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One of the hardest parts of writing a research paper can be just finding a good topic to write about. Fortunately we've done the hard work for you and have compiled a list of 113 interesting research paper topics. They've been organized into ten categories and cover a wide range of subjects so you can easily find the best topic for you.

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.

What Makes a Good Research Paper Topic?

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.

#1: It's Something You're Interested In

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, don't feel tempted to make it your topic unless you genuinely have some sort of interest in it as well.

#2: There's Enough Information to Write a Paper

Even if you come up with the absolute best research paper topic and you're so excited to write about it, you won't be able to produce a good paper if there isn't enough research about the topic. This can happen for very specific 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.

#3: It Fits Your Teacher's Guidelines

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 fits both categories, like exploring the relationship between the US and North Korea. No matter what, always get your research paper topic approved by your teacher first before you begin writing.

113 Good Research Paper Topics

Below are 113 good research topics to help you get you started on your paper. We've organized them into ten categories to make it easier to find the type of research paper topics you're looking for.

Arts/Culture

  • Discuss the main differences 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 different types of media (music, film, 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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Current Events

  • 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?
  • 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 affected discussions and view about racism in the US?
  • What impact has the Affordable 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 affect their studies?
  • What are the benefits 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 effective at reducing bullying in schools?
  • Do homeschoolers who attend college do as well as students who attended traditional schools?
  • Does offering tenure increase or decrease quality of teaching?
  • How does college debt affect future life choices of students?
  • Should graduate students be able to form unions?

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  • What are different ways to lower gun-related deaths in the US?
  • How and why have divorce rates changed over time?
  • Is affirmative action still necessary in education and/or the workplace?
  • Should physician-assisted suicide be legal?
  • How has stem cell research impacted the medical field?
  • How can human trafficking 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 effective 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 different from one another.
  • Several states have legalized recreational marijuana. What positive and negative impacts have they experienced as a result?
  • Do tariffs increase the number of domestic jobs?
  • Which prison reforms have proven most effective?
  • Should governments be able to censor certain information on the internet?
  • Which methods/programs have been most effective at reducing teen pregnancy?
  • What are the benefits and drawbacks of the Keto diet?
  • How effective are different exercise regimes for losing weight and maintaining weight loss?
  • How do the healthcare plans of various countries differ from each other?
  • What are the most effective ways to treat depression ?
  • What are the pros and cons of genetically modified foods?
  • Which methods are most effective 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 effective for weight loss?
  • How much exercise should the average adult be getting each week?
  • Which methods are most effective to get parents to vaccinate their children?
  • What are the pros and cons of clean needle programs?
  • How does stress affect the body?
  • Discuss the history of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
  • What were the causes and effects 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 suffrage movement in the United States?
  • 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 specific 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 ?

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  • 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 influences in Siddhartha's life resulted in him becoming the Buddha?
  • How has media portrayal of Islam/Muslims changed since September 11th?

Science/Environment

  • How has the earth's climate changed in the past few decades?
  • How has the use and elimination of DDT affected 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 suffer anxiety and/or depression?
  • How will the loss of net neutrality affect 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 artificial intelligence ?
  • Do smartphones increase or decrease workplace productivity?
  • What are the most effective ways to use technology in the classroom?
  • How is Google search affecting 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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How to Write a Great Research Paper

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.

#1: Figure Out Your Thesis Early

Before you start writing a single word of your paper, you first need to know what your thesis will be. Your thesis is a statement that explains what you intend to prove/show in your paper. Every sentence in your research paper will relate back to your thesis, so you don't want to start writing without it!

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."

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 differences in the economies of the North and South, states' rights, and territorial expansion."

#2: Back Every Statement Up With Research

Remember, this is a research paper you're writing, so you'll need to use lots of research to make your points. Every statement you give must be backed up with research, 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.

#3: Do Your Research Before You Begin Writing

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.

What's Next?

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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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8 Challenges Faced by Researchers (and Tips to Help)

January 18 2023 Wednesday, January 18, 2023 Tips and Tricks

Matthieu Chartier, PhD.

Founder @ Fourwaves

Being a researcher is a rewarding career for many reasons: You get to explore new ideas, work with cutting-edge technology, learn about the world, and have important discussions with like-minded individuals. 

But, research doesn’t come without its challenges. 

Luckily, challenges get easier to overcome when you don’t feel alone in facing them. So, we’ve put together a list of the top 8 challenges that researchers face and some tips to help.

Person working in a wet lab

1. Choosing your research topic

Starting a new research project and narrowing your focus to a single topic is one of the first challenges you’ll learn to face as an early-career researcher . And, it’s also one of the most important ones.

Your topic for each new research project is the foundation on which all your other work rests, so it’s vital that you take your time in tackling this challenge. A well-thought-out topic can also help you avoid some of the challenges that we’ll discuss later in this article.

TIP: Stay flexible and consider all the angles

Obviously, you’re going to want to research something that’s compelling enough to hold your interest. But, picking a good topic requires much more than just deciding what you’re most excited about. 

Start by identifying a few gaps in your research niche along with different angles you could take on each. You don’t have to change the world with your work, but you do want to pinpoint places where you can make a difference (i.e. adding something new to the body of knowledge that exists).

Evaluate each topic for how realistically you can achieve it. What resources do you have available? Are you short on money? Will it be hard to find people (participants or team members)? Are you on a time limit? Take all these factors into consideration to choose a topic that will be manageable for you.

Your final research topic will likely look a lot different from the one you had in your head when you first started out. Stay flexible as you discover potential barriers and develop new angles that you can take to overcome them.

2. Finding research funding

Another common challenge that researchers face is finding the money they need to get the research done. Sometimes this comes alongside the shock of how much the required materials, tools, and assistance will cost. Research is more expensive than most people imagine.

In addition, there are many researchers competing for the same grants and funding. So, the competition can be fierce, especially for early-career researchers and researchers in developing countries .

If you can’t pull together enough funding, you may have to make compromises that limit how effectively and efficiently you can complete your research. Depending on the project requirements, it’s possible you’ll have to postpone your research until enough money is secured.

TIP: Think outside your social and geographical boxes

It’s easy to get discouraged while on the hunt for funding. So, remind yourself that there will always be more opportunities. Start by reaching out to your network. Request letters of support to help you apply for the grants that you’ve identified.

Don’t be afraid to branch out. Search for sources online and apply for funding available from potential international research partners. Just because your own country doesn’t have the funding doesn’t mean there isn’t someone, somewhere else that will pay you to complete your research.

3. Convincing others of the value of your research 

Your research may be important. But, few people will take your word for it without a little convincing. For projects that take a long time to execute or require significant resources, you’ll have to do even more convincing. Unfortunately, the best methods for estimating and demonstrating the impact of research aren’t always clear.

Even after you’ve completed your project, you’ll likely be asked to demonstrate the impact of your research to your funders/stakeholders. This is an important step for solidifying your reputation and that of your research institution.

TIP: Reflect on your research purpose 

Set aside some reflection time throughout the development and execution of your research. Use this time to put your purpose under a microscope. Remind yourself why you began this project, what good has come from it already, and what more can be achieved. Reflection exercises help you maintain confidence in your goal. They also ensure that you always have something relevant to say when someone asks: “So, why should I care?” 

In addition, it never hurts to improve your scientific storytelling skills . Getting people to care about concepts that they don’t fully understand is a difficult task. Storytelling can help you convince varied audiences of the value of your research.

4. Overcoming imposter syndrome

Researchers have to expose themselves and their work to criticism. While others are criticizing the value of your work, it can be hard to maintain a high level of confidence in yourself. And when your work takes a turn you didn’t expect, feelings of self-doubt can easily creep in. 

If you start doubting your own skills and accomplishments, or feel that you’re not as capable as others, you might be experiencing imposter syndrome . It’s a problem that people in all professions face and, in severe cases, it can cause someone to feel like a fraud in spite of all they’ve accomplished.

TIP: Remind yourself of your research (and personal) success

If you’re experiencing feelings of self-doubt, boost your confidence by reviewing past research projects and reminding yourself of your achievements. Lining up the facts in front of you can help with overcoming feelings of inadequacy. If you don’t have a large research record, think about other personal or academic achievements that you’re proud of. 

Seek help from others, whether that’s constructive feedback on your work or advice from a mental health professional. And, consider trying something completely new as a hobby outside of your research. Trying new things can shake you out of your usual thought patterns and, most importantly, it gives you permission to be okay with being “bad” at something. 

5. Building a good research team (or finding collaborators)

Research is rarely done alone. Chances are you’re going to need a research team to support you (or collaborators in the same field of research to connect with).

If you’ve never built a research team before, you may struggle to know where to start. You may not even be sure what kind of people you work well with.

If you’re looking for research collaborators , you’ll quickly realize that your biggest competitors are often your best potential partners. The research community is a complicated environment and the “publish or perish” mentality doesn’t always foster natural cooperation.

TIP: Use all available resources and expand your network

Think about the resources closely available to you. If you’re early in your career, look for mentoring schemes at your institution or apply for funding to attend academic conferences . If you already have a significant network, think about potential collaborators you can reach out to within it.

When you’ve exhausted the closest available options, create more collaboration opportunities and be intentional in growing your network. In particular, consider looking for team members and connections who bring a perspective that challenges your usual way of thinking. 

6. Recruiting research participants (or collecting samples)

Managing participant recruitment and sample collection is a difficult part of many research projects. It’s often the biggest hurdle between the question you have and the data you need to answer it.

Low email open rates, lack of support from institutions, and restrictive regulations are all frustrating for researchers in search of willing (and relevant) research participants. These recruitment issues can become even more prominent when your research focuses on socially-sensitive or politically-charged topics.

TIP: Don’t be afraid to ask (but be sure to come prepared)

Using research tools that help you recruit and collect data from participants is a given. But, these tools won’t help if you’re afraid or unprepared to ask for help. 

Prepare a good argument for why people should participate in your research. Learn to sell your story and come up with potential incentives if needed. Finally, have all your forms and information ready if people ask for it.

Then, reach out to your network (or list of potential participants). The worst that can happen is that some will say “No.” And, when they do, don’t let that stop you. Get back up, dust yourself off, and try again. Perseverance is key.

7. Staying self-motivated and managing your time

When you’re managing a research project, it can seem like there’s never enough hours in the day. There’s an ongoing battle between considering all perspectives to keep your research balanced and taking a deep enough dive to make sure your research has an impact. It’s likely that you’ll have commitments outside of your research project as well. So, you’ll be fighting to maintain a good balance between other work, administrative, and personal tasks.

As your research project drags on, you may also start hitting a motivational wall. When you’re the person in charge of maintaining deadlines, the temptation to procrastinate on tasks you don’t enjoy can throw timelines off track.

TIP: Plan and put accountability systems in place

There’s plenty of advice out there to help you with motivation. In particular, if you take the proper care when planning your research project , you’ll be setting yourself up for success. Choosing a topic that is interesting and engaging is key in helping you fight motivational burnout later in the process.

