Develop your research topic. Articulate your topic in a single sentence to help you pinpoint what you're researching and what you plan to prove with your paper. Brainstorming helps. You might pose a few questions around your specific interest to see what they reveal; you might be inspired to run an experiment that's never been done before, or to collect information on a process or event that helps society in some way.
Study previous research that relates to your topic. This is often called a scholarship or literature review. By familiarizing yourself with what's already been said and done by others, you can avoid duplicating work. More important, reviewing scholarship around your topic will inspire you to go beyond what's been done by answering new and more interesting questions.
Define your project variables. These include everything from currently accepted social theories to data collection methods. Knowing your limitations will help you narrow your topic into manageable terms.
Set your project apart. Perhaps the most important part of determining the framework for your paper is explaining how the discussion and results will contribute something new to the field. Ask yourself what can be gained by your research and why it's important to society as a whole.