150 Interesting Research Topics for 2021 [List]

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Finding good research topics is always the first step toward a successful essay. Without a feasible, appropriate, and fascinating subject, you risk working at something initially only to discover that your topic is boring or lacks possible information to support its arguments.

In this article, I would like to list 150 interesting research topics you can use for your school work. I sorted the list based on their year level and subject to make browsing easier.

If you want a more thorough explanation for some of my Top 10 Research Topics for the year 2021, check out the post below.

I. Research Topic Ideas per Year Level

A. Research Topics for Middle School Students

Middle school in the United States starts from Grades 6 and ends in Grade 8. This is usually the beginning when students are encouraged to think critically and apply their solutions to real-world problems. Thus, interesting research topics for middle school should focus on close scrutiny of the world they live in and applying theoretical knowledge to real-life scenarios.

Based on these criteria, here are some research topics for middle school students for the year 2021.

  1. Why should school days be shorter?
  2. Cost-benefit analysis of homework
  3. Should students focus on sports or academics?
  4. Is wearing school uniforms for middle school students still beneficial today?
  5. Should students be sanctioned for using vulgar language?
  6. The benefits of year-round academic schooling for middle schoolers.
  7. Are physical education classes feasible during online classes?
  8. Should high school students be required to undertake volunteer work?
  9. Benefits of banning junk foods in schools
  10. Should middle-school students start learning a second language?
  11. Single-gender vs. co-ed schools for middle schoolers
  12. What is the most important school subject?
  13. Letter grading or number grading system?
  14. Is face-to-face still superior to online classes?
  15. Should a student’s handwriting be graded?
  16. Are there instances when cheating is justified?
  17. Student flunkers should always be given a test retake
  18. Are teacher evaluation surveys among students legit?
  19. School should be a pet-friendly and pet-accommodating place
  20. Should students be given longer recess times?
  21. Is it better to be academically excellent or street smart?
  22. Should internet access be subsidized by the state?
  23. Should smartphones be allowed in class for middle school students?
  24. Do students learn from using social media?
  25. Should all documents be ‘digitized’ already?

B. Research Topics for High School Students

As compared to middle school, high school students are those from grades 9 onwards. Having developed the foundation for their critical-thinking skills in middle school, high school students are now interested in developing their autonomy, developing community consciousness, and finding avenues for self-expression, among others. This is also the best time for students to think about their future education, career, and life, to name a few. As such, here are some of the best research topics for high school students.

  1. What are the benefits of daily exercise?
  2. Does the internet help news dissemination or proliferate fake news information?
  3. How do anti-vaxxers endanger public health and the economy?
  4. Is the decriminalization of drugs effective? What should be the best way to tackle the drug problem if not?
  5. How has music helped shape the American culture?
  6. Are carbon taxes helpful for reducing the effects of climate change?
  7. Should we change our republican government to a parliamentary one
  8. Does affirmative action promote racial inequality or promotes racism?
  9. Is the current high school educational system diverse?
  10. What are the ways to reduce the carbon footprint in the household?
  11. How does stress affect the immune system?
  12. Methods to reduce stress among high school students
  13. Is homeschooling better than traditional learning systems?
  14. Does poverty affect educational affinity?
  15. Is higher education still worth it in today’s society?
  16. Are congestion taxes helpful?
  17. Advantages and disadvantages of the capitalist system in today’s world
  18. Research on a famous invention that changed human history
  19. Are the rising prices of university education worth its return in the future?
  20. How does Shakespear manifest romanticism in his work?
  21. Are the current standardized testing methods enough to test students’ proficiency?
  22. History of the two-party system in the United States
  23. What were the significant milestones in the American occupation of Iraq?
  24. How did the end of the Cold War lead to the ‘Westernization’ of other nation-states around the globe?
  25. Did the advent of the internet make students smarter?

C. Research Topics for College Students

College represents the phase in one’s academic life where the student starts to specialize in one field of study. However, compared to Masters’ and Ph.D. degrees, a significant portion of your college life would still be dedicated to general education subjects, which may include English composition, foreign language, natural sciences, and arts and humanities, to name a few.