If your topic is engaging but you’re still struggling with time management, try some of these tips:

  • Map your project in a visual calendar: If you haven’t already done this, sit down and input deadlines/tasks into a digital or physical calendar to help you break down your research project into more manageable chunks. It lifts some of the mental burden of remembering tasks and gives you a handy tool to see if you’re on track.
  • Set up a reward system: Whether it’s going out for a nice meal, binging your favorite TV show, or going on a fun day trip, think of rewards that are meaningful to you and tie them to specific project milestones. Follow through and give yourself those well-deserved breaks when you accomplish the associated milestones.
  • Find accountability buddies: Share your research goals with someone you trust and ask them to follow up with you. Knowing that someone other than yourself expects an update every few weeks can be extremely motivating.

8. Ensuring your research doesn’t sit and collect dust

Unfortunately, there are times when research that took a long time and a lot of effort is never used. Sometimes, this is because the expectations of the researcher and the funders didn’t line up. But more often, it’s because of a lack of effective effort to communicate the research results to stakeholders who can leverage it.

In the context of knowledge management, there is also a large body of partially completed research and data sets that are effectively “lost” to the larger community. When you’re incentivized to move on to your next research project quickly, you might deprioritize tasks like making your old research and unused data sets easily accessible to those who are looking for it (including your future self).

Even fully completed research is facing a knowledge management crisis. As mentioned in this study on researcher challenges by ExLibris: 

“Advances in technology have changed the demands for transparency in sharing research… Most scholars (almost 60%) are now obligated to make their raw research datasets openly available with their published work. However, over a quarter of them (26%) find it difficult to do so in the context of current research data management solutions.”

TIP: Wrap up your research with the future in mind

When the end is in sight and you’re excited to move onto a new research topic, think about the impact that you want your research to have. If you don’t take the time to communicate your findings effectively or make your insights easily available, all the hard work you did could end up having a minimal real-world effect. 

On a similar note, knowledge management benefits your future self. All of those notes and data that you didn’t publish? Where and how will you store them in case you want to access them later? Organize this information while it’s still fresh in your mind. Otherwise, you could find yourself staring at notes years later that seem like they were written in a foreign language. Even worse: bad organization could prevent you from even finding your old notes/data at all.

Research challenges: Expecting the unexpected

Being a researcher is full of unpredictable challenges. Careful preparation and planning can help with some of the common ones that come up. But, there will always be issues that catch you completely off guard. 

While it would be great to be able to “expect the unexpected,” the most effective strategy for managing challenges is to simply keep an open mind. Recognize early on that your research is never going to go exactly the way you anticipate (and embrace that as part of the fun of being a researcher).

Maintain a curious enthusiasm about your research question and your research process. It will help you think outside of the box when unexpected challenges inevitably arise.

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Common Ethical Issues In Research And Publication

Introduction.

Research is the pillar of knowledge, and it constitutes an integral part of progress. In the fast-expanding field of biomedical research, this has improved the quality and quantity of life. Historically, medical doctors have been in the privileged position to carry out research, especially in clinical research which involves people. They are able to control “life and death” of patients and have free access to their confidential information. Moreover, medical researchers have also enjoyed immunity from accountability due to high public regard for science and medicine. This has resulted in some researchers conducting unethical researches. For instance, in World War II, medical doctors had conducted unethical experiments on human in the name of science, resulting in harm and even death in some cases. 1 More recently, the involvement of pharmaceutical industry in clinical trials have raised issues about how to safeguard patient’s care and to ensure the published research findings are objective. 2

In the light of these ethical controversies, the Declaration of Helsinki was established to inform biomedical researchers the principles of clinical research. 3 This declaration highlighted a tripartite guidelines for good clinical practice which include respect for the dignity of the person; research should not override the health, well-being and care of subjects; principles of justice. Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) was also founded in 1997 to address the breaches of research and publication ethics. 4

How do we apply all these principles in our daily conduct of research? This paper will discuss different ethical issues in research, including study design and ethical approval, data analysis, authorship, conflict of interest and redundant publication and plagiarism. I have also included two case scenarios in this paper to illustrate common ethical issues in research and publication.

ETHICAL ISSUES IN RESEARCH

1. study design and ethics approval.

According to COPE, “good research should be well adjusted, well-planned, appropriately designed, and ethically approved. To conduct research to a lower standard may constitute misconduct.” 3 This may appear to be a stringent criterion, but it highlights the basic requirement of a researcher is to conduct a research responsibly. To achieve this, a research protocol should be developed and adhered to. It must be carefully agreed to by all contributors and collaborators, and the precise roles of each team member should be spelled out early, including matters of authorship and publications. Research should seek to answer specific questions, rather than just collect data.

It is essential to obtain approval from the Institutional Review Board, or Ethics Committee, of the respective organisations for studies involving people, medical records, and anonymised human tissues. The research proposal should discuss potential ethical issues pertaining to the research. The researchers should pay special attention to vulnerable subjects to avoid breech of ethical codes (e.g. children, prisoners, pregnant women, mentally challenged, educationally and economically disadvantaged). Patient information sheet should be given to the subjects during recruitment, detailing the objectives, procedures, potential benefits and harms, as well as rights to refuse participation in the research. Consent should be explained and obtained from the subjects or guardians, and steps should be taken to ensure confidentiality of information provided by the subjects.

2. Data analysis

It is the responsibility of the researcher to analyse the data appropriately. Although inappropriate analysis does not necessarily amount to misconduct, intentional omission of result may cause misinterpretation and mislead the readers. Fabrication and falsification of data do constitute misconduct. For example, in a clinical trial, if a drug is found to be ineffective, this study should be reported. There is a tendency for the researchers to under-report negative research findings, 5 and this is partly contributed by pressure from the pharmaceutical industry which funds the clinical trial.

To ensure appropriate data analysis, all sources and methods used to obtain and analyse data should be fully disclosed. Failure to do so may lead the readers to misinterpret the results without considering possibility of the study being underpowered. The discussion section of a paper should mention any issues of bias, and explain how they have been dealt with in the design and interpretation of the study.

3. Authorship

There is no universally agreed definition of authorship. 6 It is generally agreed that an author should have made substantial contribution to the intellectual content, including conceptualising and designing the study; acquiring, analysing and interpreting the data. The author should also take responsibility to certify that the manuscript represents valid work and take public responsibility for the work. Finally, an author is usually involved in drafting or revising the manuscript, as well as approving the submitted manuscript. Data collection, editing of grammar and language, and other routine works by itself, do not deserve an authorship.

It is crucial to decide early on in the planning of a research who will be credited as authors, as contributors, and who will be acknowledged. It is also advisable to read carefully the “Advice to Authors” of the target journal which may serve as a guide to the issue of authorship.

4. Conflicts of interest

This happens when researchers have interests that are not fully apparent and that may influence their judgments on what is published. These conflicts include personal, commercial, political, academic or financial interest. Financial interests may include employment, research funding, stock or share ownership, payment for lecture or travel, consultancies and company support for staff. This issue is especially pertinent in biomedical research where a substantial number of clinical trials are funded by pharmaceutical company.

Such interests, where relevant, should be discussed in the early stage of research. The researchers need to take extra effort to ensure that their conflicts of interest do not influence the methodology and outcome of the research. It would be useful to consult an independent researcher, or Ethics Committee, on this issue if in doubt. When publishing, these conflicts of interest should be declared to editors, and readers will judge for themselves whether the research findings are trustworthy.

5. Redundant publication and plagiarism

Redundant publication occurs when two or more papers, without full cross reference, share the same hypothesis, data, discussion points, or conclusions. However, previous publication of an abstract during the proceedings of meetings does not preclude subsequent submission for publication, but full disclosure should be made at the time of submission. This is also known as self-plagiarism. In the increasing competitive environment where appointments, promotions and grant applications are strongly influenced by publication record, researchers are under intense pressure to publish, and a growing minority is seeking to bump up their CV through dishonest means. 7

On the other hand, plagiarism ranges from unreferenced use of others’ published and unpublished ideas, including research grant applications to submission under “new” authorship of a complete paper, sometimes in different language.

Therefore, it is important to disclose all sources of information, and if large amount of other people’s written or illustrative materials is to be used, permission must be sought.

It is the duty of the researcher to ensure that research is conducted in an ethical and responsible manner from planning to publication. Researchers and authors should familiarise themselves with these principles and follows them strictly. Any potential ethical issues in research and publication should be discussed openly within the research team. If in doubt, it is advisable to consult the respective institutional review board (IRB) for their expert opinions.

Case Scenario 1:

“A community survey on prevalence of domestic violence among secondary school students.”

  • To conduct this study, we need to seek approval from the Ministry of Education and permission from the school principal. However, consent should be taken from parents, who are the legal guardians of the students.
  • These ethical issues should be discussed at the proposal stage, and the participants/guardians should be informed about the decision to report to the police while taking the consent. This will potentially affect the response rate; but this is also the responsibility of the researcher to protect the participants and their families.
  • Yes, you can. However, you need to declare to the publisher that you have presented the paper in the conference. Redundant publication happens when an author has submitted two papers with similar objective, methodology and results, without cross referencing.
  • Yes, you can. However, you have to declare to the publisher that you have published an identical paper in a different language.

Case Scenario 2:

“Does HRT improve vasomotor symptoms among menopausal women in a Malaysian primary care clinic?”

  • HRT has been proven to be effective in relieving vasomotor symptoms in many well-designed studies. It is inappropriate for the researcher to repeat an established therapy which may potentially cause harm to them (e.g. deep vein thrombosis and breast cancer). However, it is appropriate to repeat research if the researchers feel that it may yield a different outcome in the local setting based on a firm theoretical basis.
  • Yes, even though it is part of our normal practice, all research involving human subjects, especially when it involves drugs, should be subjected to ethics approval. (E.g. “How did the researchers ensure that they explain to the patients fully about the potential harm of HRT?”)
  • As mentioned earlier, it is the duty of the researcher to ensure that the participant understands the benefits and risks of the treatment. The information should be conveyed in an objectively manner in the patient information sheet. Any queries from the patient should be answered truthfully, and it is the patient’s rights to refuse to participate in the research.
  • It is acceptable to quote sentences from a paper as long as they are duly referenced.

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Critical Writing Program: Decision Making - Spring 2024: Researching the White Paper

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Research the White Paper

Researching the White Paper:

The process of researching and composing a white paper shares some similarities with the kind of research and writing one does for a high school or college research paper. What’s important for writers of white papers to grasp, however, is how much this genre differs from a research paper.  First, the author of a white paper already recognizes that there is a problem to be solved, a decision to be made, and the job of the author is to provide readers with substantive information to help them make some kind of decision--which may include a decision to do more research because major gaps remain. 

Thus, a white paper author would not “brainstorm” a topic. Instead, the white paper author would get busy figuring out how the problem is defined by those who are experiencing it as a problem. Typically that research begins in popular culture--social media, surveys, interviews, newspapers. Once the author has a handle on how the problem is being defined and experienced, its history and its impact, what people in the trenches believe might be the best or worst ways of addressing it, the author then will turn to academic scholarship as well as “grey” literature (more about that later).  Unlike a school research paper, the author does not set out to argue for or against a particular position, and then devote the majority of effort to finding sources to support the selected position.  Instead, the author sets out in good faith to do as much fact-finding as possible, and thus research is likely to present multiple, conflicting, and overlapping perspectives. When people research out of a genuine desire to understand and solve a problem, they listen to every source that may offer helpful information. They will thus have to do much more analysis, synthesis, and sorting of that information, which will often not fall neatly into a “pro” or “con” camp:  Solution A may, for example, solve one part of the problem but exacerbate another part of the problem. Solution C may sound like what everyone wants, but what if it’s built on a set of data that have been criticized by another reliable source?  And so it goes. 

For example, if you are trying to write a white paper on the opioid crisis, you may focus on the value of  providing free, sterilized needles--which do indeed reduce disease, and also provide an opportunity for the health care provider distributing them to offer addiction treatment to the user. However, the free needles are sometimes discarded on the ground, posing a danger to others; or they may be shared; or they may encourage more drug usage. All of those things can be true at once; a reader will want to know about all of these considerations in order to make an informed decision. That is the challenging job of the white paper author.     
 The research you do for your white paper will require that you identify a specific problem, seek popular culture sources to help define the problem, its history, its significance and impact for people affected by it.  You will then delve into academic and grey literature to learn about the way scholars and others with professional expertise answer these same questions. In this way, you will create creating a layered, complex portrait that provides readers with a substantive exploration useful for deliberating and decision-making. You will also likely need to find or create images, including tables, figures, illustrations or photographs, and you will document all of your sources. 

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300 Social Issues Research Topics to Impress Your Professor and Get A

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Researching social issues holds immense importance in our quest for knowledge and progress. It allows us to delve deeper into the complexities of society, unraveling the underlying causes, impacts, and potential solutions. However, the significance of a good research topic must be considered, which sets the stage for a high-scoring and impactful research endeavor. If you have difficulty finding a good social issue research topic, check out these lists from the experts working with a professional  paper writing services  provider.

Table of Contents

Comprehensive list of Unique Social Issue Research Topics

Scroll down and go through our list of unique topics and pick one that sparks your interest. Here you go with the first one: 

Women’s Social Issues Research Topics 

It’s crucial to look into the various aspects of women’s social issues if we want to get a better understanding of gender inequality. Here are some ideas to help you dig deeper into this topic.

  • Prejudice against women in corporate culture
  • Problems of pregnant women working in the corporate
  • Harassment in educational institutes against women
  • What strategies can governments adopt to ensure equal rights for women?
  • Raising awareness of the problems of pregnant women
  • How to develop a respectful attitude towards women and gender minorities in companies?
  • Ill-treatment of women in the government sector
  • Writing on essay topics related to problems with Syrian female immigrants
  • The Role of Women in economic life and the World of Work
  • Women’s political and electoral training
  • Women in old homes: Research and Interviews for Problems and Concerns
  • Toxic Masculinity in the Workplace: what can women do?
  • Developing a workplace culture for fair treatment of every gender
  • Role of Government in solving problems related to Women
  • The economy of the United States: Income inequality in the U.S.
  • Building a world where women have equal opportunities and fair treatment
  • Essay Topics Related to Problems of Women in New York
  • Financial problems for single mothers
  • Women dealing with social issues in New Mexico
  • Condition of Mexican immigrant women in the United States
  • Women’s health: Key performance indicators, problems and obstacles
  • Securing Women’s Rights with the Help of international law
  • Education of women: The rights and responsibilities
  • Better living conditions for older women
  • A research study of the problems of pregnant women in California
  • Health and welfare of older people, especially women
  • Improving the quality of life for single mothers with better opportunities

Children’s Social Issues Research Topics 

It’s important to tackle the social issues that affect kids to create a better, more nurturing future for the next generation. Here are some interesting topics on this subject to get started with  writing your research paper . 

  • School Bullying and social networks
  • Problems and issues with children with a single parent
  • A research study on the problems of children in foster homes
  • How can we make foster care better and safer for children?
  • Delinquency trends in children among marginalized communities
  • modernity and technology at the cost of the destruction of childhood
  • Issues that children from Mexican households in America have to face
  • What are the advantages of multiculturalism in kindergarten?
  • Problems of Assault and Molestation of Children
  • Why Are Young People Committing Crimes These Days?
  • Cyberbullying and Toxicity on social media
  • Violence among children and young people
  • Rehabilitation of juvenile offenders and improving their lives
  • Illness and disability among kids living in developing countries
  • The lack of tolerance among the teenagers
  • Child labor in developing countries
  • Psychology of kindergarten education
  • School is a chance for every kid to learn tolerance and harmony
  • Children facing with lack of empathy and bullying on social media
  • The use of new technologies in education and adaptability in children
  • Problems of immigrant children
  • Child development and behavior

Social Issues Research Topics About Labor Rights

It’s essential to look into the social issues surrounding workers’ rights and fight for their well-being. Labor rights are the foundation of having fair and decent working conditions. Here are some topics if you want to research such subjects.

  • The legal responsibility of entrepreneurs
  • Workplace accident management
  • Increased flexibility via remote working options
  • Mental health problems caused by workers after the COVID pandemic
  • The principle of equality today is related to labor rights
  • Change wages or salaries
  • Labor problems caused by the Covid pandemic
  • Employees having to deal with additional work pressures
  • Role of labor unions in social justice for Laborers
  • Mental health problems in the Workplace
  • What can we do to offer ideas for improvements in labor laws
  • The desire to maintain a healthy work-life balance
  • Hate speech and domestic violence against marginalized groups in large companies
  • Academic paper for immigration disruptions in Canada and USA
  • The employer’s right to manage employees and the abuse of it
  • Role of human resources in identifying and solving problems of labor
  • The job of the government and schools is to offer their members better career prospects
  • Problems and issues related to a minimum period of employment
  • The technology skills gap leads to problems with the laborers
  • Improving the well-being of the company for its members
  • Change wages or salaries impact and consequences
  • How the global pandemic and Working from home changed the World
  • Recruiting methods from passive to active: how to prepare
  • Global labor shortages: problems and consequences
  • What are the reasons for the labor shortage?
  • Writing assignment about laborers dealing with the effects of long Covid
  • Why is it essential for companies to take a public stand for social issues
  • Mental health problems for workers in the field
  • Relevant examples of social issues related to labor and employment
  • How to empower workers against social injustice?

Social Issues Research Topics for the Environment

It’s important to dig into how social issues and the environment are connected when we’re trying to handle big problems like climate change, running out of resources, etc. Here are some  research topics  to think about.

  • Health risks associated with the general environment and their perception and representation
  • Climate change knowledge and expertise on health risks
  • Health inequalities resulting from environmental and social factors
  • What Role can environmental law play in protecting the environment at sea?
  • Deforestation and chronic pollution are destroying biodiversity
  • Importance of green energy conversion
  • The Law of the Environment and sustainable development
  • The Management of Pollution in Environmental Law
  • Toward a better understanding of atmospheric pollution
  • Utilizing environmental technologies and learning about them
  • Waste and material resources of the World
  • The destruction of ozone affects the environment and health
  • Nature’s resources are being destroyed. What can we do as researchers to prevent this?
  • Is it still imperative to preserve the environment during wartime?
  • Combating armed conflict while preserving the environment
  • The tourism industry and pollution management
  • Environmental factors that affect cancer risk
  • Cost-benefit analysis of the action based on legal or socioeconomic criteria
  • Analyzing how different environmental factors contribute to the risk
  • Investigating a variety of environmental issues and sectors
  • Regions and specific areas of environmental perception
  • The effects of climate change and global warming
  • Factors contributing to a healthy environment
  • The relationship between human rights and environmental law
  • In environmental law, pollution management is a constant
  • Worldwide implementation of sustainable development
  • How consumption trends and international news can help the environmental cause

Social Issues Research Topics Related to Covid Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed how we live and has spotlighted all kinds of social issues that need to be looked into and solved. So, if you would like to research social issues related to the recent pandemic, check out this list for current social issues for research paper:

  • Social panic caused after the COVID-19 breakdown
  • Problems and social issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 and financial problems on the rise
  • Impact of COVID-19 on the people with middle class
  • Police Procedure and criminal justice during the COVID-19
  • The aftermath of COVID-19 has resulted in a social dilemma and economic disruption
  • An influential aspect of the pandemic is mental health
  • The Impact of social and territorial inequalities on health
  • The ethical issues raised by the pandemic
  • Writing research papers on social media’s Role during COVID-19
  • Children and adolescents’ mental condition during the pandemic
  • Problems in healthcare and Management of chronic diseases
  • Disruption in modern society by the COVID-19
  • How our social media accounts helped us during the darkest hours of covid
  • Ensuring the delivery of criminal justice during covid
  • Impact of COVID-19 on family life
  • Role of the Pandemic in the Promotion of remote education
  • Avoiding social media addiction during the quarantine

Social Issue Topics Related to American Society

Checking out the social problems in the U.S. gives us a great understanding of how complicated, varied and hard they can be for people and different communities. Here is another list of topics on social issues. 

  • Environment perception in specific areas and regions
  • Climate change and global warming effects
  • The factors that contribute to a healthy environment
  • Cancer risk factors in the environment
  • Workplace toxic masculinity: what can women do?
  • The global labor shortage: problems and consequences
  • Why does the U.S. have a shortage of labor?
  • Workers dealing with the effects of Covid
  • Problems related to mental issues among field workers
  • Law and human rights concerning the environment
  • Management of pollution is a constant concern in environmental law
  • Impacts and consequences of changes in wages or salaries
  • How to prepare for passive to active recruitment
  • The problem of child labor in developing countries
  • Kindergarten Education and Psychology
  • Tolerance and harmony can be learned in school by every child
  • Lack of empathy and bullying on social media among children
  • Technology in Education and Children’s Adaptability
  • Legal or socioeconomic cost-benefit analysis of the action
  • A major social issue in the modern age is poverty
  • Government’s Role in solving social problems
  • Sustainable Development of the World
  • Trafficking in drugs and Mexican cartels
  • A culture of fair treatment for all genders in the Workplace
  • Nature’s resources are being depleted.
  • Management of pollution in the tourism industry
  • How can we use social media to improve society and resolve social problems?
  • A lack of respect for marginalized communities in the professional environment can be seen in several ways.
  • Understanding social issues and the problems associated with them
  • Materials and waste from around the World and the Impact they have on the environment
  • The depletion of ozone is detrimental to the environment and human health
  • Insights into the political and electoral training of women
  • Taking a closer look at Women’s Problems and Concerns in old homes: Research and Interviews
  • Issues and problems related to the minimum period of employment and the minimum wage
  • The technological skills gap is causing labor shortages shortly
  • Enhancing the well-being of the members of the company as a whole

Interesting Social Injustice Topics for College Students

As college students, exploring and engaging with interesting social issues topics expands our intellectual horizons and empowers us to become agents of change in our communities and beyond. Particularly when you include social problems examples. Here is another list of interesting topics.

  • Developing better relationships with public institutions to solve problems
  • The Role of social work in the Management of health problems
  • Corporations discriminate against marginalized communities in the U.S.
  • Sociology of the popular classes
  • The reasons for the low human development index in African countries
  • Social issues caused by class differences
  • Drugs and anarchist behaviors
  • Religious Differences and biased approaches to employment strategies
  • Mexican cartels and the problem of drug trafficking
  • Poverty is one of the most significant social issues in the Modern World
  • Role of the Government in solving social issues
  • How can we use social media to improve society and solve social issues?
  • Prejudice against marginalized communities in the professional environment
  • Understanding the problems related to social issues
  • Role of problem-solving and understanding the root cause of social issues
  • Major social issues in developing countries
  • Role of Education in ending violence in Society
  • Class Differences and the Impact on the human development index
  • Differences in health facilities for different classes
  • Social Norms and the Role of the Community
  • Causes and solutions to human trafficking on the Mexican borders
  • Human development index in India
  • How to solve the poverty problem?
  • What is the problem of social media bullying, and how to avoid it?
  • How does financial illiteracy lead to a lack of development in developing countries?
  • Impact of Terrorism on Society
  • How to solve the terrorism problem?
  • Mafia problems in the USA and how to deal with them
  • Biased treatment of marginalized communities in the government sector
  • The increasing problem of drug addiction
  • Ethics and Artificial Intelligence: Emerging social issues
  • Role of social media in increasing social issues

Police and Social Justice Research Papers Topics

Let’s unveil a curated collection of current social issues for a research paper. Here’s the list:

  • Children’s safety and protection: The security job is of the utmost importance
  • School bullying is a serious issue that needs to be addressed
  • A few heartrending social issues examples 
  • Using the Internet to disseminate terrorist content: a serious issue related to Cybersecurity
  • Digital Platform Security Certification – A Guide to Cybersecurity Certifications
  • The protection of minors in alcohol-serving establishments
  • Concerns regarding cyber security in the United States
  • An analysis of the spatial pattern of terrorism in the USA over the past two decades
  • New York crime analysis, a look at the crime situation in the City
  • Security technologies face several obstacles when it comes to their implementation
  • Having the versatility to specialize and the specialization to be versatile in security matters
  • Investigative requisitions from the judicial police
  • Relationships between the police and the public: The need for improvement
  • Conflict Management and Prevention in Communities
  • The principle of secularism in sports must be respected
  • Stopping the illicit trade in tobacco products
  • Towns with small populations and cybersecurity
  • Taking care of historical monuments
  • Providing support to victims of aggression
  • An analysis of the roadside check system in developing countries
  • The challenges of reception at a police station for public security
  • A system for protecting housing from illegal encroachment
  • Anti-abuse and anti-fraud measures
  • A diversity of expectations and feedback from the inhabitants
  • Taking public security work seriously in terms of its relational dimension
  • The issue of external assistance in the area of internal security
  • Putting social networks to the test in terms of police ethics

As you have reached the conclusion paragraph of the blog post, you must have picked a topic or two to work for your social issue research paper. Most of the lists have focused on social issues today as they could be very interesting for the readers. Plus, there are a plethora of good topics for you to count on. Just remember that a good research subject must be able to answer, what is a social problem, what is a social issue, and more. Still if you are struggling with picking up a good topic, feel free to count on the expertise of  our writers .

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Common Research Problems

Growing pressure for positive results.

Science is a competitive field. Scientists have intense pressure to produce meaningful results. As a result, fewer and fewer papers are being published that show “negative results”—i.e. that their hypothesis was false. In 1990, “negative results” accounted for 30% of published papers—that number has fallen to a mere 14%.

Another problem is that scientists are under pressure to publish new, groundbreaking research, rather than performing studies to replicate results from previous research. Journals are exclusive and want to publish striking results that present a “major advance.” Replicating studies, however, is extremely important. It’s a key part of confirming findings and eliminating scientific fraud.

Sloppy Lab Work

Labs can often be messy and chaotic. In far too many cases, samples and chemicals are mislabeled and even forgotten. The Wall Street Journal took a hard look at this issue after a cancer researcher had his work on head-and-neck cancer retracted from the journal Oral Oncology due to the fact that the cells he was studying were actually cervical cancer cells. The WSJ highlights the extent of the problem:  “Cancer experts seeking to solve the problem have found that a fifth to a third or more of cancer cell lines tested were mistakenly identified—with researchers unwittingly studying the wrong cancers, slowing progress toward new treatments and wasting precious time and money.”

The problem is incredibly widespread: “Cell repositories in the U.S., U.K., Germany and Japan have estimated that 18% to 36% of cancer cell lines are incorrectly identified.”

While the National Institutes of Health and the scientific community are slowly trying to weed out these problems by increasing scrutiny on papers submitted using cell lines and setting up a central repository of cell lines, cell contamination remains a major problem in scientific research.

Sloppy lab conditions can also lead to another major problem: mycoplasma infestations. Mycoplasma is a bacteria that can spread rapidly throughout lab cultures, compromising scientists’ potential findings. The problem is also widespread. A recent article in Nature covered the problem and interviewed researchers who “found that more than one-tenth of gene-expression studies, many published in leading journals, show evidence of Mycoplasma contamination.”

Fraudulent Findings

Alarmingly, the pressure to produce prestigious research has led a number of scientists to simply fake results or plagiarize from other researchers. In the last year, articles have been retracted from prestigious journals in which authors:

  • “Knowingly and intentionally falsifying ” results in a study of cancerous tumors,
  • Duplication or “ self-plagiarism ” in a study of liver cancer,
  • “Large sections of text duplicated from previously published articles” in a study of gastrointestinal cancer.

Unfortunately, this is just a small sample of the many instances of fraud every year. A recent study found that fraud is the reason for 43% of all journal retractions.

Scientific fraud can have huge implications. Remember the study that linked vaccinations and autism? Even though it was retracted after researchers said it was based on doctored information about children’s medical records, the myth of the vaccine/autism link is pervasive and continues to be repeated.

Reliance on Self-Reported Data

A number of frequently cited studies, particularly studies of nutrition, rely on the information that study participants self-report. This makes it difficult to fully trust a study’s findings–self-reported data is notoriously unreliable.

Just how reliable is self-reported data? Consider that consumers consistently give the food on Southwest Airlines high marks…despite the fact that the airline doesn’t serve meals.

During a recent session hosted by the American Society for Nutrition, Dr. David Allison took a highly critical look at self-reported data, highlighting a recent paper “that looked at energy intake of respondents in NHANES from 1971-2012, finding that 67.3% of women and 58.7% of men were not physiologically plausible – i.e. the number of calories is ‘incompatible with life.'”

That certainly doesn’t stop researchers from using this method or stop the media from reporting on these studies. Here are just a few examples of major media outlets reporting on studies that rely on self-reported data without explaining the limitations of such research:

  • BBC: “ Sleep quality ‘improves with age’ “
  • Science World Report: “ Eating Baked or Broiled Fish Helps Improve Brain Health “
  • Washington Post: “ There’s a gender gap in bullying — watch it widen as kids grow up “

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Research Method

Home » Research Paper – Structure, Examples and Writing Guide

Research Paper – Structure, Examples and Writing Guide

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Research Paper

Research Paper

Definition:

Research Paper is a written document that presents the author’s original research, analysis, and interpretation of a specific topic or issue.

It is typically based on Empirical Evidence, and may involve qualitative or quantitative research methods, or a combination of both. The purpose of a research paper is to contribute new knowledge or insights to a particular field of study, and to demonstrate the author’s understanding of the existing literature and theories related to the topic.

Structure of Research Paper

The structure of a research paper typically follows a standard format, consisting of several sections that convey specific information about the research study. The following is a detailed explanation of the structure of a research paper:

The title page contains the title of the paper, the name(s) of the author(s), and the affiliation(s) of the author(s). It also includes the date of submission and possibly, the name of the journal or conference where the paper is to be published.

The abstract is a brief summary of the research paper, typically ranging from 100 to 250 words. It should include the research question, the methods used, the key findings, and the implications of the results. The abstract should be written in a concise and clear manner to allow readers to quickly grasp the essence of the research.

Introduction

The introduction section of a research paper provides background information about the research problem, the research question, and the research objectives. It also outlines the significance of the research, the research gap that it aims to fill, and the approach taken to address the research question. Finally, the introduction section ends with a clear statement of the research hypothesis or research question.

Literature Review

The literature review section of a research paper provides an overview of the existing literature on the topic of study. It includes a critical analysis and synthesis of the literature, highlighting the key concepts, themes, and debates. The literature review should also demonstrate the research gap and how the current study seeks to address it.

The methods section of a research paper describes the research design, the sample selection, the data collection and analysis procedures, and the statistical methods used to analyze the data. This section should provide sufficient detail for other researchers to replicate the study.

The results section presents the findings of the research, using tables, graphs, and figures to illustrate the data. The findings should be presented in a clear and concise manner, with reference to the research question and hypothesis.

The discussion section of a research paper interprets the findings and discusses their implications for the research question, the literature review, and the field of study. It should also address the limitations of the study and suggest future research directions.

The conclusion section summarizes the main findings of the study, restates the research question and hypothesis, and provides a final reflection on the significance of the research.

The references section provides a list of all the sources cited in the paper, following a specific citation style such as APA, MLA or Chicago.

How to Write Research Paper

You can write Research Paper by the following guide:

  • Choose a Topic: The first step is to select a topic that interests you and is relevant to your field of study. Brainstorm ideas and narrow down to a research question that is specific and researchable.
  • Conduct a Literature Review: The literature review helps you identify the gap in the existing research and provides a basis for your research question. It also helps you to develop a theoretical framework and research hypothesis.
  • Develop a Thesis Statement : The thesis statement is the main argument of your research paper. It should be clear, concise and specific to your research question.
  • Plan your Research: Develop a research plan that outlines the methods, data sources, and data analysis procedures. This will help you to collect and analyze data effectively.
  • Collect and Analyze Data: Collect data using various methods such as surveys, interviews, observations, or experiments. Analyze data using statistical tools or other qualitative methods.
  • Organize your Paper : Organize your paper into sections such as Introduction, Literature Review, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion. Ensure that each section is coherent and follows a logical flow.
  • Write your Paper : Start by writing the introduction, followed by the literature review, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. Ensure that your writing is clear, concise, and follows the required formatting and citation styles.
  • Edit and Proofread your Paper: Review your paper for grammar and spelling errors, and ensure that it is well-structured and easy to read. Ask someone else to review your paper to get feedback and suggestions for improvement.
  • Cite your Sources: Ensure that you properly cite all sources used in your research paper. This is essential for giving credit to the original authors and avoiding plagiarism.

Research Paper Example

Note : The below example research paper is for illustrative purposes only and is not an actual research paper. Actual research papers may have different structures, contents, and formats depending on the field of study, research question, data collection and analysis methods, and other factors. Students should always consult with their professors or supervisors for specific guidelines and expectations for their research papers.

Research Paper Example sample for Students:

Title: The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health among Young Adults

Abstract: This study aims to investigate the impact of social media use on the mental health of young adults. A literature review was conducted to examine the existing research on the topic. A survey was then administered to 200 university students to collect data on their social media use, mental health status, and perceived impact of social media on their mental health. The results showed that social media use is positively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. The study also found that social comparison, cyberbullying, and FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) are significant predictors of mental health problems among young adults.

Introduction: Social media has become an integral part of modern life, particularly among young adults. While social media has many benefits, including increased communication and social connectivity, it has also been associated with negative outcomes, such as addiction, cyberbullying, and mental health problems. This study aims to investigate the impact of social media use on the mental health of young adults.

Literature Review: The literature review highlights the existing research on the impact of social media use on mental health. The review shows that social media use is associated with depression, anxiety, stress, and other mental health problems. The review also identifies the factors that contribute to the negative impact of social media, including social comparison, cyberbullying, and FOMO.

Methods : A survey was administered to 200 university students to collect data on their social media use, mental health status, and perceived impact of social media on their mental health. The survey included questions on social media use, mental health status (measured using the DASS-21), and perceived impact of social media on their mental health. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis.

Results : The results showed that social media use is positively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. The study also found that social comparison, cyberbullying, and FOMO are significant predictors of mental health problems among young adults.

Discussion : The study’s findings suggest that social media use has a negative impact on the mental health of young adults. The study highlights the need for interventions that address the factors contributing to the negative impact of social media, such as social comparison, cyberbullying, and FOMO.

Conclusion : In conclusion, social media use has a significant impact on the mental health of young adults. The study’s findings underscore the need for interventions that promote healthy social media use and address the negative outcomes associated with social media use. Future research can explore the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing the negative impact of social media on mental health. Additionally, longitudinal studies can investigate the long-term effects of social media use on mental health.

Limitations : The study has some limitations, including the use of self-report measures and a cross-sectional design. The use of self-report measures may result in biased responses, and a cross-sectional design limits the ability to establish causality.

Implications: The study’s findings have implications for mental health professionals, educators, and policymakers. Mental health professionals can use the findings to develop interventions that address the negative impact of social media use on mental health. Educators can incorporate social media literacy into their curriculum to promote healthy social media use among young adults. Policymakers can use the findings to develop policies that protect young adults from the negative outcomes associated with social media use.

References :

  • Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2019). Associations between screen time and lower psychological well-being among children and adolescents: Evidence from a population-based study. Preventive medicine reports, 15, 100918.
  • Primack, B. A., Shensa, A., Escobar-Viera, C. G., Barrett, E. L., Sidani, J. E., Colditz, J. B., … & James, A. E. (2017). Use of multiple social media platforms and symptoms of depression and anxiety: A nationally-representative study among US young adults. Computers in Human Behavior, 69, 1-9.
  • Van der Meer, T. G., & Verhoeven, J. W. (2017). Social media and its impact on academic performance of students. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 16, 383-398.

Appendix : The survey used in this study is provided below.

Social Media and Mental Health Survey

  • How often do you use social media per day?
  • Less than 30 minutes
  • 30 minutes to 1 hour
  • 1 to 2 hours
  • 2 to 4 hours
  • More than 4 hours
  • Which social media platforms do you use?
  • Others (Please specify)
  • How often do you experience the following on social media?
  • Social comparison (comparing yourself to others)
  • Cyberbullying
  • Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)
  • Have you ever experienced any of the following mental health problems in the past month?
  • Do you think social media use has a positive or negative impact on your mental health?
  • Very positive
  • Somewhat positive
  • Somewhat negative
  • Very negative
  • In your opinion, which factors contribute to the negative impact of social media on mental health?
  • Social comparison
  • In your opinion, what interventions could be effective in reducing the negative impact of social media on mental health?
  • Education on healthy social media use
  • Counseling for mental health problems caused by social media
  • Social media detox programs
  • Regulation of social media use

Thank you for your participation!

Applications of Research Paper

Research papers have several applications in various fields, including:

  • Advancing knowledge: Research papers contribute to the advancement of knowledge by generating new insights, theories, and findings that can inform future research and practice. They help to answer important questions, clarify existing knowledge, and identify areas that require further investigation.
  • Informing policy: Research papers can inform policy decisions by providing evidence-based recommendations for policymakers. They can help to identify gaps in current policies, evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, and inform the development of new policies and regulations.
  • Improving practice: Research papers can improve practice by providing evidence-based guidance for professionals in various fields, including medicine, education, business, and psychology. They can inform the development of best practices, guidelines, and standards of care that can improve outcomes for individuals and organizations.
  • Educating students : Research papers are often used as teaching tools in universities and colleges to educate students about research methods, data analysis, and academic writing. They help students to develop critical thinking skills, research skills, and communication skills that are essential for success in many careers.
  • Fostering collaboration: Research papers can foster collaboration among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers by providing a platform for sharing knowledge and ideas. They can facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations and partnerships that can lead to innovative solutions to complex problems.

When to Write Research Paper

Research papers are typically written when a person has completed a research project or when they have conducted a study and have obtained data or findings that they want to share with the academic or professional community. Research papers are usually written in academic settings, such as universities, but they can also be written in professional settings, such as research organizations, government agencies, or private companies.

Here are some common situations where a person might need to write a research paper:

  • For academic purposes: Students in universities and colleges are often required to write research papers as part of their coursework, particularly in the social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities. Writing research papers helps students to develop research skills, critical thinking skills, and academic writing skills.
  • For publication: Researchers often write research papers to publish their findings in academic journals or to present their work at academic conferences. Publishing research papers is an important way to disseminate research findings to the academic community and to establish oneself as an expert in a particular field.
  • To inform policy or practice : Researchers may write research papers to inform policy decisions or to improve practice in various fields. Research findings can be used to inform the development of policies, guidelines, and best practices that can improve outcomes for individuals and organizations.
  • To share new insights or ideas: Researchers may write research papers to share new insights or ideas with the academic or professional community. They may present new theories, propose new research methods, or challenge existing paradigms in their field.

Purpose of Research Paper

The purpose of a research paper is to present the results of a study or investigation in a clear, concise, and structured manner. Research papers are written to communicate new knowledge, ideas, or findings to a specific audience, such as researchers, scholars, practitioners, or policymakers. The primary purposes of a research paper are:

  • To contribute to the body of knowledge : Research papers aim to add new knowledge or insights to a particular field or discipline. They do this by reporting the results of empirical studies, reviewing and synthesizing existing literature, proposing new theories, or providing new perspectives on a topic.
  • To inform or persuade: Research papers are written to inform or persuade the reader about a particular issue, topic, or phenomenon. They present evidence and arguments to support their claims and seek to persuade the reader of the validity of their findings or recommendations.
  • To advance the field: Research papers seek to advance the field or discipline by identifying gaps in knowledge, proposing new research questions or approaches, or challenging existing assumptions or paradigms. They aim to contribute to ongoing debates and discussions within a field and to stimulate further research and inquiry.
  • To demonstrate research skills: Research papers demonstrate the author’s research skills, including their ability to design and conduct a study, collect and analyze data, and interpret and communicate findings. They also demonstrate the author’s ability to critically evaluate existing literature, synthesize information from multiple sources, and write in a clear and structured manner.

Characteristics of Research Paper

Research papers have several characteristics that distinguish them from other forms of academic or professional writing. Here are some common characteristics of research papers:

  • Evidence-based: Research papers are based on empirical evidence, which is collected through rigorous research methods such as experiments, surveys, observations, or interviews. They rely on objective data and facts to support their claims and conclusions.
  • Structured and organized: Research papers have a clear and logical structure, with sections such as introduction, literature review, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. They are organized in a way that helps the reader to follow the argument and understand the findings.
  • Formal and objective: Research papers are written in a formal and objective tone, with an emphasis on clarity, precision, and accuracy. They avoid subjective language or personal opinions and instead rely on objective data and analysis to support their arguments.
  • Citations and references: Research papers include citations and references to acknowledge the sources of information and ideas used in the paper. They use a specific citation style, such as APA, MLA, or Chicago, to ensure consistency and accuracy.
  • Peer-reviewed: Research papers are often peer-reviewed, which means they are evaluated by other experts in the field before they are published. Peer-review ensures that the research is of high quality, meets ethical standards, and contributes to the advancement of knowledge in the field.
  • Objective and unbiased: Research papers strive to be objective and unbiased in their presentation of the findings. They avoid personal biases or preconceptions and instead rely on the data and analysis to draw conclusions.

Advantages of Research Paper

Research papers have many advantages, both for the individual researcher and for the broader academic and professional community. Here are some advantages of research papers:

  • Contribution to knowledge: Research papers contribute to the body of knowledge in a particular field or discipline. They add new information, insights, and perspectives to existing literature and help advance the understanding of a particular phenomenon or issue.
  • Opportunity for intellectual growth: Research papers provide an opportunity for intellectual growth for the researcher. They require critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity, which can help develop the researcher’s skills and knowledge.
  • Career advancement: Research papers can help advance the researcher’s career by demonstrating their expertise and contributions to the field. They can also lead to new research opportunities, collaborations, and funding.
  • Academic recognition: Research papers can lead to academic recognition in the form of awards, grants, or invitations to speak at conferences or events. They can also contribute to the researcher’s reputation and standing in the field.
  • Impact on policy and practice: Research papers can have a significant impact on policy and practice. They can inform policy decisions, guide practice, and lead to changes in laws, regulations, or procedures.
  • Advancement of society: Research papers can contribute to the advancement of society by addressing important issues, identifying solutions to problems, and promoting social justice and equality.

Limitations of Research Paper

Research papers also have some limitations that should be considered when interpreting their findings or implications. Here are some common limitations of research papers:

  • Limited generalizability: Research findings may not be generalizable to other populations, settings, or contexts. Studies often use specific samples or conditions that may not reflect the broader population or real-world situations.
  • Potential for bias : Research papers may be biased due to factors such as sample selection, measurement errors, or researcher biases. It is important to evaluate the quality of the research design and methods used to ensure that the findings are valid and reliable.
  • Ethical concerns: Research papers may raise ethical concerns, such as the use of vulnerable populations or invasive procedures. Researchers must adhere to ethical guidelines and obtain informed consent from participants to ensure that the research is conducted in a responsible and respectful manner.
  • Limitations of methodology: Research papers may be limited by the methodology used to collect and analyze data. For example, certain research methods may not capture the complexity or nuance of a particular phenomenon, or may not be appropriate for certain research questions.
  • Publication bias: Research papers may be subject to publication bias, where positive or significant findings are more likely to be published than negative or non-significant findings. This can skew the overall findings of a particular area of research.
  • Time and resource constraints: Research papers may be limited by time and resource constraints, which can affect the quality and scope of the research. Researchers may not have access to certain data or resources, or may be unable to conduct long-term studies due to practical limitations.

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100+ Social Issues Research Paper Topics

Group of people discussing social issues

There are many issues in society to write about, making social issue essay topics some of the most fun. However, choosing a social topic for an essay isn’t as easy as it sounds, especially when there are several social essay topics. The secret to choosing the best among the many social topics is knowing what makes the best social topics for an essay, the best.

This article will give you workable tips for choosing a great topic on specific social issues, argumentative essay topics , and social topics. We will also throw in 100 topics on social issues; they can serve as your social topic or inspiration for choosing.

What Are Top Tips for Choosing Social Topics to Write About?

What characterizes the best social issue topics, social issue topics list, fascinating research topics on social issues, interesting social commentary topics, interesting social issues on social media, ideas of social issues essay topics on health, socially significant topics to write on, social issues research topics for a professional paper on the environment, top-rated socially relevant topics, cool social issues to research on criminal justice, social problem topics for college students, issues in america to write about, argumentative essay topics on social issues, unique social issues to write a research paper on.

When it comes to social problems essay topics, the list is endless; there are so many social issues to talk about. However, not all social problem topics will make a great paper, and the wrong social issue topic can reduce your grade. Below are the top practical tips for choosing social issues topics for presentation.

  • Choose easy social issues to write about – avoid trying to impress your professor by choosing complex social problems topics you can’t do justice to.
  • Choose social problem topics or social media research topics that your audience can relate to and find interesting.
  • When choosing from the myriads of social problems to write about, choose those with sufficient information. Also, you don’t want social problem essay topics you’ll have to walk miles to gather information on.
  • Pick as many good social issues to write about as possible; chances are you will change issues essay topics midway. You don’t have to return to searching for current issues to write about.
  • Source for articles that address problems in society to write about for an idea on how to write yours.

The “best” social topics, like social commentary essay topics, are those you’re passionate about. It would help if you cared about the social issue ideas you’ve decided to write on to do real justice to the paper. Writing an essay on them will be torture if you don’t care or know anything about social commentary ideas. Also, if your audience is clueless about a particular topic, consider omitting technical and social significance topics.

Interesting social topics are not hard to find if you know where to look. We will give you a social issues topics list here, but you can still find social issues ideas all over the internet. Find our social topics list below containing interesting and uncommon social issues for a distinction-worthy paper.

  • Political polarization
  • Racism in modern society’s healthcare
  • Ageism: the new racism?
  • The fairness of labor laws
  • Fat-shaming in the corporate world
  • Recovering addicts and social injustice
  • Child pornography
  • Prisoner rights violations: the types
  • Making vaccinations mandatory
  • Online education impact on obesity
  • Increasing employment: the solution to poverty?
  • Accessibility of healthcare in mobile clinics
  • Women empowerment
  • Social development in developing countries
  • Overpopulation: a threat?
  • How social networks impact friendship
  • Age restriction on Instagram
  • Social media effect on dependency
  • Business Facebook accounts and digital ethics
  • Cancel culture and mental health
  • Restricting children from social media
  • How to stay safe on the internet
  • Freedom of speech on Twitter
  • High cost of medical procedures
  • Obesity in developed countries
  • Abortion: legal or illegal?
  • Drug addiction
  • Hospices: should they be free?
  • Why HIV in seniors remains unrecognized
  • Dying with dignity
  • Pro-life movement origins
  • The social acceptance of autism
  • Effect of malnourishment on children’s psyche
  • Impact of fad diets
  • Discrimination against older adults
  • Acceptability of homeopathic treatment for children
  • The scarcity of and state of available healthcare facilities in rural areas
  • Poverty and health problems
  • Ensuring global access to drinking water
  • Implementing sustainable technology in agriculture
  • Benefits of studying the environment
  • Urban gardening and food security
  • Deteriorating environment effect on labor conditions
  • Religion and nature
  • Global warming impact on South America
  • Effect of racial profiling
  • Prevalence of hate speech
  • Discrimination against the LGBT community
  • Modern feminism: the negative impact on society
  • Pregnancy termination: morality vs. legality
  • Food culture
  • Emotional intelligence: impact on family life
  • Harmful effects of financial illiteracy
  • The perception of “Defund the police.”
  • Evidence of structural racism
  • The internet’s influence on human trafficking
  • Legalizing prostitution
  • Civil disobedience goals
  • The consequences of restoring prisoners to society
  • Influence of prejudices on criminal justice mechanics
  • Prominent civil rights violations in developing countries
  • Gender blindness
  • Gender dysphoria
  • The Khmer Rouge
  • Social media and racist bias
  • Justification of human rights limitations during a crisis
  • How governments can secure freedom of speech
  • Can satire be harmful?
  • Protection of stateless persons
  • Can illegal immigrants be pardoned?
  • War on drugs: the negative side effects
  • The importance of bipartisan cooperation
  • College loans: are they worth it?
  • Fake news: a severe problem?
  • Charter schools vs. public schools
  • The Great New Deal: pros and cons
  • Gentrification in America
  • Ableism effects in the US
  • Death penalty: a just punishment?
  • Healthcare: a fundamental human right?
  • The right to own a gun
  • Does history repeat itself?
  • Commercials in kids’ programs
  • Fiction vs. nonfiction: which is the better read?
  • Video games should be a sport
  • Hot dogs: have they caused more harm than good?
  • Eating dessert before dinner
  • Homework: is it too much?
  • Should gym classes be required?
  • The essentiality of feminism
  • Free healthcare for everyone
  • Exploring space: is it worth it?
  • Parents’ role in childhood obesity
  • Woman vs. man: who is more emotional?
  • The effects of campaign finance reform
  • Should illegal immigrants be granted residency?

With this list of social topics and others you’ll find on the internet, you can’t be short of social issues to talk about. Choosing the best social issues topics is essential for writing a great research paper,or write dissertation for me ranging from social change topics to social awareness topics. Considering the vast amount of community issues to write about, our tips on choosing from the best social relevance topics will come in handy. If you need professional writing services, you can contact our experts.

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Writing a Research Paper Introduction | Step-by-Step Guide

Published on September 24, 2022 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on March 27, 2023.

Writing a Research Paper Introduction

The introduction to a research paper is where you set up your topic and approach for the reader. It has several key goals:

  • Present your topic and get the reader interested
  • Provide background or summarize existing research
  • Position your own approach
  • Detail your specific research problem and problem statement
  • Give an overview of the paper’s structure

The introduction looks slightly different depending on whether your paper presents the results of original empirical research or constructs an argument by engaging with a variety of sources.

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Table of contents

Step 1: introduce your topic, step 2: describe the background, step 3: establish your research problem, step 4: specify your objective(s), step 5: map out your paper, research paper introduction examples, frequently asked questions about the research paper introduction.

The first job of the introduction is to tell the reader what your topic is and why it’s interesting or important. This is generally accomplished with a strong opening hook.

The hook is a striking opening sentence that clearly conveys the relevance of your topic. Think of an interesting fact or statistic, a strong statement, a question, or a brief anecdote that will get the reader wondering about your topic.

For example, the following could be an effective hook for an argumentative paper about the environmental impact of cattle farming:

A more empirical paper investigating the relationship of Instagram use with body image issues in adolescent girls might use the following hook:

Don’t feel that your hook necessarily has to be deeply impressive or creative. Clarity and relevance are still more important than catchiness. The key thing is to guide the reader into your topic and situate your ideas.

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This part of the introduction differs depending on what approach your paper is taking.

In a more argumentative paper, you’ll explore some general background here. In a more empirical paper, this is the place to review previous research and establish how yours fits in.

Argumentative paper: Background information

After you’ve caught your reader’s attention, specify a bit more, providing context and narrowing down your topic.

Provide only the most relevant background information. The introduction isn’t the place to get too in-depth; if more background is essential to your paper, it can appear in the body .

Empirical paper: Describing previous research

For a paper describing original research, you’ll instead provide an overview of the most relevant research that has already been conducted. This is a sort of miniature literature review —a sketch of the current state of research into your topic, boiled down to a few sentences.

This should be informed by genuine engagement with the literature. Your search can be less extensive than in a full literature review, but a clear sense of the relevant research is crucial to inform your own work.

Begin by establishing the kinds of research that have been done, and end with limitations or gaps in the research that you intend to respond to.

The next step is to clarify how your own research fits in and what problem it addresses.

Argumentative paper: Emphasize importance

In an argumentative research paper, you can simply state the problem you intend to discuss, and what is original or important about your argument.

Empirical paper: Relate to the literature

In an empirical research paper, try to lead into the problem on the basis of your discussion of the literature. Think in terms of these questions:

  • What research gap is your work intended to fill?
  • What limitations in previous work does it address?
  • What contribution to knowledge does it make?

You can make the connection between your problem and the existing research using phrases like the following.

Now you’ll get into the specifics of what you intend to find out or express in your research paper.

The way you frame your research objectives varies. An argumentative paper presents a thesis statement, while an empirical paper generally poses a research question (sometimes with a hypothesis as to the answer).

Argumentative paper: Thesis statement

The thesis statement expresses the position that the rest of the paper will present evidence and arguments for. It can be presented in one or two sentences, and should state your position clearly and directly, without providing specific arguments for it at this point.

Empirical paper: Research question and hypothesis

The research question is the question you want to answer in an empirical research paper.

Present your research question clearly and directly, with a minimum of discussion at this point. The rest of the paper will be taken up with discussing and investigating this question; here you just need to express it.

A research question can be framed either directly or indirectly.

  • This study set out to answer the following question: What effects does daily use of Instagram have on the prevalence of body image issues among adolescent girls?
  • We investigated the effects of daily Instagram use on the prevalence of body image issues among adolescent girls.

If your research involved testing hypotheses , these should be stated along with your research question. They are usually presented in the past tense, since the hypothesis will already have been tested by the time you are writing up your paper.

For example, the following hypothesis might respond to the research question above:

The final part of the introduction is often dedicated to a brief overview of the rest of the paper.

In a paper structured using the standard scientific “introduction, methods, results, discussion” format, this isn’t always necessary. But if your paper is structured in a less predictable way, it’s important to describe the shape of it for the reader.

If included, the overview should be concise, direct, and written in the present tense.

  • This paper will first discuss several examples of survey-based research into adolescent social media use, then will go on to …
  • This paper first discusses several examples of survey-based research into adolescent social media use, then goes on to …

Full examples of research paper introductions are shown in the tabs below: one for an argumentative paper, the other for an empirical paper.

  • Argumentative paper
  • Empirical paper

Are cows responsible for climate change? A recent study (RIVM, 2019) shows that cattle farmers account for two thirds of agricultural nitrogen emissions in the Netherlands. These emissions result from nitrogen in manure, which can degrade into ammonia and enter the atmosphere. The study’s calculations show that agriculture is the main source of nitrogen pollution, accounting for 46% of the country’s total emissions. By comparison, road traffic and households are responsible for 6.1% each, the industrial sector for 1%. While efforts are being made to mitigate these emissions, policymakers are reluctant to reckon with the scale of the problem. The approach presented here is a radical one, but commensurate with the issue. This paper argues that the Dutch government must stimulate and subsidize livestock farmers, especially cattle farmers, to transition to sustainable vegetable farming. It first establishes the inadequacy of current mitigation measures, then discusses the various advantages of the results proposed, and finally addresses potential objections to the plan on economic grounds.

