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Research Topics, Questions, and References
In this paper, I will identify research topics and questions and review their similarities
and differences. A brief background on my career trajectory and my current status in education
will promptly follow. I will discuss the research topic that interests me in my career field. I will
present the question I intend to research in this class. Lastly, I will offer a brief overview of how
the journal articles I have selected support my research question in the form of an annotated
bibliography.
Research Topics and Questions
Ideas alone are not research topics. Ideas are merely a stepping stone into a research
topic. To be considered a research topic, the concept or idea must be very broad and undefined,
leaving room for speculation and questioning (Crawford, 2023, p. 114). An example of a
research topic would be drinking and life expectancy. When viewing this research topic, the
ideas we associate with it are not research questions. However, a research question is akin to a
hypothesis. It should be clearly defined and able to be tested in the way it is worded (Crawford,
2023, p. 114). A research question has an end goal and is a more narrowed version of a research
topic. Based on our example research topic, an example of this would be, “Do people who drink
more have shorter life expectancies?”. Both research topics and questions stem from ideas. They
differ in the span they cover. Research topics are broad and impressionable, while research
questions are more finite and testable. A good analogy would be that a research topic is a
blanket. The research question is a thread in the blanket.
Personal Interests
Currently, I am majoring in Psychology with a minor in Christian counseling. However,
it has switched a lot over the last almost decade. Like my great aunt, I plan to become a
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psychologist or psychiatrist, depending on which subset I feel more comfortable doing. In my
chosen field, I find childhood trauma, mental disorders, and response methods to be an intriguing
research topic. Is there any correlation between childhood trauma and mental disorders, and if so,
what methods are effective in treatment? This is the research question I find myself drawn to.
Going through difficult experiences, especially in my childhood and adolescence, has made me
want to do better for other children who cannot advocate for themselves properly, just as I was
unable to. My career field holds many intricate webs, weaving between sections and subsections.
Through the minimal research I have conducted to locate journal articles, I have found many
different variations of mental disorders associated with childhood trauma. For the sake of this
assignment, I will only cover a few in-depth.
Review of Literature
Carr, C. P., Martins, C. M. S., Stingel, A. M., Lemgruber, V. B., & Juruena, M. F. (2013). The
role of early life stress in adult psychiatric disorders: A systematic review according to
childhood trauma subtypes. The journal of nervous and mental disease., 201(12), 1007–
1020. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000000049
This article focuses on early life stress, including childhood trauma, and how that relates
to psychiatric disorders in adulthood. This article is the perfect blend to explore a
correlation between childhood trauma and mental disorders for my research.
Danese, A. (2020). Annual research review: Rethinking childhood trauma‐new research
directions for measurement, study design and analytical strategies. Journal of child
psychology and psychiatry and allied disciplines., 61(3), 236–250.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13160
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This journal article provides insight into measurement, study design, and analytical
strategies that correlate with the research portion of my research question. This article
also provides some insights on how to better prevent childhood trauma and how to
respond to it in the clinical setting.
The Lancet Psychiatry. (2022). Responding to childhood trauma [Editorial]. Lancet Psychiatry,
9(10), 759. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(22)00316-9
This editorial focuses on how we should respond to childhood trauma. It also covers the
diagnosis, misdiagnoses, and mechanisms that can alter or affect the way we react to
childhood trauma in the therapeutic environment.
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References
Carr, C. P., Martins, C. M. S., Stingel, A. M., Lemgruber, V. B., & Juruena, M. F. (2013). The
role of early life stress in adult psychiatric disorders: A systematic review according to
childhood trauma subtypes. The journal of nervous and mental disease., 201(12), 1007–
1020. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000000049
Crawford, A. R. (2023). Introduction to research: Less fright, more insight (Custom 4th ed.).
Kendall Hunt. https://libertyonline.vitalsource.com/books/9798385105748
Danese, A. (2020). Annual research review: Rethinking childhood trauma‐new research
directions for measurement, study design and analytical strategies. Journal of child
psychology and psychiatry and allied disciplines., 61(3), 236–250.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13160
The Lancet Psychiatry. (2022). Responding to childhood trauma [Editorial]. Lancet Psychiatry,
9(10), 759. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(22)00316-9
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