The Research Paper!
Step 1: Choosing a Topic!
The most important step in a research paper is deciding what you are going to write about! If you do not choose a topic that is interesting to you, then your research is going to be boring, and your paper will be boring too! Don't be boring!
The most important step in a research paper is deciding what you are going to write about! If you do not choose a topic that is interesting to you, then your research is going to be boring, and your paper will be boring too! Don't be boring!
Step 2: Research and Note taking
-There is a step that is often overlooked in the research and note taking portion of the research process. This is content analysis. When looking at a book or website, you want a source that is reliable, credible (trustworthy), and accurate (factual). Here are some questions that you need to be able to answer about your sources.
The questions are as follows:
Evaluate these sources with information about the Bermuda Triangle. Decide if they are reliable, or unreliable:
Some sources that do not always need to be evaluated would be books/journals, eyewitness accounts, and news articles.
-There is a step that is often overlooked in the research and note taking portion of the research process. This is content analysis. When looking at a book or website, you want a source that is reliable, credible (trustworthy), and accurate (factual). Here are some questions that you need to be able to answer about your sources.
The questions are as follows:
- Where did this source and its information come from?
- Is the Author named in the source?
- Is the author an expert on the topic?
- Do the Authors' opinions and word choice make them seem trustworthy?
- IS the source trying to sell you something, or persuade you on an idea?
- Is the source up-to-date?
- Is the information relevant and related to what I am researching?
- Does this source agree with information from other sources I have found?
Evaluate these sources with information about the Bermuda Triangle. Decide if they are reliable, or unreliable:
- http://www.history.com/topics/bermuda-triangle
- http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/01/myth-bermuda-triangle/
- http://www.ufosandconspiracytheories.co.uk/page_2131382.html
Some sources that do not always need to be evaluated would be books/journals, eyewitness accounts, and news articles.
- Books/Journals- Generally if the topic of the book is about something which you can research, it is going to be accurate information. Unless the book is supposed to be a joke, you will generally be finding reliable information here. One thing to check is the date of publication, usually found on the first page of the book. It the book or journal is very old, and your topic is relatively new, you may want to find a book that is more current on its information.
- Eyewitness accounts-These are always interesting, because you are receiving information from someone who was there to see or create or be a part of what you are researching. Sometimes, these can be unreliable, or only contain part of the story. So, the rule with these is not to take all of your information directly from this one source, it is good to find a variety of accounts and compare them to one another. Or even to compare an eyewitness account with information you find elsewhere and see if it meets in the middle.
- News articles-These are generally going to be reliable sources as well. Would you want to print something in the news or publish something on your news online that is false? I would think not (unless you are theonion.com), if a newspaper posts false information, they are seen as non credible, and since a newspaper relies on credibility to sell papers or be read online, they are very strict about rules and sources of their own.
- Paraphrasing- If you are reading information from a source and want to write about it, put it in your own words. Since you need to understand what is being said, then you should try to say it as you would say it. This shows that you have been able to take the information on the source and truly understand it.
- Quotes--Sometimes it is very useful to have quotes in your paper. This doesn't always mean: Mr. Younce said, "Go get some ducks from the pond and bring them here so I can make a hat." It means that you are taking information directly from a source, regardless of whether it is a persons speech you are quoting, or someones writing. Quotes should be used when taking notes about information that cannot be put in your own words. They may use very technical terms, or just be something that you do not want to get confused in your paper. You always need to know exactly where you got a quote from, otherwise you are practicing plagiarism!
- Lastly, you should organize your notes by source. Have one page dedicated to one source, do not write any information from any other source on this page. It makes it much easier to ensure that you will not get mixed up with quotes, or with information.
Since you are now super good at evaluating sources and writing down proper notes, you should start taking notes on your topic!
Finding the Right Research Paper TopicThe process of writing the research paper is going to be very time consuming so it’s important to select a topic that is going to sustain your interest for the duration of the project. It is good to select a topic that is relevant to your life since you are going to spend a long time researching and writing about it. Perhaps you are considering starting your own business or pursuing a career in politics. Look through the suggested research paper topics and find one in a category that you can relate to easily. Finding a topic that you have some personal interest in will help make the arduous task a lot easier, and the project will have better results because of your vested interest.
Our list of topics and issues Simply get started by choosing the category that interests you and peruse through the topics listed in that category and you’ll be well on your way to constructing an excellent research paper.
Abortion
- What limits are responsible?
- What limits are realistic?
- How to protect abortion doctors, pregnant women, and the protection of abortion clinics vs. the right to protest
- Partial birth abortion
- Scientific evidence vs. definition of viability
- Stem cell research
- Unborn victims of violence
- Effects on Parents later on in life--Positive and Negative
- Dignity of Human Life
- Relative equality has been achieved vs. serious inequities continue
- Can racial balance in business, education, and the military be achieved without policies that promote Affirmative Action
- Reverse discrimination?
- NOW, National Organization for Women
- Discriminate based on Ethnicity or based on Talent and Skills
- No government support vs. fairness to parents who pay twice for education
- Separation of church and state vs. religion’s contribution to the public good
- Placement by age vs. placement by academic ability
- Mainstreaming students with disabilities vs. special classrooms for their special needs
- Required standardized tests for advancement vs. course requirements only
- National standardized tests vs. local control of education
- Discrimination in education
- Multicultural/bilingual education vs. traditional basics
- Teacher competency tests vs. degree requirements only
- Teacher’s needs/demands vs. teaching as a service profession
- Policing schools
- School’s responsibility vs. parental responsibility for school violence
- Drug and alcohol abuse, pregnancy, suicide
- Zero tolerance toward violence vs. toughness with flexibility
- Permit corporal punishment
- Exams often do little more than measure a person’s ability to take exams. Should exams be outlawed in favor of another form of assessment?
- Should teens in the U.S. adopt the British custom of taking a “gap year” between high school and college?
- In some European schools, fewer than 10% of students get “As”. Is there grade inflation in the U.S.? Why so many “As” for Americans?
- Education and funding
- Grade inflation
- No Child Left Behind Act: Is it working?
- Home schooling
- Standardized tests
- SAT/ACT Scores and Influence on College
- Saving money for College Education
- Plagiarism in Schools and the Repercussion
- Sexual Education in Schools, is it ok?
- School Vouchers in America, what are they, are they ok?
- Is homeschooling good for kids?
- Are Greek Letter Societies as good as they used to be?
- Are children smarter (or more socialized) because of the Internet?
- Should the federal government be allowed to regulate information on the internet?
- How has the music industry been affected by the internet and digital downloading?
- How does a search engine work?
- Is Internet Safety really possible? How can you keep safe on the Internet?
- Effect of Social Media on Socializing and Behaviour
- What is the dark web?
- What are the effects of prolonged steroid use on the human body?
- What are the benefits and hazards of medical marijuana?
- How does tobacco use affect the human body?
- Do the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks?
- What are some common sleep disorders and how are they treated?
- What are the risks of artificial tanning or prolonged exposure to the sun?
- Should thin people have to pay Medicare and other health costs for the health problems of obese people? Should obese people have higher premiums?
- Low carbohydrate vs. low fat diets
- Benefits of weight training vs. aerobics
- How much weekly exercise is needed to achieve lasting health benefits
- Health websites give too much information
- Psychological disorders, such as cutting and self-harm, eating disorders, Autism, Tourette Syndrome, ADHD, ADD, Asperger Syndrome
- Are we taking it too far by blaming fast food restaurants for obesity? When is it individual responsibility and when is it appropriate to place blame?
- Should companies allow employees to exercise on work time?
- Steroids, Antibiotics, Sprays; Are food manufacturers killing us?
- Alternative medicine
- The Opioid Crisis
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Anorexia
- Causes of eating disorders, society’s portrayal of women
- Eating disorders statistics
- Down’s syndrome
- Autism
- Birth control
- Bulimia
- Depression
- Dietary supplements
- Dyslexia
- Exercise and fitness
- Fad diets
- Fast food
- Heart disease
- Leprosy
- In vitro fertilization
- Obesity
- Attention deficit disorder
- Investigate the history and authenticity of ADHD and ADD.
- Organic foods
- Prescription drugs
- Smoking
- Vegetarianism
- Learning disabilities
- Schizophrenia
- Coma recovery: techniques, successes, new strategies.
- What are the primary types of cancer, and in what ways are they related?
- Investigate the success ratio of holistic and non-medical cancer treatments.
- Is Alzheimer’s inevitable? Examine theories regarding its prevention.
- What forms of physical degeneracy are seen as linked to aging?
- Investigate the connections between emotional stability and physical well-being, and provide evidence as to how the two may be related.
- Investigate differences in rates of injury recovery and overcoming illness based on cultural parameters.
- Examine the modern history of viral epidemics, researching what is known about the emergence of deadly viruses.
- Examine how congenital heart disease may be treated, and how it differs from other forms of heart disease.
- Is occasional depression a natural state to an extent, and is society too eager to treat this as a disorder?
- Investigate Sociopathy, determine biological and psychological roots, typical patterns, and potentials of treatment.
- How are compulsive behaviors determined as such? Explore examples of anal retention and expulsion, OCD, etc., as offering accepted criteria.
- Research and analyze the nature of codependency as both a normal state of relations and as an unhealthy extreme.
- Investigate the history and practice of electroshock, analyzing how and why this extreme treatment came to be widely used.
- Hoarding: symptoms and treatments, causes, types of hoarding
- Limits on extraordinary, costly treatments vs. doing everything possible
- Nutritional/alternative therapy vs. mainstream medical treatment insurance coverage for alternative treatment?
- Government grants for alternative treatment research?
- Health superiority of alternative treatments?
- Assisted suicide vs. preservation of life
- Governmental insurance requirements
- Should there be a national database to track controlled substances (i.e., OXYCODONE) or should it be a state issue?
- Should parents avoid vaccinating their children?
- Decline of communication due to technology
- Online social networks and their influence
- Impact of texting and cell phones on communication
- How do men and women communicate differently using body language, and why does it matter (in dating, the workplace, and social circles)?
- How can I communicate to others best?
- Communication and culture
- Limitations of the media
- Marketing to children
- Sexual innuendos in marketing
- Global marketing trends
- Should certain kinds of ads be banned in the interest of health/morality/annoyance – alcohol, cigarettes, prescription meds, etc…?
- Children’s programming and advertising
- Most controversial political ads
- Media response and public outcry to political ads
- Campaign funds and their relation to political advertising
- How has media influenced opinion on body types?
- Cigarette marketing
- Why do people look like that in advertisements? (Fitness, Skin Color, etc)
- Domestic policy
- Separation of church and state
- Judge nominations and make up of supreme court
- Congressional opposition to presidential nominees/filibusters
- Affirmative action
- Erosion of civil liberties vs. protection against terrorism
- Patriot Act One and Two
- Most developed nations have universal health coverage. Why doesn’t the U.S., the wealthiest nation, have it?
- Tax cut as economic stimulation
- Needs of the states vs. needs of the individuals
- Budget deficits and deficit spending
- Rich vs. poor
- Obamacare--Effects
- Protection of victims vs. freedom of speech/rights of the accused
- How to improve race relations
- Profiling
- Reverse discrimination
- Women still earn only 75 cents for every $1 a man earns. Explain why.
- Discrimination in education
- Discrimination in the workplace: analyzing issues for today’s corporations.
- Gender discrimination
- Interracial marriage
- Islamaphobia
- Domestic Policy vs foreign policy
- Running a government like a business
- Healthcare ACT
- The Mexico controversy
- Alienation of Aliens
- The GOP
- Tax reformation
- Dropping the deficit
- Should government impose restrictions on what kinds of foods can be served in school cafeterias?
- Pros and cons of school uniforms.
- Do children learn better in boys-only and girls-only schools?
- Charter schools
- Prayer in schools
- Disruptive students in class
- Public vs. Private
- Focus on STEM vs. loss of Arts in schools
- Testing in Schools, Over Testing in Schools
- Rights of the individual vs. community safety (or campus safety)
- Funding for research
- U.S. obligation to third world countries
- Manufacturing of generic drugs vs. U.S. pharmaceutical companies
- How contagious diseases “jump” from animal hosts to human
- What treatments are available to people infected with HIV and are they effective?
- Right to privacy of a child with AIDS vs. safety of other children
- Limits for campus safety vs. personal freedom
- Implications on violence and crime
- Issues with binge drinking
- Should the U.S. lower the drinking age to 18?
- Leniency because of condition vs. community safety
- Revoking drivers license vs. being able to attend classes and work
- Age discrimination of violators
- Effects of Drinking on College Campus
- Animal rights vs. medical research
- Should it be illegal to use animals for sports and entertainment?
- Humane treatment of animals vs. factory farms
- Animal welfare in slaughter houses
- Animal protection vs. business, employment interests
- Animal Endangerment and Logging
- Endangered Animals
- Animal Protection in US vs other countries
- Euthanasia and Animal Shelters
- Ancient Animals
- Researching Dinosaurs / Paleontology
- School prestige vs. academic standards
- Should shoe companies be able to give away free shoes and equipment to high school athletes?
- Should college athletes be paid?
- Doping in sports
- What are the effects on children whose parents push them in sports?
- Steroids: Should they be legalized?
- Title IX: Has it helped women’s sports? Has it harmed men’s sports?
- Social effects of team sports
- Famous Athletes and how they got there
- Athletes held to a higher standard?
- "Gladiator" ideology of sports, is it the fall of the Roman Empire again?
- Needed in public school library/curriculum?
- Needed in entertainment industry?
- Needed on the Internet?
- Should parents censor textbooks and other literature for children in schools?
- Parental filters on the Internet. Does censorship actually increase curiosity of things hidden?
- How is internet censorship used in China and around the world?
- How has United States censorship changed over the decades?
- Democratic kingmaker, influence on political succession
- Impact of global initiative
- Influence on fundraising
- Influence as Secretary of State
- Foreign policies
- Influence on women
- Influence as First Female Presidential Candidate
- ACT or SAT score requirements
- Promotional techniques, such as 1st time scholarships
- 4 year vs. 2 year colleges
- College admission policies
- College tuition planning
- Distance education
- Diploma mills
- Online porn vs. freedom of speech
- Stalking, invasion of privacy vs. reasonable access
- Hacking crimes–workable solutions?
- What are the latest ways to steal identity and money?
- From where does spam email come and can we stop it?
- How do computer viruses spread and in what ways do they affect computers?
- Cyber security
- Securing Internet commerce: is it possible in today’s arms’ race of hackers and evolving technology?
- Rise in ease of access to "ripping" music and other media forms from the net by regular people
- Is downloading of media (music, videos, software) infringing on the rights of media producers and causing economic hardships on media creators?
- Should media producers prosecute students and individuals that they suspect of downloading copyrighted materials?
- Programs such as SPOTIFY and PANDORA
- Copyright Law
- Age limitations on surgery
- Addiction to surgery
- Demand for beauty by society
- The dangers of breast implants for teenagers
- The cost of cosmetic surgery
- Plastic surgery
- Weight loss surgery
- Body image problems
- Are surgeons “scissor happy,” and are surgeries widely unnecessarily
- Cosmetic Surgery around the world (normal in some cultures? trends?)
- Negative texting, instant messaging, email
- Is cyber-bullying as bad as face-to-face?
- Kinds of punishment for cyber-bullying
- Media response
- Should the state or federal government put laws into place to prevent bullying?
- Effects of Bullying on Victim? On Bully?
- Mutual consent vs. exploitation
- Campuses with “no touch” policy
- Drugs associated to Date Rape
- Violence and Rape
- Drugs and Alcohol with Date Rape
- Government support vs. parental financing
- Benefits vs. harmful effects
- Elder Care
- Requirements for Elder Care/Daycare facilities
- Punishment vs. treatment
- Family reactions
- Social acceptance
- Community safety vs. legalization
- United States military involvement in Colombian drug trade?
- Drug legalization
- Abstinence Program: Do they work?
- Should the federal government legalize the use of marijuana?
- Cocaine
- Heroin
- Nicotine
- Doping in sports
- Methamphetamine (Meth)
- Pollution, air, and water
- Endangered species
- What are the risks of climate change and global warming?
- Rain forests
- Acid rain
- Alternative energy
- Alternative fuel/hybrid vehicles
- Conservation
- Deforestation
- Endangered species
- Greenhouse effect
- Landfills
- Marine pollution
- How have oil spills affected the planet and what steps are being taken to prevent them?
- Pesticides
- Sustainability of buildings
- Recycling programs
- Cost of “green” programs
- Wind turbines
- Landfill issues
- Renewable fuels
- Pollution
- Radioactive waste disposal
- Smog
- Soil pollution
- Wildlife conservation: what efforts are being taken to protect endangered wildlife?
- Excessive burden on industries?
- Drilling for oil in Alaska’s ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge)
- Gasoline consumption vs. SUV’s popularity
- Wildlife protection vs. rights of developers
- Clean air and water standards–weakened vs. strengthened
- What are the dangers of scuba diving and underwater exploration?
- Should the use of coal be subjected to stricter environmental regulations than other fuels?
- Is global warming a hoax? Is it being exaggerated?
- How much is too much noise? What, if anything, should we do to curb it?
- Protecting victims vs. rights of the accused
- Women who kill abusive husbands vs. punishment for murder
- Marital rape?
- How to protect children vs. respect for parental rights
- Children who kill abusive parents
- Child abuse–workable solutions?
- Child abuse
- Domestic abuse
- Organic farming vs. mainline use of chemical sprays
- How to best protect the environment; conservation
- Family vs. corporate farms
- Food production costs
- Genetically Modified Food (GMO)
- Interventionism?
- Third world debt and World Bank/International Monetary Fund
- Military support vs. economic development of third world countries
- Human rights violations
- European Union in competition with the U.S.
- Unilateralism
- Relevance of the United Nations
- Neocon role in foreign policy
- Christian right influence on foreign policy
- Pentagon vs. State Department
- Nation building as a policy
- Arms control
- Obama’s National Strategy for Counterterrorism
- Control of al Qaeda
- Drawdown of U.S. Armed Forces in the Middle East
- Easy way to earn revenues vs. social damage
- Individual freedom vs. social damage
- Do lotteries actually benefit education or is it a scam?
- Can gamblers ever acquire a statistical advantage over the house in casino games?
- Casinos and Native Americans
- Should there be a constitutional amendment that allows gays and lesbians to legally marry?
- Adoption rights?
- Need special rights for protection?
- College campus response
- Gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender
- Gay parenting
- Gay pride
- Gay Culture/Lifestyle and Religion
- Elderly to share in the tax burden vs. government support of elderly
- Future of social security
- Job discrimination
- Child rearing
- Employment issues
- Generational differences
- Community and police safety vs. unrestricted right to bear arms
- NRA (National Rifle Association)
- 2nd Amendment
- Do states that allow citizens to carry guns have higher or lower crime rates?
- Community safety vs. freedom of Speech
- Punishment inequities
- Bullying
- Persecution of alternative lifestyles
- Church Arson: Hate crime?
- Prevention of hazing
- Greek organizations and rituals of hazing
- Statistics of death or injury due to Hazing
- High Schools and Hazing
- What happened during the Salem witch trials?
- How did trains and railroads change life in America?
- Assassination of John F. Kenendy
- What may have occurred during the Roswell UFO incident of 1947?
- What Olympic events were practiced in ancient Greece?
- How did Cleopatra come to power in Egypt? What did she accomplish during her reign?
- What are the origins of the conflict in Darfur?
- What was the women’s suffrage movement and how did it change America?
- How was the assassination of Abraham Lincoln plotted and executed?
- How did Cold War tension affect the US and the world?
- What happened to the lost settlers at Roanoke?
- How did Julius Caesar affect Rome?
- How did the Freedom Riders change society?
- What was the code of the Bushido and how did it affect samurai warriors?
- How did Joan of Arc change history?
- What dangers and hardships did Lewis and Clark face when exploring the Midwest?
- How are the Great Depression and the Great Recession similar and different?
- What was the Manhattan Project and what impact did it have on the world?
- Why did Marin Luther protest against the Catholic Church?
- How did the Roman Empire fall?
- How did the black plague affect Europe?
- How did Genghis Khan conquer Persia?
- How did journalists influence US war efforts in Vietnam?
- Who is Vlad the Impaler and what is his connection to Count Dracula?
- Who was a greater inventor, Leonardo di Vinci or Thomas Edison?
- What was the role of African Americans during the Revolutionary War?
- What was Britain’s view of India during British rule?
- What were the factors in the China-Tibet conflict?
- Research and analyze the emergence of the Catholic Church as a political force following the collapse of the Roman Empire.
- Investigate Dr. Eileen Powers’ claim that the Roman Empire was lost primarily due to an inability to perceive itself as subject to the change inevitable to all governments, or her “force of nature” theory.
- Explore and discuss the actual cooperation occurring through the centuries of Barbarian conquest of Rome.
- Examine the differences and similarities between Western and Eastern concepts and practices of kingship.
- Investigate and explain the trajectory of ALEXANDER THE GREAT’s empire, with minimal emphasis on personal leadership.
- To what extent did commerce first link Eastern and Western cultures, and how did this influence early international relations?
- Research and analyze how Japan moved from a feudalistic to a modern state, and how geographic isolation played a role in the process.
- Analyze the process and effects of Romanization on the Celtic people of ancient England: benefits, conflicts, influences.
- Overview of British dominance of Ireland, Wales, and Scotland! How was this justified in each case, and what motivated the attempts over centuries of rebellion and failure?
- Investigate the known consequences of Guttenberg’s printing press within the first 30 years of its invention, and only in regard to the interaction between European nations.
- Identify and analyze the point at which the Reformation became fused with European politics and nationalist agendas.
- To what extent did Henry VIII promote the Reformation, despite his vigorous persecution of heretics in England?
- Trace and discuss the uses of papal power as a military and political device in the 14th and 15th centuries.
- Research the city/state of Florence from the 13th to the 16th centuries, discussing how and why it evolved as so fiercely republican.
- Compare and contrast the Russian Czarism of Peter, Elizabeth, and Catherine with the monarchies of England and France in the 18th and 19th centuries.
- Investigate the enormous significance of Catholic Orthodoxy as the dominant faith in Russia, and its meaning and influence in an empire populated by a minimal aristocracy and predominant serfdom.
- To what extent did Philip II’s religious convictions shape European policy and conflict in the 16th century?
- Trace the path leading to the convocation of the Estates in France in the late 18th century, leading to the Revolution. Assess political and social errors responsible.
- What eventually ended serfdom in Russia, and why were numerous attempts to end it by the Czars in power consistently unsuccessful?
- Research and report on how England was transformed in the 19th century by the industrial revolution and the advent of the railroad.
- Compare and contrast the consequences of the industrial revolutions in England and America in terms of urbanization.
- What were the circumstances leading to World War I, and how might the war have been averted?
- Assess the Cold War of the 20th century in an historical context: can any parallels be made between this conflict and other ongoing tensions between major powers in earlier centuries?
- Analyze Roosevelt’s decisions in implementing the New Deal, beginning with the closing of the banks. Suggest alternative strategies, or reinforce the rationale of the actions.
- What architectural marvels were found in Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire?
- What was the cultural significance of the first moon landing?
- How did the Early Humans live?
- Food programs
- Welfare reform
- Governmental supplementation
- Homeless: urban restrictions vs. needs of the destitute
- Workable solutions?
- Food Stamps/EBT
- Realistic limits vs. openness toward people in need
- English as official language vs. respect for diversity
- Should illegal immigrants be made legal citizens?
- Access to public school and public programs for Illegal Aliens
- Policing borders–workable solutions?
- Employment and/or taxation for Illegal Aliens
- How do you become a citizen of U.S. or other countries?
- Green Cards/Work Visas
- International trade
- Arms control
- Democratization
- “Shock and awe”
- U.S. occupation vs. liberation
- Iraqi run vs. U.S. puppet state
- Oil and Gas prices-Control of resources
- Effective self-government
- War on Terrorism
- Is America winning or losing the War? What is the measurement of success? Have the benefits outweighed the costs?
- Parental leave for both parents
- FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act)
- Bonding time
- Preemptive strike policy
- Precision weapons
- Intelligence reliability
- Afghanistan – a success or stalemate
- Should the U.S. have mandatory military conscriptions? For whom?
- Military Spending
- Joining Military
- Branches of military
- Governmental support
- Preparedness
- School emergency plans
- Community warning systems
- Damage costs
- Types (Classifications) of Disasters
- Police brutality vs. dangers that police face
- Racially motivated brutality?
- Profiling
- How to become a police officer
- Training
- Politician’s right to privacy vs. the public’s right to know
- Amount of money going into presidential campaigns
- Views on abortion, gay marriage, and other controversial topics
- Political debates throughout history
- Third-party candidates at presidential debates
- Rights of religious citizens vs. freedom from imposition (e.g. prayer in schools)
- Religious motivation for political involvement vs. cultural pluralism
- Christian Right’s influence on foreign policy
- North Korea's Influence on Modern Politics
- The Climate of Dictatorship...how does it work?
- How is Communism supposed to work, how does it actually work?
- The Watergate Incident
- The Bay of Pigs and Castro's Cuba
- Brexit
- How serious? Causes? Workable solutions?
- Funding abortion as a form of birth control in third world countries?
- What would happen globally if the demand for natural resources is greater than the supply?
- Limitation of social deterioration vs. freedom of speech
- Definition of Pornography
- Child Pornography
- Pornography as an addiction
- Building prisons vs. alternative sentencing
- Adjusted sentencing for lesser crimes
- Community service
- Diversion Programs for inmates
- How does the prison population in America compare to other nations?
- Prostitution laws in the US and abroad
- Benefits and drawbacks to legalizing prostitution
- Psychological effect on prostitutes and former prostitutes
- Sex slavery, buying and selling
- Should the government be allowed to wire tap without permission?
- What limitations, if any, should be applied to the paparazzi?
- What medical information should be confidential? Who, if anybody, should have access to medical records?
- Does the public have a right to know about a public figure’s private life?
- Privacy rights
- Privacy and Technology-Snapchat/Instagram/Facebook effect on Privacy
- Do harsher punishments mean fewer convictions?
- Date rape: consent vs. exploitation
- Drugs-Rohypnol, GHB, KETAMINE
- Legalization of Date Rape Drugs
- Recently, a 17-year-old boy was sentenced to 10 years in prison for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl. Are statutory rape laws patronizing to girls and discriminatory to boys?
- Acquaintance rape
- Is there one true religion?
- Freedom of religion
- Offer distinct reasons why the Bible should be studied as literature, removed from religious significance.
- Buddhism
- Hinduism
- Spiritualism
- How has airport security intensified since September 11th, 2001?
- Identity theft
- Homeland Security: Are we safer since the creation of this department?
- Should the government use invasive pat-downs and body scans to ensure passenger safety or are there better methods?
- Is arming Pilots a good idea?
- What responsibilities do secret service agents have?
- Student loan scams
- How to avoid student loan debt
- Managing student loan debt
- Making College more affordable
- Progressive vs. flat tax
- Excessive taxes vs. worthwhile programs
- Osama Bin Laden
- World Trade Center and Pentagon bombings
- September 11, 2001
- Al-Qaeda/Hezbollah/ISIS/Other Terror Groups
- War on terrorism
- Afghanistan
- Taliban
- Bioterrorism
- Al Qaida: Has U.S. policy actually spread terrorism rather than contained it? Will it get better or worse? Why and how?
- Can terrorism ever be justified?
- What kind of person becomes a suicide bomber?
- What were the circumstances surrounding the death of Osama Bin Laden?
- Has the Patriot Act prevented or stopped terrorist acts in America?
- How is text messaging affecting teen literacy?
- Cell Phones: How have they changed us socially?
- Does the Information Age mean we are losing important historical information?
- Have Video Games changed how we learn?
- How are Video Games produced?
- Are Video Games good for you?
- Snapchat/Online Platforms and shaming...is it changing America?
- Do Video Games make people violent?
- Public attitudes toward veterans
- Health issues caused by service time
- Organizations for veterans
- Governmental support for veterans
- What programs are available to help war veterans get back into society?
- Iraq War Vets: Are they being cheated on medical benefits?
- Veteran Elder Care Problems
- Is there a glass ceiling?
- Obstacles to women running for political office?
- Should women be priests, pastors, ministers, and rabbis?
- What differences, if any, are there in children who are raised by stay-at-home moms and working moms? Does society today still discriminate against working mothers who wish to have flexible work schedules?
- Should stay-at-home moms get a salary from the government?
- Why do we sleep?
- How do GPS systems work?
- Who was the first person to reach the North Pole?
- Did anybody ever escape Alcatraz?
- What was life like for a gladiator?
- Are there any effective means of repelling insects?
- How is bulletproof clothing made?
- How was the skateboard invented and how has it changed over the years?
- What is life like inside of a beehive?
- Where did hip hop originate and who were its founders?
- What makes the platypus a unique and interesting mammal?
- What is daily life like for a Buddhist monk?
- How did gunpowder change warfare?
- How were cats and dogs domesticated and for what purposes?
- What do historians know about ninjas?
- Are humans still evolving?
- What is the curse of the pharaohs?
- Why was Socrates executed?
- How did ancient sailors navigate the globe?
- How are black holes formed?
- How do submarines work?
- Do lie detector tests accurately determine truthful statements?
- How does a hybrid car save energy?
- What ingredients can be found in a hotdog?
- How does a shark hunt?
- How does the human brain store and retrieve memories?
- How does stealth technology shield aircraft from radar?
- What causes tornados?
- How have TV's changed over time?
- How does night vision work?
- What causes desert mirages, and how do they affect wanderers?
- What are sinkholes, and how are they formed?
- What are the major theories explaining the disappearance of the dinosaurs?
- Should we reform laws to make it harder to get a divorce?
- Divorce rates
- Family relationships
- Family values
- Race relations
- Marriage and Divorce
- A view of home life and its effect on child development
- How 4 generations in the workplace can work together.
- Building positive employee relationships
- Modern work environments
- Business leadership
- Workforce regulations
- Small business and taxation
- Corporate law
- Issues in modern Human Resources: Are today’s corporations patronizing employees or being more responsible for them?
- Cultural conflict in globalization: Strategies for successfully establishing a presence in a foreign culture
- Corporate abuse: How can executives so successfully manipulate corporations criminally?
- Identifying stakeholders in non-public companies: is the corporate responsibility the same as for public offerings?
- Discrimination in the workplace: analyzing issues for today’s corporations.
- Devise a new model of leadership for business today, incorporating elements of existing leadership models and theories.
- Examine the actual impact of social media as a business promotion instrument.
- Devise a scenario in which traditionally unethical business practices may be justified.
- Cybersecurity in Business
- E-Business
- Online Retail Explosion (Amazon)
- The Glass Ceiling
- Outsourcing work to different countries
- Sweatshops, ethicality, what is it like?
- White Collar Crime and Punishment
- Should newspaper reporters be required to reveal their sources?
- Do the media (both print and broadcast) report fairly? Do they ever cross the line between reporting the news and creating the news?
- Does news coverage favor whites?
- What steps are involved in creating a movie or television show?
- How have the film and music industries dealt with piracy?
- Media bias
- Media conglomerates/ownership
- Minorities in mass media
- Portrayal of women
- Reality television
- Talk radio
- Television violence
- Media portrayals
- Sensationalized media
- Examine the issues of responsibility in pharmaceutical companies’ promotion of drugs in the media.
- Forensic science technology
- What are the current capabilities and future goals of genetic engineers?
- What obstacles faced scientists in breaking the sound barrier?
- What is alchemy and how has it been attempted?
- Stem cell research
- Evolutionary change in humans/animals
- What technologies are available to home owners to help them conserve energy?
- Nuclear energy
- Clean energy resources
- Wind energy: Is wind energy really that inexpensive? Is it effective? Is it practical?
- What are the dangers and hazards of using nuclear power?
- Investigate Freud’s contributions to psychology as they exist today: what value remains?
- Are there gender foundations to psychology and behavior that are removed from cultural considerations? To what extent does gender actually dictate thought process?
- To what extent is sexual orientation dictated by culture, and is there an orientation not subject to social and cultural influences?
- Investigate the psychological process in group dynamics with regard to the emergence of leaders and the compliance of others.
- Compare and contrast Jung, Freud, and Adler: explore distinctions and commonalities.
- What is “normal,” and to what extent is psychology reliant on culture to define this?
- Research and assess the effectiveness of radical psychotherapies and unconventional treatments.
- Research the concept of human will as both a component of individual psychology and a process or element removed from it.
- To what extent is self-image influenced by culture in regard to eating disorders? Are external factors entirely to blame?
- How do centuries-old beliefs of madness and dementia relate to modern conceptions of mental illness?
- Is psychology itself inevitably a non-science in that virtually any theory may be substantiated, or is there a foundation of science to the subject to which all theorists must conform?
- Examine Euripides and gender psychology: what do the Trojan Women and Medea reveal?
- Using three characters, explore Chaucer’s insight into human behavior in The Canterbury Tales.
- Identify the true relationship between Dante and Virgil in The Divine Comedy, emphasizing Dante’s reliance on the poet.
- Research and discuss the English fascination for euphemism and ornate narratives in the 16th century, beginning with John Lyly.
- Examine any existing controversies regarding Shakespearean authorship, citing arguments on both sides.
- Analyze similarities and differences between Marlowe and Shakespeare in regard to Tamburlaine and Titus Andronicus.
- Defend or support Bloom’s assertion of Shakespeare as the “inventor of the human being.”
- To what degree are Shakespeare’s plays influenced by, or reflective, of the Elizabethan era? Identify specific cultural and national events linked to at least 3 plays.
- Analyze the unusual construction of A Winter’s Tale in regard to transition from comedy to drama. Is this valid? Does the transition benefit or harm the play?
- Support the belief that Shakespeare is representing himself as Prospero through evidence, or similarly refute the belief.
- Why was extreme violence so popular in English Reformation drama? Cite Marlowe, Kyd, Webster, and Shakespeare.
- Analyze the metaphysical in Donne’s poetry: is it spiritual, existential, or both?
- What is Shelley seeking to say in Frankenstein? Support your answer with passages from the novel.
- Compare and contrast Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina with Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, noting the characters of the heroines.
- It is argued that Dickens failed when he turned to serious, romantic narrative in his novels. Using Copperfield, Great Expectations, and Dombey and Son, defend or refute this claim.
- Assess Dickens’ stance as a moralist in Bleak House and Hard Times: to what extent does he seek reform, and to what does he comment on the human condition?
- Was the Harry Potter phenomenon warranted by quality of storytelling or more a matter of public receptivity at the time combined with media exposure?
- Animal rights
- Gun Control Laws
- Changing the Legal Drinking Age/Why is the Legal age 21 here, and not 18?
- The Patriot
- Use of the Insanity Defense in Court
- Roe V. Wade
- Plessy V. Ferguson
- Brown V. Board of Education
- Three Strikes Law