Brainstorming Ideas for Research Papers

So, you have a project that has been assigned and you don’t know where to start. The first thing you must do to produce good research is come up with an idea, and develop a focus for that idea. Following these tips to brainstorm research ideas will ensure you’ll never have writer’s block again.  You could make a mind map, free associate like in the writing prompts, make a list, or more.

Mindmaps Are a Great Way to Brainstorm Research Ideas

To start, come up with a topic.  If the topic has already been assigned to you, start with that topic. 

For the sake of learning how to brainstorm research ideas using a mind map, imagine you’ve been assigned to write on presidential elections. If you are making a mind map, you will write “Presidential Elections” in the center of a piece of paper and circle it. 

Then, write down the first word that comes to mind.  Circle the new word or phrase, and draw a line linking it back to the original term.  You can now branch off from the new term, or create a new branch from the original term.

When you’re finished, you should have lots of branches and circles with lots of different topics. Some topics may only be tangentially related to your original topic. Choose the idea that most fires you up.

The List Method for Idea Generation

If you choose to use the list method, you will simply list everything that comes to your mind underneath the initial terms.  In our example, you would write “presidential elections” at the top of the page.  Then you would write, underneath it, the next thing that comes to mind.

Brainstorm Research Ideas by Freewriting

To get started with freewriting, start by writing a topic at the top of your paper.  Next, you will write whatever comes to mind in complete sentences.  Free-writing rules are like the rules for writing prompts.  Keep your pen moving, don’t edit, just get everything out of your head and on paper.

Set a timer (in fact, you should set a timer for all brainstorming methods), continue to write for the duration of the free-write, avoid crossing anything out, and avoid picking the pencil up.  This can be a helpful way to brainstorm research ideas and figure out what your thesis statement should be.

Question Everything

A final method of brainstorming involves writing down questions about your topic.  Avoid answering the questions.  At the end of the brainstorming session, find which questions seem the most tempting to answer and formulate your topic from there.

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