examples of research topics in journalism

180 Powerful Journalism Research Topics To Focus On

Table of Contents

Finding a unique journalism research topic is one of the tricky tasks that require a lot of innovation. If you are a student who is pursuing a degree in communication or media studies, then you will often be asked to write essays or research papers on interesting journalism topics. Right now, do you want to write an informative journalism research paper? Are you searching for the best journalism research topics? Go through this blog post and get the top powerful journalism research topics and ideas that will help you boost your grades.

Tips for Selecting a Good Journalism Research Topic

Journalism is a broad field of study that mainly deals with the gathering and distribution of information to various media channels such as radio, TV, newspaper, and social media. In order to complete graduation, mainly, as a part of the final year academic project, the students who are pursuing media studies must submit a research paper or thesis on journalism topics.

When you are assigned a task to prepare a journalism research paper, topic selection is the first step that you can’t skip. Remember, you can impress your professor and score high grades only if you have a unique topic.

In general, there are endless unique journalism research topics and ideas available, but the real challenge lies in identifying one specific journalism topic out of them all. Hence, to help you all, here we have shared a few important tips that you can follow during the topic selection.

The topic you choose should match your interest.
The topic should be exciting and informative for the readers.
Avoid choosing too broad topics because they may require a lot of time to complete.
If your topic is too broad, narrow it down to a specific research question that is easy to write about before the deadline.
Instead of picking the frequently discussed research topics, go with the topic that focuses on unique issues that are fresh for the readers to learn and understand.
The research topic you choose should support extensive research and contain relevant sources for reference.

Additionally, check whether the research topic you have selected stands in line with your professor’s instructions. Also, before finalizing the journalism research topic you have selected, make sure it satisfies all the above-mentioned tips. The journalism research topic is said to be good only if it meets the requirements shared above.

List of Journalism Research Paper Topics and Ideas

When it comes to writing a journalism research paper, you need to invest a lot of effort and time to search and find the best journalism research topic. Hence, to make your topic selection process easier, here, we have composed a list of exclusive journalism research topics and ideas.

Explore the complete list of ideas and pick a powerful journalism research topic of your preference.

Best Journalism Research Topics

How can journalists help the masses understand topical issues better?
What is the role of the media in reducing crime?
Discuss the negative implications of media in influencing violence.
What is the link between media and the growth of the fashion industry?
What is the subsequent impact of media on the growth of an economy?
Discuss the likely implications of partisan advertisement outlets.
What are your thoughts on denying an operational license to partisan media outlets?
Examine how media has impacted your living over the last ten years.
Elaborate on the potential beneficiaries of media versus society-influenced violence.
Investigate how the media industry has evolved because of technological advancement.
How has journalism contributed to political turmoil in Kenya?

Read more: Excellent Communication Research Topics To Consider

Excellent Journalism Research Paper Topics

How significant is the media in the war against crimes?
Use of mainstream media in strategic communication
How the media influence political patterns
Media use by kids and adolescents
How society benefits from a free media
Scare strategies that the media use to accomplish goals
How do the media influence immorality?
Do video games form a part of the media?
Media censorship and propaganda
How the media portrays popular culture and identity

Research Paper Topics in Mass Communication and Journalism

What are the benefits of international journalism ?
How effective are social media marketing campaigns
Explain how journalists altered the coverage of news relating to World War II.
Define media downshifting and discuss why people are reverting to newspapers again.
Discuss mass communication laws in the U.S.
Define journalism ethics and highlight its importance in news coverage.
Investigate why radio still commands a huge following.
Explain different types of media and differ according to the audience.
Investigate terrorism in media and highlight examples in the world today.
Highlight some relevant media disasters and explain how to prevent them.

Journalism Thesis Topics

How media houses benefit from advertising
Explain why video blogs are the new diaries.
How effective are media companies as compared to single bloggers with regard to news coverage?
Define fan fiction and fandom in the media.
Explain the critical attributes of communication.
Discuss the peculiarities of children’s media.
How do the media affect the political class in a country?
Key stakeholders of modern media
How the media influences the articulation of major social matters
How the media preempt situations

Unique Journalism Research Topics

Investigate how the government regulates the media.
What is the role of mass media in spreading awareness?
Explain how readers can confirm the truth and credibility of news articles.
Discuss the relevance of media in the growth of a steadfast country.
Explain how social media has impacted the reporting of police brutality cases.
What was the impact of mass media on the scope of the Vietnam War
Determine whether governments should have exclusive power to censor news reporters and journalists.
Elaborate on the main drawbacks facing journalism.
Discuss whether media outlets are responsible for the spread of unverified stories.
Analyze why media agencies should cease using metaphors in headlines.
Media psychology- How it applies to communication.
Explain the role of media in the growth of the music industry.
Analyze the influence of media on innovations.
Explain the implications of a one-sided media and why it might be dangerous to society.
Analyze the media violations of a person’s freedom and rights.
Investigate the Black Lives Matter movement and analyze the role of media in advancing it.
Examine how media affects the diminishing of traditions and culture.
Why is the press essential in spreading political rivalry among the political subject and class?
What role does mass media play in promoting learning activities?
Examine the role of mass media on the political class of America in the 18th century.

Investigative Journalism Research Topics

What is the role of transculturation in media translation
Discuss the objectification of women and its adverse psychological impacts.
Discuss whether politicians depend on media to retain their power.
Explain why mass media is more of a propaganda tool for the government.
Explain why the media should not include graphic images depicting violence or war brutality.
What are the historical development and cultural impact of media in the U.S.?
How some governments silence investigative journalists
An investigation into the key stakeholders of modern media houses.
How magazine covers are used to get more sales
How journalists can maintain high-quality reporting without necessarily spending more
What are the negative impacts of television advertisements on children?
How the media is helping call centers to create jobs and help the unemployed members of society.
Examine how the image of the Arab woman appears in Arab media.
How the media makes the USA look like the ultimate ruler
Conduct a comparative analysis of news reports between FOX and BBC News.
How mainstream media is promoting the upsurge of public misinformation and fake news
How influential politicians make key decisions for some media houses
What are the moral lines that separate investigative journalism from the violation of people’s privacy?
How the media is helping rebrand some countries- Case study of Nigeria.

Read more: Best Visual Analysis Essay Topics and Writing Guidelines for Students to Focus On

Interesting Journalism Thesis Topics

Examine some of the most significant anticipated changes to journalism in days to come
Is it true that the internet makes people read less about current events?
Elaborate on different ways by which mass media outlets benefit from advertisements and product promotions.
Discuss why it is not appropriate for celebrities and superstars to undergo trials by the media.
Define stylized writing and elaborate on whether it is acceptable in today’s internet-reliant world.
Discuss the critical negative influence mass media may have on students.
Elaborate why televisions need to stop showing sexual content.
Examine media and its influence in the articulation of social matters like racism.
Investigate the impact of new media on digital learning budgets.
Examine if journalism can seek the truth without breaking the journalism code.
What are the causes and impacts of media addiction
Discuss the effect of mass media on one’s emotional and psychological wellbeing.
Highlight how disabled people are represented by the media today
Discuss why we should trust the media to deliver accurate news.

Engaging Journalism Dissertation Topics

Discuss the representation of women journalists in the media fraternity.
Describe ways to regulate mass media to guarantee that students are only minimally exposed to inappropriate content
Discuss the reasons that make the United States of America considered a global superpower from media perspectives
The imperativeness of journalism for disadvantaged social groups
A Critical review of the methodological trends and controversies surrounding the Use of opinion poll
Critically analyze how the British journalists try to win over the royals
Homophobia in modern sports and the role of media channels in increasing such negativism Homophobia
Discuss the role of media in promoting same-sex marriage
Evaluate the role played by media in helping GenZ athletes to seek their ‘authentic voice’
Describe the impact of replacing sports journalism with mindless gossip columnists
What were the restrictions on journalists for covering the FIFA World Cup 2022?

Great Journalism Research Paper Topics

What is the effect of media on diplomacy
A case study of pollution as a social issue and the media’s role in combating it.
Investigate the impact of fear created by media reporting crimes.
Hidden messages are passed through the media.
Discuss the role of media as an agenda-setting tool.
Elaborate on the flaws representation of black women in media.
Discuss the use of women and their sexuality in mass media advertisements.
How media images represent different entities
Could virtual reality be the future of modern media?
Do the media create or react to events?
What moral distinctions exist between the invasion of privacy and investigative journalism?
Are journalists nowadays more focused on attractiveness than on delivering more accurate news?
Discuss the main issues that journalists face when performing their responsibilities.
What impact have advances in science and technology had on journalism?
What can journalists do to combat the idea that women are materialistic?

Captivating Journalism Research Ideas

Is it possible for the media to serve society’s underprivileged groups?
Describe how the American media presents adversaries and rivals from throughout the world
Does the internet really cause individuals to read less about current events?
Why has the internet changed the way news is reported?
Examine some of the key upcoming developments in journalism that are most anticipated.
Can journalists continue to report on high-quality stories without spending more?
Nigeria is a case study of how the media is assisting in the rebranding of some nations
How powerful politicians affect some media outlets’ ability to make important judgments
A description of the difficulties emerging nations face when it comes to information freedom
How sexual material is used on the front pages of health publications to draw readers
Does the media influence events or just report on them?
What impact does the internet have on how the media evolves?
Why is radio still a vital type of media in the twenty-first century?
Describe ways to control the media to limit the exposure of pupils to inappropriate information
Do powerful and influential big media firms have too much sway?
Do they have to be broken up into smaller pieces?

Latest Journalism Research Topics

Describe the Part of the Media in the Russia-Ukraine Crisis.
Discuss the popular media tactics of political parties in the United States
Consider the necessity for real-life tales in the media of today.
Write about literary journalism in recent times.
Investigative reporting on the Brazilian drug trade
Mass media censorship in North Korea
FIFA world cup 2022: restrictions on journalists for covering the event
Critical analysis of how the British journalists try to win over the royals
Describe the effects of media misdirection and misinformation.

The Bottom Line

From the list of outstanding journalism research topics and ideas suggested above, you can use any idea as an inspiration for writing a research paper. If you are not sure what topic to choose or how to write a journalism research paper, then take Public policy assignment help from us. We have a team of professional academic writers who have good knowledge of mass media and communication to craft a research paper on the best journalism topics.

Quickly avail of our writing service and get a top-quality, plagiarism-free research paper as per your requirements on time at an affordable rate.

examples of research topics in journalism

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Journalism Research Topics: 120+ Ideas to Consider

Journalism is quite a broad industry that entails enumerating helpful information and showing it on different media channels, including television, social media, radio, and beyond.

For framing an outstanding research paper, your topic must enable your audience to focus on the key issues and make them keen to know more about your topic. However, finding the perfect topic isn’t easy.

Students often select their topic in haste and later realize that there needs to be more information or evidence to prove their hypothesis. Others get bored with their research after choosing a tedious journalism topic.

Journalism is an excellent subject that can open up many exciting ideas for students. However, this blog is genuinely written for you if you’re facing difficulty. Here are some unique journalism research topics you can use as inspiration.

Table of Contents

How to Choose Your Journalism Research Topic:

Finding a unique journalism topic is complex and requires extensive research and clever work. Generally, the internet is stuffed with thousands of journalism topics to write about, but the real struggle lies in identifying your “perfect” topic within that.

We have compiled a few suggestions that might help you create brilliant topics:

Students must refrain from any extravagantly broad topic, as it can be time-consuming and lead to confusion among students.
Choose a subject or topic that sparks your interest and curiosity level.
Students need to narrow their research into essential research questions.
Avoid providing a research paper based on goofy journalism topics to avoid misinterpretation or negative impact on your audience. Instead, ensure that your chosen topic will be informative for your readers.
Choose a novel topic that emphasizes distinct issues so readers can understand the fundamental research.

Thus, if you are about to research your journalism topic, ensure it stands in line with your university guidelines. Furthermore, ensure that your topic adheres to all the above-mentioned suggestions.

120+ Journalism Research Topics

As intended professional journalists, brilliant journalism ideas will always be welcomed and appreciated by your professors.

As mentioned, journalism is compiling, collecting, and assessing unique data and information on major on-going events. Along with writing on special journalism topics, one should also be open to writing about innovative discoveries about a pre-existing event.

We have thoroughly compiled a list of some contemplated journalism research topics that you can use as inspiration to get started with the writing business right away:

Journalism Research Topics for High School Students

Celebrities’ rights to privacy: How far should the paparazzi be allowed to infringe?
Examining the impact of racism in the media, both positive and negative
How do electronic media outlets influence journalism in the present era?
The influence of famous personalities on the independence of the media and journalists.
Challenges and opportunities for journalism in the 21st century
Impact of the media on diplomacy
Explain why it is inappropriate for famous people and idols to be subjected to media trials.
Why is radio still a crucial medium of communication in the twenty-first century?
Televisions must stop broadcasting sexual content.
Investigating journalism as a dangerous profession
Comment on the sexualization of women in media advertisements
Describe the effects of media misdirection and misinformation.
Describe ways to regulate mass media to guarantee that students are only minimally exposed to inappropriate content.
Why is the United States of America considered a global superpower?
The role of media outlets during the pandemic
Imperativeness of journalism for disadvantaged social groups
Is print media no longer necessary in the age of social media?
How has technology altered media

Brilliant Mass Communication and Journalism Research Topics

Read Also – 400+ Philosophy Research Paper Topics

The credibility of online journalism
The role of journalism in war zones
Current Changes in Journalism in the United States
Theoretical and methodological trends in journalism
The history of journalism
Journalism and the construction of police brutality
Media’s role in curbing corruption
Political women in media culture
A critical review of the methodological trends and controversies surrounding the use of opinion polls
Media’s role in exposing corrupted politicians
Government-sanctioned journalism in China
News workers, technology, and journalism history
Trends in fake news in the modern media space
Media censorship in China
The future of blogging and journalism in the United States
Critical analysis of how the British journalists try to win over the royals
Bridging media psychology and cognitive neuroscience

Sports Journalism Research Topics

Empirical research on racial discrimination in sports
The journey of a sportsperson: researching the importance of storytelling for sports persons
A qualitative investigation into the lives of sportswomen
Impact of sports journalism on the construction of “body image” in the mind of a younger generation
Homophobia in modern sports and the role of media channels in increasing such negativism
Ethics in sports journalism
Protecting brand through media and journalism channels
Trans journalist association for sports: opportunities and challenges
TVG Network in sports reporting
What happened to Adriano: investigating the Dark Story Behind the Retirement of “Next Door” Ronaldo
Evaluating media’s role in helping GenZ athletes to seek their “authentic voice.”
The challenges of sports media during Covid19 outbreak
The part of sports journalism in entertaining the masses
Richie Benaud, the voice of cricket and an influential broadcaster
James Hird’s suspected drug overdose: invasive reporting violates the right to privacy
Sports journalism as strategic sports marketing
The dangers of sports journalism
FIFA world cup 2022: restrictions on journalists for covering the event
The harsh truth of replacing sports journalism with “mindless gossip columnists.”

Investigative Journalism and Media Topics for Research

Read Also – 40 Architecture Thesis Topics

Examining the impact of television advertising on the moral behaviors of young minds
Representation of Muslim women and Islam by journalists
The evolution of the media in the United States
Sports journalism: Why is it challenging for sports journalists to succeed in sports broadcasting?
Compare and contrast FOX and BBC news reports.
Countering the false image of Arab women in the Arab media
The influence of print media on the advancement of pop culture
Transculturation in media translation
Why do celebrity rumors frequently dominate media outlets as opposed to important news?
The life and works of Eric Eyre
Justify the lack of explicit depictions of atrocity in the media.
Describe why the Government primarily uses the media as a propaganda tool.
Examine whether politicians rely on the media to maintain their power.
A critical analysis of freedom and the press.
Money has corrupted the media: an overview.
The life and works of Dean Banquet
The correlation of media and Government
Media bias in investigative journalism

Electronic Media Topics for Research

Media Education in the Age of Disruptive Media
Evaluating the future of broadcasting from a global perspective
The internet explosion
Is print media dead?
Broadcasting in the era of electronic media
Communication through electronic media platforms
Analyzing the role of electronic media channels in shaping modern-day journalism
The impact of electronic media on social behavior

Journalism Topics Straight From the Experts

Describe the effects of biased journalism and why it could harm society.
An in-depth look at international journalism
Compare and contrast the Obama and Trump administrations’ treatment of the media.
Research the “Black Lives Matter” movement and examine how the media contributed to its growth.
The connection between politics and the media: Are there any media organizations that are politically apolitical?
Does media coverage of conflict have any beneficial or adverse effects?
Understanding journalism as a dangerous profession
The influence of journalism and its impact on army operations
Mass media censorship in North Korea
Crisis of Credibility in Journalism and the Media in an Era of Radical Nationalism
The business of journalism: fake news, but real money!
How media channels are spreading hatred and violence
Investigative reporting on the Brazilian drug trade

Literary Journalism Topics to Write About

Read Also – History of Modern Literature

Literary journalism in the twentieth century
Employing metaphors in headlines.
Justify the need for social media platforms to outlaw fake news.
Are American enemies treated correctly by the media?
How has journalism been affected by scientific and technological advances?
American literary journalism
Literary journalism and the drama of civic life
Understanding the rise of literary journalism in the eighteenth century
Researching Tesla’s unique business model
The evolving ethics of journalism in the 21st century
Consider the necessity for real-life tales in the media of today.
A theoretical analysis of the theory of the social responsibility of journalism
Communication theory in journalism: are journalists the new peacekeeping force?

