Research Guides: Christian Formation and Ministry: Thinking About Your Topic

Finding literature on a specific topic is one of the most important skills to learn, and it's more an art than a science. It requires persistence and creativity. You need to know about the appropriate tools and databases, and know how to use them effectively. This is much more than just "googling" some words!

Whether you have an assigned topic, and you need to narrow down to a manageable research question or start forming a hypothesis, or you are free to choose any topic you want, the first step in narrowing that topic is researching sources for background information.

A good place to start is reference sources and handbooks. Browse through the articles and see if any of the topics look interesting. Notice what keywords are used to describe your area of interest, and use those words to search for more sources. Look at the end of each article to see which sources were used; those are probably key sources that you will want to track down. Here are some places to start:

Zondervan Dictionary of Christian Spirituality
Call Number: Ebook
ISBN: 031029066X
Publication Date: 2011
"The Dictionary of Christian Spirituality reflects an overarching interpretive framework for evangelical spiritual formation: a holistic and grace-filled spirituality that encompasses relational (connecting), transformational (becoming), and vocational (doing) dynamics."
Encyclopedia of religious and spiritual development
Call Number: Ebook, and in print at Ref BV4571.3 .E53 2006
ISBN: 0761928839
Publication Date: 2006
Focuses on the developmental process of religion and spirituality across the human life span. Offers insight into the characteristics of people and their contexts that interact to influence religious and spiritual development over time
Handbook of the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, Second Edition by Raymond F. Paloutzian (Editor); Crystal L. Park (Editor)
Call Number: Ebook
ISBN: 9781462510061
Publication Date: 2013-05-21
This volume comprehensively examines the psychological processes associated with religion and spirituality. Leading scholars from multiple psychological subdisciplines present developmental, cognitive, social psychological, cultural, and clinical perspectives on this core aspect of human experience. The forms and functions of religious practices and rituals, conversion experiences, and spiritual struggles are explored. Other key topics include religion as a meaning system, religious influences on prosocial and antisocial behavior, and connections to health, coping, and psychotherapy.

You can browse through scholarly journals when looking for a topic. This will help you refine your topic and find sources that you can use in your project. Here are some links to relevant journals:

As you browse through these sources, be sure to note:

Topics that interest you and/or intersect with what you are learning in class; engaging with a topic is a key to success.
Keywords and subject terms for main concepts; using these terms will help you find information more effectively in the databases or websites
Where authors disagree (usually in the introduction) or areas for more research (usually at the end of an article); these are subjects you can explore.
Sources in the text and the reference section that may be useful to you.
The names of key researchers so you can find more of their works; key researchers are those names you may observe several times.