A. Finding Ideas from Everyday Experiences

1. Record “Small Moments That Bother You” (Noticing)

Carry a notebook (or simply use your smartphone) and write down anything that makes you feel surprised, annoyed, or curious. For example:

“Why do students remain silent when asked to speak English in class, even though they communicate fluently on WhatsApp?”
“Why do I understand learning materials better from YouTube than from textbooks?”

2. Turn Complaints into Research Questions

Complaint: “The reading materials are boring.”

Research question: “What types of texts do students find interesting, and why?”

This can be the starting point for identifying a research problem.

3. Observe Your Immediate Environment

Pay attention to your classroom, campus, social media, textbooks, friends' conversations, and learning or teaching experiences. These everyday experiences are valuable because you have direct access to them and understand their contexts.

4. Apply the Three-Step Pattern: Observe → Question → Investigate

Observe a phenomenon, formulate a question using why, how, or what impact, and then check whether previous studies have addressed it.

5. Remember: Personal Experience Is Not Research Data

Personal experience is only a starting point. To develop it into academic writing, you must support it with relevant theories and previous research and then investigate it using empirical data.

B. Finding Ideas from Previous Studies

1. Start with Keywords Related to Your Interests

Search Google Scholar, Scopus, ERIC, DOAJ, or Garuda (for Indonesian journals) using two or three keywords. For example, “intercultural content” + “EFL textbook.” Try different synonyms and alternative English terms to broaden your search.

2. Select 5–10 Relevant Articles and Read Them Strategically

Do not read every article from beginning to end immediately. Follow this reading sequence:

Abstract → Introduction → Conclusion → Methodology and Findings.
Focus on the research gap and suggestions for further research.

3. Make Use of the “Limitations” and “Suggestions for Future Research” Sections

These sections are among the easiest sources of research ideas for beginners. Authors often explicitly state: “Future research could investigate...” This may provide an opportunity for your own research topic.

4. Create a Simple Literature Synthesis Table

Author (Year)	Topic	Theory	Method	Participants/Data	Findings	Research Gap/Limitations

After reviewing and filling in information from 8–10 articles, you will usually begin to recognize research patterns and identify potential gaps.

5. Identify Common Types of Research Gaps

Contextual gap: A topic has been investigated in the United States or China but has not yet been explored in Indonesia or your local context.
Participant gap: Previous studies have focused on university students, but not on junior high school students.
Methodological gap: Previous studies have employed quantitative methods, but qualitative research is still needed, or vice versa.
Theoretical gap: A phenomenon can be examined using a different theoretical framework.
Temporal gap: Previous findings are outdated and need to be updated.
Contradictory findings: Researchers A and B have reported conflicting findings that require further investigation.

6. Follow the Citations (Citation Chasing)

Examine the reference lists of relevant articles to identify earlier studies (backward citation searching). Then, click “Cited by” in Google Scholar to discover more recent studies that have cited those articles (forward citation searching).

C. Moving from Research Ideas to Research Formulation

Narrow Down Your Topic. “Culture in English language teaching” is too broad. Narrow it down to “The representation of culture in reading texts in Grade 8 English student worksheets in District X.”
Write a One-Sentence Research Problem. Use the following pattern: “Previous studies have examined X, but Y remains underexplored, even though Y is important because of Z.”
Develop 1–3 Research Questions. Formulate research questions that can be answered using data you can realistically access.
Evaluate the Feasibility of Your Research. Ask yourself: Is the data accessible? Is the available time sufficient? Do I have the necessary methodological skills? Will the findings provide meaningful contributions?

D. General Tips for Beginner Academic Writers

Read While Writing. Take paraphrased notes using your own words and record the original sources to avoid plagiarism.
Use a Reference Manager. Start using reference management software such as Zotero or Mendeley (both offer free versions) from the beginning of your research.
Write a Rough First Draft. Your first draft does not have to be perfect. It may be disorganized; revision is an essential part of the writing process.
One Paragraph, One Main Idea. Follow this structure: topic sentence → explanation → evidence/citation → concluding sentence.
Discuss Your Ideas Early. Share your research ideas with lecturers, friends, or academic communities before developing them too extensively.
Do Not Wait for the Perfect Research Idea. Research ideas usually evolve and become clearer as you read more literature and engage in the writing process.

Remember: A good research idea does not necessarily emerge all at once. It develops gradually through observation, critical reading, questioning, and continuous academic reflection.

If you would like, share your academic interests or preferred research topic, and we can practice together: starting with an everyday phenomenon and gradually transforming it into a well-formulated research question.