Political Journalism and Mass Media Topics for Research

Read Also – 200 Political Science Research Topics

Propaganda in the mass media
Understanding the psychology of media and politics
Evaluating the credibility of public media organizations
New complexities and practices in political journalism
Popular political media tactics of political parties in the United States
Can the media influence election outcomes?
Investigations into the lives of prominent American politicians
Political scandals cause media introspection.
Evaluating the impact of politics on mass media
The politics of public journalism

Unique Journalism Research Topics

Look into the Government’s media regulation policies.
Examining the media’s role in eradicating poverty
Describe how readers may verify the accuracy and reliability of news reports.
Part of the Media in the Russia-Ukraine Crisis
How did the Vietnam War’s coverage in the media change over time?
The authoritarian theory of the press
Describe the fundamental problems that journalism faces.
Examines the question of whether media outlets are to blame for the dissemination of dubious news.
Comprehending the media’s role in eradicating illiteracy rates in developing and under-developed nations
Contributions and the roles of journalists in COVID-19 pandemic management
Transculturation’s significance in media translation
Investigation into famous American politicians

Winding Up!!

Know that each research topic mentioned above has been carefully selected to help you with your research.

We understand coming up with the best topic will be something other than a walk in the park. It would be a challenging journey, mainly because no amount of diligent work can fully guarantee your expected results.

The above topics will allow you to efficiently conduct extensive research, interviews, and other practical methods of collecting relevant data for your research. Last but not least, remember this is your one shot, so give it your best effort. Good luck with your future endeavors!

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Top 140+ Research Topics for Journalism Students

An Introduction to Journalism

Journalism is the form of communication in which a journalist communicates with the audience in different modes and makes people aware of what is happening around the world.

There are different modes in which a journalist can establish communication with the audience:

Based on the Medium of Delivery, There are Three Types of Journalism:

Cyber, Online, and Digital
Print Journalism
Broadcast, TV, and Radio Communication

The above listed are a few mediums in which a communicator or a journalist can spread awareness amongst the audience/viewers. All these mentioned mediums have their own space and significance.

Cyber/online/digital modes of communication are the newly invented medium of journalism as this medium can connect several audiences of all ages and communities and it covers a larger range than any other medium of journalism. This has become more compliant for a large number of audiences due to the availability of good internet and easy accessibility.
The second medium is print journalism which is the oldest and the traditional medium of journalism. Newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, etc are gradually losing their value though they are still delivering good and informational content this is because the information available on the internet is more viable than that of print journalism hence this medium is losing its significance gradually.
The third medium of journalism is television and radio which is the most popular and interesting way of delivering a message to the audience. This is becoming popular as it offers both visual and audio characteristics to the content.

How to Choose Powerful Research Topics for Journalism to Write?

Before choosing a powerful research topic for journalism to write, one must find out their interest in a particular type of journalism.

As your interest will refine your knowledge in a particular niche of journalism and you will be able to choose and write a good research topic of journalism.

So here in the next step, we are describing all the types of journalism read them thoroughly then understand the task of a journalist related to these different kinds of fields of journalism then find out which type of journalism suits your temperament the most then select the topic accordingly and then you will be able to write a really good and powerful research paper of journalism.

According to the nature of the content, the news is of two types- Hard news and Soft news , and according to the nature of news, journalism has many categories and sub-categories.

Here are the Top 8 Most Popular Types of Journalisms:

Political Journalism

This niche provides hard news content. So a journalist having an interest in this niche must have a good knowledge of both international and national politics. And he/she must enhance this knowledge on daily basis by adding on more crucial information.

Along with this, political journalism requires a great amount of awareness about the political events and entities every step taken by the politician should be in count of a political journalist. Political journalism is a good niche to be chosen as one may get subjective but as its content is hard a journalist must be careful while presenting any political as it may hurt someone’s emotions.

Investigative Journalism

This niche of journalism requires a lot of patience, persistence, and perseverance. The content of this niche is also hard as it is hard to investigate and display what you being a journalist have investigated. Investigative journalism provides journalists with the scope to investigate any case on their behalf and to reveal the truth.

Hence maintaining persistency in this niche is difficult as it is hard to stand by the truth. But one must always remember that revealing the truth is the sole purpose of investigative journalism.

Crime Journalism

The content of this journalism also falls in the category of hard news. As it is hard to talk with a criminal face to face. In this niche of journalism, the major role of the journalist is to reveal the crime that has been accidentally or deliberately committed by some person or by an organization, the crime could be any like rape, murder, manipulation, etc.

So, in this case, it becomes important for a journalist to be unbiased as the final decision would be that of the court and the court only will declare a suspect if h/she is a criminal or not. And making prejudice by journalists could not work in this field.

Business Journalism:

The content of business journalism could be both hard and soft. The main purpose of the business journalist is to interlink a country's economy with the business of the particular country and make a concept and then run this content as a piece of news on television or radio or to write as an article in the newspaper. The business news mainly involves updates from the stock market, the central bank of the country, and how they will impact the country’s economy.

Arts Journalism:

Arts journalism has soft news content as it deals in all forms of art like music, craft, dance, literature, painting, architecture, etc. Art has always been a subject of softness and symbolizes the contemporary feel of a particular era or time.

It promotes peace and happiness so this field of journalism becomes the most important field of journalism to promote peace and integrity there should be an existence of good art and creativity. A journalist working in this niche basically makes the audience aware of new and old forms of art and their significance.

Celebrity Journalism:

This niche is definitely a good choice for those who have an interest in movies and the lifestyle of actors. The word paparazzi is becoming popular these days as paparazzi are those journalists who cover everything about an actor and trace all his/her movements. In this camera-specific world, everyone has an eye on the latest fashion trend and the outfit worn by his/her favorite actor and actress, and the number of these such kind viewers is increasing day by day. So in this contemporary world, the demand for celebrity journalists is increasing to make people aware of their favorite stars’ activities and the clothing trend they are following.

Sports Journalism:

Sports journalism is a very enthusiastic niche, it is especially for those who are inclined towards sports and games. The niche perfectly suits the temperament of those people who have an interest in outings and sports and willing to cover all the sports events by watching them. Sports writing is not that difficult it just requires a good amount of knowledge of a particular sport or a game to give his/ her own opinion while discussing it on television or writing an article on that.

Tour/Travel Journalism:

A soft news niche requires lots of research on travels and tours the journalists connecting with this niche basically suggest to the viewers a good place to visit and the reason why a person should visit a particular place they also suggest some really good food to taste at a particular destination. The main work of the journalist in this field is to make people aware of destinations that are within budget and a way to reach there easily. This kind of journalism requires a good amount of energy as exploring something is not that easy.

Every field of journalism has different characteristics but all these niches stand on the pillars of truth. Whatsoever you choose as a journalist to write about, your sole purpose should be one is to show what is true.

Here are the Most Popular and Powerful 140+ Research Topics for Journalism:

Now as you are familiar with all the types of journalism, we expect that you have already found your interest in one of these types. As you are ready with your interest you can find some really important research topics for journalism to write. Some topics suggested by us are mentioned below:

A List of 40 Excellent Journalism Research Paper Topics

What is Fandom in Media?
Does the Media Lit the Fire of Riots?
Is the Media More Inclined Towards Making Trp?
The monopoly of Few News Channels.
Does the Party in Power Regulate the Media?
The Role of Media in International Politics.
Media Gives Prejudgment.
Is Media Still With Truth or With Power?
How to Make Your Article More Credible?
Can the Media Make a Police Cop’s Image?
Media Headlines Ended With an Unquestionable Question Mark. Explain.
Does Media Violate the Privacy of a Person?
Media Chooses a Political Topic to Debate.
The Role of Media at the Time of Elections.
How Does the Media Promote the New Schemes of Government?
What is the Status of Media in Different Countries?
Does Media Help a Person in Taking His/her Rights Back?
Status of Media in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
The Role Played by Media in the Ongoing War Between Ukraine and Russia.
Media Psychology.
Status of an Investigative Journalist in Today’s World.
How the Magazines' Covers Are Important for the Media to Get More Sales?
How Can Journalists Produce High-quality News Without Spending So Much Time on It?
Is the USA the Only Powerful State in the Whole World? What is the Media’s Opinion?
Is Media Conservative in a Few Countries?
Why Should There Be Trust in the Media?
Is the Media Focused on the Environment?
Fear Created by Media While Showing a Criminal.
Does Media Spoil the Image of a Person?
Media Has Magic of Voice.
Hidden Messages Media Gets.
Is Media Also Becoming a Clothing Brand?
Nowadays Media is More Focused on Style Rather Than Delivering Accurate News.
Problems Faced by Journalists Working on-field.
Journalists Sometimes Become the Victim of Mob Lynching.
Is Journalism a Safe Field to Work in?
Are People Really Interested in Watching the News on Television Even if They Have Social Media?
Which is More Authentic Traditional Media or Social Media?
Is Media Working Like a Court?
Are the Journalists Nowadays Becoming Judges?

List of 18 Unique Journalism Research Topics

Is Media a Voice for Underprivileged People Also?
Is Media Confined Only to the Upper-class People of the Society?
Does the Class System Sway the Media Also?
Inappropriate Information Spread by Social Media.
Investigative Journalism Creates a Hindrance to Privacy.
How Media Use Images to Make the News More Colorful?
Using Pictures or Images Good for an Article?
Who Are the Key Stakeholders of Modern Media?
Does Media Create an Impact on the Country’s Economy?
Can the Media Help Police Find a Criminal?
Why Do People Revert to Newspapers Again and Prevent Watching News Channels on Television?
Is Society Benefitted From Free Media?
Media Fights a War Against Crime?
Influence of Media on Human Life.
How Dangerous is the Work of a Journalist?
Journalists Became the Victim of the Corona.
What Are the Few Characteristics of a Professional Journalist?
How to Choose the Right Title for an Arti

Conclusion:

Those mentioned above were a few topics that are suggested by us and could be chosen by you to write an effective research paper for journalism. But before writing select a topic and do research on it and then make some bulleted points to highlight and then start writing. Remember, truth should not be missed from your research and your point of view should also be added to your research paper. These two points will make your research paper more interesting for the reader as well as for the checker. So choose the topic, do research, pick the pen and start writing choose the most appropriate shade of word to make your research paper more colorful.

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175 Journalism Topics And Excellent Writing Ideas

As a student of mass communication or journalism, you may need journalism research paper topics to fulfill your undergraduate degree requirements. As you already know, journalism involves profound investigative reports centered on an issue affecting the public. It’s all about public life, and this is why you may need different journalism thesis topics and ideas.

If you’re also a college student who needs good journalism topics to write your assignment or essay, there are numerous topics and ideas across different journalism categories in this content. See the following topics for journalism class that can inform your paper or project.

Investigative Journalism Topics

Investive journalism is that category of journalism that embeds profound investigation into a particular subject of interest. This could be political corruption, bank fraud, murder, and other serious crimes in society. These are journalism research topics that could help you develop brilliant ideas:

Investigate the role of the US government under Trump in the mismanagement and ignorance of the COVID-19 reality
Investigate the part of the radio and newspapers in spreading fake news in the 2020 US election
Investigate one of the biggest scams in the history of England
Examine the role of the Peaky Blinders gangster in the making of contemporary gangs
Account for the activities of the Yakuza gang in Japan within three decades
Report for the struggle of the Taliban and Afghanistan in the two-decade war
Examine the relativity of the Afghan War and the Vietnam War based on the U.S. involvement
Examine the fraud of US officials in the Iraq War
Investigate the complexities around US involvement in military and humanitarian aid in the Middle East
Assess the role of communist leaders in the creation of personality cult taking clues from Chairman Mao of China and Stalin of the USSR
The public believes that Afghan women will suffer in the Taliban government; however, some believe that it is peace and tranquility for the rural men and women who have been plagued by war. Investigate the bitter and sweet side of the war
Account for any child abuse scandal involving a government official in recent time in any country of your choice
Examine the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic and relate it to the growth of the Ebola virus
Assess how governments violently quell peaceful protests in any country of your choice
Assess the cover-up of the Vatican in the sexual scandal of officials in the Holy Seal
Account for the influence of drug use in Mexico and how it influence or affect youths
Examine the shows with sexual appeal and how they affect the population
Give an account for the influence of extremity in the spread of the gospel of hatred in America
Study any corruption scandal of your choice and examine the fault of regulatory bodies
Give a comparative analysis of the 2008 economic crisis and the OPEC Oil Price Shock of 1973
Investigate the conspiracies in the government of Donald Trump
Investigate the bloody situation in Libya before Gaddafi’s death
Investigate the challenges facing India’s minority
Investigate the crisis in Turkey
Account for the political crisis between NATO-Ukraine and Russia

Journalism Topics for High School

You may have been asked to create journalism topics for your essay or contribute to your school’s magazine. There are different custom topics you could write about. You can consider these exciting and easy journalism topics:

An assessment of societal Influence of corruption and unaccountability
Assess the societal impact of the unaccountable judiciary in the US courts
What do you think about the role of the big five countries in rural community development?
What do you think the Biden Administration can do better about student loans and mortgages?
Assess the impact of mass media in reducing corruption
What do you know about drug abuse in the US, and how does it affect kids?
Evaluate how drama can be used to promote sensitization of sexual differences
Give an overview of how literature can be used to promote sexual orientation for high school kids
Why do you think your school needs a radio broadcast channel
What are your thoughts on unrestricted access to the internet for college students?
Do you think that social media is a good or bad innovation for society?
Assess how social media is responsible for depression and anxiety about beauty amongst youths
What do you believe are the impact of America Got Talent shows on kids
Because of social media, do you think mass media outlets like newspapers, televisions, and radios are no longer needed?
What do you understand about climate change and why everyone is scared?
What do you understand about Environmental changes and why everyone is scared?
Do you think women should take up top leadership roles anywhere in the world?
Do you think working from home is the best thing that could ever happen to working-class people?
What do you think makes a government legitimate according to your knowledge of Political Science, History, and Philosophy?
What do you think are the consequences of choosing entertainment above education and vice versa amongst youths
How can your school’s staff improve their relationship with students?
What are your ideas about humanitarian aid to Africa?
What do you think is the role of science and technology in the contemporary world?
Do you think high school students should have an intimate relationship too?
What do you believe is the most significant influence on youths and why?
What do you think about racism and Semitism in America?
What do you think about bullying in schools and the consequences of bullying on academic performance?
Do you think newspapers do an excellent job of promoting political sensitization?
Do you believe America is the best country in the world, and why?
Human and sex trafficking is the cruelest sin in the world: discuss
Assess the challenges of pregnancy
What do you think are the roles of women in Achieving gender equality in America?
Why do people idolize celebrities?
What do you think about the imprisonment of R Kelly?
Give a review of three songs by Rihanna.

