Choosing a Topic
Choosing a Topic
One of the most difficult steps in beginning a research paper can be choosing a topic. Below you
will find suggestions for selecting and focusing a topic and lists of possible topics to help jump
start the process for you.
Print a handout for
Choosing a Topic.
Strategies for focusing a broad research topic
-
Develop a tentative focus. Make a list of things you already know about the topic
and a list of questions you would like to answer about the topic. From the list of questions,
choose those you find most interesting.
-
Get some background information on your topic. If you know very little about the
topic you have chosen, you may experience difficulty narrowing it. Having some background knowledge
on the topic will help you decide how to narrow your focus.
- Do some preliminary background reading of an article in a subject encyclopedia -
Ask a Librarian
for assistance with this step.
- Look for magazine articles to get a general idea of the key issues or controversies involved in
your topic.
Academic Search Premier
or
Expanded Academic ASAP
are both good starting places to find magazine articles.
- Browse
CQ Researcher
. This is a great source for finding background information and overviews of a wide array of
topics.
-
Narrow your topic by choosing a particular perspective on the issue. Scholars from
different subject fields will approach your topic from different angles and will bring different
points of view to bear on the subject. A specialist in genetics will approach the topic
genetic engineering of plants differently than a nutritionist, an environmentalist, or an
economist.
-
Narrow your topic by limiting it to a specific time period or geographic area.
This will help better focus your search for information. Look for
Limit options in the databases you search.
Finding research topic ideas
You can find ideas for research topics by using the following strategies and resources:
-
Scan your textbook for topic ideas and suggestions.
-
Think of what you have read or seen recently that interested you. You'll be
spending a bit of time on your research paper, so be sure to choose a topic that will sustain your
interest!
-
Draw on your other classes for inspiration. Are there issues, ideas, or materials
from other classes that intrigue you? Is there something you'd like to learn more about?
-
Pick a topic that is practical. Are you considering a career in politics, hoping
to start your own business, or thinking of studying abroad next year? Choose a topic that allows
you to learn about something you can apply to your daily life.
-
Browse an encyclopedia for ideas.
- General encyclopedias cover all subject areas, and might give you some good ideas. The
Undergraduate Library has some located in the Reference Collection, in the 032 call number area.
Check the Index volumes for subjects.
(Important Note: General encyclopedia articles, while acceptable for high school
papers, are generally too superficial in their treatment of a subject for use as sources in a
college research assignment. General encyclopedias are a good starting point for your research, but
you will need to move on to other types of sources for more detailed treatment of your
topic).
- Browsing the
Wikipedia can provide some topic ideas. Keep
in mind when doing so that
anyone can change and edit entries in Wikipedia.
Topic Ideas
The list that follows is based on topics that the Undergraduate Library has noted of interest to
students in the past few years. The broader categories are in bold, with suggested topics listed
below.
Print a handout
with the following list of topic ideas.
Business
- Cybersecurity
- E-business
- Ethics
- Glass ceiling
- Online retail
- Outsourcing
- Sweatshops
- White collar crime
Crime and Law
- Acquaintance rape
- Animal rights
- Assisted suicide
- Campus violence
- Capital punishment
- Civil rights
- Drinking age, legal
- Drug legalization
- Gun control
- Hate crimes
- Insanity defense
- Mandatory Minimum sentencing
- Patriot Act
- Police brutality
- Prisons and prisoners
- Roe vs. Wade
- Serial killers
- Sex crimes
- Sexual harassment
- Three Strikes Law
Drugs and Drug Abuse
- Alcohol
- Cocaine
- Doping in sports
- Drug testing
- Drunk driving
- Heroin
- Marijuana
- Nicotine
Education
- Attention deficit disorder
- Charter schools
- College admission policies
- College athletes
- College tuition planning
- Distance education
- Diploma mills
- Education and funding
- Grade inflation
- Greek letter societies
- Hazing
- Home schooling
- Intelligence tests
- Learning disabilities
- Literacy in America
- Mascots (Illiniwek)
- No Child Left Behind
- Plagiarism
- Prayer in schools
- Sex education
- School vouchers
- Standardized tests
Environmental
- Acid rain
- Alternative fuel/hybrid vehicles
- Conservation
- Deforestation
- Endangered species
- Energy
- Global warming
- Greenhouse effect
- Landfills
- Marine pollution
- Nuclear energy
- Oil spills
- Pesticides
- Pollution
- Population control
- Radioactive waste disposal
- Recycling
- Smog
- Soil pollution
- Wildlife conservation
Family issues
- Battered woman syndrome
- Child abuse
- Divorce rates
- Domestic abuse
- Family relationships
- Family values
Health
- Abortion
- AIDS
- Attention deficit disorder
- Alternative medicine
- Alzheimer's Disease
- Anorexia Nervosa
- Artificial insemination
- Autism
- Birth control
- Bulimia
- Cancer
- Depression
- Dietary supplements
- Drug abuse
- Dyslexia
- Exercise and fitness
- Fad diets
- Fast food
- Heart disease
- HIV infection
- In vitro fertilization
- Medicaid/Medicare reform
- Obesity
- Organic foods
- Prescription drugs
- Plastic surgery
- Sleep
- Smoking
- Stem cell research
- Teen pregnancy
- Vegetarianism
- Weight loss surgery
Media and Communications
- Body image
- Censorship
- Children's programming and advertising
- Copyright Law
- Freedom of speech
- Materialism
- Media bias
- Media conglomerates/ownership
- Minorities in mass media
- Political correctness
- Portrayal of women
- Reality television
- Stereotypes
- Talk radio
- Television violence
Political Issues
- Affirmative Action
- Budget deficit
- Electoral College
- Election reform
- Emigration
- Genocide
- Illegal aliens
- Immigration
- Impeachment
- International relations
- Medicaid/Medicare reform
- Operation Enduring Iraqi Freedom
- Partisan politics
- Prescription drugs
- Social Security Reform
- Third parties
- Taxes
Psychology
- Child abuse
- Criminal psychology
- Depression
- Dreams
- Intelligence tests
- Learning disabilities
- Memory
- Physical attraction
- Schizophrenia
Religion
- Cults
- Freedom of religion
- Occultism
- Prayer in schools
Social Issues
- Abortion
- Adoption
- Airline safety/security
- Affirmative Action programs
- AIDS
- Apartheid
- Birth control
- Child abuse
- Child rearing
- Discrimination in education
- Employee rights
- Gambling/online gaming
- Gang identity
- Gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender
- Gay parenting
- Gender discrimination
- Genetic screening
- Homelessness
- Identity theft
- Interracial marriage
- Poverty
- Race relations
- Reverse discrimination
- Suffrage
- Suicide
- Test biases
- Textbook biases
- Welfare
Terrorism
- Bioterrorism
- Homeland Security
- September 11
Women and Gender
- Abortion
- Birth control and Pregnancy
- Body image
- Cultural expectations and practices
- Discrimination
- Eating disorders
- Education
- Feminism
- Gay pride
- Female genital mutilation
- Health
- Marriage and Divorce
- Media portrayals
- Menstruation and Menopause
- Parenting
- Prostitution
- Queer issues (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender)
- Sex and Sexuality
- Sports
- Stereotypes
- Substance abuse
- Violence and Rape
- Work
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