Once you have a topic idea, you need to make sure it is unique. Survey the literature to make sure that your article is not too similar to an article that was already published, or one that is forthcoming. Ideally, you should complete the preemption check before you do too much research on the topic. If you find that there has already been a lot of scholarship on your topic, make sure your thesis is original enough that it adds to the body of knowledge. If you are uncertain whether your topic is distinct enough, check with your seminar professor.
Make sure your paper:
Process:
Use an alert to monitor changes to issues related to your topic. You can set up an alert in any of the following:
Your log can be as simple as a Table like this one. Or you could use a research tool like Zotero https://www.zotero.org/