Journalism Research Topics

Your professor may have asked you to develop good journalism research paper topics for your university degree requirements. There are different topics here that could guide you into choosing the perfect subject. Consider:

Analyze the failure of CNN in reporting unbiased news
Examine the importance of the media in advertising the need for economic development in rural communities
Assess the social media as the space to mobilize community support
Examine the significance of social media over the mass media like television, radio, and newspapers
Examine the campaign for sexual liberty in America
Examine the movement for gender equality in any Arab country of your choice
Examine the role of social media in the campaign for anti-racial sentiments
Account for the sexualizing of women in adverts
Account for president Trump’s innate desire to censor information in the media
Account for the role of journalists as gatekeepers in any free society
Account for the significance of international Journalist groups in protecting Journalists around the world
Examine America during the civil wars
Account for the sexual behaviors of porn addicts
What are the challenges facing three television Companies in the US?
Give an appraisal of Aljazeera and its news
Rationalize the death of Reuters’ Journalist, Danish Siddiqui, while in Afghanistan
Examine the consequences of the Trump administration on America’s domestic policies
Account for the consequences of Trump’s Administration on America’s foreign policy
Examine the effect of racial discrimination and employability in America
What is the role of America in developing ISIS?
Is America really the watchdog of the world?
Assess China and its rise to global dominance
Assess the significance of the Atlantic in world trade
Assess the political differences affecting Germany’s Nord Dam construction
Examine the need for entrepreneurs in America
Has capitalism favored the world so far?
Are Trump supporters patriotic or merely loyal to him?
Examine how education has promoted liberty in Afghanistan before US withdrawal
Assess for the role of journalist brands in reporting terrorism
What is the impact of the George Bush administration?
What are the impacts of the Obama administration on Libya politics
Assess the Israeli alliance with Saudi Arabia and the evil or good involved
Assess political or cultural propaganda of your choice
Account for the activities of any fraternity in a US campus
Consider Iraq’s needs for nuclear weapons as a balance of power or balance or threats

Literary Journalism Topics

As a form of nonfiction writing published in newspapers or magazines, it could cover interviews, research, or any other form of essay of your choice. If you’re required to choose controversial yet good journalism topics, you may want to consider:

Thoughts about Chimamanda Adichie’s “Danger of a Single Story” and how it could shape the literary scene
How fake news convince people about COVID-19 myths
The ethical challenges of journalism in any media company of your choice
The impact of photojournalists in the Afghan war
The scam in humanitarian intervention in any conflict of your choice
How French imperialism guides its role in French West African countries
The murder of Patrice Lumumba: thoughts on why America wants him dead
Philosophize on the brutality of King Leopold II.
How contestants arouse public sympathy in getting votes on America’s Got Talent
How pop culture ruin actual cultural developments
How journalism has evolved into business for financial gains
How journalism has evolved into a means of entertainment
Why does Aljazeera only tell sad, sad stories
Write a story about a mysterious heist of your choice
Attempt a short biography of Danish Siddiqui
Attempt a 7000 essay on everything about Vatican City and the politics
Document the invention of Isaac Newton and its Influence on technology
Lessons from the exploration of Amerigo Vespucci
Key points and lessons from Richard Nixon’s scandal
The mistakes of communism and capitalism in today’s world
What could be considered the impacts of Toni Morrison on literature?
Evaluate the works of Chinua Achebe in African literature
Evaluate the outcomes of Garcia Marquez in fiction and journalism
Opinions on the results of the Paris Review on literature
Opinions on the role of Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic in the media
Ideas on the death of democracy during Trump
A comparative analysis of presidents Trump and Richard Nixon
A comparative study of Presidents George Bush and Barack Obama
An overview of Trump’s economic policies
An overview of Trump’s businesses’ economic scandals

Research Topics in Mass Communication and Journalism Topics

As a journalism section that deals with exchanging information through the media, different topics can be developed to wow your professor. With interest in advertisement and dissemination of information, these are various journalism topics for you:

Embark on a comparative analysis of two media companies in the US
Account for the scandals of corruption in the practice of journalism
Assess the role of the media in the proceedings of Donald Trump’s impeachment
Report on the use of social media in triggering the White House protest on Trump’s behalf
Report on the use of Twitter during Trump’s Administration
What could be said to be good communication habits in Journalism?
Local newspapers and their usefulness in American public life
Has the use of radio negated modernity in America?
What are the challenges and prospects of smartphones during environmental disasters?
How has social media propagated the cancel culture?
How can the mass media be used for effective social change?
Drawing from the Watergate Scandal, what is the role of the mass media?
How do music choices influence the promotion of morality in traditional media?
Account for a radio show and its influence on the American public
Assess the consequences of airing extreme conservative ideas on radio
Social media and censorship: does it make sense?
How does the mass media contribute to racial disintegration?
Account for the radio show that promotes cultural diversity in America
Assess the subject of television addiction amongst youths
Evaluate the role of reporters and reporting highly sensitive cases
Identify how social media is wielded to propagate fake news
How Chairman Mao authored his propaganda with the media
The part of information dissemination before the Bolshevik Revolution
The role of the press in silencing threats in Russia
The thin line between truth and conspiracy in journalism

Middle School Journalism Topics

You may have been told to contribute to your school’s magazine or submit an essay in school. It would be best if you had easy and enjoyable journalism essay topics for your level. You can ask intriguing questions in your articles or essay through these journalism topics:

What are the powers you’ll execute if you have magical powers?
Who would you say are the best characters you’ve ever enjoyed?
What are your favorite movies, and why?
If you were an actor, which role would you never take?
Peer pressure and alcohol, do you think you can be influenced into social vices?
What are the campus secrets you think everyone should know about?
Review the last album of Beyonce
Review three songs of Kendrick Lamar and their Influence on the Black community
Review any book of your choice and its influence on people
Review any movie of your choice
Examine the need for active sport representations in school
Account for the need for Political student activists
Which of the school policies do you think must change?
If you’ll do anything to bullies, what would it be?
What are your thoughts about the foods in your cafeteria?
Would you attend a protest against the school authorities, and why?
Do you think everyone should like sports in school, and why?
Do you think school elections should be as competitive as senatorial or gubernatorial elections?
Do you think rivalries are suitable for school elections?
Who is your favorite philosopher, and why should everyone read Philosophy?
Which event of history should be told over and over again?
What are the achievements of your school’s basketball team?
What are the achievements of your school’s gymnastic team?
What are your opinions on Biden’s academic loans?
What are your opinions on racial diversity in classrooms?

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Fresh and Unique Journalism Topics

Do you want to spend your time researching and writing about something unique in the journalism field? If yes, work with one of the ideas presented by these journalism topics for students.

A journalist should be well-versed in different topics about local and international news- Explain
Explain how the role of professional is seen in the media
Are modern journalists more inclined towards glamour instead of providing better authentic news?
How has COVID-19 revealed about the role of journalists at a global level?
Have journalists played any role in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic?
How does the media facilitate the stereotypical representations of females by portraying them as materialistic objects?
Discuss how influential people control the freedom of journalists and the media
Discuss the major problems that are experienced by journalists as they discharge their duties
How have technological and scientific developments affected journalism?
How has social media affected modern journalism?
Are social media websites making third-persons journalists?
What are the duties and roles of a professional journalist?
How can journalists change the perception of women as being materialistic?
Can journalism be used to help improve marginalized sections in society?
How can journalists help the masses understand topical issues better?
How are electronic media channels shaping modern-day journalism?
Is social media making print media obsolete?
How has technology affected the mediums that journalists used to reach people?
How do high-profile personalities interfere with the freedom of journalists and the media?
Explain the challenges that journalists in varying topographical situations face every day.

This category has some of the best literary journalism topics to research and then write about. However, students should be ready to conduct in-depth research before they start writing. They should introduce new information that readers will find interesting.

Investigative Journalism Topics

This category comprises journalism research paper topics that allow the author to investigate an issue deeply. When writing a paper or essay on these ideas, students must identify visual arguments, research about the issues or problems, and then draw conclusions based on their findings. Here are examples of investigative research topics in mass communication and journalism.

How politicians in developing countries continue to lure the masses with vague promises about the education systems and job creation.
How the media is helping call centers to create jobs and help the unemployed members of society.
Politicians no longer have the ideological drive- A keen look into how political parties market their ideas
Can the negative global image of Pakistan/Iraq/Afghanistan be improved? How the mass media fosters stereotypes and establish images
How the media makes the USA look like the ultimate ruler
How corruption has become synonymous with modern politics
A critical analysis of how the UPA government functions
The Italian roots of Sonia Gandhi
How mainstream media is promoting the upsurge of public misinformation and fake news
How journalists can maintain high-quality reporting without necessarily spending more
How the media is helping rebrand some countries- Case study of Nigeria
How influential politicians make key decisions for some media houses
An assessment of the challenges facing information freedom in developing countries
How the front covers for health magazines use sexual content to attract readers
How magazine covers are used to get more sales
What are moral lines that separate investigative journalism from the violation of people’s privacy?
An investigation into the key stakeholders of modern media houses
How the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to affect the Chinese economy
How the government continues to censor the media
How some governments silence investigative journalists

Some of these topics are also great for debates and speeches. However, extensive research is required to come up with quality and relevant content that readers will find interesting.

Interesting Journalism Thesis Topics

Journalism studies require learners to choose considerate topics that allow them an easy time to research and write quality papers. Essentially, students should enjoy working on their topics. Here are some of the most interesting thesis topics for journalism students.

How significant is the media in the war against crimes?
A look into democracy, human rights, and freedom of expression
Media use by kids and adolescents
Technology versus modern media
How the media influence political patterns
Use of media and subsequent effects
How the media portrays popular culture and identity
Use of mainstream media in strategic communication
Media censorship and propaganda
Media psychology- How it applies to communication
Mainstream media versus art-house
How the media affects a country’s socio-economic dimension
Do video games form a part of the media?
How the media influences violence
Influence of the media on socio-economic sanity
Scare strategies that the media use to accomplish goals
A qualitative evaluation of modern media outlets
Mass media implications to the ethical well-being of a society
How the media influences immorality
How society benefits from a free media

These topics to consider when writing a journalism thesis. That’s because most students will enjoy researching and writing about them. What’s more, most people will enjoy reading papers on these topics.

Great Journalism Essay Topics

Many students struggle to choose topics when it comes to journalistic essay writing. But, this shouldn’t be the case because there are many ideas that learners can explore. Here are some of the ideas that you can explore when asked to write a journalism essay.

The role of mass media in society
Who is a good mass media personality?
What is the effect of mass media on the economy?
How media houses benefit from advertising
Modern society can’t do without mass media
Influence of mass media on technological advancements
How the media influences rivalry in politics
How the media affects the political class in a country
How important are reliable advertisements to the media
How does the media spread awareness?
What makes reliable media?
How does partisan media affect society?
What makes a non-partisan media?
How media violence can lead to social violence
Key stakeholders of modern media
How does a society benefit from the media
How the media has evolved over the years
How the media influences the articulation of major social matters
How media addiction affects the economy
How the media pre-empt situations

Good Journalism Topics for Students in High School

High school students and those joining colleges are sometimes asked to write essays on their preferred topics. Those interested in mass media studies can opt to write about journalism. Here are great journalism topics for high school to consider.

How media can foster education
Hidden messages that are passed through the media
How media images represent different entities
Why radio remains popular
The Disney phenomenon- New mythology or the media?
Types and styles of media
How politics and media are intertwined
Could virtual reality be the future of modern media?
Does the media create or react to events?
How does the internet influence the development of the media?
Media regulation and policy in different countries
What is a media campaign?
What is an international journalism
Role of the media during wartime
Does the media enhance or prevent panic during disasters?
Does the media censor or promote controversial topics?
Origin of the media
How speech freedom impacts the media
What are the main aspects of the media?
How the media use the hype phenomenon

Students have many journalism thesis ideas to consider. However, every learner should be keen to pick a narrow and interesting idea to explore when researching and writing an essay or dissertation on journalism. If you need assistance, hire our paper writer and get assistance today.

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 113 great research paper topics.

General Education

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?

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?

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 ?

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?

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.

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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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Journalism Research Paper Topics

Advocacy Journalism
Alternative Journalism
Broadcast Journalism
Celebrity Journalists
Citizen Journalism
Credibility of Journalists
Cross-Media Production
Embedded Journalists
Ethics in Journalism
Ethnic Journalism
Foreign Correspondents
Gatekeeping
Gender and Journalism

History of Journalism

Interpretive Journalism
Interview as Journalistic Form
Investigative Reporting
Journalism and Group Dynamics
Journalism Education
Journalists’ Role Perception
Minority Journalism
New Journalism
News Agencies
News Cycles
News Ideologies
News Routines
News Sources
News Workers
Newspaper Journalism
Normative Theories of Journalism
Online Journalism
Partisan Press
Peace Journalism
Political Journalists
Precision Journalism
Press Conference
Printer-Editors
Professional Journalists’ Associations
Professionalization of Journalism
Public Journalism
Science Journalism
Standards of News
Telegraphic News
Violence against Journalists
War Correspondents
Yellow Journalism

Journalism is a modern-era phenomenon that began its separation from ordinary communication first with correspondence in the form of newsletters sent out in multiple copies to existing social networks.

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Newsletter authors also required some facility to produce more than one copy and to distribute the result, as well as sufficient social status to make their activity appear to have value for recipients. With the advent of the printing press some early newssheets imitated hand-made newsletters, but the primary model for all printing was the book as printer-editors incorporated the sharing of new intelligences into their line of business.

The main claim to distinction for journalism has come through a close alliance with political life. Politics impinged on printing from the beginning in the form of government controls, and printing itself quickly became a political act of either cooperation with or defiance of the powerful, or the state. Journalism developed at the nexus of negotiating boundaries to demarcate private life, civil society (or the market), and the state from each other, and in some perspectives that zone became a special or sacred space. It was a short step then for the emerging press to become enmeshed in politics, an alliance of two initially and perhaps continually unsavory activities, an irony often lost on practitioners and scholars. The nineteenth century turned newspapers into the central node of news as an economic activity.

Differentiation among Journalists

Although fiction writing occasionally imitates news, journalism differs fundamentally in practice.

Separating the occupation of journalist from author is one marker of a project under way by the early twentieth century to make journalism into a particular kind of profession. Other markers include the emergence of acceptable practices, training programs, associations, and codes of ethics. In many parts of the world, journalism remained part of and firmly aligned with literary work, and even in nations where the professional project predominated, such as the United States, movements of long-form and literary journalism arose.

From its birth in the industrialized newsroom, journalism developed customary patterns for all aspects of work. The best-known example is the ‘beat,’ combining location and process so that a reporter goes through a set of routines to gather information from predictable and reliable places. As an occupational category, journalism in the nineteenth century merged several tasks: principally those of the ‘editor,’ who managed some aspect of content from a central office, the ‘correspondent,’ who ventured out as a worldly traveler and (perhaps imperial) observer of affairs, and various forms of ‘news hound,’ who did piecework as local scavengers to fill the editorial hole by the inch, pursuing a particular topic or venue such as crime or the docks. As journalism emerged as a professional project, specialization produced new bundles of tasks.

The production of news content has become more portable across traditional print and broadcast media as the tasks journalists perform converge on digital technology. The changes might point to multimedia journalism or instead to a de-skilling of practice as the tools shift from professionals’ into others’ hands. In many countries, citizens can now tell each other their own news by writing and distributing it electronically from home, a community center, library, or mobile device. During political crises in Africa and the Arab uprisings of 2011, citizen journalists appear to have contributed to movements against established political power.

Scholarly Study and Prospects

Alignments between industry and the academy for the purposes of job training helped shape journalism research. The first university journalism programs grew from the organized efforts of publishers and press associations to harness academic work to the project of making journalism respectable.

By the late 1940s, social science became the dominant paradigm for academic inquiry into journalism, organized generally around the concept of ‘mass communication.’ Humanities approaches fell behind, and studies employing quantitative methodology published in the journal of news media research, Journalism Quarterly, rose from 10 to 48 percent between 1937 and 1957. Earlier paradigms treated journalism as a powerful force in defining social problems, propagating government ideas, and fomenting public support, but the functionalist thinking among scholars at mid-century saw journalism as limited in its effects.

By the 1960s intellectual currents such as semiotics influenced thinking about journalism. Social scientists studied journalists’ autonomy from surrounding forces. By the 1970s fault lines emerged in the dominant social scientific paradigm after research found that greater effects could occur among distinct social groups than among general audiences, and that journalism had influence in setting priorities among political elites. In Britain cultural studies scholars analyzed journalism texts, and social critics described how capitalist ownership and shared values among media professionals helped support class domination. US sociologists examined news and conducted fieldwork among journalists.

In the early 1980s the communication discipline underwent a period of ferment, and journalism study moved along new vectors. Particularly in relation to political life, framing effects developed as a research approach. Under the emerging conditions of postmodernism, attention to news was declining among youth, and journalism as a professional project entered a conscious period of crisis. Industrial changes liberalized state-controlled media in some countries; cable, talk radio, and other alternatives to traditional news outlets proliferated in countries with commercial systems; and new populist media arose as tabloid journalism spread globally. Scholars of journalism engaged in political and economic critiques that examined the relationship of media organizations to centers of social control.

The ‘new journalism studies’ incorporated concepts of narrative, myth, ideology, and hegemony and engaged in professional critique, political and economic analysis, and sociological observation. The paradigm took institutional form in anthologies, new journals, and in the creation and rapid growth of a Journalism Studies Division in the International Communication Association (ICA).

References:

Allan, S. (ed.) (2010). The Routledge companion to news and journalism. London: Routledge. Anderson, P. J., Williams, M., & Ogola, G. (2013). The future of quality news journalism. A cross-continental analysis. London: Routledge.
Aouragh, M. & Alexander, A. (2011). The Egyptian experience: Sense and nonsense of the internet revolution, International Journal of Communication, 5, 1344 –1358.
Barnhurst, K. G. (2011). The problem of modern time in American journalism. KronoScope, 11(1–2), 98–123.
Barnhurst, K. G. & Nerone, J. (2001). The form of news: A history. New York: Guilford.
Chouliaraki, L. (2013). Re-mediation, inter-mediation, trans-mediation: The cosmopolitan trajectories of convergent journalism. Journalism Studies, 14(2), 267–283.
Deuze, M. (2010). Journalism and convergence culture. In S. Allan (ed.), The Routledge companion to news and journalism. London: Routledge, pp. 267–276.
Donsbach, W. (2010). Journalists and their professional identities. In S. Allan (ed), The Routledge companion to news and journalism. London: Routledge, pp. 38–48.
Etling, B., Kelly, J., Faris, R., & Palfrey, J. (2010). Mapping the Arabic blogosphere: Politics and dissent online. New Media and Society, 12(8), 1225–1243.
Franklin, B. & Mensing, D. (eds.) (2011). Journalism education, training and employment. London: Routledge.
Lewis, Seth C. (2012). The tension between professional control and open participation: Journalism and its boundaries. Information, Communication & Society, 15(6), 836–866.
Vujnovic, M., Singer, J. B., Paulussen, S., Heinonen, A., Reich, Z., Quandt, T., Hermida, A., & Domingo, D. (2010). Exploring the political-economic factors of participatory journalism: Views of online journalists in 10 countries. Journalism Practice, 4, 285–296.
Zelizer, B. (2004). Taking journalism seriously. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Back to Communication Research Paper Topics .

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1000+ FREE Research Topics & Title Ideas

If you’re at the start of your research journey and are trying to figure out which research topic you want to focus on, you’ve come to the right place. Select your area of interest below to view a comprehensive collection of potential research ideas.

Research Topic FAQs

What (exactly) is a research topic.

A research topic is the subject of a research project or study – for example, a dissertation or thesis. A research topic typically takes the form of a problem to be solved, or a question to be answered.

