High School: Selecting a Topic & Driving Question
(Your topic must involve man and his influences otherwise you may have selected a science topic. Writing about arctic wolves and their habitat would not be a social studies topic. You could write about the influences that man has on the changing habitats of arctic wolves making it hard for these animals to find a safe place to live.)
Need Help Developing your Topic?
Try these pages:
Identifying a topic from The Writer's Handbook brought to you by the University of Wisconsin
Selecting a research topic from University of Michigan-Flint
Need Help Designing a Good Research Question? Try these pages:
How to write a good research question from George Mason University
What is a good research question from the Writing Studio at Duke University
List of over 150 essential questions in US History.
Consider your answers to the following questions to develop a good research question:
1. Is the question about an issue that is important historically and/or in modern times?
2. Can the question be debated without a right or wrong answer?
3. Is the research question too broad or too narrow?
4. Will this question hold your interest for several weeks or more?
5. Do you have access to enough quality resources to answer the question?
6. Is the question a new spin on an old idea or does it solve a problem?
Gale Topic Finder:
To help you refine a topic and develop good keywords and search terms for your topic try the Topic Finder in Gale.
Click the Topic Finder on the lower left side of the page. A wheel will appear with sections matching your search. When you click on a section, you will see a list of articles from Gale on the right. Feel free to open those articles to find information for your research.
Disciplines with suggested topics and research questions:
There are seven categories, or major disciplines within social studies. Your teacher may give you a specific area for your research paper, if not, then you could select from one of these disciplines.
Anthropology:
Culture developed by people living and thinking together. This deals with the study of man's physical and cultural characteristics, distribution, customs, and social relationships.
You might choose a topic related to the following: ancient civilizations, Native Americans, customs, festivals, types of shelter and food, religion, etc
Sample ideas:
1. How they dress? Changing rights and responsibilities of Muslim women.
2. Who Are the Aborigine of Australia and How has their culture survived?
3. Who were the earliest citizens of Louisiana?
Economics:
Wants and needs satisfied by people’s labors. This deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of wealth and with the various related problems of labor, finance, and taxation. You might choose a topic related to the following: money, manufacturing, trade, transportation of goods and services, communication, inflation, stock exchange, Common Market, government budgets, etc.
Sample ideas:
1.How does advertising affect the spending habits of students at PFTSTA?
2. How does a country finance a war?
3. What will the USA do when the oil runs out?
Geography:
People and nature interact. This deals with the surface of the earth, its divisions, and the climate, plants, animals, natural resources, inhabitants, and industries of those divisions. Your research must reflect how man and nature interact, otherwise you are writing a science paper. You might choose a topic related to the following: ecology, foreign countries, lands and people, maps, flooding, rivers, lakes, cities, conservation, etc.
Sample ideas:
1. Who are the Palestinians?
2. What happens to a town when the major business or factory closes.
3. What does drought mean to a region that is mostly agriculture?
History:
The continuous narrative of human progress. This concerns what has happened in the life or development of a people, country, or individual. You might choose a topic related to the following: story of mankind, historical events, places, biographies, personalities, wars, etc.
Sample ideas:
1.The Louisiana flag: How did it evolve?
2. How did Jackie Robinson change baseball?
3. Was the U.S. involvement in Vietnam worth it?
Political Science/Law:
Group living regulated by social control. This concerns the determining of the form of government, choosing the officials, making the laws, and performing the function of one's government. You might choose a topic related to the following: government agencies, FBI, crime, US Constitution, court system, international governments, etc.
Sample ideas:
1. Has the rise in voter apathy affected election results?
2. What was Bloody Sunday? How did it impact the Civil Rights movement?
3. What Is the electoral college and how does it work?
Sociology:
People living in groups. This deals with the study of the beliefs, values, and relationships of groups and the principles governing social acceptance. You might chose a topic related to the following: families, crime, mental health, propaganda, lifestyles, dreams, television, media, etc.
