If You Have No Clue: Research Paper Ideas

If you have no clue whatsoever and you are really struggling to find research paper ideas, then this article may help you. Going through lists of other research ideas is not so great because you are just going to end up copying the ideas that lots of other people have had. Even if you convert them a little and change them up, you are still going to be thinking up ideas that others have come up with. Here are a few things to think about when coming up with your research paper idea.

What is known that you can make better?

 If you are coming up with research paper ideas, then you do not have to be burningly original. You can go over old topics, but it is better to approach them if you think you can add to them in some way. There are already a lot of good theories out there, so ask yourself if you can prove them further. And, ask yourself if you can make them better.

 For example, all studies tend to have a few anomalous results that do not seem to conform to the eventual rule. That is why people have to run so many tests to check just one principle, concept or idea. Can you run the test and show fewer contraries to the rule? Was there something the other studies missed? If you cannot get first hand evidence, then can you use the work of other people to explain why such contrary results may exist?

What is unknown that you can answer?

 This is a very tough one, and instead of giving an answer, you may be able to give a theory. For example, the Large Hadron Collider keeps experiencing problems that should not really be happening by all accounts. One team found that this may be because somebody or something in the future is directing events in the present and influencing sabotage over the collider. This is just a theory, but it was shown to be just as plausible as any other theory. 

 The team that came up with the idea were looking for an answer and came up with a theory. Were they correct? We may never know in our lifetime, but they were looking for an answer and gave a theory and that is what you can do too. You may score reasonably well if, like the time travel theory, you can show that your answer is logical and even plausible. 

What is unknown that you can theorize on?

 There are some things that have very few answers at all. There are some things that scientists can only theorize on. Things such as the applications of superconductors in a world where conductors need not have their temperature lowered by external machines/chemicals/liquids. Or, if the constants of physics are changing at such a slow rate that the entirety of human existence would never notice (from the time of humans to their extinction).

What do you already know very well?

 On a personal level, you can simply go for a topic in an area that you know very well. If you do this then your work is going to get a lot easier. You are going to be able to come up with a research topic based on the things you already know. There are plenty of questions you can ask yourself when you are aware of how much there is you already know. You can even flip through the chapters of your textbooks for inspiration. It is easier when you know the material already because all you have to do is ask yourself questions to which you already know the answer.

Also seen on EssayMama:

• Becoming an Outline Master: Tailor the Perfect Research Paper Plan!
• 10 Books You Should Read to Boost Your Creative Writing
• The Most Inspiring Book You've Ever Read. The Brothers Karamazov by F. Dostoevsky