Senior research papers should be on something that inspires you or at
the very least maintains an interest. An idea that grabs your interest
for the time it takes to do the research and put the paper together
should lead to more fulfilling results \in terms of the end product and
the grade you receive.
The following are possible topics:
Nature Tourism
Nature Tourism is the travel through and enjoyment of the natural
world. Students toured existing nature tourism sites and created a
community profile through public surveys. Based on those surveys,
they created a professional report of the findings. The report made
recommendations for enhancing nature tourism.
Tattoos and Body Piercing
•
Tattooing and body piercing have fully entered the mainstream
and left the spectrum of rebellion behind. Ideas for tackling this
topic as a senior project include studying the health risks
associated with body art and piercing, whether minors should be
required to get parental consent and even the fact that what
were once fringe social outlets of expression have become very
much a part of the mainstream.
Hate Crimes
•
A research project could focus on the topic of hate crimes. One
angle would be to research how hate has become a primary
focus of sentencing and punishment over the last few decades.
Another would be to research whether intent such as expression
of hatred should lift a crime like vandalism into a more serious
degree of concern. Ask and answer the question, does hate make
a crime worse?
Skateboarding
•
A research paper sure to gain the interest of some seniors is
checking into whether banning skateboarding in public places is
a violation of rights. Find out if similar recreational activities
have been allowed in the same places where skateboarding has
been prohibited, and why some activities are allowed and others
aren't.
Energy Drinks
•
Energy drinks make almost supernatural promises of power to
those who consume them. A senior research paper could check
into the validity of the claims made by these drink
manufacturers. Begin by researching exactly what claims of
energy are made by these products, and then lead into whether
those claims are fulfilled.
Teenage Plastic Surgery
•
Plastic surgery has begun to filter down into the world of
teenagers. Cosmetic surgery to make young girls look prettier
has not been around long enough to determine long-term
consequences, but a research paper could take the path of
determining the full extent of the impact of advertising images
on the decision of a teenage girl to undergo the knife to attain a
level of idealized beauty.
Hip-Hop and Violence
•
Hip-hop music has gained a reputation for inspiring illegal and
violent behavior among listeners, based on the violence deaths
of many of its biggest stars. A research paper could seek to
determine whether there is a link between listening to rap and
engaging in violence. The paper could also seek to determine the
average makeup of the listener of rap music and analyze other
media influences that do not get the same bad rap.
•
Computer Hacking Research
•
Native American genocide/murder
•
Should cable services be offered on an a la carte system?
•
How and why do certain media outlets contribute to
sensationalism in news reporting?
•
How are the values, expectations, and rituals of specific holidays
such as Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Mother's Day influenced
by consumer culture?
•
What role does product packaging play in consumerism?
•
Should the official work week be shortened/extended?
•
Should TV ratings be re-evaluated in regards to sex and
violence?
•
How has the television as an invention changed the American
household and family life?
•
How has the increase in ticket prices and athlete salaries
negatively affected professional sports?
•
Should the instant replay remain in effect in the NFL? Should it
be extended to other sports as well?
•
Does Title IX actually promote gender equality in college sports?
•
What kind of performance-enhancing drugs should be allowed in
different sports? Should creatine be banned from Major League
Baseball?
•
How has ESPN and other media sources influenced (positively or
negatively) professional sports in the last twenty years?
•
Should teams with potentially offensive logos and nicknames
(like the Cleveland Indians and Washington Redskins) change
their names to be more racially sensitive?
•
If an officer finds something that he was not looking for (e.g.,
narcotics in an automobile that was being searched for firearms),
why should or shouldn't the officer have the right to take the
accused into custody? Consider the issue of "reasonable
suspicion" in your discussion.
•
Many consider today's justice system to be too slow. What
improvements could be made to expedite the system without
sacrificing due process?
•
Argue for or against school vouchers. How does the separation of
church and state apply to this issue?
•
Should evolution be the official curricular focus of public schools
regarding human origin?
•
Is the current system of public school funding--primarily through
property taxes--unfair? How does it contribute to inequality in the
public school system?
•
Consider the needs of a teacher's salary vs. the realities of the
funding schools now have. Argue for a change in education
budget allocation.
•
Should mandatory military service be required for all men and
women in America?
•
Does the threat of terrorism warrant the suspension or
curtailment of civil liberties?
•
Should music-sharing programs on the Internet be outlawed?
•
How have myths and superstitions impacted society and its
norms and values?
•
How has the concept of beauty changed over time? Why have
practices such as foot binding, tattooing, and piercings been
valued?
•
What dynamics drive group mentality, such as gang behavior,
political groups, and social groups?
•
How productive is the United States' educational system? How
effective are recent legislative acts (No Child Left Behind) that
demand an increase in standardized testing?
