Thought-provoking Research Topics for High School Students

- Should juvenile offenders be punished and tried as adults?
- Is American invasion in Iraq justified?
- Impact of gay marriages on society.
- Is homosexuality natural?

- Is death penalty enough for rapists or sex offenders?
- How does pornography differ from prostitution?
- Is the news hungry media unbiased?
- Is Affirmative Action for State University enrollment necessary?

- Impact of racial discrimination and ways to eliminate it.
- Should English be made an official language of America?
- Are adult advertisements needed to be aired on television at prime times?
- Do advertisements need to be censored strictly?

- Should tobacco and alcohol advertisements be aired on television at prime time?
- Does the media sensationalize news?
- Should environmental studies be a compulsory subject for high school students?
- Does monopoly exist in media?

- Has education become a business these days?
- Is capital punishment an effective deterrent for crimes?
- Ill effects of breaking traffic rules.
- Should euthanasia be legalized?

- Is abortion justified?
- Ways to combat discrimination against AIDS patients.
- Is animal testing ethical?
- Should cloning be legalized and practiced on a large-scale basis?

- Future of different sports in America.
- Nuclear weapons, their use, impact, and future.
- Side effects of body piercing at a young age.
- Is stereotypical attitude towards women responsible for eating disorders?

- Does gender bias still exist in America?
- Should parents be allowed to choose the gender of the baby?
- Impact of consumerism on society and environment.
- Is there a need for special schools for handicapped children?
- Should normal schools provide special facilities to handicapped children?

- Insights on Roman Catholic sex abuse cases.
- Different types of pollution and ways to control them.
- How to use natural resources wisely?
- Ways to eliminate child sexual abuse?

- Is sex education necessary for school students?
- Will China be the next Superpower?
- Internet addiction faced by young kids.
- Effects of global warming.
- The concept of 'E waste', and how to tackle it.

- Homelessness in the United States.
- Human rights violation in America?
- Does domestic violence exist in America?
- Native Americans of the United States.
- The reason for increasing obesity in USA.

- Different types of sexually transmitted disorders.
- Students against destructive decisions.
- Political parties of United States, and their role in the development of the country.
- Ways to protect animal rights in America.

These were some of the general research topics for high school students. But you can come up with specific topics as per your interest. For example, given below are some of the interesting topics for scientific research that you can refer to, and design your topics for other subjects:

- How does Wet Plate Photography work?
- Embryonic stem cell research.
- Overuse of over-the-counter drugs.
- Is umbilical cord blood banking reasonable?
- How does precision farming work?

- The role of the hypothalamus.
- Can intelligence of animals be tested?
- The structure of our solar system.
- Ways to prevent soil erosion.
- Migrating birds and animals.
- The reason behind volcano eruptions.

Make sure to choose a research paper topic that you are confident about. Check if there is enough information available on the topic, and only then finalize it. Remember that research should be scientific and verifiable, and hence, avoid including or providing biased information in your work; at the end you may express your personal opinion about the issue by informing so. Before you start your studies, get well versed with the topic so that your research becomes foolproof, and you will be well able to defend your argument using true information and statistics. Also, share these topics with your friends, and make your research paper an educational endeavor.