to your research idea. Any topic related to the field of psychology is a possibility: corporate culture, chronic illness, adoption, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), etc. Reducing a topic into subtopics might look like this: social support refers to types of support, network characteristics, and individual characteristics. Additionally, each of these subtopics might generate other subtopics as shown below.

You will use mindmeister (http://www.mindmeister.com), a free mind mapping service to create a mind map to help focus your own research efforts.

Main Task: Mindmap Your Topic and Discover a Research Question
Begin this activity by using mindmeister to develop potential research angles on your topic. To use Mindmeister:

1. Establish an account by choosing a user name and password.
2. Begin a mind map by clicking the Create a New Map button on the home page.
3. Once inside the map screen, click the Help button to view a short tutorial on using the interactive features of mindmeister.
4. Start with placing a key concept (words or phrases) related to your research topic in the center of the mind map area.
5. Add additional words or phrases that connect to the starting point.
6. Continue your mind map until you feel that you have thoroughly developed and refined your idea.
7. Invite collaborators or viewers to see your map by clicking the Share map… button at the bottom of the work screen.

Save a copy of your map, click the Export button at the top of the work screen, and choose PDF or GIF as the export version.
Note: You are not required to use mindmeister as your mind map program, but you are required to create a mind map in a visual presentation for submittal. You can use a program of your choice (Word, Excel, InDesign, etc.), or scan an actual drawing. If you create a mind map using an alternative method, please verify the file format with your instructor to assure that she/he can view it in its finished state.

Now that you have explored some preliminary ideas, you can begin to formulate potential research questions and hypotheses – the next step in the research process. Sometimes the most common question or occurrence can be an intriguing topic. For example, consider the question: Is there a relationship between obesity in young children and television viewing? As you learned in your readings, almost any topic can be researched, as long as there are reputable resources available to support the study. This activity helps you to write a research question that you will explore throughout this course.

Chapter 2 of Gravetter and Forzano describes the processing of getting started in research. The first step is to find a topic using the mind map output and some of the common sources described in your textbook, including personal interest, causal observation, practical problems or questions, vague thoughts, reading others work and observations or theoretical based ideas. Considering primary and secondary sources and avoiding the common mistakes in choosing a topic in research, using online databases such as PsycINFO begin the process of conducting a literature search.

Submit the work you have completed for this activity in one document that includes the following:

1. Your mind map graphic pasted into the document.
2. A brief narrative in which you reflect on your brainstorming experience. How did this process affect your thinking about your proposed topic and your process of formulating a question? What are some other techniques that might help to expand and focus an idea? Be sure to incorporate citations from the two mind mapping articles that you read for this activity.
3. Identify your topic and write three questions that may interest you concerning your topic.
4. For each question, write a hypothesis.
5. Identify a least of 10-key search words or search word combinations to use in a search database (such as PsycINFO)
6. Conduct search of either primary or secondary sources and identify five of sources that you may use in your final project (acknowledging that this initial list may change). Three of these sources must be empirical journal articles.
Your paper should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts that are presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards.
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