A good research topic should be specific enough to allow for focused research and analysis. For example, if you are interested in studying the effects of climate change on agriculture, your research topic could focus on how rising temperatures have impacted crop yields in certain regions over time.

To learn more about the basics of developing a research topic, consider our free research topic ideation webinar.

What constitutes a good research topic?

A strong research topic comprises three important qualities : originality, value and feasibility.

Originality – a good topic explores an original area or takes a novel angle on an existing area of study.
Value – a strong research topic provides value and makes a contribution, either academically or practically.
Feasibility – a good research topic needs to be practical and manageable, given the resource constraints you face.

To learn more about what makes for a high-quality research topic, check out this post .

What's the difference between a research topic and research problem?

A research topic and a research problem are two distinct concepts that are often confused. A research topic is a broader label that indicates the focus of the study , while a research problem is an issue or gap in knowledge within the broader field that needs to be addressed.

To illustrate this distinction, consider a student who has chosen “teenage pregnancy in the United Kingdom” as their research topic. This research topic could encompass any number of issues related to teenage pregnancy such as causes, prevention strategies, health outcomes for mothers and babies, etc.

Within this broad category (the research topic) lies potential areas of inquiry that can be explored further – these become the research problems . For example:

What factors contribute to higher rates of teenage pregnancy in certain communities?
How do different types of parenting styles affect teen pregnancy rates?
What interventions have been successful in reducing teenage pregnancies?

Simply put, a key difference between a research topic and a research problem is scope ; the research topic provides an umbrella under which multiple questions can be asked, while the research problem focuses on one specific question or set of questions within that larger context.

How can I find potential research topics for my project?

There are many steps involved in the process of finding and choosing a high-quality research topic for a dissertation or thesis. We cover these steps in detail in this video (also accessible below).

How can I find quality sources for my research topic?

Finding quality sources is an essential step in the topic ideation process. To do this, you should start by researching scholarly journals, books, and other academic publications related to your topic. These sources can provide reliable information on a wide range of topics. Additionally, they may contain data or statistics that can help support your argument or conclusions.

Identifying Relevant Sources

When searching for relevant sources, it’s important to look beyond just published material; try using online databases such as Google Scholar or JSTOR to find articles from reputable journals that have been peer-reviewed by experts in the field.

You can also use search engines like Google or Bing to locate websites with useful information about your topic. However, be sure to evaluate any website before citing it as a source—look for evidence of authorship (such as an “About Us” page) and make sure the content is up-to-date and accurate before relying on it.

Evaluating Sources

Once you’ve identified potential sources for your research project, take some time to evaluate them thoroughly before deciding which ones will best serve your purpose. Consider factors such as author credibility (are they an expert in their field?), publication date (is the source current?), objectivity (does the author present both sides of an issue?) and relevance (how closely does this source relate to my specific topic?).

By researching the current literature on your topic, you can identify potential sources that will help to provide quality information. Once you’ve identified these sources, it’s time to look for a gap in the research and determine what new knowledge could be gained from further study.

How can I find a good research gap?

Finding a strong gap in the literature is an essential step when looking for potential research topics. We explain what research gaps are and how to find them in this post.

How should I evaluate potential research topics/ideas?

When evaluating potential research topics, it is important to consider the factors that make for a strong topic (we discussed these earlier). Specifically:

Originality
Feasibility

So, when you have a list of potential topics or ideas, assess each of them in terms of these three criteria. A good topic should take a unique angle, provide value (either to academia or practitioners), and be practical enough for you to pull off, given your limited resources.

Finally, you should also assess whether this project could lead to potential career opportunities such as internships or job offers down the line. Make sure that you are researching something that is relevant enough so that it can benefit your professional development in some way. Additionally, consider how each research topic aligns with your career goals and interests; researching something that you are passionate about can help keep motivation high throughout the process.

How can I assess the feasibility of a research topic?

When evaluating the feasibility and practicality of a research topic, it is important to consider several factors.

First, you should assess whether or not the research topic is within your area of competence. Of course, when you start out, you are not expected to be the world’s leading expert, but do should at least have some foundational knowledge.

Time commitment

When considering a research topic, you should think about how much time will be required for completion. Depending on your field of study, some topics may require more time than others due to their complexity or scope.

Additionally, if you plan on collaborating with other researchers or institutions in order to complete your project, additional considerations must be taken into account such as coordinating schedules and ensuring that all parties involved have adequate resources available.

Resources needed

It’s also critically important to consider what type of resources are necessary in order to conduct the research successfully. This includes physical materials such as lab equipment and chemicals but can also include intangible items like access to certain databases or software programs which may be necessary depending on the nature of your work. Additionally, if there are costs associated with obtaining these materials then this must also be factored into your evaluation process.

Potential risks

It’s important to consider the inherent potential risks for each potential research topic. These can include ethical risks (challenges getting ethical approval), data risks (not being able to access the data you’ll need), technical risks relating to the equipment you’ll use and funding risks (not securing the necessary financial back to undertake the research).

If you’re looking for more information about how to find, evaluate and select research topics for your dissertation or thesis, check out our free webinar here . Alternatively, if you’d like 1:1 help with the topic ideation process, consider our private coaching services .

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Home » Blog » Dissertation » Topics » Journalism » 80 Journalism Research Topics

80 Journalism Research Topics

FacebookXEmailWhatsAppRedditPinterestLinkedInIf you’re a student eager to delve into the dynamic world of journalism through rigorous research, you’ve come to the right place. The realm of journalism is a rich tapestry that encompasses a wide array of research topics, from investigative reporting to digital media trends, from cultural analysis to political discourse. Whether you’re pursuing an […]

If you’re a student eager to delve into the dynamic world of journalism through rigorous research, you’ve come to the right place. The realm of journalism is a rich tapestry that encompasses a wide array of research topics, from investigative reporting to digital media trends, from cultural analysis to political discourse.

Whether you’re pursuing an undergraduate, master’s, or doctoral degree, the journey of exploring journalism’s diverse facets and contributing valuable insights is both enlightening and impactful. With our comprehensive list of thought-provoking research topics in journalism, you’ll find the perfect launching pad for your thesis or dissertation, allowing you to uncover hidden stories, analyze media’s influence, and shed light on critical issues that shape our world. Let’s embark on this intellectual adventure and pave the way for meaningful contributions to the ever-evolving field of journalism.

A List Of Potential Research Topics In Journalism:

Investigating media bias and its effects on public opinion.
Exploring the role of journalism in regime change: analyzing media influence, public perception, and sociopolitical implications.
Global media coverage of human rights violations and international response.
Surveillance and privacy concerns in journalism practice.
Social media and crisis reporting: investigating the role of platforms in spreading news and misinformation.
Investigating the effects of journalistic objectivity on public trust.
The state of local journalism: challenges, innovations, and revival efforts.
Media manipulation and disinformation campaigns: unmasking influence operations.
Freedom of expression vs. Hate speech: balancing rights and responsibilities.
Crisis communication in corporate pr: case studies and best practices.
The role of journalism in fostering civil discourse and democratic participation.
The decline of local news: impacts on civic engagement and community.
The changing role of newsroom editors in the digital news landscape.
Journalism and Trauma: ethical considerations and emotional well-being.
War reporting: ethical boundaries and trauma in conflict journalism.
Social media and news consumption: changing patterns and implications.
Media literacy and critical thinking: enhancing news literacy education.
Climate change reporting: strategies for influential environmental journalism.
Political bias in news media: perceptions, reality, and consequences.
Visual journalism: the power of infographics and visual storytelling.
The intersection of journalism and social media: trends and impacts.
Infodemic management: analyzing media’s role in disseminating accurate information during health crises.
Fake news and its influence on public perception: a comparative analysis.
Journalists’ mental health: assessing the emotional toll of covering health crises.
Investigative journalism and whistleblower protection in the UK: impact on accountability and transparency.
Local news ecosystem in the UK: investigating sustainability and community engagement.
Diversity and inclusion in UK newsrooms: analyzing representation and equity in journalism.
Technology’s role in journalism: ai, automation, and future trends.
Investigative reporting and exposing corporate wrongdoing.
Journalism and digital privacy: balancing transparency and individual rights.
Data privacy and journalism ethics: addressing challenges in the age of digital journalism.
Media ownership and its influence on news content and pluralism.
The evolution of broadcast journalism: television to streaming platforms.
Participatory journalism and civic engagement: a review of practices, outcomes, and the empowerment of audiences.
Media bias in political reporting: examining perceptions and effects on public opinion.
Government transparency and media access: studying press freedom during health emergencies.
Media portrayal of marginalized communities: progress and shortcomings.
News consumption habits in the digital age: trends and implications.
Data journalism and visualizing complex information for audiences.
Constructive journalism: shifting focus to solutions and positive change.
Media literacy education: empowering audiences to navigate information.
Freedom of the press in authoritarian regimes: case studies from around the world.
Press freedom and government interference: a comparative study.
Investigating tabloid journalism: content, audience, and societal impact.
Media’s role in shaping public policy: case studies and analysis.
Photojournalism and visual storytelling in UK media: evolution and cultural significance.
Long-form journalism and its place in the era of snackable content.
Participatory journalism and audience engagement strategies.
Indigenous journalists and cultural identity: navigating dual responsibilities.
Impact of pandemic coverage: examining public perception and trust in media during the covid-19 crisis.
Journalism in conflict resolution and peacebuilding: opportunities and challenges.
Media convergence and cross-platform journalism: a review of integration, challenges, and audience engagement.
Environmental journalism: communicating climate change and sustainability.
Journalism ethics in the age of algorithms and artificial intelligence.
Remote journalism practices: investigating the challenges and innovations in remote reporting.
Community journalism resilience: how hyperlocal news outlets adapted and served communities during lockdowns.
Global news agencies and their influence on international news flow.
Collaborative journalism: cross-platform partnerships and impactful reporting.
Media literacy education: a comprehensive review of approaches to enhance critical thinking and digital citizenship.
The impact of citizen journalism on mainstream media ethics.
Sports journalism: evolution, challenges, and cultural impact.
Celebrity endorsements and product placement in entertainment media.
Newsroom diversity and inclusion: progress, gaps, and best practices.
Virtual reality in journalism: exploring VR’s potential for immersive news storytelling.
Media framing of immigration and its socio-political impact.
Misinformation and health communication: strategies to counter false information amidst a pandemic.
Ethical dilemmas in photojournalism: a review of visual representation, manipulation, and audience perception.
Gender representation in news media: progress and persistent disparities.
Press regulation and freedom of speech in the UK: balancing accountability and independent journalism.
Journalism education: adapting curricula for the digital age.
Indigenous media and cultural representation: challenges and empowerment.
Evolution of print journalism in the digital era: survival and transformation.
Impact of digital transformation on traditional uk print media: challenges and opportunities.
Investigative journalism and accountability: a review of impact, challenges, and case studies.
Press freedom in the global context: a comparative review of legal frameworks, challenges, and implications.
Online misinformation and public health: addressing the infodemic.
Social responsibility of journalists: balancing objectivity and advocacy.
Entertainment journalism: celebrity culture, popularity, and societal impact.
Crisis communication and media: a comprehensive review of strategies, case studies, and public perception.
Photojournalism in conflict zones: ethical dilemmas and visual storytelling.

In conclusion, journalism research topics span a dynamic spectrum, offering rich opportunities for students across degree levels. From media ethics to digital transformations, these areas delve into the heart of societal communication. As you explore these themes, you contribute to shaping the future of media and its vital role in our world. Your investigation has the potential to ignite positive change and drive impactful insights in the realm of journalism.

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Journalism Research That Matters

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Despite the looming crisis in journalism, a research–practice gap plagues the news industry. This volume seeks to change the research–practice gap, with timely scholarly research on the most pressing problems facing the news industry today, translated for a non-specialist audience. Contributions from academics and journalists are brought together in order to push a conversation about how to do the kind of journalism research that matters, meaning research that changes journalism for the better for the public and helps make journalism more financially sustainable. The book covers important concerns such as the financial survival of quality news and information, how news audiences consume (or don’t consume) journalism, and how issues such as race, inequality, and diversity must be addressed by journalists and researchers alike. The book addresses needed interventions in policy research and provides a guide to understanding buzzwords like “news literacy,” “data literacy,” and “data scraping” that are more complicated than they might initially seem. Practitioners provide suggestions for working together with scholars—from focusing on product and human-centered design to understanding the different priorities that media professionals and scholars can have, even when approaching collaborative projects. This book provides valuable insights for media professionals and scholars about news business models, audience research, misinformation, diversity and inclusivity, and news philanthropy. It offers journalists a guide on what they need to know, and a call to action for what kind of research journalism scholars can do to best help the news industry reckon with disruption.

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Expert Commentary

Research-based ideas for college campus reporting: Potential stories

Roundup of useful studies that can enhance campus-based stories and provide material for practicing knowledge-based reporting.

Republish this article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License .

by John Wihbey, The Journalist's Resource August 4, 2014

This <a target="_blank" href="https://journalistsresource.org/education/research-based-ideas-college-campus-reporting-10-potential-stories/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist's Resource</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/cropped-jr-favicon-150x150.png" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;">

As journalism students look for deeper approaches to reporting on their campuses, they might consider the world of academic research, which can provide both fresh ideas and important perspectives. Sometimes studies are used directly by journalists in their stories; in other cases, they’re a way for reporters to educate themselves about issues and to locate and tap into networks of experts.

The habit of doing a “literature review” on issues is an increasingly important skill, but it takes time to master. The ability to do a successful literature review requires knowing which key databases to use and the basics of how to read statistics; learning how to do this on deadline can give journalists an important competitive advantage in the information and media marketplace.

Below are studies that can help facilitate deeper campus stories as well as enable journalists to practice engaging with primary research literature. If the full study is not immediately available online, ask a librarian for help with access and get familiar with your institution’s available databases. Also be sure to look at the citations in studies, as they will provide a road map to other important research in the field. To the extent you can, ask university officials for school-wide background data to help support your story and localize a given issue.

Finally, remember that this is just a representative batch of studies. Whether you’re writing about tuition increases, sexual assault policy, binge drinking, Greek life or flu outbreaks, there’s a wealth of deeper research just waiting for you at places such as Google Scholar and PubMed .

Sexual assault and rape on campus: In light of recent revelations across the country — and a major push by the federal government to address the issue — it is well worth seeing how a given institution is addressing these issues and putting into place preventative measures and support systems. Students can review the latest research and data for context.
Multitasking and learning: A 2012 study published in Computers & Education , “No A 4 U: The Relationship between Multitasking and Academic Performance,” examines how the use of Facebook — and engagement in other forms of digital activity — while trying to complete schoolwork was related to college students’ grade point averages. Is multitasking prevalent around your campus? Do students see downsides or upsides? How much do they reflect on their own study habits and use of time? How do faculty members feel about its role in the classroom?
Jobs and their effects: Many researchers have studied the negative relationship between student work — both on and off campus — and the typical effects on learning. However, student work may have some under-appreciated, positive effects. A 2012 study in the Journal of College Student Development , “The Effects of Work on Leadership Development Among First-Year College Students,” looks at the lives of students earning their way through school. What percentage of students on your campus has jobs? How do they perceive the tension between work and learning? Do they believe there are hidden benefits?
Diversity experiences: A 2011 study in the Review of Educational Research , “Promoting Participation in a Diverse Democracy: A Meta-Analysis of College Diversity Experiences and Civic Engagement,” examines earlier research to understand the relationship between diversity experiences and civic engagement in later life. The study provides insights into the kinds of diversity experiences that have the most meaningful impact in terms of lifetime development. How does your campus do on these issues? What is the breakdown between structured and unstructured diversity experiences, as the study defines them?
Student debt: How students feel about rising debt levels has been a significant media topic in recent years. But how do students on campus feel that it’s influencing choices of majors and classes — and career choices? Two studies can help inform this reporting: a 2012 study from Harvard University and the University of Virginia, “Student Loans: Do College Students Borrow Too Much — or Not Enough?” ; and a 2011 study from the University of California-Berkeley and Princeton University, “Constrained After College: Student Loans and Early-Career Occupational Choices.”
Exam habits: Students have many time-honored techniques for studying, but some methods are much more effective than others, according to the latest research. A 2012 study published in Psychological Science in the Public Interest , “Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions from Cognitive and Educational Psychology,” rated the utility of 10 specific methods based on cognitive and educational psychology research. How do students on your campus study for exams? Who taught them the techniques they use — high school teachers, peers, parents? Is the campus faculty doing enough to teach effective learning?
Research and online skills: A 2012 report from Project Information Literacy, “Learning Curve: How College Graduates Solve Information Problems Once They Join the Workplace,” seeks to better understand the needs of professional employers and the research skills and habits young people use on the job. The study finds that students often lack certain skills, and rely too much on the Internet. How do students on your campus find information? What do the faculty and librarians think about the information-seeking skills of the students they see? Is your institution doing enough to prepare students for the needs of the workplace in an information-based economy?
LGBT student views: A 2012 study published in the Journal of School Violence , “The Effect of Negative School Climate on Academic Outcomes for LGBT Youth and the Role of In-School Supports,” analyzes survey data relating to a sample of 5,730 LGBT students between the ages of 13 and 21 who had attended secondary schools in the United States. How do LGBT students compare their high school and college experiences? How do the academic climates compare? How do LGBT students feel their secondary school experiences inform their current lives and views?
Women and campus politics: According to survey data, American women consistently score lower on questions of political knowledge than do men. This difference makes women less likely to vote, run for office or communicate with their elected representatives. A study published in the journal Political Behavior , “Gender Differences in Political Knowledge: Distinguishing Characteristics-Based and Returns-Based Differences,” analyzes data in the United States from 1992 to 2004 to try to isolate the underlying causes of this male-female split. How are women faring in campus politics and student government? Are there enough outlets for political discussion? How many women would consider running for political office? How many female majors are there in the political science and government departments? Is the campus doing enough to educate and encourage women leaders?
Rural and non-rural students: One often-hidden dimension of campus diversity is the rural/urban/suburban split among students. A 2012 study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, “Rural-Nonrural Disparities in Postsecondary Educational Attainment Revisited,” examined data on approximately 9,000 students and found some notable differences. How comfortable do students from rural backgrounds feel on your campus? What has their experience been like and how do they believe it is different? Do they feel sufficiently supported?
Taking time off: A 2010 study published in the American Educational Research Journal , “Male and Female Pathways through Four-Year Colleges: Disruption and Sex Stratification in Higher Education,” tracked academic performance, financial aid support, prior high school experiences and life choices to determine why students choose nontraditional education pathways. How many students take semesters off? Why do they do this? Do they see drawbacks or benefits? Is there a gender, socio-economic or racial dimension evident in the patterns on your campus?