Sample ideas:
1. The right to die: Whose choice is it?
2. How does divorce affect children?
3. Where can I go to get help if I am hungry?
Need Help Developing your Topic?
Try these pages:
Identifying a topic from The Writer's Handbook brought to you by the University of Wisconsin
Selecting a research topic from University of Michigan-Flint
Need Help Designing a Good Research Question? Try these pages:
How to write a good research question from George Mason University
What is a good research question from the Writing Studio at Duke University
List of over 150 essential questions in US History.
Consider your answers to the following questions to develop a good research question:
1. Is the question about an issue that is important historically and/or in modern times?
2. Can the question be debated without a right or wrong answer?
3. Is the research question too broad or too narrow?
4. Will this question hold your interest for several weeks or more?
5. Do you have access to enough quality resources to answer the question?
6. Is the question a new spin on an old idea or does it solve a problem?
Gale Topic Finder:
To help you refine a topic and develop good keywords and search terms for your topic try the Topic Finder in Gale.
Click the Topic Finder on the lower left side of the page. A wheel will appear with sections matching your search. When you click on a section, you will see a list of articles from Gale on the right. Feel free to open those articles to find information for your research.
Disciplines with suggested topics and research questions:
There are seven categories, or major disciplines within social studies. Your teacher may give you a specific area for your research paper, if not, then you could select from one of these disciplines.
Anthropology:
Culture developed by people living and thinking together. This deals with the study of man's physical and cultural characteristics, distribution, customs, and social relationships.
You might choose a topic related to the following: ancient civilizations, Native Americans, customs, festivals, types of shelter and food, religion, etc
Sample ideas:
1. How they dress? Changing rights and responsibilities of Muslim women.
2. Who Are the Aborigine of Australia and How has their culture survived?
3. Who were the earliest citizens of Louisiana?
Economics:
Wants and needs satisfied by people’s labors. This deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of wealth and with the various related problems of labor, finance, and taxation. You might choose a topic related to the following: money, manufacturing, trade, transportation of goods and services, communication, inflation, stock exchange, Common Market, government budgets, etc.
Sample ideas:
1.How does advertising affect the spending habits of students at PFTSTA?
2. How does a country finance a war?
3. What will the USA do when the oil runs out?
Geography:
People and nature interact. This deals with the surface of the earth, its divisions, and the climate, plants, animals, natural resources, inhabitants, and industries of those divisions. Your research must reflect how man and nature interact, otherwise you are writing a science paper. You might choose a topic related to the following: ecology, foreign countries, lands and people, maps, flooding, rivers, lakes, cities, conservation, etc.
Sample ideas:
1. Who are the Palestinians?
2. What happens to a town when the major business or factory closes.
3. What does drought mean to a region that is mostly agriculture?
History:
The continuous narrative of human progress. This concerns what has happened in the life or development of a people, country, or individual. You might choose a topic related to the following: story of mankind, historical events, places, biographies, personalities, wars, etc.
Sample ideas:
1.The Louisiana flag: How did it evolve?
2. How did Jackie Robinson change baseball?
3. Was the U.S. involvement in Vietnam worth it?
Political Science/Law:
Group living regulated by social control. This concerns the determining of the form of government, choosing the officials, making the laws, and performing the function of one's government. You might choose a topic related to the following: government agencies, FBI, crime, US Constitution, court system, international governments, etc.
Sample ideas:
1. Has the rise in voter apathy affected election results?
2. What was Bloody Sunday? How did it impact the Civil Rights movement?
3. What Is the electoral college and how does it work?
Sociology:
People living in groups. This deals with the study of the beliefs, values, and relationships of groups and the principles governing social acceptance. You might chose a topic related to the following: families, crime, mental health, propaganda, lifestyles, dreams, television, media, etc.
Sample ideas:
1. The right to die: Whose choice is it?
2. How does divorce affect children?
3. Where can I go to get help if I am hungry?