Choose and explore a general topic. A variety of factors, including personal interest, intellectual curiosity, the availability of existing data, and political commitment, could influence the general...

Choose and explore a general topic. A variety of factors, including personal interest, intellectual curiosity, the availability of existing data, and political commitment, could influence the general topic you choose. Perhaps the data on age and voting presented earlier in this chapter piqued your interest, and you find you want to learn more about the behavior of young voters. After selecting this topic, you will want to examine existing research to learn the findings of previous studies of youth voting and to begin to get a handle on broader theories that help explain voting patterns and attitudes among young adults.