Topics to Avoid In Writing the Research Paper
Written by
Anthony C. Winkler and Jo Ray McCuen-Metherell in Writing the Research Paper A Handbook. 2008. Wadsworth.
Some topics present unusual diffi culties; others are simply a waste of time. What follows is a summary of topics to avoid.
1. Topics that are too big
Check the OPAC or card catalog at your library. If you find that lots of books have been written about your topic, then it is probably too big. Reference sources that multiply like flies; a bibliography that grows like a weed; opinions, data, and information that come pouring in from hundreds of sources—all indicate a topic that is too big. The solution is to narrow the topic without making it trivial. Examples:
India in the Age of the Moguls could be narrowed to
Royal Monuments of India during the Age of the Moguls
2. Topics based on a single source
The research paper is intended to expose you to the opinions of different authorities,to a variety of books, articles, and other references. If a topic is so skimpy that all the data on it come from a single source, you’re defeating the purpose of the paper.Choose only topics that are broad enough to be researched from multiple sources. A paper on the life of a person is one example of a topic that can lead to relying too heavily on a single source.
If the person is famous enough, the danger is not a lack of information; rather, you may become so charmed by a compelling biography of your subject that you overquote from it. Or, if your chosen person is a marginal figure whose fame barely fills the fifteen minute span in the spotlight said to be awaiting all of us, you might rely too heavily on a single biographical source. As a general rule, if you choose to write about a person, it is better to come up with an approach that naturally allows the use of a variety of sources.
For instance, if you were writing about James Monroe, you might narrow your focus to the Monroe Doctrine, a topic that would require research into multiple sources.
3. Topics that are too technical
Writing about things that are technical often requires technical jargon that your instructor might not understand and might even dismiss as a “snow job.” Also, the skills that a research paper should teach are better learned in a paper on a general topic. Naturally, whether your paper is too technical depends on the class for which it is written. Ask your instructor. A topic like Heisenberg’s Principle of Indeterminacy as It Applies to Subparticle Research is fine for a physics class but a dubious choice for an English class. Stick to topics that don’t demand special knowledge of a particular subject and that are broad enough to be understood by any educated reader.
4. Topics that are trivial
Your judgment must steer you away from trivial topics. The safest bet is also the most sensible one: Again, ask your instructor. Here are some topics that might strike some instructors as too trivial. For exampleFictional Detectives on Foreign Postage Stamps might strike some instructors, including us, as an insignifi cant topic.Sometimes a topic is trivial because it is obvious. For instance, everyone agrees that walking is good aerobic exercise, but the subject is so tame that unless you’re a really good writer, a whole paper on the subject will likely fall flat.Likewise a paper on growing carrots in your backyard as a hedge against the possibility of a worldwide carrot shortage is not likely to inspire you to do your best writing.
5. Topics that are overused
Opinions on topics that have been the subject of heated public debate tend to harden into familiar postures, making them difficult to write about in a temperate tone. Numbered among those topics are abortion, teenage marriage, the legalization of drugs, euthanasia, capital punishment, substance abuse, global warming, and cruelty to animals. We do not mean to say that these topics are unimportant; indeed their overuse is partly a measure of their importance in the public consciousness.But writers who tackle overused topics often parrot well-known prejudices as if they were unique.
If you cannot help yourself and must write about an overused topic, at least try to approach it from a new angle. For instance, if you intend to write about abortion, comparing the effects of the RU-486 pill with that of surgical abortions would be different enough to save you from a whirlpool of clichés. Or if you feel compelled to write your paper on euthanasia, you might avoid the emotional hot spots by dispassionately analyzing the laws of your state that govern medically assisted suicide.
6. Topics that are contemporary
Students often are tempted to choose a contemporary topic, one that is being hotly debated at the moment. The topic may be loaded with scandal, making it fascinating to the press and the general public. But contemporary topics are best avoided fortwo reasons: First, it often is diffi cult to fi nd unbiased sources; second, the information that is available usually comes from newspapers and magazines whose speculative reporting can make your documentation seem flimsy. Intellectually solid
papers should refl ect opinions taken from a variety of sources—books, periodicals, reference volumes, specialized indexes, and various electronic sources—which requires a topic that has weathered both time and scholarly commentary.
If you find yourself drawn to a too-contemporary topic, our advice is that you try to locate an equivalent in the past and write about that instead. So, for example, instead of writing about a revolutionary war that broke out yesterday in some Baltic state, in the Middle East, or in Africa, you might turn your attention to a well-documented equivalent, say the Castro revolution in Cuba, or the revolution for independence under Bernardo O’Higgins in Chile.
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