Finding a research topic is difficult because in order to come up with a specific problem, one needs to have thoroughly examined the existing body of knowledge in the topic and related disciplines. This would take a long time if one just searches through research journals online to gather and analyze information.
I find Ellis and Levy's flow-chart of the process of finding research-worthy problems helpful(from "A Guide for Novice Researchers on the Development of a Research-Worthy Problem.") It is about forming a specific and concrete problem statement by going through cycles of looking, reading, synthesizing, and consulting.
Synthesizing and consulting are the two important skills that I would need to work on this semester to learn about carrying a research project.
Synthesizing process is combining insights from a number of scholarly articles and/or different but related fields, and consulting is getting feedback about the research topic from experienced researchers and people at various conferences.
I would need to do more thorough literature reviews since the current rough draft does not satisfy two conditions for a research problem; current state differs from the ideal state (Sekaran, 2003) and there is no "acceptable" solution available (Ellis & Levy, 2008). I will figure out what studies have been done to increase empathy for people in developing regions, and also look at digital ethnography and online traces of people in developing regions.
References:
Ellis, T. and Levy, Y. (2008). A Guide for novice researchers on the development of a research-worthy problem. Informing Science: the International Journal of an Emerging Transdiscipline Volume 11.
Sekaran, U. (2003). Research methods for business (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
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