Now just as one man's meat is another man's poison, so too a topic of a research paper which one person says is controversial may not be controversial according to someone else. So having established the point that controversial is a subjective word, the question arises as to what exactly is a controversial subject.
And one easy criterion for determining whether or not a topic is controversial is whether or not it engenders debate. It is very easy to watch a television current affairs program in which people are discussing a particular subject. If there is a debate about that topic, even a heated debate, then there is a fair chance that we could describe that topic as controversial. Here are some research paper topics which could be deemed to be controversial.
- affirmative action
- using animals for medical experiments
- plagiarism and a social media
- bullying online
- child abuse
- climate change
- obesity and junk food
- pornography
- treatment of the elderly
- binge drinking
- euthanasia
- universal health care
- war crimes and human rights
- hate crimes
- refugees and their rights to enter another country
- nuclear power
Now as you can see this is a broad list of so-called controversial research paper topics. But it is by no means exhaustive. So finding controversial topics is not difficult. What could be helpful to you though is to find a controversial topic which has not been written about a vast number of times.
Imagine the person having to correct your paper. ‘Oh not that topic again,’ they exclaim and as yet another take on your chosen topic lands on an academic’s desk. Either try and find an unusual or little written about topic or, better still, find an unusual and obscure angle on a well-known topic. Something out of the ordinary is often a good way to set your research paper apart from the others.