•
Research Education Reform
•
How successful are our attempts to rehabilitate criminals?
•
How has the definition of the family unit changed over the past
century?
•
Research & Experience Raw Foods
•
Research performance enhancing drugs
•
Nostradamus Predictions and Armageddon
•
Vampires: Myth or Reality?
•
Global Warming
•
Immigration and Emigration Situation
•
Gaming Era
•
Government Conspiracies
•
Creation vs. Evolution
•
Human Cloning
•
Gambling Effects
•
Airport security
•
Cyber crime
•
Steroids. Antibiotics. Sprays. Are food manufacturers killing us?
•
Do certain children’s toys create social or emotional problems?
•
Is wind energy really that cheap? Is it effective? Is it practical?
•
Has U.S. policy actually spread terrorism rather than contain it?
Will it get better or worse? Why and how?
•
Should Christmas, Easter, and other religious observances be
considered national holidays?
•
Should the primary method of public school funding--property
taxes in individual school districts--be amended to create more
fairness in schools?
•
How do certain television programs perpetuate racial or ethnic
stereotypes?
•
Should the American government pay reparations and return land
to Native Americans?
•
Should the U.S. lower the drinking age to 18?
•
Cell Phones- How have they changed us socially?
•
Is distracted driving a problem?
•
Is breaking the law for a cause justifiable?
•
How has the legacy of slavery and segregation impacted upon
race relations in the United States?
•
Should students be required to shed some of their civil liberties
at the "schoolhouse gates"?
•
Should the use of coal be subjected to stricter environmental
regulations than other fuels?
•
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?
•
How can we balance the need to lower the cost of malpractice
insurance with the fact that physician malpractice is one of the
leading causes of death?
•
Most developed nations have universal health coverage. Why
doesn’t the U.S., the wealthiest nation, have it?
•
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?
Other topics:
Abortion
Addiction
Adoption
Advertising
Affirmative Action
Age Discrimination
AIDS
Alcoholism
Animal Experimentation
Animal Rights
Antiwar Movement
Arms Control
Assisted Suicide
Athletes and Steroid Abuse
Bilingual Education
Bioethics
Biological Weapons
Birth Control
Body Image
Body Piercings and Tattoos
Campaign Reform
Capital Punishment
Censorship
Character Education
Charter Schools
Chemical Weapons
Child Abuse
Child Custody and Support
Child Labor
Civil Rights
Cloning
Corporal Punishment
Cosmetic Surgery
Creationism vs. Evolution
Crime
Cults
Cybercrime
Defense Spending
Disaster Relief
Divorce
Domestic Violence
Drug Abuse
Drug Testing and the Workplace
Drug Trafficking
Eating Disorders
Education Reform
Emigration and Immigration
Endangered Species
Environmental Policy
Ethics in Politics
Ethnic Relations
Euthanasia
Extraterrestrial Life
Family Relations
Federal Budget
Feminism
Flag Burning
Free Speech
Gambling
Gangs
Genetic Engineering
Genocide
Global Warming
Gun Control
Hate Crimes
Hazing
Health Care Reform
Health Insurance
Holistic Medicine
Home Schooling
Homeless People
Homosexuality
Human Rights
Identity Theft
Illiteracy
Immunization
Incarceration vs. Rehabilitation
Income Tax Reform
Intellectual Property
Intelligence Tests
Internet Safety
Interracial Relationships
Islamic Fundamentalism
Juvenile Offenders
Labor Unions
Learning Disabilities
Legalization of Marijuana
Male/Female Roles
Media Ethics
Media Piracy
Media Ratings Systems
Media Violence
Medical Care
Middle East
Militias
Minimum Wage
Multiculturalism
National Security
Nuclear Energy
Nuclear Weapons
Obesity in America
Online Schools
Organized Crime
Paranormal Phenomena
Parents - Rights and Issues
Patriot Act
Peer Pressure
Plagiarism
Police Brutality
Political Action Committees
Political Correctness
Political Corruption
Pollution
Population Growth
Pornography
Poverty
Poverty
Prayer in Schools
Propaganda (Media's Use of)
Prisons
Public Assistance
Race Relations
Racial Profiling
Racism
Rape
Reality TV
Recycling
Renewable Energy
Rights of Privacy
Rights of Students
Right to Die
Sales Tax
Same-Sex Marriage
SAT Tests
School Uniforms
School Violence
Separation of Church and State
Sex Education
Sexual Harassment
Smoking
Social Security
States Rights
Stem Cell Research
Strikes
Suicide
Surrogate Motherhood
Teen Pregnancy
Terrorism
U.S. Election System
Victims of Crime
Video Game Violence
Violence
Voting Rights
War Crimes
Welfare Reform
Women in the Military
Women's Rights
Working Women