100 + High School Research Paper Topics

Have you ever noticed how writing a paper can be such a difficult thing? It’s often a really difficult process from start to beginning. One of the most difficult aspects of writing a paper is in fact coming up with something initially. All the more often, teachers are giving their students a chance to pick their topic and theme. Now as this can sound like a great thing (free reign), it can often create option paralysis as students are left wondering what to pick from the multitude of potential topics out there. So what will you do if you’re confronted with this pressure?

Fortunately for you, we have compiled a long list of potential research paper topics for high school that can be used at your disposal. To make things easy, we have put them in different categories so that you can choose what works best for you, with topics on all sorts of themes. Whether you’re looking for chemistry research paper topics for high school or are more interested in what kinds of physics research paper topics high school teachers would be interested in, there’s more than enough for you to look at here. We really hope that some of the topics that we’re about to present will be of some use to you and will spark some imagination.

Writing Tips

Hopefully, by the end of this article, you will have come up with a rough research paper topic. Before you can really get stuck into writing, it’s important that you consider a number of points which will help your writing shine. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Sources of information

Once you have come up with the backbone for your paper, i.e. the topic, the information that you gather will be crucial towards the execution of the essay. It is important that one gathers enough relevant information to aid them with their writing. There is no point in beginning writing without knowing what you’re going to write about! Not all sources of information will be ideal either. For an account of gender equality in the 21st-century, one needn’t quote a psychopath’s opinion as a reliable representation of contemporary attitudes! We recommend that you get your info from textbooks, books published by reputable publishers and peer-reviewed articles. Preparation in advance is what will set you apart from others.

Types of Research Question

Every research paper needs a terrific research question. Before you go ahead and write your own question, take note of the three different types. It will really help you in forming a coherent and logical question.

1. Descriptive questions – these carefully observe some sort of event or phenomenon and describe what it is in detail. This has to be done in a manner that is both important and interesting.

2. Comparative – these types of questions looking to the differences and similarities between one or more entities.

3. Causal – this research question is concerned with variables and how they change. It is all about investigating a causal relationship.

What Makes a Great Research Paper Topic?

1. Attention to detail, providing concrete and specific insights.

2. Originality, investigating something which may not have been researched before.

3. Research which is relevant and useful in some field.

4. A topic that is highly relevant to our time.

5. It is possible to write a great topic about quirky or odd subject.

General Topics

• Mohammed’s life and its effect on 21st-century living

• A research paper into the changing components of a telescope over the years.

• How safe is drinking water coming from lead pipes?

• The impact that Jesus’s life has had on contemporary life

• The history of the Berlin Wall

• How have attitudes towards evolution changed in the last hundred years?

• Defective earthquakes and groundwater – a research study.

• Which event in the civil rights movement can be regarded as the most poignant?

• How have we experienced changing attitudes in religious education in the last 50 years?

• How have attitudes towards the abolition of slavery changed over time?

• How can we make our buildings more hurricane proof?

• What branches of government are the most powerful today?

• How can architects design buildings to make them more resistant to earthquakes?

• How can we change our environment better to reduce flood impacts?

• What is good teaching composed of?

• What is the effect of moisture on the level of photosynthesis in desert plants?

• What is the difference between a prison and jail?

• What responsibility does the council have for protecting wildlife?

• The effect of Nazi propaganda in today’s society

• How have teaching methods change in the past hundred years?

• The history of the American Revolution

• The impact of the Reformation

• Gender equality and the differences towards conservative and liberal positions.

• The impact of the Muslim faith in the last 100 years

• The sociological impact of classical music in today’s society.

• How safe are GM foods?

• How has an attitude towards science education changed in the last century?

• The impact of deforestation on microbiology.

• Changing attitudes towards gender equality.

• The impact of the Jewish faith in the last hundred years.

• Will a reduction in paper waste save trees?

• The impact of the war on drugs.

• The impact of Jesus’ life in Nazareth in the 21st century

• How can we make a positive impact on our environment?

• The history of the Gutenberg printing press

• How has Theodore Roosevelt performed well as a military leader?

• How can we plan our cities better to prevent flooding?

• Do we need more films about environmental issues to be made?

• The impact of the Catholic faith in the 21st century

• How can we take efforts to reduce global warming?

• The political impacts of dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

• The impact of World War II on far-right extremism

• The impact that the Quakers have had in society

• What is the biblical account of the origin of sin?

• What do we need to do to reduce the amount of racism in society?

• How safe is our political system in terms of polarization?

