I'm looking for free brainstorming tools to help my students come up with ideas for research topics in English Literature. Most of what I found are paid software or they merely function more like a mind-mapping tool rather than a brainstorming one. Any suggestions are much appreciated!
Thanks!
Just skimming abstracts in the general area of my research interest always worked for me.
You are right. Most of the free brainstorming tools serve a single purpose like mind-mapping.
However, there are some complete tools that are free or cheap. If you are looking specifically at the electronic type of brainstorming there are few good options:
I have also provided a simple explanation of all 3 types of brainstorming as reference for the students. You may provide your input as to how it can be improved further: https://managementweekly.org/types-of-brainstorming/
Thanks, Arindra Nath Mishra . I'll certainly have a look at these.
Brainstorming, which—strictly speaking—is a group activity, is but one creative technique: out of many, two others are lateral thinking (e.g., the PMI technique, Six Thinking Hats) and Rich Picturing. Creativity techniques aim to see what no one else is seeing or think what no one else is thinking: but, much can also be said about finding (with a prepared mind) what one is not looking for.
PS: Surely, many ideas for research topics in English literature might be informed by the proposition that there is only a limited number of story plots (archetypes): overcoming the monster, rags to riches, the quest, voyage and return, comedy, tragedy, and rebirth are well-nigh universal. (Two other, albeit less common, universal themes are rebellion against "The One" and mystery.) It might be of interest for students to, say, group books in one or several of these archetypes or review one on the basis of how closely it adheres to (or deviates from) any one of them.
Thanks, Olivier Serrat . Can't brainstorming be an individualistic activity? We are talking here in terms of academic research writing for postgraduates which is, more than often, an individualistic activity.
Just skimming abstracts in the general area of my research interest always worked for me.
Thanks, Karl Pfeifer . I'm sure it did for an experienced researcher like you, sir, but how would you convince junior researchers that an original research gap would strike their minds just like that?! Colleagues often come asking for a new topic suggestion in the field, but, honestly, you cannot always do what others are supposed to do, right? So I thought of presenting a webinar trying to teach them fishing instead of giving away my own fish! What do you think?!
Muthana Makki Mohammedali I was talking about myself when I was an inexperienced grad student 45 years ago. Skimming abstracts for ideas or potential problems to investigate is fishing and the ideas or problems that come to mind may be only loosely associated with the ideas or problems encountered in the abstracts. Students need to be able to look at an abstract and ask themselves "Yeah, but what about X?" where X may be a further development, a side issue, an undesirable implication, or a merely similar issue, to get started. I suppose a webinar that showed by example how this might be done could teach them how to fish, but I think a one-on-one approach with respect to a student's particular background and interests is likely to be more successful.
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