Nevertheless, college students are expected to be better and more apt in researching, considering that they should have developed this in high school. Thus, research topics for college students should also reflect a level of ‘advancement’ and ‘critical thinking’ compared to research topics for high school students.

Research Paper Topics for College Students 2021
Research Paper Topics for College Students 2021 | Image by John Schnobrich taken from Unsplash.com

The following are some research topic examples for college and university students this 2021.

  1. Should the limits of Freedom of Speech as guaranteed by the First Amendment be strictly limited?
  2. How do we reduce the effects of fake news on social media platforms from affecting public sentiment and opinion?
  3. How did the Harlem Renaissance help in promoting racial equality around the world?
  4. What were the lasting effects of the French Revolution on Modern-day Europe?
  5. Effective gun laws and regulations of other countries that the US can learn from
  6. Is democracy really backsliding?
  7. Should the race for making new GMOs be stopped or encouraged?
  8. Is depression common among college and university students in [your] university?
  9. How do we provide holistic care to patients who do not have the means to avail treatment?
  10. Are the current maternity leave credits given to mothers, not enough?
  11. What healthcare reforms should be prioritized after the Covid-19 Pandemic?
  12. Common causes of illnesses among university students in the United States
  13. Should university schooling be given for free?
  14. How widespread is plagiarism, and how to reduce its proliferation in colleges?
  15. How do we delineate between cyberbullying and freedom of speech and expression?
  16. Dangers of recent technological developments (i.e., machine learning)? How to reduce these dangers?
  17. Differences in family configuration between families from different culture
  18. Are addiction and substance abuse common among healthcare professionals?
  19. Susceptibility to abuse of husbands in the United States
  20. Future and limits of space exploration
  21. How can college students help in ecological conservation?
  22. How much does the Carbon tax reduce the global carbon footprint across countries?
  23. The New World Order – are wars really fought across different fronts?
  24. Should the United Nations be given more “firepower”?
  25. How do we use statistical analysis and simulation to reduce client queues?

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II. Research Topic Ideas per Subject

If you find it hard to look for interesting research topics from our previous list, here’s another batch of entries for our ‘Interesting Research Topics 2021’. Most of the following topics are college or university-level, and you can browse our list of research topics to make it easier for you to start your paper.

If you still can’t find interesting and unique research paper ideas that would captivate your audience, send us a message, and we’ll be more than happy to find one for you.

A. Science Research Topics

Doing research in college is very common, especially for the hard sciences. In most cases, research may be done through qualitative or quantitative methods. Knowing which method to use is crucial before you choose among our science research topics since it would help determine the feasibility and difficulty of your research protocol.

Science Research Topics | Research Paper Topics 2021
Science Research Topics | Interesting Research Topics 2021 | Image by Jesse Orrico taken from Unsplash.com

 

Here are some science research topics that you can choose from. Check out our other entries for the ‘Interesting Research Topics 2021’.

  1. Advances in DNA structure study and Genetic Modification in the 21st Century
  2. The Darwinian Evolution and the progress of humankind
  3. Benefits and Disadvantages of GMO Plants
  4. How much sunlight does an average college student receive?
  5. The role of neurobiology in artificial intelligence development.
  6. The ability to live organisms to adapt to changing environments.
  7. Conservation efforts vs. the capitalist system
  8. How to do organic farming in tight spaces
  9.  The history and possible trajectory of vaccine development
  10. Promising advancements in medical technology
  11. How do college students eat? Analyzing the diet of an American student
  12. Use of statistics and programming in healthcare technology
  13. How do we mitigate the risks of Artificial Intelligence?
  14. How reliable are self-driving cars?
  15. Evolution of war technology
  16. Is eco-friendly packaging really eco-friendly?
  17. Advancements in Artificial Technology for addressing healthcare issues
  18. The rising health risks of technological addiction
  19. Blockchain technology and promising applications
  20. The promise of cryogenics – is it safe and feasible?
  21. Advancements in nanotechnology for treating cancer
  22. Can humans cross the observable end of the universe?
  23. Human colonization of Mars – the final threshold
  24. Is love real? Understanding the role of chemicals in the body
  25. Best technologies that would aid humanity in the next 20 years

 B. Behavioral and Social Science Research Topics

While the hard sciences may focus on natural events and phenomena, social science research topics may be more inclined towards ‘softer sciences.’ Thus, this may lead to more frequent use of qualitative or mixed-method studies, especially in fields like Psychology, Anthropology, and Political Science, to name a few.

