Make a list of the basic topics and subject areas within cultural anthropology. Use an academic anthropology site to get an idea of what you should include in your list. Topics like culture, economic systems, social organization and substinence patterns are among the most prominent within cultural anthropology.
Write a list of key words related to each topic on your list. If you don't know what the key words in a topic are, look in the glossary section of a cultural anthropology textbook. Write down the words that describe key concepts and ideas in a topic; ignore technical terminology unless technical aspects of cultural anthropology interest you.
Narrow the list down to only words and topics that interest you. Underline the words that interest you the most, cross out the words that interest you the least.
Type your topic words and keywords into an academic search engine at your college library. Use a generic search engine like JSTOR or Academic Search Premier (see Resources). Make a note of which topics generate the highest number of hits. If any topics or keywords generate no hits (or a very small number of hits), cross those topics off the list.
Read the titles of journal articles and books that come up in your search. Make a mental note as to the most-popular subtopics within your topic. For example, if your search for "ancient civilization" mostly turns up results for "ancient Egyptian civilization," label "ancient Egyptian civilization" as a possible project topic. Doing this will ensure that you pick topics with ample research sources to draw on.
Select your research topic, and write out a tentative research title. Go with the topic that interests you most or the topic that has the most sources available. Write a research title based on the question within the topic that you find most interesting. For example, if you are very interested in the role of mummification in ancient Egypt, write that down.