When: Time period

Focusing on a specific time period is a useful strategy for narrowing some topics. Below are examples of issues that you might narrow by time period to make them more manageable.

For example:

1. Development of women’s rights in Canada

    Consider narrowing by time:

• prior to World War I
• in the 1960s
• post-1980

2. Worker unionization in the United States

    Consider narrowing by time:

• in the 1960s
• post-1980

For a topic with time constraints that are too narrow, you might consider broadening the time period.