• Research paper on the effects of medical ethics in gene splicing technology.

• Political impacts of dropping atomic bombs.

• A study into the barriers towards wildlife conservation.

• A research study on the effects of CO2 on climate change.

• How safe is nuclear power?

• How have attitudes towards the death penalty changed in the last hundred years?

• The impact that World War I has had on the 21st century

• How has the treatment of prisoners changed over the past hundred years?

• How can one live to be over a hundred years old? A study of nutrition.

Medium Complexity Level Topics

• What kind of issues prompted the Russian Revolution and the subsequent assassination of Alexander II?

• How can one call the American Revolution profitable for women’s rights? A research study on feminism in the last hundred years.

• Changing attitudes for China’s government on teaching methods.

• The changing quality of air pollution and how it impacts on people’s health.

• The effective climate on European development.

• Education and disability a research study.

• Socio-economic factors that affect the level of violence in sport.

• Changing attitudes in the media towards racism

• The floors of the current American prison system.

• The impact of radioactive waste on groundwater around the world.

• Attitudes towards carbon trading.

• Identity politics in the 21st century.

• The use of cryptography in the prison system by gang leaders.

• The different factors that increase American obesity between the ages of 15 to 30.

• How are we going to get off this planet? A study of existential problems.

• How has standardized testing changed our education system?

• Do college graduates actually make more money than those who have not graduated from college?

• Does education need to be cheap for everybody?

• How will modern technology adapt to teach more people effectively in the future?

• Learning methods for disabled and blind children

• School life and social networking a research study.

• The changing attitudes towards teaching methods in the last hundred years.

• Changing roles in lesson planning over the past century.

Difficult Complexity Level

• What factors have caused fewer people to believe in God over time?

• A study of changing attitudes around mental health.

• Study into the long-term effects of LSD on cognitive function.

• Should one have the right to appeal their sentence at all times?

• The impacts of Brexit on food subsidies.

• Animal testing in the 21st-century.

• What are the significant and poignant effects of GM foods on our health today?

• Why is religious belief decreasing in popularity?

• The influence of pre-election polls on American voting behavior.

• How has reform in drugs policy impacted the youth of the United States of America?

• A research paper into motor skill development at the age of two.

• Medical marijuana the pros and cons..

• A study into the long-time effects of DMT on the brain.

• The death penalty and changing attitudes over the past hundred years.

• A study of drug overdose and clinical care.

• A study and research paper efficacy of vaccinations for children.

• A research project on cognitive development in toddlers.

• How has the film Spotlight and others of a similar nature changed 21st-century attitudes around religion?

• A study into divorce rates and their effect on child psychology.

• The roles of placebo treatment a research study.

• Why have religious leaders been bickering so much recently?

• The changing attitudes towards the themes of Plato’s Republic.

• The efficacy of veganism.

• How have new immigrants forms impacted on EU migrants?

• The impact of medical ethics on abortion rights.

• What needs to be done by administrators in schools to decrease the numbers of students who are addicted to drugs?

• What roles do religious leaders face in our society?

• Does the Vatican have the right to house suspected criminals?

• What are some of the most important factors that affect the self-esteem of teenagers?

• A study into the development of social skills between the ages of three and five.

• Do we need life-sustaining therapy for the seriously and critically ill?

• How do men cope with body dysmorphia?

• Does Conservative ideology have any place in today’s society?

Go Find your Ultimate Topic

We hope that a lot of these topics will serve as great starting points for an essay. You won’t necessarily need to copy them word for word, but do use them as a springboard for ideas. Hopefully, our categorization of different levels of complexity will help you find the research topic for you. Remember that with the hardest category, some of these topics may seem a little difficult, yet they are perfect for high school students. After all, don’t you want to impress your teacher? Show them that you have knowledge. As an example do you want to write a bog standard paper on climate change impacts or one that discusses our changing attitudes towards microbiology and climate change? Get creative with our topics. We’ve included loads of great biology research paper topics high school teachers will be interested in.

As with any piece of writing, choose something that you have an interest in. It is best to write your essay on a subject close to your heart rather than grind your way through something tedious and less interesting. A lot of students also take a risk by choosing what looks easiest. This is not the best attitude because you will not have much to say if you do this. Go with your gut and choose a subject which really is best for you. We’ve helped out by providing everything from sociological to medical research paper topics for high school students – now it’s your time to shine. Hopefully with our help today, you can finish your paper to the best of your ability. Good luck with your writing!