Possible Research Topics

POSSIBLE RESEARCH TOPICS Your research paper, and the resulting thesis statement, must be an ARGUABLE issue. Be prepared to present the actual findings of your research convincingly even if you discover that your findings differ from your personal opinions. Remember, research is objective and not a “soap box” for personal views. The following topics have been divided by subject:

BIOETHICAL ISSUES �Withholding the truth from dying patients �Physician-assisted suicide �Limits to confidentiality � Involuntary commitment LEGAL ISSUES � Organ donation �Censorship of student newspapers �DNA profiling of criminals CRIME AND CRIMINOLOGY �Insanity defense �Is criminal behavior biologically determined? �Tougher sentencing to reduce crime �Street crime vs. white-collar crime: which is more serious? �Flag burning �Plea-bargaining �Welfare �Does arrest reduce domestic violence? MASS MEDIA �Execution of juveniles �Does mass media shape American values? DEATH PENALTY �Privacy in the Information Age �The death penalty for minors �Advertising: is it ethical? �The death penalty for the mentally handicapped MORALITY �Televised executions �Moral responsibility of rehabilitating criminals �The death penalty as a deterrent �Animal rights �Death penalty methods, such as lethal injection �Do rich nations have an obligation to help poor � The Constitutional question of "cruel and unusual nations? punishment" POLITICS ECONOMIC ISSUES �Political parties: have they lost their power? �Mandatory national service �Is Congress weak? �Minimum wage �Should federal courts be bound by the “original � Is the middle class shrinking? intent” of the framers? �Do foreign investments threaten U.S. economic EDUCATION independence? �Should school attendance be mandatory for �Is a world government possible or desirable? students until the age of 18? � Does a common curriculum promote equality? PSYCHOLOGY � Home-schooling �Is behavior determined by biological processes? � Measurement-driven instruction �Alcoholism as a disease: fact or myth? � Mainstreaming: beneficial to all? �Has science discredited ESP? �Can intelligence increase? ENVIRONMENT �Academic instruction for preschool children �Does the wilderness have intrinsic value? �Daycare �Nuclear power �Psychotherapy: is it effective? �Is there a cancer epidemic due to industrial chemicals in the environment? TEEN ISSUES �Global warming �Adolescent health problems HUMAN ISSUES �Communications between parents and teens �Women in combat �Adolescent marriages �Surrogate motherhood �Adolescent suicide �Career vs. family �Lack of discipline in American high schools �Dietary deficiencies of American teens �Is juvenile delinquency linked to family instability? o Emotional aspects �Teenage alcoholism: �College vs. career o Socio-economic aspects �Runaways o Short- and long-term affects �Major causes of juvenile crime Here are some more topics in alphabetical order. These are just general ideas…you’ll have to think of a specific issue to argue in the essay.

Academic Eligibility Euthanasia Aerosols and the Environment Family Leave Age Discrimination Federal Reserve System Air Bags Feminism Air Pollution Food Additives Air Safety Food Safety Alternative Education Programs Foster Parenting Americans with Disabilities Act Fuel Prices Animal Rights Genetically Engineered Food Anorexia and the Media Gifted Education Artificial Sweeteners Global Warning Arts Education Grandparents’ Visitation Rights Asbestos Removal Gulf War Syndrome Aspirin and Heart Disease Gun Control Update Automobile Safety Hazing Beauty Pageants Hearing Disorders Bilingual Education High Tech Toys Birth Order Home Schooling Cable Television Regulation Hospice vs. Hospital Campaign Finance Reform Human Genome Research Celebrity Privacy Hunting Restrictions Censorship Hyperactivity in Children Census Sampling Illiteracy in America Children of Alcoholics Immigration Children’s Television International Terrorism Cloning Iraq Crisis College Entrance Exams Judicial Double Jeopardy Constitutional Amendments Juvenile Detention Centers Credibility of the SAT Juvenile Justice Dangers of Junk Food Labor Unions Domestic Violence Land-Mine Ban Education Standards Latchkey Kids Effectiveness of MADD Lead Poisoning Effectiveness of SADD Learning Disabilities Effects of Diet on the Brain Line-Item Veto Electronic Privacy Logging in National Forests Endangered Species Act Managed Health Care Espionage Mars Exploration Media Bias Medical Ethics Medical Malpractice Medical Records Confidentiality

Medical Uses of Hypnosis Native American Sovereignty Medicare’s Future Native American’s Rights Mental Health Policy NATO Expansion Mideast Peace Process Nuclear Disarmament Military Preparedness Nuclear Energy Miranda Warnings Nursing Homes Missile-Defense Program Only Child vs. Siblings Morality in America Organ Allocation Music Therapy Organ Transplants National Parks Policy Parole Patients’ Rights Laws Technology Export Controls Pesticides and the Farming Industry Teen Driving Pit Bulls Television Violence Political Asylum Test Tube Babies Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome The Farm Family in America Preschool Program Tobacco Settlement Press Freedom Trash Disposal Prison Reform Programs Treatment of the Mentally Ill Prisoners’ Rights U.S.-Cuba Relations Professional Sports Salaries U.S.-Russian Relations Relationship of Twins U.S.-U.N. Relations Rights of the Handicapped Urban Sprawl School Uniforms Victim’s Rights School Vouchers War-Crimes Tribunals Science in the Courtroom Water Use and the West Search for Extraterrestrial Life Welfare Reform Social Promotion Wetlands Regulation Social Security Reform Women in the Military Speed Limits Women in the Workforce Spousal Abuse and the Law World Trade Organization States’ Rights Year-Round Education Stealth Bomber Youth Depression Students’ Rights Youth-Oriented Advertising Sweatshops Zoos Teacher Standards