The rise of social media has been accompanied by a sharp increase in the prevalence of body image issues among women and girls. This correlation has received significant academic attention: Various empirical studies have been conducted into Facebook usage among adolescent girls (Tiggermann & Slater, 2013; Meier & Gray, 2014). These studies have consistently found that the visual and interactive aspects of the platform have the greatest influence on body image issues. Despite this, highly visual social media (HVSM) such as Instagram have yet to be robustly researched. This paper sets out to address this research gap. We investigated the effects of daily Instagram use on the prevalence of body image issues among adolescent girls. It was hypothesized that daily Instagram use would be associated with an increase in body image concerns and a decrease in self-esteem ratings.

The introduction of a research paper includes several key elements:

  • A hook to catch the reader’s interest
  • Relevant background on the topic
  • Details of your research problem

and your problem statement

  • A thesis statement or research question
  • Sometimes an overview of the paper

Don’t feel that you have to write the introduction first. The introduction is often one of the last parts of the research paper you’ll write, along with the conclusion.

This is because it can be easier to introduce your paper once you’ve already written the body ; you may not have the clearest idea of your arguments until you’ve written them, and things can change during the writing process .

The way you present your research problem in your introduction varies depending on the nature of your research paper . A research paper that presents a sustained argument will usually encapsulate this argument in a thesis statement .

A research paper designed to present the results of empirical research tends to present a research question that it seeks to answer. It may also include a hypothesis —a prediction that will be confirmed or disproved by your research.

Cite this Scribbr article

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35 Global Issues Research Paper Topics for Students

Read also: Research writing process: peculiarities and techniques.

35 Global Issues Topics for an A+ Grade

  • The presidency of Trump and its impact on world politics
  • Kidnapping and human trafficking: will it increase afterthe legalization of prostitution worldwide?
  • The Doomsday Clock: its meaning and importance
  • The global warming: what are its advantages and disadvantages?
  • What the first piloted flight to Marswill change?
  • Does violence at the border between USA and Mexico have global consequences?
  • Holy wars: isthere any risk of them now?
  • The raise of China: what are the possibilities for the country in the next ten years?
  • Digital piracy as global phenomenon
  • The global hunger: what can be done to eliminate it?
  • The pollution problem: who or what contributes the most?
  • Social media and their global influence
  • Global flashmobs: what can they change?
  • The phenomenon of petitions
  • The overpopulation of the Earth: are there humane ways to prevent it?
  • Shall we fight extinction of every endangered specie, or let the nature decide?
  • Deforestation and its global impact
  • The global impact of the third world countries
  • The consequences of Brexit
  • Space missions as a global uniting factor
  • The secret societies: are they a real force?
  • The Third World War: is the danger real?
  • Mother Teresa and her influence on the world
  • Gender problems worldwide
  • Shall class segregation be eliminated completely?
  • Ethnic conflicts: is there a global solution?
  • Is the universal religion possible?
  • The global poverty: what can be done?
  • Recycling: what can we do on global scale?
  • Are caste systems a global or a local problem?
  • Does the power over the globe now belongs to corporations, not to the governments?
  • Civil wars: are they internal affairs or the symptoms of global events?
  • How do closed countries like People’s Republic of Korea influence the world?
  • Humanitarian aid: how to help without harm?
  • Is the world ready for global catastrophes?

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Filtration made green and easy

Whether on a hike, in a remote disaster zone or in your own home, access to clean water is critical. Filtration of freshwater to remove ultrafine particles like micro/nanoplastics, pathogens or other toxic components is unfortunately usually quite expensive, unportable and environmentally unfriendly.

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Machine learning reveals huge potential benefits of sustainable fertilizer use

Agricultural fertilizers are the main global source of ammonia emissions, which harm human health and reduce farmers’ profits. An analysis using big data and machine learning reveals that locally optimized fertilizer-management and tillage practices could slash ammonia emissions from rice, wheat and maize cultivation by up to 38%.

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A fresh start to sustainable sewage nitrogen removal

The nitritation process, namely the biological conversion of ammonia to nitrite, is a pivotal approach in sustainable sewage management but remains challenging to implement in practice. Now a strategy shows remarkable efficiency in swiftly initiating and maintaining sewage nitritation, even under industrially relevant conditions.

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Speleothems from the Savanna region in Brazil documents the occurrence of an unprecedented long-term drought driven by anthropogenic forcing. Staring in the 1970´s the current drought is the most severe that has struck the region in the past 700 years.

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CCl 4 emissions in eastern China during 2021–2022 and exploration of potential new sources

The Montreal Protocol globally phased out ozone-layer depleting CCl 4 by 2010. However, atmospheric measurements show eastern China emitted ~7.6 gigagrams/year in 2021–2022. Further, industrial sources of ongoing CCL 4 emissions are identified.

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Morning Rundown: Nikki Haley loses major funder, man allegedly makes $1.76M illegally eavesdropping on wife, and Marvel actor dies at 49

A once-ignored community of science sleuths now has the research community on its heels

issues for research papers

A community of sleuths hunting for errors in scientific research have sent shockwaves through some of the most prestigious research institutions in the world — and the science community at large.

High-profile cases of alleged image manipulations in papers authored by the former president at Stanford University and leaders at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have made national media headlines, and some top science leaders think this could be just the start.

“At the rate things are going, we expect another one of these to come up every few weeks,” said Holden Thorp, the editor-in-chief of the Science family of scientific journals, whose namesake publication is one of the two most influential in the field. 

The sleuths argue their work is necessary to correct the scientific record and prevent generations of researchers from pursuing dead-end topics because of flawed papers. And some scientists say it’s time for universities and academic publishers to reform how they address flawed research. 

“I understand why the sleuths finding these things are so pissed off,” said Michael Eisen, a biologist, the former editor of the journal eLife and a prominent voice of reform in scientific publishing. “Everybody — the author, the journal, the institution, everybody — is incentivized to minimize the importance of these things.” 

For about a decade, science sleuths unearthed widespread problems in scientific images in published papers, publishing concerns online but receiving little attention. 

That began to change last summer after then-Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne, who is a neuroscientist, stepped down from his post after scrutiny of alleged image manipulations in studies he helped author and a report criticizing his laboratory culture. Tessier-Lavigne was not found to have engaged in misconduct himself, but members of his lab appeared to manipulate images in dubious ways, a report from a scientific panel hired to examine the allegations said. 

In January, a scathing post from a blogger exposed questionable work from top leaders at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute , which subsequently asked journals to retract six articles and issue corrections for dozens more. 

In a resignation statement , Tessier-Lavigne noted that the panel did not find that he knew of misconduct and that he never submitted papers he didn’t think were accurate. In a statement from its research integrity officer, Dana-Farber said it took decisive action to correct the scientific record and that image discrepancies were not necessarily evidence an author sought to deceive. 

“We’re certainly living through a moment — a public awareness — that really hit an inflection when the Marc Tessier-Lavigne matter happened and has continued steadily since then, with Dana-Farber being the latest,” Thorp said. 

Now, the long-standing problem is in the national spotlight, and new artificial intelligence tools are only making it easier to spot problems that range from decades-old errors and sloppy science to images enhanced unethically in photo-editing software.  

This heightened scrutiny is reshaping how some publishers are operating. And it’s pushing universities, journals and researchers to reckon with new technology, a potential backlog of undiscovered errors and how to be more transparent when problems are identified. 

This comes at a fraught time in academic halls. Bill Ackman, a venture capitalist, in a post on X last month discussed weaponizing artificial intelligence to identify plagiarism of leaders at top-flight universities where he has had ideological differences, raising questions about political motivations in plagiarism investigations. More broadly, public trust in scientists and science has declined steadily in recent years, according to the Pew Research Center .

Eisen said he didn’t think sleuths’ concerns over scientific images had veered into “McCarthyist” territory.

“I think they’ve been targeting a very specific type of problem in the literature, and they’re right — it’s bad,” Eisen said. 

Scientific publishing builds the base of what scientists understand about their disciplines, and it’s the primary way that researchers with new findings outline their work for colleagues. Before publication, scientific journals consider submissions and send them to outside researchers in the field for vetting and to spot errors or faulty reasoning, which is called peer review. Journal editors will review studies for plagiarism and for copy edits before they’re published. 

That system is not perfect and still relies on good-faith efforts by researchers to not manipulate their findings.

Over the past 15 years, scientists have grown increasingly concerned about problems that some researchers were digitally altering images in their papers to skew or emphasize results. Discovering irregularities in images — typically of experiments involving mice, gels or blots — has become a larger priority of scientific journals’ work.   

Jana Christopher, an expert on scientific images who works for the Federation of European Biochemical Societies and its journals, said the field of image integrity screening has grown rapidly since she began working in it about 15 years ago. 

At the time, “nobody was doing this and people were kind of in denial about research fraud,” Christopher said. “The common view was that it was very rare and every now and then you would find someone who fudged their results.” 

Today, scientific journals have entire teams dedicated to dealing with images and trying to ensure their accuracy. More papers are being retracted than ever — with a record 10,000-plus pulled last year, according to a Nature analysis . 

A loose group of scientific sleuths have added outside pressure. Sleuths often discover and flag errors or potential manipulations on the online forum PubPeer. Some sleuths receive little or no payment or public recognition for their work.

“To some extent, there is a vigilantism around it,” Eisen said. 

An analysis of comments on more than 24,000 articles posted on PubPeer found that more than 62% of comments on PubPeer were related to image manipulation. 

For years, sleuths relied on sharp eyes, keen pattern recognition and an understanding of photo manipulation tools. In the past few years, rapidly developing artificial intelligence tools, which can scan papers for irregularities, are supercharging their work. 

Now, scientific journals are adopting similar technology to try to prevent errors from reaching publication. In January, Science announced that it was using an artificial intelligence tool called Proofig to scan papers that were being edited and peer-reviewed for publication. 

Thorp, the Science editor-in-chief, said the family of six journals added the tool “quietly” into its workflow about six months before that January announcement. Before, the journal was reliant on eye-checks to catch these types of problems. 

Thorp said Proofig identified several papers late in the editorial process that were not published because of problematic images that were difficult to explain and other instances in which authors had “logical explanations” for issues they corrected before publication.

“The serious errors that cause us not to publish a paper are less than 1%,” Thorp said.

In a statement, Chris Graf, the research integrity director at the publishing company Springer Nature, said his company is developing and testing “in-house AI image integrity software” to check for image duplications. Graf’s research integrity unit currently uses Proofig to help assess articles if concerns are raised after publication. 

Graf said processes varied across its journals, but that some Springer Nature publications manually check images for manipulations with Adobe Photoshop tools and look for inconsistencies in raw data for experiments that visualize cell components or common scientific experiments.

“While the AI-based tools are helpful in speeding up and scaling up the investigations, we still consider the human element of all our investigations to be crucial,” Graf said, adding that image recognition software is not perfect and that human expertise is required to protect against false positives and negatives. 

No tool will catch every mistake or cheat. 