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267 Custom Journalism Research Topics

Journalism is the act of gathering, sieving through, creating, and presenting information or story for public consumption. The medium of distribution is often magazines, newspapers, social media networks, blogs, books, podcasts, televisions, and others.

With the rise of the internet, it incorporates every form of storytelling about current affairs which can be disseminated to the public in any way. Now that you know what journalism is, how do you develop your journalism research paper topics, and how do you write?

How to Write a Paper on Journalism

Your professors and teachers will be pleased to realize that you adhered to the professional rules of writing a story. ‘A story’ here is what journalists call their pieces. They create brilliant stories through processes like:

The Research : This is the stage where journalists look into a subject and gather more information about it. They assess if the story must be told, and visit the places where those things happen, if necessary.
Sticking to An Angle : There are many ways to tell a story. You can choose to uncover the story theme by theme or chronologically. Find the one that will be used to tell the story the best.
Starting Strong : The introduction or opening sentences to any article, essay, or research paper is the hook readers need to continue reading. You should uncover the who, the what, the where, the when, and the why as you start to write the story in building a solid narrative technique.
Arranging Your Thoughts : You are already overwhelmed with information about the subject. Having a beginning, middle, and ending will make your story appeal to your audience the most.
Quotations : A journalist will always need to quote a part of a story. This may be something the journalist got from a witness or on a website and it lets the audience believe in you.
Writing Creatively : You must develop your paper or essay with short sentences rather than long ones. This will help you use an active voice, readable, and comprehensible voice in your story.
Ascertaining Your Sources’ Credibility : True stories require that you verify your sources. Be certain that the information they offer is true as they must tally with facts.
Editing : This is where you go through a rigorous process of proofreading and editing all you’ve written. You also have editors who will go through this process on your behalf.

However if you find all those steps too tiring you always can write to our professional helpers team “I need someone to write my research paper “.

Looking for good journalism topics to write about as a university, college, or high school student? Consider these.

Journalism Research Topics

As intending professional journalists, journalism assignment ideas are important for your classes. As already noted above, journalism is the gathering, collection, and assessment of facts and data on current issues.

If you want to be a journalist, you must be open to writing new or developing preexisting stories. These are some good journalism topics to research:

Examine the importance of any profession of your choice
Would you say that contemporary journalists are more interested in glamor than frank news reportage
Examine the role of journalists in discussing COVID-19
Discuss the activities of a journalist of your choice who has risked his or her life to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic
When country leaders say females are objects, Analyze the role of the media in influencing stereotypes
Examine how the development of science and technology has affected or influenced the journalism profession
Give an overview of the need for third parties for journalism seeking information
Give an overview of the effects of social media on journalism
Give an overview of the idea that women are materialistic
Examine the Influence of journalists in any two scandals by a US president
What are the roles of journalists in reporting crime
Investigate the role played by journalists in giving light to terrorism in the Middle East
Do you think that journalists reveal State secrets on plans to attackers?
Do you think that the world could be better without journalists?
Does journalism reduce marginalization through advocacy?
Examine the significance of the electronic channels helping the spread of journalism
Investigate how high profiled persons interfere with journalism and Analyze reported
Examine a state of radio-bullying through journalism
How does journalism help the world understand its challenges better?
Would you say that print media is going obsolete to social media and other websites?
Analyze the role of journalism in a world divided by ideology?
Would you say that journalists give their life to write the stories the world wants to see?
Interview five people and express their opinions about journalism
Interview 5 people in government at any level and express their opinions about journalists
Examine the issues with any big media houses in the UK
What impact does the right or left have on any media houses in the US
Do you think devoting a media station to the propaganda of the right or left is right?
Examine, with examples, the role of propaganda in changing public opinion
What are the cultural attitudes to wounded journalists?
Examine Trump’s responses to journalists in comparison with any other world leader: would you say he is harsher than the rest?

Interesting Research Topics in Mass Communication and Journalism

Before you access mass media essay topics, mass communication itself deals with the process of offering and exchanging information through the media. It’s about disseminating information to the public through various media forms empowered by technology.

There are many mass media research topics that encompass what journalism is all about. Go through this list to choose a controversial or interesting media paper topic:

Undergo a critical assessment of BBC and its activities since 2010
Undergo a critical assessment of the role of the media in rebranding China in the public eye
Examine the role of the media in rebranding post-Soviet Union
Analyze the systematic challenge of press repression in the US
Analyze the challenge against press freedom in any socialist country of your choice
Would you say bad leadership could cause high disregard for freedom of speech?
Examine the attitude of the public to mass media
Analyze the role of the public in shaping bills
Analyze consequences of new commercialization in private media?
Examine the advertisement strategy of any company of your choice
Examine the process of cultural integration in any society of your choice through the media
Analyze the effect of mass media on black people in the US?
How does mass media reduce violence?
Analyze the role of the mass media in reducing the horror shared on television channels?
Examine the Prospects of journalism in any repressed country of your choice
Examine the development of The Sun
Investigate the significance of radio and television campaigns against racism and gang fights in the UK
Examine what libel and the media mess
How does the mass media discuss human rights issues in any country of your choice?
Examine the problems associated with need reportage when government own mass media platforms

Investigative Journalism Topics

Amongst the research topics for journalism students is investigative journalism topics. These are topics that may require strict investigation into a case study to understand rising challenges.

As a journalist, you must evaluate a subject deeply before you write on them. These are excellent Journalism topics to write about for university students:

Trump’s attempt to ban Twitter: Comment on the mass media and government restrictions in today’s world
Examine the context of social media freedom in the 21st century
Discuss the use of social media for abuse of human rights
Examine how the social media police people
Discuss the nitty-gritty of the cancel culture and the role of mass media
Investigate any case of abuse in any state of your choice
Evaluate the preventive measures against COVID-19 virus by institutional bodies
Account for global repercussions to the discovery and announcement of another virus variation by the South African Government
How does social media manage misinformation on COVID-19?
How has digital technology promoted the practice of journalism in the UK
Discuss the activities of anti-corrupt agencies in the US
Critically examine the case of corruption against a government leader of your choice
Discuss the case of corruption against a high profiled man
Examine how a company of your choice shot to fame from nothing
Discuss the use of social media amongst vulnerable kids and its consequences
Does the rising acceptance of the LGBTQ affect the global order?
Examine how important TV shows affect the public
Would you say the porn industry is poisoning the minds of young people?
Examine how Britain Got Talent Influence more kids to express their talent
Investigate if the comedy shows offer any good to the society
Analyze the true essence of comedy in any society?
Critically examine the need for entertainment in the world
Critically examine the place of content analysis on TV
How do political debates in markets and other places affect the big discussions?
How do radio programs affect the average American and their opinions?
What do you think about phone-in radio and TV programs?
How does Western media houses influence developing countries’
What leads to business successes in the media?
Investigate any broadcasting corporation of your choice
Examine the politics of gift and admitting students to elite higher institutions

Journalism Research Paper Topics

You may want to write a trustworthy research paper on journalism, what are the things you’ll discuss? Awesome media paper topics dig deep into any controversial issue about anything.

The journalism research paper is usually long-form for a tangible story. You can consider these fun research topics for journalism students in the university or college:

Assess the role of photojournalism in the profession of journalism
Discuss the importance of interesting photographs rightly citing five case studies
Examine media coverages of Dave Chappelle and his banter with the LGTBQ community
Examine how social media start a court to police people’s career
Profile the chaotic career of Janet Jackson
Discuss the media coverage of the 9/11 attack
Critically discuss the conflict between farmers and herdsmen in Nigeria through relevant literature
Critically discuss intra-state wars in any African country
Critically discuss the economy of two or three Middle Eastern countries
Critically discuss the internet penetration into some areas of the United States
Give an overview of the role of the media in any democratic Institution
Give details about journalism in a tyrannical country
Do you think ambassadors from countries that repress press freedom behave differently in the west?
What are the major crisis with political godfathers in the UK?
Examine the crisis of leadership in the UK since the middle of the Cold War
Examine the dissent in the global power of the UK and the transition to the US
Examine the challenges of copyright infringement in an open world
Examine the challenges of the media in protecting journalism
Do you think media houses will criticize their sponsors?
Do you think news commercialization will liberate the media?
Comment on the future of freelance journalists
Analyze the role of media houses in showcasing graphic stories
How independent is an editor in editing a controversial story?
Examine the activities of Guardian UK for a decade
Discuss the evolution of any media house of your choice
Compare the hazards of practicing journalism under any military regime
Discuss the challenges facing journalists in Russia
Discuss the challenges against journalists in Egypt
Choose a country and explain how women are oppressed
Analyze the attitude of the public when a domestic violation story is first published?

Journalism Topics to Write About

It is important to mention broader journalism subjects that could be discussed in your class. Journalism cuts across all issues and almost everything is important.

There are hundreds of media research topics to show you’re knowledgeable about how the world works. You can consider these topics across economies, culture, social and political systems, and many others:

Examine the role of the media in the socio-economic information
Analyze the role of the media in spreading culture wars
How does the media incite violence
Critically examine the role of the media in the violence of the Capitol on January 6
What are yeh strategies media houses use to achieve their long-term goals
What are the ethics a journalist must abide by?
Why is it important to have free media?
Do you think having fewer journalists will reduce conspiracies?
Do you think that the media affects morality?
Do you believe that politics is intertwined with the media?
Examine the role of media in controlling public opinion
How does social media control what people know
Examine how social media networks use algorithms to erase information
Would you say that the deletion of tweets and posts by Facebook and Twitters amount to freedom repression?
Analyze the role of the media in censoring government activities
Can the media question the government and bring them to account?
Critically examine the styles of media coverage
What are the types of media and why are each Important?
What are the prospects of virtual reality in the media?
How does the media create non-existent events to back up a propaganda
Examine the press liberty in North Korea
Examine how the North Korean government censor western media houses
Choose three world leaders and discuss their views about journalism
Choose three world leaders who have banned social media and assess their reasons
Examine why some countries regulate information
Examine the need for media campaigns during election seasons
Examine how speech is censored by the conservative in the UK
Examine the wartime importance of yeh media
Critically examine the origin of the media
Critically discuss how the media censor controversial topics

Journalism Topics for High School

If you’re a high school student, there are numerous journalism topics for you. These are some of the topics that young learners like you can explore. The best journalism experience could start for you right now. Consider these:

Examine what controversy means in today’s society
How do media houses generate funds?
Explain the technology of broadcasting
Examine the role of media in political rivalry
Discuss the importance of media reliability
Discuss the need to eradicate political classes
Examine how modern society benefits from the media
Discuss the need to be conscious about current affairs
Discuss the key stakeholders in today’s media world
What does partisan media mean?
What does it require to be a media personality?
Examine how the media can incite violence
Discuss the history of media
Discuss the growth of media and its accessibility
Discuss the contribution of the media to social crisis
Discuss the importance of your favorite TV show
Examine the significance of your favorite radio show
Discuss the need for music in radio programs
Do you think media houses have a moral obligation to censor 18+ videos?
Do you think there are cruel journalists?
What does a journalist do, in your opinion?
How do you think you can become a great journalist?
Why are the traits of good Journalism?
What singles a great story out?
Give an overview of your favorite websites where you read current news
What do you think about the US absence in Afghanistan?
What do you think about the US role in achieving world democracy
Do you think the mass media helps with education?
Do you think the world needs more journalists?
Why do you think many people want to be Journalists?

Literary Journalism Topics

Literary journalism is writing an essay based on factual information. These could be on rape, drug addiction, crime, unemployment, and many others. They are shaped by facts alone.

You can consider these awesome journalism topics to write about:

Examine the rape story of any artist you know
Discuss the life of Oprah Winfrey
Discuss the difficulties of rising to the top of the ladder in any industry
Discuss the challenges against women in Hollywood
Discuss the challenges against kids in Disney
Examine the struggles of women artists in the music industry
Discuss the importance of Rihanna’s music to the generation
Discuss the significance of Kendrick Lamar’s lyrics to the black person
Discuss the role of Eminem’s music in the white world
Examine the need for true-life stories in today’s media
Write a biography of any person of your choice
Comment on the biography of any person of your choice
Discuss the significance of Messi in today’s football
Discuss the importance of FTSE 100 in regulating global markets
Comment on a crime story you’ve read
Comment on a piece of historical relevance in the audience
Discuss the need to revive a popular culture
Discuss the evolution of any business of your choice
Examine the science and technology of any Institution of your choice
Examine a family saga that made public

Research Topics for Journalism Students

As a student of journalism, you know the importance of news. You also know that it is essential that every piece of information that requires to be discussed is discussed.

Some of the fun topics you can discuss are:

Critically examine the future of blogging and journalism
Is writing non-fiction also journalism?
Would you say there is little relationship between the private and public life of a journalist?
Would you say British journalists work to appeal to the royal family?
Would you say journalism is simply business?
Examine the statement that: journalism is also compromising
Give an overview of the role of journalism in politically unstable countries
Examine the role of women in the media
Explain the need for diversified cultures in the media
How has the media contributed to the existing political conflicts in Kenya?
Analyze the role of the media in reinstalling s country’s reputation
Examine the power play between power-hungry politicians and the media
Give an overview of the problems faced by investigative journalists
Discuss the Competition for global dominance between US and China
Discuss the role of Japan in shaping the need for global dominance
Examine the corruptions politics of the Nigerian Government
Examine the corruption and politics of the Indian Government
Discuss the increasing clampdown on Bollywood
Discuss the increasing marginalization in China
How does race contribute to choices in Hollywood
Discuss the concept of ableism in Hollywood
Examine why religion is important to the world
Discuss the role of Arabic in Hollywood
Discuss the multiplicity of content shared by Hollywood
Do you think Hollywood embraces violence?
What are your thoughts about using life ammunition while shooting a movie?
Would you say television is more accepted than cinema?
Would you say media houses are independent without advertisements?
Discuss the standards of business reporting in today’s world
Discuss the need for new stories

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Sports Journalism Research Papers Topics

It is important that the sports industry is also covered through journalism. As an important part of the world, sport and entertainment have a rising significance in journalism.

You can therefore consider topics like:

Assess the role of public opinion in choosing players in a team sport
The contribution of COVID-19 in the sporting industry
Examine the contribution of COVID-19 in the sports betting industry
Discuss the economic challenges in sport reporting
Assess the role of TVG Network in sport reporting
Discuss the need for players to tell their stories
Discuss the need for players to get space away from the media
Rationalize why the media always choke football celebrities
Why did Messi win the 2022 Ballon D’Or?
Examine the effects of switching clubs on Ronaldo
Discuss the importance of women in sports
Discuss the controversial issues about trans rights in sports
Investigate why Adriano quit football
Do you think digging into the lives of footballers affects them?
Would you say women’s sports are more important than men’s sports?
Examine the pointers of great sportsmanship
Examine the basic difference between Ronaldo and Messi
Discuss the sports of physically challenged persons
Discuss the importance of good sport journalism
Examine the rising tensions of football fans during football matches
Would you say sports journalism is an integral part of the public?
Analyze the importance of sport journalism?
Discuss the trends of journalism in sport
Examine how sports promote peace
Discuss the importance of sports commentators
Discuss the significance of wrestling
Would you say boxing is a great sport?

High School Investigative Journalism Topics

As a high school student, you may need to carry out a little bit of practical research. If you’re truly interested in journalism, these are investigative journalism topics for you.

These are topics that give you the freedom of creativity:

What does democracy do about war crimes?
Analyze the role of the media in fighting crimes
Would you say politics influence public opinion, not the media?
Investigate the portrayal of cultural identity through media
Illustrate the use of the media in promoting unhealthy propagandas
Discuss what media psychology means
Investigate the reason why your school chose its name
A friend of yours lost his pet, how would you write a perfect profile for him?
Ask your parents for stories about Iraq and write about what you know
Ask your parents about stories about China and write about what you know
Ask your parents about stories on Afghanistan and write for you to know
Investigate how government create jobs
Investigate the need for ideology by politicians
Investigate how the quality of life can be improved
Use social media to discuss the rise of hate crimes
How does misinformation take shape?
Discuss the challenges of freedom of speech in developing states
Assess the role of sexual content in promoting immorality
Discuss how journalists can avoid violating people’s privacy
Investigate the politics in Al-Jazeera

Journalism Paper Writing Help

With these topics, you can create an amazing account based on your interviews and research. However, if you still want to “pay someone to write my research paper”, we offer paper writing services for students of all levels and classes.

