Good Research Paper Topics – Ask the Right Questions
Here’s a common assignment: “Choose a topic from anything we have studied this semester and prepare a 10-page research paper, using a minimum of 6 resources.” Sound familiar? Of course it does! Now you are faced with selecting something to research – something that interests you enough to spend the time and effort it will take to do this assignment. And here’s the other thing: in high school, a research paper pretty much meant digging up factual information and “reporting” it in a paper; in college, however, you can’t just have a topic – you must have a theme! So how do you get a topic and a theme?
You get your topic by finding something that interests you. You get your theme by asking the right questions about that topic. For example, suppose you have an interest in the gentrification movement in urban areas. That is a good topic for a research paper for a sociology class. Now, how about a theme for this paper? What question could you ask? How about, “What are the positive (or negative) impacts of gentrification on current urban populations?” The answer to that question is your theme. So, while you can find a good topic for research paper writing in any course, you won’t have a theme until you ask an important question.
Below you find some good topics for a research paper in a variety of subject fields. While none of them may be appropriate for your current course load, they should stimulate your thinking a bit.
History/Political Science
- US. Policy in the Middle East – Has U.S. policy helped to contain or spread terrorism?
- Voting Rights – Should felons convicted of non-violent crimes lose their right to vote permanently?
- Health Care – Why doesn’t the U.S. have universal health coverage like all other developed nations?
- National Security – Has the Homeland Security Department made us safer?
Sociology/Psychology
- Bullying – Should we have strict federal/state laws against bullying?
- Feminism – Is feminism still relevant today?
- Islam – What is life like for American Muslims?
- Addiction – Can Social Media and the Internet in general become an addiction?
Science
- Food Additives – Is the food industry being irresponsible with its use of steroids, antibiotics, and GMO’s?
- Organ Transplants – Should the sale of human organs be legalized?
- Biogenetic Engineering – What are the positive (or negative) possibilities of biogenetic engineering?
- Fracking – Can fracking be made totally safe?
Economics
- Capitalism – Does capitalism contribute to income equality?
- Tax Reform – Which changes to the tax code should be made immediately?
Education
- Final Exams – Should exams be dumped in favor of some other form of assessment?
- Gap Year – Does a gap ears serve a purpose?
- Gender-Specific Schools – Do children learn better in single-sex schools?
Journalism
- Protection of Sources – Is there ever a time when journalists should be forced to reveal their sources?
- Media Slant – Does the media report fairly? Does the media report news of create news?
English has been purposely left out for two reasons: Many English papers will not allow options, because they may relate to specific works of literature. IN English comp courses, however, there might be great latitude in topic choice, and if students are given a “blank check,” any of these would be good topics for research paper writing in that course.
With these examples, you should be able to see how you can turn a topic into a question, and, remember, your answer to that question is your theme!