One of the peculiarities about a research paper is that the student has to do research before he or she can do research. At first, the student knows nothing about the subject (usually). So before he or she can decide on what should be his or her purpose in the research paper (Writing Process, Stage 2, Discover a Purpose), the student has to read up on the subject to get an idea about what is out there (Writing Process, Stage 1, Gathering Details, or, in this case, I like to call it, "Getting a Clue").
Once the student has mapped out the broad parameters of the topic, the student can identify the interesting topography to explore within the topic, which can become the focus of the paper. For instance, let's suppose a student has been given an assignment to write a paper on Abraham Lincoln. The student knows some basic facts about Lincoln--he grew up in a log cabin, read, became a lawyer, was President of the United States during the Civil War--but doesn't know what to make the focus of the paper. So the student reads everything he or she can on Lincoln.
Among the many things the student learns about Lincoln, the student discovers that Lincoln spent weeks writing the Gettysburg Address (even though legend has it that he wrote it on the back of a napkin on his way to Gettysburg). The student also learns that the day after the Address, Horace Greely of the Chicago Tribune accused Lincoln of re-writing history. This arouses the student's curiousity and researches further, discovering that the Gettysburg Address does re-write history, but that it does it in a way that most Americans, then and now, accept as being true, even though it isn't what really happened. The student discovers that Lincoln's re-writing of history re-defines the Civil War, re-defines the Declaration of Independance and the founding of our country, re-defines America after the Civil War, and even has minor effects like having school children recite daily "The Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America." The student decides that this should be the focus of the research paper.
It is not unusual to feel lost when beginning a research assignment. Dig in, read carefully, read often, and keep thinking about the significance, importance, relevance, or value (SIRV) of the information found.
Often an instructor may give students a general starting outline for an assignment (I have given students in my ENGL1010 and ENGL1020 classes a rough outline for their research papers. ENGL1010: life, work, and influence; ENGL1020: life, poetic vision, analysis of representative work). The instructor may pose questions for students to consider in exploring their topic. Often these are provided as a guide to students and are not ato be followed slavishly (Check with the instructor).
For the last several years, my ENGL1010 classes have been assigned scientists to research. Students have to chose a focus for their discussion of the scientist and his/her work (what they see as most SIRV--significant, important, relevant, or valuable). Also, they have to decide what is the best way to present this purpose. While I have given the students a rough outline, I hope they will organize the material in a more interesting way that better achieves the purpose they have chosen as their focus.
For instance, suppose that after researching Lincoln's life, work, and influence, a student decides that what is most important is Lincoln's influence in three specific areas. The student might re-work the material researched that fits Lincoln's life, work, and influence into the following outline: