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113 Great Research Paper Topics

Posted by Christine Sarikas

GENERAL EDUCATION

One of the hardest parts of writing a research paper can be just �nding a good topic
to write about.
They've been organized into ten
categories and cover a wide range of subjects so you can easily �nd the best topic for
you.

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In addition to the list of good research topics, we've included advice on what makes a
good research paper topic and how you can use your topic to start writing a great
paper.

Not all research paper topics are created equal, and you want to make sure you
choose a great topic before you start writing. Below are the three most important
factors to consider to make sure you choose the best research paper topics.

A paper is always easier to write if you're interested in the topic, and you'll be more
motivated to do in-depth research and write a paper that really covers the entire
subject. Even if a certain research paper topic is getting a lot of buzz right now or
other people seem interested in writing about it,

Even if you come up with the absolute best research paper topic and you're so
excited to write about it,
This can happen for very speci�c or specialized
topics, as well as topics that are too new to have enough research done on them at
the moment. Easy research paper topics will always be topics with enough
information to write a full-length paper.

Trying to write a research paper on a topic that doesn't have much research on it is
incredibly hard, so before you decide on a topic, do a bit of preliminary searching and
make sure you'll have all the information you need to write your paper.

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Don't get so carried away looking at lists of research paper topics that you forget any
requirements or restrictions your teacher may have put on research topic ideas. If
you're writing a research paper on a health-related topic, deciding to write about the
impact of rap on the music scene probably won't be allowed, but there may be some
sort of leeway. For example, if you're really interested in current events but your
teacher wants you to write a research paper on a history topic, you may be able to
choose a topic that �ts both categories, like exploring the relationship between the US
and North Korea.

Below are 113 good research topics to help you get you started on your paper.
to make it easier to �nd the type of research
paper topics you're looking for.

◦ Discuss the main di�erences in art from the Italian Renaissance and the
Northern Renaissance.
◦ Analyze the impact a famous artist had on the world.
◦ How is sexism portrayed in di�erent types of media (music, �lm, video
games, etc.)? Has the amount/type of sexism changed over the years?
◦ How has the music of slaves brought over from Africa shaped modern
American music?
◦ How has rap music evolved in the past decade?
◦ How has the portrayal of minorities in the media changed?

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◦ What have been the impacts of China's one child policy?

◦ How have the goals of feminists changed over the decades?
◦ How has the Trump presidency changed international relations?
◦ Analyze the history of the relationship between the United States and
North Korea.
◦ What factors contributed to the current decline in the rate of
unemployment?
◦ What have been the impacts of states which have increased their minimum
wage?

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◦ How do US immigration laws compare to immigration laws of other

countries?
◦ How have the US's immigration laws changed in the past few years/
decades?
◦ How has the Black Lives Matter movement a�ected discussions and view
about racism in the US?
◦ What impact has the A�ordable Care Act had on healthcare in the US?
◦ What factors contributed to the UK deciding to leave the EU (Brexit)?
◦ What factors contributed to China becoming an economic power?
◦ Discuss the history of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies (some of which
tokenize the S&P 500 Index on the blockchain).

◦ Do students in schools that eliminate grades do better in college and their

careers?
◦ Do students from wealthier backgrounds score higher on standardized
tests?
◦ Do students who receive free meals at school get higher grades compared
to when they weren't receiving a free meal?
◦ Do students who attend charter schools score higher on standardized tests
than students in public schools?
◦ Do students learn better in same-sex classrooms?
◦ How does giving each student access to an iPad or laptop a�ect their
studies?
◦ What are the bene�ts and drawbacks of the Montessori Method?
◦ Do children who attend preschool do better in school later on?
◦ What was the impact of the No Child Left Behind act?
◦ How does the US education system compare to education systems in other
countries?
◦ What impact does mandatory physical education classes have on students'
health?
◦ Which methods are most e�ective at reducing bullying in schools?
◦ Do homeschoolers who attend college do as well as students who
attended traditional schools?
◦ Does o�ering tenure increase or decrease quality of teaching?
◦ How does college debt a�ect future life choices of students?
◦ Should graduate students be able to form unions?

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◦ What are di�erent ways to lower gun-related deaths in the US?

◦ How and why have divorce rates changed over time?
◦ Is a�rmative action still necessary in education and/or the workplace?
◦ Should physician-assisted suicide be legal?
◦ How has stem cell research impacted the medical �eld?
◦ How can human tra�cking be reduced in the United States/world?
◦ Should people be able to donate organs in exchange for money?

◦ Which types of juvenile punishment have proven most e�ective at

preventing future crimes?
◦ Has the increase in US airport security made passengers safer?
◦ Analyze the immigration policies of certain countries and how they are
similar and di�erent from one another.
◦ Several states have legalized recreational marijuana. What positive and
negative impacts have they experienced as a result?

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◦ Do tari�s increase the number of domestic jobs?

◦ Which prison reforms have proven most e�ective?
◦ Should governments be able to censor certain information on the internet?

◦ Which methods/programs have been most e�ective at reducing teen

pregnancy?
◦ What are the bene�ts and drawbacks of the Keto diet?
◦ How e�ective are di�erent exercise regimes for losing weight and
maintaining weight loss?
◦ How do the healthcare plans of various countries di�er from each other?
◦ What are the most e�ective ways to treat depression?
◦ What are the pros and cons of genetically modi�ed foods?
◦ Which methods are most e�ective for improving memory?
◦ What can be done to lower healthcare costs in the US?
◦ What factors contributed to the current opioid crisis?
◦ Analyze the history and impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
◦ Are low-carbohydrate or low-fat diets more e�ective for weight loss?
◦ How much exercise should the average adult be getting each week?
◦ Which methods are most e�ective to get parents to vaccinate their
children?
◦ What are the pros and cons of clean needle programs?
◦ How does stress a�ect the body?

◦ Discuss the history of the con�ict between Israel and the Palestinians.
◦ What were the causes and e�ects of the Salem Witch Trials?
◦ Who was responsible for the Iran-Contra situation?
◦ How has New Orleans and the government's response to natural disasters
changed since Hurricane Katrina?
◦ What events led to the fall of the Roman Empire?
◦ What were the impacts of British rule in India?
◦ Was the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki necessary?
◦ What were the successes and failures of the women's su�rage movement
in the United States?

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◦ What were the causes of the Civil War?

◦ How did Abraham Lincoln's assassination impact the country and
reconstruction after the Civil War?
◦ Which factors contributed to the colonies winning the American
Revolution?
◦ What caused Hitler's rise to power?
◦ Discuss how a speci�c invention impacted history.
◦ What led to Cleopatra's fall as ruler of Egypt?
◦ How has Japan changed and evolved over the centuries?
◦ What were the causes of the Rwandan genocide?

◦ Why did Martin Luther decide to split with the Catholic Church?
◦ Analyze the history and impact of a well-known cult (Jonestown, Manson
family, etc.)
◦ How did the sexual abuse scandal impact how people view the Catholic
Church?
◦ How has the Catholic church's power changed over the past decades/
centuries?
◦ What are the causes behind the rise in atheism/agnosticism in the United
States?
◦ What were the in�uences in Siddhartha's life resulted in him becoming the
Buddha?

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◦ How has media portrayal of Islam/Muslims changed since September 11th?

◦ How has the earth's climate changed in the past few decades?
◦ How has the use and elimination of DDT a�ected bird populations in the
US?
◦ Analyze how the number and severity of natural disasters have increased
in the past few decades.
◦ Analyze deforestation rates in a certain area or globally over a period of
time.
◦ How have past oil spills changed regulations and cleanup methods?
◦ How has the Flint water crisis changed water regulation safety?
◦ What are the pros and cons of fracking?
◦ What impact has the Paris Climate Agreement had so far?
◦ What have NASA's biggest successes and failures been?
◦ How can we improve access to clean water around the world?
◦ Does ecotourism actually have a positive impact on the environment?
◦ Should the US rely on nuclear energy more?
◦ What can be done to save amphibian species currently at risk of extinction?
◦ What impact has climate change had on coral reefs?
◦ How are black holes created?

◦ Are teens who spend more time on social media more likely to su�er
anxiety and/or depression?
◦ How will the loss of net neutrality a�ect internet users?
◦ Analyze the history and progress of self-driving vehicles.
◦ How has the use of drones changed surveillance and warfare methods?
◦ Has social media made people more or less connected?
◦ What progress has currently been made with arti�cial intelligence?
◦ Do smartphones increase or decrease workplace productivity?
◦ What are the most e�ective ways to use technology in the classroom?
◦ How is Google search a�ecting our intelligence?
◦ When is the best age for a child to begin owning a smartphone?
◦ Has frequent texting reduced teen literacy rates?

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Even great research paper topics won't give you a great research paper if you don't
hone your topic before and during the writing process. Follow these three tips to turn
good research paper topics into great papers.

Before you start writing a single word of your paper, you �rst need to know what your
thesis will be. Your thesis is a statement that explains what you intend to prove/show
in your paper.

As some examples, if you're writing a research paper on if students learn better in

same-sex classrooms, your thesis might be "Research has shown that elementary-age
students in same-sex classrooms score higher on standardized tests and report
feeling more comfortable in the classroom."

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If you're writing a paper on the causes of the Civil War, your thesis might be "While
the dispute between the North and South over slavery is the most well-known cause
of the Civil War, other key causes include di�erences in the economies of the North
and South, states' rights, and territorial expansion."

Remember, this is a research paper you're writing, so you'll need to use lots of
research to make your points.
properly cited the way your teacher requested. You're allowed to include
opinions of your own, but they must also be supported by the research you give.