We have professors, teachers, and many other experts as writers on our team. These are skilled, knowledgeable, and trustworthy writers across different fields. They offer affordable and fast writing services. If you need a custom research paper or essay, all you need is to send an online text and tell us the requirements of your research paper.

International Relations Dissertation Topics

Journalism Dissertation Topics (29 Examples) For Research

Mark Aug 20, 2021 Aug 12, 2021 Journalism No Comments

Journalism is all about gathering information and distributing it through different media channels. Many students pursuing their degree in journalism and mass communication seek journalism dissertation topics and project topics on journalism. Before worrying about writing, the students are advised to determine and find out the best journalism dissertation topics. Here, we have presented a […]

A list Of Journalism Dissertation Topics

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Research Topics – Ideas and Examples

Table of Contents

Research Topic

Definition:

Research topic is a specific subject or area of interest that a researcher wants to investigate or explore in-depth through research. It is the overarching theme or question that guides a research project and helps to focus the research activities towards a clear objective.

How to Choose Research Topic

You can Choose a Research Topic by following the below guide:

Identify your Interests

One of the most important factors to consider when choosing a research topic is your personal interest. This is because you will be spending a considerable amount of time researching and writing about the topic, so it’s essential that you are genuinely interested and passionate about it. Start by brainstorming a list of potential research topics based on your interests, hobbies, or areas of expertise. You can also consider the courses that you’ve enjoyed the most or the topics that have stood out to you in your readings.

Review the Literature

Before deciding on a research topic, you need to understand what has already been written about it. Conducting a preliminary review of the existing literature in your field can help you identify gaps in knowledge, inconsistencies in findings, or unanswered questions that you can explore further. You can do this by reading academic articles, books, and other relevant sources in your field. Make notes of the themes or topics that emerge and use this information to guide your research question.

Consult with your Advisor

Your academic advisor or a mentor in your field can provide you with valuable insights and guidance on choosing a research topic. They can help you identify areas of interest, suggest potential research questions, and provide feedback on the feasibility of your research proposal. They can also direct you towards relevant literature and resources that can help you develop your research further.

Consider the Scope and Feasibility

The research topic you choose should be manageable within the time and resource constraints of your project. Be mindful of the scope of your research and ensure that you are not trying to tackle a topic that is too broad or too narrow. If your topic is too broad, you may find it challenging to conduct a comprehensive analysis, while if it’s too narrow, you may struggle to find enough material to support your research.

Brainstorm with Peers

Discussing potential research topics with your peers or colleagues can help you generate new ideas and perspectives. They may have insights or expertise that you haven’t considered, and their feedback can help you refine your research question. You can also join academic groups or attend conferences in your field to network with other researchers and get inspiration for your research.

Consider the Relevance

Choose a research topic that is relevant to your field of study and has the potential to contribute to the existing knowledge. You can consider the latest trends and emerging issues in your field to identify topics that are both relevant and interesting. Conducting research on a topic that is timely and relevant can also increase the likelihood of getting published or presenting your research at conferences.

Keep an Open Mind

While it’s essential to choose a research topic that aligns with your interests and expertise, you should also be open to exploring new ideas or topics that may be outside of your comfort zone. Consider researching a topic that challenges your assumptions or introduces new perspectives that you haven’t considered before. You may discover new insights or perspectives that can enrich your research and contribute to your growth as a researcher.

Components of Research Topic

A research topic typically consists of several components that help to define and clarify the subject matter of the research project. These components include:

Research problem or question: This is the central issue or inquiry that the research seeks to address. It should be well-defined and focused, with clear boundaries that limit the scope of the research.
Background and context: This component provides the necessary background information and context for the research topic. It explains why the research problem or question is important, relevant, and timely. It may also include a literature review that summarizes the existing research on the topic.
Objectives or goals : This component outlines the specific objectives or goals that the research seeks to achieve. It should be clear and concise, and should align with the research problem or question.
Methodology : This component describes the research methods and techniques that will be used to collect and analyze data. It should be detailed enough to provide a clear understanding of how the research will be conducted, including the sampling method, data collection tools, and statistical analyses.
Significance or contribution : This component explains the significance or contribution of the research topic. It should demonstrate how the research will add to the existing knowledge in the field, and how it will benefit practitioners, policymakers, or society at large.
Limitations: This component outlines the limitations of the research, including any potential biases, assumptions, or constraints. It should be transparent and honest about the potential shortcomings of the research, and how these limitations will be addressed.
Expected outcomes or findings : This component provides an overview of the expected outcomes or findings of the research project. It should be realistic and based on the research objectives and methodology.

Purpose of Research Topic

The purpose of a research topic is to identify a specific area of inquiry that the researcher wants to explore and investigate. A research topic is typically a broad area of interest that requires further exploration and refinement through the research process. It provides a clear focus and direction for the research project, and helps to define the research questions and objectives. A well-defined research topic also helps to ensure that the research is relevant and useful, and can contribute to the existing body of knowledge in the field. Ultimately, the purpose of a research topic is to generate new insights, knowledge, and understanding about a particular phenomenon, issue, or problem.

Characteristics of Research Topic

some common characteristics of a well-defined research topic include:

Relevance : A research topic should be relevant and significant to the field of study and address a current issue, problem, or gap in knowledge.
Specificity : A research topic should be specific enough to allow for a focused investigation and clear understanding of the research question.
Feasibility : A research topic should be feasible, meaning it should be possible to carry out the research within the given constraints of time, resources, and expertise.
Novelty : A research topic should add to the existing body of knowledge by introducing new ideas, concepts, or theories.
Clarity : A research topic should be clearly articulated and easy to understand, both for the researcher and for potential readers of the research.
Importance : A research topic should be important and have practical implications for the field or society as a whole.
Significance : A research topic should be significant and have the potential to generate new insights and understanding in the field.

Examples of Research Topics

Here are some examples of research topics that are currently relevant and in-demand in various fields:

The impact of social media on mental health: With the rise of social media use, this topic has gained significant attention in recent years. Researchers could investigate how social media affects self-esteem, body image, and other mental health concerns.
The use of artificial intelligence in healthcare: As healthcare becomes increasingly digitalized, researchers could explore the use of AI algorithms to predict and prevent disease, optimize treatment plans, and improve patient outcomes.
Renewable energy and sustainable development: As the world seeks to reduce its carbon footprint, researchers could investigate the potential of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, and how these technologies can be integrated into existing infrastructure.
The impact of workplace diversity and inclusion on employee productivity: With an increasing focus on diversity and inclusion in the workplace, researchers could investigate how these factors affect employee morale, productivity, and retention.
Cybersecurity and data privacy: As data breaches and cyber attacks become more common, researchers could explore new methods of protecting sensitive information and preventing malicious attacks.
T he impact of mindfulness and meditation on stress reduction: As stress-related health issues become more prevalent, researchers could investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness and meditation practices on reducing stress and improving overall well-being.

Research Topics Ideas

Here are some Research Topics Ideas from different fields:

The impact of social media on mental health and well-being.
The effectiveness of various teaching methods in improving academic performance in high schools.
The role of AI and machine learning in healthcare: current applications and future potentials.
The impact of climate change on wildlife habitats and conservation efforts.
The effects of video game violence on aggressive behavior in young adults.
The effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques in reducing anxiety and depression.
The impact of technology on human relationships and social interactions.
The role of exercise in promoting physical and mental health in older adults.
The causes and consequences of income inequality in developed and developing countries.
The effects of cultural diversity in the workplace on job satisfaction and productivity.
The impact of remote work on employee productivity and work-life balance.
The relationship between sleep patterns and cognitive functioning.
The effectiveness of online learning versus traditional classroom learning.
The role of government policies in promoting renewable energy adoption.
The effects of childhood trauma on mental health in adulthood.
The impact of social media on political participation and civic engagement.
The effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy in treating anxiety disorders.
The relationship between nutrition and cognitive functioning.
The impact of gentrification on urban communities.
The effects of music on mood and emotional regulation.
The impact of microplastics on marine ecosystems and food webs.
The role of artificial intelligence in detecting and preventing cyberattacks.
The effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in managing chronic pain.
The relationship between personality traits and job satisfaction.
The effects of social isolation on mental and physical health in older adults.
The impact of cultural and linguistic diversity on healthcare access and outcomes.
The effectiveness of psychotherapy in treating depression and anxiety in adolescents.
The relationship between exercise and cognitive aging.
The effects of social media on body image and self-esteem.
The role of corporate social responsibility in promoting sustainable business practices.
The impact of mindfulness meditation on attention and focus in children.
The relationship between political polarization and media consumption habits.
The effects of urbanization on mental health and well-being.
The role of social support in managing chronic illness.
The impact of social media on romantic relationships and dating behaviors.
The effectiveness of behavioral interventions in promoting physical activity in sedentary adults.
The relationship between sleep quality and immune function.
The effects of workplace diversity and inclusion programs on employee retention.
The impact of climate change on global food security.
The role of music therapy in improving communication and social skills in individuals with autism spectrum disorder.
The impact of cultural values on the development of mental health stigma.
The effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques in reducing burnout in healthcare professionals.
The relationship between social media use and body dissatisfaction among adolescents.
The effects of nature exposure on cognitive functioning and well-being.
The role of peer mentoring in promoting academic success in underrepresented student populations.
The impact of neighborhood characteristics on physical activity and obesity.
The effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation interventions in improving cognitive functioning in individuals with traumatic brain injury.
The relationship between organizational culture and employee job satisfaction.
The effects of cultural immersion experiences on intercultural competence development.
The role of assistive technology in promoting independence and quality of life for individuals with disabilities.
The impact of workplace design on employee productivity and well-being.
The impact of digital technologies on the music industry and artist revenues.
The effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy in treating insomnia.
The relationship between social media use and body weight perception among young adults.
The effects of green spaces on mental health and well-being in urban areas.
The role of mindfulness-based interventions in reducing substance use disorders.
The impact of workplace bullying on employee turnover and job satisfaction.
The effectiveness of animal-assisted therapy in treating mental health disorders.
The relationship between teacher-student relationships and academic achievement.
The effects of social support on resilience in individuals experiencing adversity.
The role of cognitive aging in driving safety and mobility.
The effectiveness of psychotherapy in treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The relationship between social media use and sleep quality.
The effects of cultural competency training on healthcare providers’ attitudes and behaviors towards diverse patient populations.
The role of exercise in preventing chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The impact of the gig economy on job security and worker rights.
The effectiveness of art therapy in promoting emotional regulation and coping skills in children and adolescents.
The relationship between parenting styles and child academic achievement.
The effects of social comparison on well-being and self-esteem.
The role of nutrition in promoting healthy aging and longevity.
The impact of gender diversity in leadership on organizational performance.
The effectiveness of family-based interventions in treating eating disorders.
The relationship between social media use and perceived loneliness among older adults.
The effects of mindfulness-based interventions on pain management in chronic pain patients.
The role of physical activity in preventing and treating depression.
The impact of cultural differences on communication and conflict resolution in international business.
The effectiveness of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) in treating anxiety disorders.
The relationship between student engagement and academic success in higher education.
The effects of discrimination on mental health outcomes in minority populations.
The role of virtual reality in enhancing learning experiences.
The impact of social media influencers on consumer behavior and brand loyalty.
The effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in treating chronic pain.
The relationship between social media use and body image dissatisfaction among men.
The effects of exposure to nature on cognitive functioning and creativity.
The role of spirituality in coping with illness and disability.
The impact of automation on employment and job displacement.
The effectiveness of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) in treating borderline personality disorder.
The relationship between teacher-student relationships and school attendance.
The effects of mindfulness-based interventions on workplace stress and burnout.
The role of exercise in promoting cognitive functioning and brain health in older adults.
The impact of diversity and inclusion initiatives on organizational innovation and creativity.
The effectiveness of cognitive remediation therapy in treating schizophrenia.
The relationship between social media use and body dissatisfaction among women.
The effects of exposure to natural light on mood and sleep quality.
The role of spirituality in enhancing well-being and resilience in military personnel.
The impact of artificial intelligence on job training and skill development.
The effectiveness of interpersonal therapy (IPT) in treating depression.
The relationship between parental involvement and academic achievement among low-income students.
The effects of mindfulness-based interventions on emotional regulation and coping skills in trauma survivors.
The role of nutrition in preventing and treating mental health disorders.

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55 Research Paper Topics to Jumpstart Your Writing

The research paper is one of the most tried and true assignments in high school or college. It's your teacher's opportunity to see how well you can research, convey, and organize that research, and assemble everything into one five-paragraph (or maybe 15-page) paper.

Before you get started on your paper, you'll need to have a comprehensive understanding of what your teacher expects out of your completed assignment, as well as a really great topic that you can spend a lot of time researching. However, with several classes filled with many students, your teachers have likely seen the same topics over and over (and over) again. Here are some research paper topics that are guaranteed to keep your interest (and theirs). Borrow one of these ideas or get inspiration from this list, which is broken down by subject category.

Social issues research paper topics

Social issues are always going to exist, unfortunately. But the more we learn about what they are, how we can solve them, and how to prevent them, the better off we'll be. Here are a few social issues topics to think about and to do research on.

Many children are diagnosed with ADD or ADHD and are subsequently put on medication, but some advocate that children are overly medicated and that we should instead have more patience for those who can't sit still or have minor behavioral issues. How should this issue be approached?
The homeless population in the United States is more than 1.5 million people. What are the conditions that lead to someone's being homeless? Are there ways to combat it?
Girls who have been in the foster care system are more likely to be human trafficked. Why is this? What can be done?
Someone who grows up in poverty is more likely to live in poverty all their life. Why is that? How can someone escape poverty?
Opioid addiction is a huge issue in the United States right now. What led to the widespread abuse of opioid drugs? What is being done to solve this problem?
Sexual assault is a hot button issue on college campuses. How widespread is sexual assault on college campuses and what is being done to stop it?
Each year, 1.2 million students drop out of high school. What is causing them to drop out? What can be done to combat the dropout rate?
Many terminally-ill patients in America are advocating for assisted suicide. What countries already allow this, and what are the pros and the cons?
Performance artists in public places such as beach boardwalks have their activities regulated by some local governments. Why is this? What are the pros and the cons?
TV shows such as "Hoarders" have shed light on people who collect tremendous amounts of items, trash, and/or animals in their house. How are these people being helped? What causes hoarding problems?

Political research paper topics

The events in politics may always be changing, but the nature of politics remains the same. There's always a lot to discuss and a lot to learn, making for a very interesting research topic for your paper. Here are a few ideas to get you thinking.

North Korea has recently ramped up its nuclear program. What are some ramifications of this?
There has been a large political divide in the country for the past few years. What factors led to the large division?
What is the AHCA? How is it different from the ACA?
The U.S. recently pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement. What is the Paris Climate Agreement and what is America's history of involvement with it?
Confederate monuments are being torn down after the events in Charlottesville. Write about the history of one confederate monument that's been torn down. When was it built? What were the circumstances of it being constructed?
Some feel that religious liberties have been threatened in the United States for several years. Why do they feel this way? What is the history of religious liberties in this country?
Much of the news in the last couple of years has been the rise of populism. What is the definition of populism? How does it affect the political climate?
Many parents are choosing not to vaccinate their children because they have read that there is a link between vaccines and autism. Should parents have to vaccinate their children to guarantee herd immunity for all children? Even though the evidence points out that vaccines do not cause autism, why do parents still insist? How have certain celebrities contributed to this issue by being vocal on this topic?
Many people in "Middle America" don't feel that their viewpoints are adequately expressed in the national media. Why do they feel this way? How does this affect national discourse?

Historical research paper topics

Many of us learn a lot about the Revolutionary War or the Civil War in our classrooms, but often there's not enough time to explore everything that you might be interested in. Here are a few off-the-beaten-path research paper topics that will be sure to capture your attention as well as your instructor's.

What caused the market crash of 2008? How are we still recovering?
There were several all black towns in the United States in the early 20th century. What led to the establishment of these cities?
Who were the Freedom Riders?
What were the Tulsa Race Riots?
What was Female Hysteria in the Victorian era?
There are a lot of conspiracy theories surrounding Kennedy's assassination. Research about one in depth and discuss how the theory came about.
What was the Korean War over? How does it affect society today?
What was the Vietnam War over? How does it affect society today?
What was the Space Race? Who were the major players and why did it matter so much who got to the moon first?
Why did a lot of protesters and "hippies" gather at Haight-Ashbury in the 1960s? Write about the history of this notable neighborhood in San Francisco.
What were Jim Crow laws? How do they still affect society today?
When was Affirmative Action enacted? How does it still affect society today?
What was the Reconstructive era? How does it still affect the South today?
What was Watergate? Who were the major players and what was the result? How did it affect the country?
What was the Equal Rights Amendment? Why was it not ratified?
What was Prohibition? What were the circumstances and why did it finally end?
Who was the first woman to hold political office in the United States?
Eleanor Roosevelt was a very notable First Lady. Who was she and why was she so important?
What was the case Loving v. Virginia? Who did it involve and what was it about?