The following list is our next entry for the article ‘Interesting Research Topics 2021’ in the social sciences.

  1. Class conflict in modern-day America
  2. How powerful is social media in influencing political elections?
  3. Social Media and modern-day mass movements (i.e.,#MeToo)
  4. Systemic racism in today’s the United States government
  5. The Sociology of Food Insecurity among the urban poor
  6. McDonaldization of commodities in today’s capitalist system
  7. The shifting structure and function of the family in the 21st Century
  8. Decoding Erikson’s psychosocial theory between generations
  9. Correlation between media violence and violent behavior among children
  10. Should we declare ‘social media addiction’ an illness?
  11. How is the ‘play’ process in the child’s development affected by the Covid-19 pandemic?
  12. Permissive vs. authoritative parenting – which is more effective?
  13. How effective is online counseling in treating mental health issues?
  14. The anthropology of food and migration in the United States
  15. Cultural relativism – are all cultures really made equal?
  16. The American Dream – Is migration to the United States still worth it?
  17. Global Security Network Analysis
  18. The causes and the lasting effects of the American Revolution
  19. Is there a gender bias in custody battles between parents?
  20. Racial profiling as an embodiment of systemic racism in the United States
  21. The Russo-Ukrainian Conflict – How does the United States fit in all these?
  22. Analysis of Foucault’s Disciplinary Powers
  23. How to eliminate corruption in the government?
  24. Should religion be taxed in the United States?
  25. The history and trajectory of the Syrian Conflict

C. Humanities Research Topics

While the term humanities may differ in terms of scope and definition, most would suggest that this refers to the “studies of the inner world of self and the ways which it functions and perceives things.” This may include the arts, language and literature, and other related fields of study. In line with this, the following list provides some of our chosen humanities research topics that we can add to our entry for the article ‘Interesting Research Topics 2021’.

  1. Reconciling technology and the religious mind
  2. The media and migration narratives
  3. Should art be liberalized using digital media?
  4. Understanding selfless terms in various languages
  5. The bible and the development of the US Democracy
  6. Applying Cartesian dualism in today’s society
  7. Are humans really born a blank slate (tabula rasa)?
  8. Should assisted suicide to be accepted across the world?
  9. How should we balance human necessity and ecological conservationism?
  10. Is human cloning ethical?
  11. The Turing Test – when is a computer human?
  12. Is there a Fourth Wave of Feminism?
  13. Fate vs. Free Will – which is more probable?
  14. Should a conscientious objection be allowed during a state of war?
  15. Is the theory of Panpsychism correct?
  16. Application of traditional moral dilemmas in the modern-day world
  17. How can philosophical anarchism be used to prevent the downfall of democracy?
  18. The secrets of Da Vinci’s paintings
  19. The political extremism in Picasso’s Guernica
  20. The line between religion and art – Decoding Andres Serrano’s Piss Christ
  21. Understanding sexuality and the art – Why are most women subject to art pieces nude?
  22. The invisible art piece – can an art piece not exist?
  23. How can we use Plato’s philosophy in the modern world?
  24. Why is the number of European Catholics dwindling?
  25. Does philosophy have any capitalist value?

 

The following lists above show some of the unique research paper ideas that qualify as part of our ‘Interesting Research Topics 2021’. One thing that makes them good research topic examples is that they are unique, timely, and interesting for the years to come.

Nonetheless, if you still cannot find a good one from the list of research topics above, you can send us an email or a message, and we’ll be more than happy to help you find good research topics for any subject and situation.

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