“There’s a lot of human beings in that process. We’re never going to catch everything,” Thorp said. “We need to get much better at managing this when it happens, as journals, institutions and authors.”

Many science sleuths had grown frustrated after their concerns seemed to be ignored or as investigations trickled along slowly and without a public resolution.  

Sholto David, who publicly exposed concerns about Dana-Farber research in a blog post, said he largely “gave up” on writing letters to journal editors about errors he discovered because their responses were so insufficient. 

Elisabeth Bik, a microbiologist and longtime image sleuth, said she has frequently flagged image problems and “nothing happens.” 

Leaving public comments questioning research figures on PubPeer can start a public conversation over questionable research, but authors and research institutions often don’t respond directly to the online critiques. 

While journals can issue corrections or retractions, it’s typically a research institution’s or a university’s responsibility to investigate cases. When cases involve biomedical research supported by federal funding, the federal Office of Research Integrity can investigate. 

Thorp said the institutions need to move more swiftly to take responsibility when errors are discovered and speak plainly and publicly about what happened to earn the public’s trust.  

“Universities are so slow at responding and so slow at running through their processes, and the longer that goes on, the more damage that goes on,” Thorp said. “We don’t know what happened if instead of launching this investigation Stanford said, ‘These papers are wrong. We’re going to retract them. It’s our responsibility. But for now, we’re taking the blame and owning up to this.’” 

Some scientists worry that image concerns are only scratching the surface of science’s integrity issues — problems in images are simply much easier to spot than data errors in spreadsheets. 

And while policing bad papers and seeking accountability is important, some scientists think those measures will be treating symptoms of the larger problem: a culture that rewards the careers of those who publish the most exciting results, rather than the ones that hold up over time. 

“The scientific culture itself does not say we care about being right; it says we care about getting splashy papers,” Eisen said. 

Evan Bush is a science reporter for NBC News. He can be reached at [email protected].

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Title: still mystery after all these years -- unconventional superconductivity of sr2ruo4 --.

Abstract: This review describes recent significant research developments made on the layered perovskite Sr2RuO4 and discusses current issues from both experimental and theoretical perspectives. Since the discovery of superconductivity in Sr2RuO4 in 1994, studies using high-quality single crystals quickly revealed it to be an archetypal unconventional superconductor among strongly correlated electron systems. In particular, it was thought that the spin-triplet chiral p-wave superconducting state, which breaks time-reversal symmetry, was a prominent possibility. In 2019, however, a new development overturned the past experimental results, and spin-singlet-like behavior became conclusive. Furthermore, innovation in uniaxial strain devices has stimulated researchers to explore changes in the superconducting state by controlling the symmetry and dimensionality of the Fermi surfaces and enhancing the superconducting transition temperature Tc from 1.5 K to 3.5 K. A spin-singlet chiral d-wave superconducting state is consistent with most of these recent experimental results. Nevertheless, there are still unnatural aspects that remain to be explained. The focus of this review is on unraveling this mystery. Unlike many other unconventional superconductors, the normal state of Sr2RuO4 exhibits typical Fermi liquid behavior. Nevertheless, to elucidate its superconducting state, it may be essential to go beyond the traditional framework of unconventional superconductivity and recast the theory explicitly considering the multi-orbital aspects of its electronic states. In this review, we describe the frontiers of superconductivity research in Sr2RuO4 and discuss how the remaining issues may be resolved.

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  4. Writing A Research Paper: Discussion

  5. Secret To Writing A Research Paper

  6. How to critically review research papers in 4 steps #academicwriting #studytips #thesis

COMMENTS

  1. 113 Great Research Paper Topics

    One of the hardest parts of writing a research paper can be just finding a good topic to write about. Fortunately we've done the hard work for you and have compiled a list of 113 interesting research paper topics. They've been organized into ten categories and cover a wide range of subjects so you can easily find the best topic for you.

  2. Common Pitfalls In The Research Process

    Many issues can present themselves throughout the research process. It has been said about academics that "the politics are so harsh because the stakes are so low." Beyond interpersonal and political / funding concerns, prospective authors may encounter some disenchantment with the publish or perish culture.

  3. 8 Challenges Faced by Researchers (and Tips to Help)

    2. Finding research funding Another common challenge that researchers face is finding the money they need to get the research done. Sometimes this comes alongside the shock of how much the required materials, tools, and assistance will cost. Research is more expensive than most people imagine.

  4. Research Topics

    About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions.

  5. How to Define a Research Problem

    Step 1: Identify a broad problem area As you read about your topic, look for under-explored aspects or areas of concern, conflict, or controversy. Your goal is to find a gap that your research project can fill. Practical research problems

  6. 7 Research Challenges (And how to overcome them)

    Fortunately, many of the research challenges you will face—from choosing a topic, to finding study participants, to staying sane throughout the process, and every step in between—have already been addressed by members of the Walden community. Here, they share their insights on how to overcome seven top research challenges.

  7. How to Write a Research Paper

    A research paper is a piece of academic writing that provides analysis, interpretation, and argument based on in-depth independent research. Research papers are similar to academic essays, but they are usually longer and more detailed assignments, designed to assess not only your writing skills but also your skills in scholarly research.

  8. Ethical Issues in Research: Perceptions of Researchers, Research Ethics

    According to Sieber ( 2004 ), ethical issues in research can be classified into five categories, related to: (a) communication with participants and the community, (b) acquisition and use of research data, (c) external influence on research, (d) risks and benefits of the research, and (e) selection and use of research theories and methods.

  9. Common Ethical Issues In Research And Publication

    This paper will discuss different ethical issues in research, including study design and ethical approval, data analysis, authorship, conflict of interest and redundant publication and plagiarism. I have also included two case scenarios in this paper to illustrate common ethical issues in research and publication. Go to: ETHICAL ISSUES IN RESEARCH

  10. Ethical Considerations in Research

    Revised on June 22, 2023. Ethical considerations in research are a set of principles that guide your research designs and practices. Scientists and researchers must always adhere to a certain code of conduct when collecting data from people. The goals of human research often include understanding real-life phenomena, studying effective ...

  11. Ethical Dilemmas in Qualitative Research: A Critical Literature Review

    To discuss ethical issues and research with small connected communities: Case study involving small communities: Qualitative research in small, connected communities presents ethical challenges. ... The reflection on the researcher's role and his/her influence on the research field was the theme of the paper by Råheim et al. (2016). During ...

  12. 100 Current Events Research Paper Topics With Research Links

    Here's a list of current events/issues to write about in your next research paper. roobcio via Canva Pro Politics Is the U.S. going to go into a recession? How strong is the U.S. economy? How can we control inflation? How will the Ukraine War affect the 2022 mid-cycle elections? Was the defunding of police departments a good idea?

  13. Current Events and Controversial Issues

    Atheism Bilingual education Biofuels Black Lives Matter Border security Capital punishment Censorship Charter schools Childhood obesity Civil rights Climate change Concussions in football COVID restrictions Cryptocurrency Cyber bullying Cybersecurity DACA

  14. Researching the White Paper

    First, the author of a white paper already recognizes that there is a problem to be solved, a decision to be made, and the job of the author is to provide readers with substantive information to help them make some kind of decision--which may include a decision to do more research because major gaps remain.

  15. 35 Research Paper Problem Topics & Examples

    The problem of global hunger. Underemployment and unemployment. Balancing safety and the right to have private information. Manipulative advertising. Teaching children to spend more time offline. Cheating at schools and colleges. The problem of corruption. The choice of religion for the children from religious families.

  16. Research articles

    Research articles. Filter By: Article Type. All. All; Article (193373) Conference Proceeding (56) Matters Arising (48) ... Calls for Papers Guide to referees Editor's Choice ...

  17. The Ultimate List of Amazing Social Issues Research Topics

    Police and Social Justice Research Papers Topics. Let's unveil a curated collection of current social issues for a research paper. Here's the list: Children's safety and protection: The security job is of the utmost importance. School bullying is a serious issue that needs to be addressed.

  18. Common Research Problems

    In 1990, "negative results" accounted for 30% of published papers—that number has fallen to a mere 14%. Another problem is that scientists are under pressure to publish new, groundbreaking research, rather than performing studies to replicate results from previous research. Journals are exclusive and want to publish striking results that ...

  19. Safeguarding research integrity

    Are allegations of research misconduct rising? With several recent high profile cases, it can certainly feel that way. Accusations of image manipulation by scientists at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute have recently led to several retractions. According to a Nature analysis, more than 14 000 papers were retracted in 2023—the highest number ever—with more than 8000 linked to Hindawi, an ...

  20. Research Paper

    Definition: Research Paper is a written document that presents the author's original research, analysis, and interpretation of a specific topic or issue. It is typically based on Empirical Evidence, and may involve qualitative or quantitative research methods, or a combination of both.

  21. 100+ Social Issues Research Paper Topics To Write About

    100+ Social Issues Research Paper Topics There are many issues in society to write about, making social issue essay topics some of the most fun. However, choosing a social topic for an essay isn't as easy as it sounds, especially when there are several social essay topics.

  22. Writing a Research Paper Introduction

    Table of contents. Step 1: Introduce your topic. Step 2: Describe the background. Step 3: Establish your research problem. Step 4: Specify your objective (s) Step 5: Map out your paper. Research paper introduction examples. Frequently asked questions about the research paper introduction.

  23. 100+ Topics for Argumentative Essays and Debates

    ProCon.org has over 100 topics complete with pro and con arguments, quotes and statistics from experts, historical information, and other pertinent research. Abortion - Should abortion be legal? Alternative Energy - Can alternative energy effectively replace fossil fuels? American Socialism - Should the U.S. become socialist?

  24. 35 Global Issues Research Paper Topics for Students

    35 Global Issues Research Paper Topics for Students. In the modern world of globalization, world events aren't something that happens far away anymore. Our societies are so interwoven that change on the one side of the globe will most definitely influence the other. What was predicted in the film "Butterfly Effect" now is a real subject ...

  25. Environmental sciences

    Atom. RSS Feed. Environmental science is the multidisciplinary study of all aspects of the Earth's physical and biological environments. It encompasses environmental chemistry, soil science ...

  26. A once-ignored community of science sleuths now has the research

    A community of sleuths hunting for errors in scientific research have sent shockwaves through some of the most prestigious research institutions in the world — and the science community at large.

  27. [2402.12117] Still mystery after all these years -- Unconventional

    This review describes recent significant research developments made on the layered perovskite Sr2RuO4 and discusses current issues from both experimental and theoretical perspectives. Since the discovery of superconductivity in Sr2RuO4 in 1994, studies using high-quality single crystals quickly revealed it to be an archetypal unconventional superconductor among strongly correlated electron ...

  28. Full article: A critical review of GenAI policies in higher education

    Among these criticisms, a large number of opinion articles and research papers have been published (e.g. Chan Citation 2023a; Lodge, Thompson, and Corrin Citation 2023; Rudolph, ... Yet, these guidelines tend to focus on wider issues related to GenAI's impact on education (e.g. national regulations, digital poverty) rather than on the ...