Environmental research paper topics

There are many things to learn and research on about the world around us. Whether it's how we can combat climate change or research alternative fuels, it's important to know the answers for a healthy global environment for our future children and grandchildren. Here are a few ideas for environmental research paper topics.

What is global warming? What can we do to minimize the effects of it?
Some people say that certain global warming studies are funded by industries that have a vested interest in the issue, such as solar energy companies. How are they funded and conducted? Should the research be conducted by impartial parties?
The polar ice caps are melting. What does this mean for our environment?
There are many endangered species throughout the world. Pick one to write about and write about conservation efforts being made.
What are alternative fuels? Should we use them or not? Write about the pros and the cons.
What are some ways you could individually reduce your carbon footprint?
What countries are leading the globe on combating climate change? What steps are they taking to lead the way?
What is deforestation and how does it affect the environment?
Many coral reefs are disappearing. Why is that and what kind of actions are scientists taking?
What are sinkholes? Why do they occur?

Film, literature, and art research paper topics

Film, literature, and art are part of what defines a culture. It's not surprising then that there is much to explore when you are thinking about these topics. Here are a few interesting paper topics that pertain to film, literature, and art.

Look at a list of classic films. Pick one and write about why it was so influential.
In the year 2017 it's still quite rare to find a female film director. Pick a favorite female film director and discuss what unique perspectives she adds to film and culture.
There's more of a push to ignore the traditional "canon" of literature because it features a lot of white, male writers. What do this mean and what do you think of it?
Female artists are highly underrepresented in art museums throughout the world. Is it just that there aren't many female artists traditionally? What are some efforts being made to include more female artists?
Some people feel that Hollywood is hypocritical in embracing director Roman Polanski. What makes them feel this way? What events made him a controversial figure?
Read a banned book and research on why the book was banned. What were the circumstances?
They say poetry is a dying art. What do you think? Is poetry still alive and well?

After you've chosen a topic, be sure to get a second opinion

Choosing an interesting research paper topic is often half the battle. Once you get a topic nailed down that you're really fascinated by, it's a lot easier to research and write about it.

After you've written all of the content of your research paper, it's always important to get someone to look over your paper and ensure that it's error-free and makes sense to the reader. If you have any questions, be sure to reach out to your instructor or a parent for advice. Finally, if you want to ensure that your paper doesn't contain any spelling or grammar mistakes, you should consider hiring a professional editor such as one from ServiceScape to take a look at your paper. A professional can help you spot an error that you may have missed and help you achieve clean, easy-to-read copy that is guaranteed to impress.

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100 Interesting Research Paper Topics for High Schoolers

What’s covered:, how to pick the right research topic, elements of a strong research paper.

Interesting Research Paper Topics

Composing a research paper can be a daunting task for first-time writers. In addition to making sure you’re using concise language and your thoughts are organized clearly, you need to find a topic that draws the reader in.

CollegeVine is here to help you brainstorm creative topics! Below are 100 interesting research paper topics that will help you engage with your project and keep you motivated until you’ve typed the final period.

A research paper is similar to an academic essay but more lengthy and requires more research. This added length and depth is bittersweet: although a research paper is more work, you can create a more nuanced argument, and learn more about your topic. Research papers are a demonstration of your research ability and your ability to formulate a convincing argument. How well you’re able to engage with the sources and make original contributions will determine the strength of your paper.

You can’t have a good research paper without a good research paper topic. “Good” is subjective, and different students will find different topics interesting. What’s important is that you find a topic that makes you want to find out more and make a convincing argument. Maybe you’ll be so interested that you’ll want to take it further and investigate some detail in even greater depth!

For example, last year over 4000 students applied for 500 spots in the Lumiere Research Scholar Program , a rigorous research program founded by Harvard researchers. The program pairs high-school students with Ph.D. mentors to work 1-on-1 on an independent research project . The program actually does not require you to have a research topic in mind when you apply, but pro tip: the more specific you can be the more likely you are to get in!

Introduction

The introduction to a research paper serves two critical functions: it conveys the topic of the paper and illustrates how you will address it. A strong introduction will also pique the interest of the reader and make them excited to read more. Selecting a research paper topic that is meaningful, interesting, and fascinates you is an excellent first step toward creating an engaging paper that people will want to read.

Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is technically part of the introduction—generally the last sentence of it—but is so important that it merits a section of its own. The thesis statement is a declarative sentence that tells the reader what the paper is about. A strong thesis statement serves three purposes: present the topic of the paper, deliver a clear opinion on the topic, and summarize the points the paper will cover.

An example of a good thesis statement of diversity in the workforce is:

Diversity in the workplace is not just a moral imperative but also a strategic advantage for businesses, as it fosters innovation, enhances creativity, improves decision-making, and enables companies to better understand and connect with a diverse customer base.

The body is the largest section of a research paper. It’s here where you support your thesis, present your facts and research, and persuade the reader.

Each paragraph in the body of a research paper should have its own idea. The idea is presented, generally in the first sentence of the paragraph, by a topic sentence. The topic sentence acts similarly to the thesis statement, only on a smaller scale, and every sentence in the paragraph with it supports the idea it conveys.

An example of a topic sentence on how diversity in the workplace fosters innovation is:

Diversity in the workplace fosters innovation by bringing together individuals with different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences, which stimulates creativity, encourages new ideas, and leads to the development of innovative solutions to complex problems.

The body of an engaging research paper flows smoothly from one idea to the next. Create an outline before writing and order your ideas so that each idea logically leads to another.

The conclusion of a research paper should summarize your thesis and reinforce your argument. It’s common to restate the thesis in the conclusion of a research paper.

For example, a conclusion for a paper about diversity in the workforce is:

In conclusion, diversity in the workplace is vital to success in the modern business world. By embracing diversity, companies can tap into the full potential of their workforce, promote creativity and innovation, and better connect with a diverse customer base, ultimately leading to greater success and a more prosperous future for all.

Reference Page

The reference page is normally found at the end of a research paper. It provides proof that you did research using credible sources, properly credits the originators of information, and prevents plagiarism.

There are a number of different formats of reference pages, including APA, MLA, and Chicago. Make sure to format your reference page in your teacher’s preferred style.

Analyze the benefits of diversity in education.
Are charter schools useful for the national education system?
How has modern technology changed teaching?
Discuss the pros and cons of standardized testing.
What are the benefits of a gap year between high school and college?
What funding allocations give the most benefit to students?
Does homeschooling set students up for success?
Should universities/high schools require students to be vaccinated?
What effect does rising college tuition have on high schoolers?
Do students perform better in same-sex schools?
Discuss and analyze the impacts of a famous musician on pop music.
How has pop music evolved over the past decade?
How has the portrayal of women in music changed in the media over the past decade?
How does a synthesizer work?
How has music evolved to feature different instruments/voices?
How has sound effect technology changed the music industry?
Analyze the benefits of music education in high schools.
Are rehabilitation centers more effective than prisons?
Are congestion taxes useful?
Does affirmative action help minorities?
Can a capitalist system effectively reduce inequality?
Is a three-branch government system effective?
What causes polarization in today’s politics?
Is the U.S. government racially unbiased?
Choose a historical invention and discuss its impact on society today.
Choose a famous historical leader who lost power—what led to their eventual downfall?
How has your country evolved over the past century?
What historical event has had the largest effect on the U.S.?
Has the government’s response to national disasters improved or declined throughout history?
Discuss the history of the American occupation of Iraq.
Explain the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Is literature relevant in modern society?
Discuss how fiction can be used for propaganda.
How does literature teach and inform about society?
Explain the influence of children’s literature on adulthood.
How has literature addressed homosexuality?
Does the media portray minorities realistically?
Does the media reinforce stereotypes?
Why have podcasts become so popular?
Will streaming end traditional television?
What is a patriot?
What are the pros and cons of global citizenship?
What are the causes and effects of bullying?
Why has the divorce rate in the U.S. been declining in recent years?
Is it more important to follow social norms or religion?
What are the responsible limits on abortion, if any?
How does an MRI machine work?
Would the U.S. benefit from socialized healthcare?
Elderly populations
The education system
State tax bases
How do anti-vaxxers affect the health of the country?
Analyze the costs and benefits of diet culture.
Should companies allow employees to exercise on company time?
What is an adequate amount of exercise for an adult per week/per month/per day?
Discuss the effects of the obesity epidemic on American society.
Are students smarter since the advent of the internet?
What departures has the internet made from its original design?
Has digital downloading helped the music industry?
Discuss the benefits and costs of stricter internet censorship.
Analyze the effects of the internet on the paper news industry.
What would happen if the internet went out?
How will artificial intelligence (AI) change our lives?
What are the pros and cons of cryptocurrency?
How has social media affected the way people relate with each other?
Should social media have an age restriction?
Discuss the importance of source software.
What is more relevant in today’s world: mobile apps or websites?
How will fully autonomous vehicles change our lives?
How is text messaging affecting teen literacy?

Mental Health

What are the benefits of daily exercise?
How has social media affected people’s mental health?
What things contribute to poor mental and physical health?
Analyze how mental health is talked about in pop culture.
Discuss the pros and cons of more counselors in high schools.
How does stress affect the body?
How do emotional support animals help people?
What are black holes?
Discuss the biggest successes and failures of the EPA.
How has the Flint water crisis affected life in Michigan?
Can science help save endangered species?
Is the development of an anti-cancer vaccine possible?

Environment

What are the effects of deforestation on climate change?
Is climate change reversible?
How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect global warming and climate change?
Are carbon credits effective for offsetting emissions or just marketing?
Is nuclear power a safe alternative to fossil fuels?
Are hybrid vehicles helping to control pollution in the atmosphere?
How is plastic waste harming the environment?
Is entrepreneurism a trait people are born with or something they learn?
How much more should CEOs make than their average employee?
Can you start a business without money?
Should the U.S. raise the minimum wage?
Discuss how happy employees benefit businesses.
How important is branding for a business?
Discuss the ease, or difficulty, of landing a job today.
What is the economic impact of sporting events?
Are professional athletes overpaid?
Should male and female athletes receive equal pay?
What is a fair and equitable way for transgender athletes to compete in high school sports?
What are the benefits of playing team sports?
What is the most corrupt professional sport?

Where to Get More Research Paper Topic Ideas

If you need more help brainstorming topics, especially those that are personalized to your interests, you can use CollegeVine’s free AI tutor, Ivy . Ivy can help you come up with original research topic ideas, and she can also help with the rest of your homework, from math to languages.

Disclaimer: This post includes content sponsored by Lumiere Education.

Writing a literature review

Find out how to write a lit review.

What is a literature review ?

A literature review explores and evaluates the literature on a specific topic or question. It synthesises the contributions of the different authors, often to identify areas that need further exploration.

You may be required to write a literature review as a standalone document or part of a larger body of research, such as a thesis.

The point of a standalone literature review is to demonstrate that you have read widely in your field and you understand the main arguments.
As part of a thesis or research paper, the literature review defines your project by establishing how your work will extend or differ from previous work and what contribution it will make.

What are markers looking for?

In the best literature reviews, the writer:

Has a clear understanding of key concepts within the topic.
Clarifies important definitions and terminology.
Covers the breadth of the specific topic.
Critically discusses the ideas in the literature and evaluates how authors present them.
Clearly indicates a research gap for future enquiry.

How do I write a literature review?

This video outlines a step by step approach to help you evaluate readings, organise ideas and write critically. It provides examples of how to connect, interpret and critique ideas to make sure your voice comes through strongly.

Tips for research, reading and writing

You may be given a specific question to research or broad topics which must be refined to a question that can be reasonably addressed in the time and word limit available.

Use your early reading to help you determine and refine your topic.

Too much literature? You probably need to narrow your scope. Try to identify a more specific issue of interest.
Not enough literature? Your topic may be too specific and needs to be broader.

Start with readings suggested by your lecturers or supervisors. Then, do your own research - the best place to go is the Library Website .

You can also use the Library Guides or speak to a librarian to identify the most useful databases for you and to learn how to search for sources effectively and efficiently.

Cover the field

Make sure your literature search covers a broad range of views and information relevant to your topic. Focussing on a narrow selection of sources may result in a lack of depth. You are not expected to cover all research and scholarly opinions on your topic, but you need to identify and include important viewpoints. A quality literature review examines and evaluates different viewpoints based on the evidence presented, rather than providing only material that reinforces a bias.

Use reading strategies

Survey, skim and scan to find the most relevant articles, and the most relevant parts of those articles. These can be re-read more closely later when you have acquired an overview of your topic.

Take notes as you read

This helps to organise and develop your thoughts. Record your own reactions to the text in your notes, perhaps in a separate column. These notes can form the basis of your critical evaluation of the text. Record any facts, opinions or direct quotes that are likely to be useful to your review, noting the page numbers, author and year.

Stop reading when you have enough

This depends on the word count required of this literature review. A review of one thousand words can only cover the major ideas and probably less than ten references. Longer reviews that form part of a large research paper will include more than fifty. Your tutor or supervisor should be able to suggest a suitable number.

As you read, ask yourself these questions:

Have I answered my question without any obvious gaps?
Have I read this before? Are there any new related issues coming up as I search the literature?
Have I found multiple references which cover the same material or just enough to prove agreement?

There are many possible ways to organise the material. For example:

chronologically
by theoretical perspective
from most to least important
by issue or theme

It is important to remember that you are not merely cataloguing or describing the literature you read. Therefore, you need to choose an organisation that will enable you to compare the various authors' treatment of ideas. This is often best achieved by organising thematically, or grouping ideas into sets of common issues tackled in the various texts. These themes will form the basis of the different threads that are the focus of your study.

A standalone literature review

A standalone literature review is structured much like an academic essay.

Introduction - establish the context for your topic and outline your main contentions about the literature
Main body - explain and support these inferences in the main body
Conclusion - summarise your main points and restate the contention.

The main difference between an essay and this kind of literature review is that an essay focuses on a topic and uses the literature as a support for the arguments. In a standalone literature review, the literature itself is the topic of discussion and evaluation. This means you evaluate and discuss not only the informational content but the quality of the author’s handling of the content.

A literature review as part of a larger research paper?

As part of a larger research paper, the literature review may take many forms, depending on your discipline, your topic and the logic of your research. Traditionally, in empirical research, the literature review is included in the introduction, or a standalone chapter immediately following the introduction. For other forms of research, you may need to engage more extensively with the literature and thus, the literature review may spread over more than one chapter, or even be distributed throughout the thesis.

Start writing early. Writing will clarify your thinking on the topic and reveal any gaps in information and logic. If your ideas change, sections and paragraphs can be reworked to change your contentions or include extra information.

Similarly, draft an overall plan for your review as soon as you are ready, but be prepared to rework sections of it to reflect your developing argument.

The most important thing to remember is that you are writing a review . That means you must move past describing what other authors have written by connecting, interpreting and critiquing their ideas and presenting your own analysis and interpretation.

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Writing Survey Questions

Perhaps the most important part of the survey process is the creation of questions that accurately measure the opinions, experiences and behaviors of the public. Accurate random sampling will be wasted if the information gathered is built on a shaky foundation of ambiguous or biased questions. Creating good measures involves both writing good questions and organizing them to form the questionnaire.

Questionnaire design is a multistage process that requires attention to many details at once. Designing the questionnaire is complicated because surveys can ask about topics in varying degrees of detail, questions can be asked in different ways, and questions asked earlier in a survey may influence how people respond to later questions. Researchers are also often interested in measuring change over time and therefore must be attentive to how opinions or behaviors have been measured in prior surveys.

Surveyors may conduct pilot tests or focus groups in the early stages of questionnaire development in order to better understand how people think about an issue or comprehend a question. Pretesting a survey is an essential step in the questionnaire design process to evaluate how people respond to the overall questionnaire and specific questions, especially when questions are being introduced for the first time.

For many years, surveyors approached questionnaire design as an art, but substantial research over the past forty years has demonstrated that there is a lot of science involved in crafting a good survey questionnaire. Here, we discuss the pitfalls and best practices of designing questionnaires.

Question development

There are several steps involved in developing a survey questionnaire. The first is identifying what topics will be covered in the survey. For Pew Research Center surveys, this involves thinking about what is happening in our nation and the world and what will be relevant to the public, policymakers and the media. We also track opinion on a variety of issues over time so we often ensure that we update these trends on a regular basis to better understand whether people’s opinions are changing.

At Pew Research Center, questionnaire development is a collaborative and iterative process where staff meet to discuss drafts of the questionnaire several times over the course of its development. We frequently test new survey questions ahead of time through qualitative research methods such as focus groups , cognitive interviews, pretesting (often using an online, opt-in sample ), or a combination of these approaches. Researchers use insights from this testing to refine questions before they are asked in a production survey, such as on the ATP.

Measuring change over time

Many surveyors want to track changes over time in people’s attitudes, opinions and behaviors. To measure change, questions are asked at two or more points in time. A cross-sectional design surveys different people in the same population at multiple points in time. A panel, such as the ATP, surveys the same people over time. However, it is common for the set of people in survey panels to change over time as new panelists are added and some prior panelists drop out. Many of the questions in Pew Research Center surveys have been asked in prior polls. Asking the same questions at different points in time allows us to report on changes in the overall views of the general public (or a subset of the public, such as registered voters, men or Black Americans), or what we call “trending the data”.