You don't want to start writing your research paper and then learn that there isn't
enough research to back up the points you're making, or, even worse, that the
research contradicts the points you're trying to make!

Get most of your research on your good research topics done before you begin
writing. Then use the research you've collected to create a rough outline of what your
paper will cover and the key points you're going to make. This will help keep your
paper clear and organized, and it'll ensure you have enough research to produce a
strong paper.

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author image

About the Author

Christine graduated from Michigan State
University with degrees in Environmental Biology
and Geography and received her Master's from
Duke University. In high school she scored in the
99th percentile on the SAT and was named a
National Merit Finalist. She has taught English
and biology in several countries.

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Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!

4/10/2019, 10:20:58 PM

I would just like to say that this helped me

9/28/2021, 11:37:27 PM

It was helpful

4/18/2019, 10:37:12 PM

Thanks for making this! It really helped me on my biggest grade for language arts
class!

5/20/2019, 7:30:28 PM

Thanks. Very helpful.

6/25/2019, 10:03:28 AM

Thanks.

Extremely helpful indeed.

7/4/2019, 3:36:04 PM

really nice and helpful

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8/6/2019, 5:32:53 PM

this helped me a lot for my research assignment !! this is very helpful, thanks a lot <33

9/11/2019, 2:09:03 PM

this website has helped me a lot.

9/17/2019, 11:24:16 PM

I was having so much trouble coming up with a topic. Some very good ideas here,
thank you.

10/3/2019, 2:13:32 AM

Thank u so much

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10/8/2019, 2:13:39 PM

Thank you so much.

10/19/2019, 1:02:05 PM

These information helped me a lot. Thank you so much

11/7/2019, 8:27:03 PM

this website saved my life. I struggle on the daily of thinking about topics for my
papers and this website ALWAYS has my back. Thank you sooooo much!!!!! Please
reply, it would make my year!!!!

11/8/2019, 10:46:25 PM

Hi Emma,

Glad you �nd the articles useful, and good luck with your papers!

Christine

7/13/2021, 9:32:22 PM

Wow.This Article is really helpful . First i was so confused how to do my �rst

research on my own how to choose e�ective topic etc then i Googled it and
saw this article. It helps me a lot. Now am con�dent i can do this yeah.
Thanks

11/27/2019, 10:42:24 PM

Very helpful.....
thanks....

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1/9/2020, 9:20:40 PM

thank you so much this really helped me

1/28/2020, 2:23:22 PM

thank you this was very helpful

1/23/2020, 8:45:06 PM

thank you this was very helpful for starting me o� on a project

1/26/2020, 9:52:29 AM

I was having a conversation today with a student who is preparing an English paper.
With that in mind, I decided to do some research on the internet to see if there were
any useful tools. I read through all the ideas for subjects on your site and I was
amazed by all the clever and interesting ideas. Thank you for taking the time to help
others with their writing projects.

1/27/2020, 8:17:25 PM

Thanks Ron, I'm glad you found it helpful!

Best,
Christine

2/12/2020, 12:54:21 AM

THANK YOU!!!

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2/24/2020, 3:56:29 AM

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

This really helped me with starting my research proposal.

3/12/2020, 8:47:50 PM

Thank you for having given very detailed input of the di�erent research titles which
are really useful for me to select the appropriate way of my research in the future.
Regards
Senapathy

5/5/2020, 4:58:09 AM

This has really helped me. I'm a 5th grader who is in an English class that's supposed
to be for 7-10 grade curriculum. my research paper was not to be too broad nor too
uninformative and this helped me a bunch! I got a really good grade on my research
and I recommend using this. Thank u so much for this website - zahra

5/5/2020, 6:53:22 PM

I'm glad it helped you Zahra!

Best,

Christine

9/11/2020, 7:49:46 PM

I am preparing to start writing my Research Paper at Ph.D. Level. I have found your
information here about selecting a good topic and how to write a great Research
paper to be very helpful. Thank you so very much.

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9/17/2020, 12:29:08 AM

I have been asked to write a ten page paper for my �rst broad research paper of the
school year. I was actually pretty anxious about it, since I didn't think I would do good
or �nd an interesting topic with enough information and resources. I found your
page, and I'll just say it really boosted my con�dence in writing this paper! Many
thanks and props to you for taking your time to write this out to help people like me!

12/4/2020, 10:41:08 PM

Thank you so much!! This website is out of this world helpful, I used this on one of my
college papers and it totally helped. Thank you again Christine for helping me out
here :)

1/14/2021, 1:31:32 PM

Thank you so much.

This website is helpful

7/19/2021, 8:29:22 PM

Thank you so much , the website is so helpful.

9/7/2021, 6:40:03 AM

This helped me so much! Thank you :)

11/16/2021, 1:06:14 PM

Thank you very much.

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may these help me

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