Evaluating Research Topics

"Size": For one single research paper, some topics are too big, and some are too small.

"Important?" Theoretical and/or practical

"Interesting?" How so? Counter-intuitive? Super new? And "to whom?"

"So what?"


"Doable?" "How to collect data?"

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Exploratory secondary data analysis --

Start with the data.

Review the data closely.

Identify important/interesting/unusual patterns.

Make sense of those patterns. What do they suggest?

Theorize what you found.

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Secondary Data Sources:

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press -- Biennial Media Consumption 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012
http://people-press.org/dataarchive/

Newspaper Association of America -- Trends and Numbers: Newspaper Web sites (Reach by DMA)
(Click on menu items on the top and on the left for more stuff)
http://www.naa.org/Trends-and-Numbers.aspx

Newspaper/Magazine Print Circulation Data (click on eCirc)
http://www.accessabc.com/products/freereports.htm

ABC's Audience-FAX^* eTrends Tool:
The tool is designed to allow users to create trending reports by reporting period on newspaper's average circulation, average print and online readership, total combined audience, and total unique Web site users.
http://abcas3.accessabc.com/audience-fax/default.aspx

ABC's Audience-FAX online database (registration required, free):
Data on newspapers' average circulation, average print and online readership, total combined audience, and total unique Web site users as well as a variety of print demographic information for both national and local newspapers.
http://abcas3.accessabc.com/scarborough/login.aspx

Nielsen/Scarborough -- Free Reports
http://www.scarborough.com/freeStudies.php