When measuring change over time, it is important to use the same question wording and to be sensitive to where the question is asked in the questionnaire to maintain a similar context as when the question was asked previously (see question wording and question order for further information). All of our survey reports include a topline questionnaire that provides the exact question wording and sequencing, along with results from the current survey and previous surveys in which we asked the question.

The Center’s transition from conducting U.S. surveys by live telephone interviewing to an online panel (around 2014 to 2020) complicated some opinion trends, but not others. Opinion trends that ask about sensitive topics (e.g., personal finances or attending religious services ) or that elicited volunteered answers (e.g., “neither” or “don’t know”) over the phone tended to show larger differences than other trends when shifting from phone polls to the online ATP. The Center adopted several strategies for coping with changes to data trends that may be related to this change in methodology. If there is evidence suggesting that a change in a trend stems from switching from phone to online measurement, Center reports flag that possibility for readers to try to head off confusion or erroneous conclusions.

Open- and closed-ended questions

One of the most significant decisions that can affect how people answer questions is whether the question is posed as an open-ended question, where respondents provide a response in their own words, or a closed-ended question, where they are asked to choose from a list of answer choices.

For example, in a poll conducted after the 2008 presidential election, people responded very differently to two versions of the question: “What one issue mattered most to you in deciding how you voted for president?” One was closed-ended and the other open-ended. In the closed-ended version, respondents were provided five options and could volunteer an option not on the list.

When explicitly offered the economy as a response, more than half of respondents (58%) chose this answer; only 35% of those who responded to the open-ended version volunteered the economy. Moreover, among those asked the closed-ended version, fewer than one-in-ten (8%) provided a response other than the five they were read. By contrast, fully 43% of those asked the open-ended version provided a response not listed in the closed-ended version of the question. All of the other issues were chosen at least slightly more often when explicitly offered in the closed-ended version than in the open-ended version. (Also see “High Marks for the Campaign, a High Bar for Obama” for more information.)

Researchers will sometimes conduct a pilot study using open-ended questions to discover which answers are most common. They will then develop closed-ended questions based off that pilot study that include the most common responses as answer choices. In this way, the questions may better reflect what the public is thinking, how they view a particular issue, or bring certain issues to light that the researchers may not have been aware of.

When asking closed-ended questions, the choice of options provided, how each option is described, the number of response options offered, and the order in which options are read can all influence how people respond. One example of the impact of how categories are defined can be found in a Pew Research Center poll conducted in January 2002. When half of the sample was asked whether it was “more important for President Bush to focus on domestic policy or foreign policy,” 52% chose domestic policy while only 34% said foreign policy. When the category “foreign policy” was narrowed to a specific aspect – “the war on terrorism” – far more people chose it; only 33% chose domestic policy while 52% chose the war on terrorism.

In most circumstances, the number of answer choices should be kept to a relatively small number – just four or perhaps five at most – especially in telephone surveys. Psychological research indicates that people have a hard time keeping more than this number of choices in mind at one time. When the question is asking about an objective fact and/or demographics, such as the religious affiliation of the respondent, more categories can be used. In fact, they are encouraged to ensure inclusivity. For example, Pew Research Center’s standard religion questions include more than 12 different categories, beginning with the most common affiliations (Protestant and Catholic). Most respondents have no trouble with this question because they can expect to see their religious group within that list in a self-administered survey.

In addition to the number and choice of response options offered, the order of answer categories can influence how people respond to closed-ended questions. Research suggests that in telephone surveys respondents more frequently choose items heard later in a list (a “recency effect”), and in self-administered surveys, they tend to choose items at the top of the list (a “primacy” effect).

Because of concerns about the effects of category order on responses to closed-ended questions, many sets of response options in Pew Research Center’s surveys are programmed to be randomized to ensure that the options are not asked in the same order for each respondent. Rotating or randomizing means that questions or items in a list are not asked in the same order to each respondent. Answers to questions are sometimes affected by questions that precede them. By presenting questions in a different order to each respondent, we ensure that each question gets asked in the same context as every other question the same number of times (e.g., first, last or any position in between). This does not eliminate the potential impact of previous questions on the current question, but it does ensure that this bias is spread randomly across all of the questions or items in the list. For instance, in the example discussed above about what issue mattered most in people’s vote, the order of the five issues in the closed-ended version of the question was randomized so that no one issue appeared early or late in the list for all respondents. Randomization of response items does not eliminate order effects, but it does ensure that this type of bias is spread randomly.

Questions with ordinal response categories – those with an underlying order (e.g., excellent, good, only fair, poor OR very favorable, mostly favorable, mostly unfavorable, very unfavorable) – are generally not randomized because the order of the categories conveys important information to help respondents answer the question. Generally, these types of scales should be presented in order so respondents can easily place their responses along the continuum, but the order can be reversed for some respondents. For example, in one of Pew Research Center’s questions about abortion, half of the sample is asked whether abortion should be “legal in all cases, legal in most cases, illegal in most cases, illegal in all cases,” while the other half of the sample is asked the same question with the response categories read in reverse order, starting with “illegal in all cases.” Again, reversing the order does not eliminate the recency effect but distributes it randomly across the population.

Question wording

The choice of words and phrases in a question is critical in expressing the meaning and intent of the question to the respondent and ensuring that all respondents interpret the question the same way. Even small wording differences can substantially affect the answers people provide.

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An example of a wording difference that had a significant impact on responses comes from a January 2003 Pew Research Center survey. When people were asked whether they would “favor or oppose taking military action in Iraq to end Saddam Hussein’s rule,” 68% said they favored military action while 25% said they opposed military action. However, when asked whether they would “favor or oppose taking military action in Iraq to end Saddam Hussein’s rule even if it meant that U.S. forces might suffer thousands of casualties, ” responses were dramatically different; only 43% said they favored military action, while 48% said they opposed it. The introduction of U.S. casualties altered the context of the question and influenced whether people favored or opposed military action in Iraq.

There has been a substantial amount of research to gauge the impact of different ways of asking questions and how to minimize differences in the way respondents interpret what is being asked. The issues related to question wording are more numerous than can be treated adequately in this short space, but below are a few of the important things to consider:

First, it is important to ask questions that are clear and specific and that each respondent will be able to answer. If a question is open-ended, it should be evident to respondents that they can answer in their own words and what type of response they should provide (an issue or problem, a month, number of days, etc.). Closed-ended questions should include all reasonable responses (i.e., the list of options is exhaustive) and the response categories should not overlap (i.e., response options should be mutually exclusive). Further, it is important to discern when it is best to use forced-choice close-ended questions (often denoted with a radio button in online surveys) versus “select-all-that-apply” lists (or check-all boxes). A 2019 Center study found that forced-choice questions tend to yield more accurate responses, especially for sensitive questions. Based on that research, the Center generally avoids using select-all-that-apply questions.

It is also important to ask only one question at a time. Questions that ask respondents to evaluate more than one concept (known as double-barreled questions) – such as “How much confidence do you have in President Obama to handle domestic and foreign policy?” – are difficult for respondents to answer and often lead to responses that are difficult to interpret. In this example, it would be more effective to ask two separate questions, one about domestic policy and another about foreign policy.

In general, questions that use simple and concrete language are more easily understood by respondents. It is especially important to consider the education level of the survey population when thinking about how easy it will be for respondents to interpret and answer a question. Double negatives (e.g., do you favor or oppose not allowing gays and lesbians to legally marry) or unfamiliar abbreviations or jargon (e.g., ANWR instead of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) can result in respondent confusion and should be avoided.

Similarly, it is important to consider whether certain words may be viewed as biased or potentially offensive to some respondents, as well as the emotional reaction that some words may provoke. For example, in a 2005 Pew Research Center survey, 51% of respondents said they favored “making it legal for doctors to give terminally ill patients the means to end their lives,” but only 44% said they favored “making it legal for doctors to assist terminally ill patients in committing suicide.” Although both versions of the question are asking about the same thing, the reaction of respondents was different. In another example, respondents have reacted differently to questions using the word “welfare” as opposed to the more generic “assistance to the poor.” Several experiments have shown that there is much greater public support for expanding “assistance to the poor” than for expanding “welfare.”

We often write two versions of a question and ask half of the survey sample one version of the question and the other half the second version. Thus, we say we have two forms of the questionnaire. Respondents are assigned randomly to receive either form, so we can assume that the two groups of respondents are essentially identical. On questions where two versions are used, significant differences in the answers between the two forms tell us that the difference is a result of the way we worded the two versions.

One of the most common formats used in survey questions is the “agree-disagree” format. In this type of question, respondents are asked whether they agree or disagree with a particular statement. Research has shown that, compared with the better educated and better informed, less educated and less informed respondents have a greater tendency to agree with such statements. This is sometimes called an “acquiescence bias” (since some kinds of respondents are more likely to acquiesce to the assertion than are others). This behavior is even more pronounced when there’s an interviewer present, rather than when the survey is self-administered. A better practice is to offer respondents a choice between alternative statements. A Pew Research Center experiment with one of its routinely asked values questions illustrates the difference that question format can make. Not only does the forced choice format yield a very different result overall from the agree-disagree format, but the pattern of answers between respondents with more or less formal education also tends to be very different.

One other challenge in developing questionnaires is what is called “social desirability bias.” People have a natural tendency to want to be accepted and liked, and this may lead people to provide inaccurate answers to questions that deal with sensitive subjects. Research has shown that respondents understate alcohol and drug use, tax evasion and racial bias. They also may overstate church attendance, charitable contributions and the likelihood that they will vote in an election. Researchers attempt to account for this potential bias in crafting questions about these topics. For instance, when Pew Research Center surveys ask about past voting behavior, it is important to note that circumstances may have prevented the respondent from voting: “In the 2012 presidential election between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, did things come up that kept you from voting, or did you happen to vote?” The choice of response options can also make it easier for people to be honest. For example, a question about church attendance might include three of six response options that indicate infrequent attendance. Research has also shown that social desirability bias can be greater when an interviewer is present (e.g., telephone and face-to-face surveys) than when respondents complete the survey themselves (e.g., paper and web surveys).

Lastly, because slight modifications in question wording can affect responses, identical question wording should be used when the intention is to compare results to those from earlier surveys. Similarly, because question wording and responses can vary based on the mode used to survey respondents, researchers should carefully evaluate the likely effects on trend measurements if a different survey mode will be used to assess change in opinion over time.

Question order

Once the survey questions are developed, particular attention should be paid to how they are ordered in the questionnaire. Surveyors must be attentive to how questions early in a questionnaire may have unintended effects on how respondents answer subsequent questions. Researchers have demonstrated that the order in which questions are asked can influence how people respond; earlier questions can unintentionally provide context for the questions that follow (these effects are called “order effects”).

One kind of order effect can be seen in responses to open-ended questions. Pew Research Center surveys generally ask open-ended questions about national problems, opinions about leaders and similar topics near the beginning of the questionnaire. If closed-ended questions that relate to the topic are placed before the open-ended question, respondents are much more likely to mention concepts or considerations raised in those earlier questions when responding to the open-ended question.

For closed-ended opinion questions, there are two main types of order effects: contrast effects ( where the order results in greater differences in responses), and assimilation effects (where responses are more similar as a result of their order).

An example of a contrast effect can be seen in a Pew Research Center poll conducted in October 2003, a dozen years before same-sex marriage was legalized in the U.S. That poll found that people were more likely to favor allowing gays and lesbians to enter into legal agreements that give them the same rights as married couples when this question was asked after one about whether they favored or opposed allowing gays and lesbians to marry (45% favored legal agreements when asked after the marriage question, but 37% favored legal agreements without the immediate preceding context of a question about same-sex marriage). Responses to the question about same-sex marriage, meanwhile, were not significantly affected by its placement before or after the legal agreements question.

Another experiment embedded in a December 2008 Pew Research Center poll also resulted in a contrast effect. When people were asked “All in all, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in this country today?” immediately after having been asked “Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president?”; 88% said they were dissatisfied, compared with only 78% without the context of the prior question.

Responses to presidential approval remained relatively unchanged whether national satisfaction was asked before or after it. A similar finding occurred in December 2004 when both satisfaction and presidential approval were much higher (57% were dissatisfied when Bush approval was asked first vs. 51% when general satisfaction was asked first).

Several studies also have shown that asking a more specific question before a more general question (e.g., asking about happiness with one’s marriage before asking about one’s overall happiness) can result in a contrast effect. Although some exceptions have been found, people tend to avoid redundancy by excluding the more specific question from the general rating.

Assimilation effects occur when responses to two questions are more consistent or closer together because of their placement in the questionnaire. We found an example of an assimilation effect in a Pew Research Center poll conducted in November 2008 when we asked whether Republican leaders should work with Obama or stand up to him on important issues and whether Democratic leaders should work with Republican leaders or stand up to them on important issues. People were more likely to say that Republican leaders should work with Obama when the question was preceded by the one asking what Democratic leaders should do in working with Republican leaders (81% vs. 66%). However, when people were first asked about Republican leaders working with Obama, fewer said that Democratic leaders should work with Republican leaders (71% vs. 82%).

The order questions are asked is of particular importance when tracking trends over time. As a result, care should be taken to ensure that the context is similar each time a question is asked. Modifying the context of the question could call into question any observed changes over time (see measuring change over time for more information).

A questionnaire, like a conversation, should be grouped by topic and unfold in a logical order. It is often helpful to begin the survey with simple questions that respondents will find interesting and engaging. Throughout the survey, an effort should be made to keep the survey interesting and not overburden respondents with several difficult questions right after one another. Demographic questions such as income, education or age should not be asked near the beginning of a survey unless they are needed to determine eligibility for the survey or for routing respondents through particular sections of the questionnaire. Even then, it is best to precede such items with more interesting and engaging questions. One virtue of survey panels like the ATP is that demographic questions usually only need to be asked once a year, not in each survey.

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Study explores possible future for early Alzheimer's diagnostics

Digital memory test and a blood sample -- this combination will be tested for its potential to identify early Alzheimer's disease in a new research study. Over a hundred healthcare centers are part of the study that is now inviting participants to sign up. At least 3,000, preferably many more participants are needed for the study to be successful.

The REAL AD study is the first of its kind in terms of focus and scope. Principal investigators are the University of Gothenburg and the Västra Götaland Region, VGR, which represents a model region for Swedish healthcare. All hundred-plus care centers within VGR Närhälsan, one of the largest primary care providers in Sweden, are included in the study, together with some additional sampling sites.

REAL AD addresses all people aged 50-80 who do not have a diagnosis of dementia and who can go to a care center within VGR Närhälsan. Anyone who meets the criteria can participate regardless of which health center they are listed at.

Tests of memory and thinking ability at home

Starting point is a digital study portal, available in Swedish, English, Finnish and Arabic, where participants receive all information about the study and clear instructions about the next steps. First, cognition, i.e. memory and thinking ability, is tested at home using digital tools for three months. Participants are then invited to provide a blood sample at any of the 111 sampling points around VGR. Participants can complete the digital cognition tests in three additional rounds, after 18, 27 and 36 months, and provide a second blood sample after 18 months. The tests are relatively quick and can be done in all four languages.

The study is led by Michael Schöll, professor at Gothenburg University and research group leader in close collaboration with the co-investigators and a team of project leaders.

- REAL AD is a seriously ambitious project, and it has been an enormous challenge to democratize the study design. It must reflect both urban and rural areas, be accessible to as many participants as possible and involve the entire VGR Närhälsan, which means that even the most remote healthcare centers must be able to participate in terms of sample handling and transport, he says.

Signs of Alzheimer's in a simple blood test

Central hub of the study is a laboratory environment in neurochemistry, located at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg and the Sahlgrenska University Hospital Mölndal, with professors Kaj Blennow and Henrik Zetterberg at the helm. The researchers will study so-called Alzheimer's biomarkers in the participants' blood samples, which have been shown to be early signs of the disease.

In addition, a separate study will then be conducted enrolling a smaller number of randomly selected participants who are also thoroughly examined clinically at Sahlgrenska University Hospital to confirm the results of the digital cognition tests and blood analyses. The clinical part of the study is carried out at the university hospital memory clinic in collaboration with professor and senior physician Silke Kern.

Knowledge base for healthcare and research

The research focuses on the potential for early diagnosis based on digital cognitive tests and blood markers. If the combination of the tools works to detect early signs of disease in the general population, the hope is that they will be used in primary care in the future to follow individuals over time and identify Alzheimer's with greater certainty and much earlier than is often the case today.

"The need for earlier diagnosis is widely accepted, also in view of the new treatments that are around the corner. Many if not most diagnoses are made in primary care in Sweden, so diagnostics must be strengthened there, and knowledge is needed about whether it will be feasible to screen for Alzheimer's in the general population. In the short term, society does not have the resources to establish a lot of new specialized memory clinics," says Michael Schöll.

"The study is important, and the timing is perfect. We are closer than ever before to a treatment option for Alzheimer's, but we are not sufficiently prepared," he says.

The study needs at least 3,000 participants but has capacity to enroll up to 10,000 volunteers. It is accompanied by information via Närhälsan and several other marketing efforts.

Research ethics do not allow researchers to share individual information with participants since experimental tools are used. Individuals do thus not receive a cognitive rating or diagnosis, and their participation is unpaid.

"What we are offering is participation in a community where we will actively inform about progresses in Alzheimer's research, also via information meetings, which we know many people are asking for. By participating in the study, you also help our healthcare to prepare for an enormous challenge," concludes Michael Schöll.

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