humanities research paper sample

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7.10: Sample Research Paper

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• Kathryn Crowther et al.
• Georgia Perimeter College via GALILEO Open Learning Materials

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Sample Student Paper

During the process of revising and editing, Jorge made changes in the content and style of his paper. He also gave the paper a final review to check for overall correctness and, particularly, correct style for his citations and formatting. Read the final draft of his paper.

Jorge Ramirez

Professor Thompson

English 1101

Beyond the Hype: Evaluating Low-Carb Diets

Picture this: standing in the aisle of your local grocery store, you see an overweight man nearby staring at several brands of ketchup on display. After deliberating for a moment, he reaches for the bottle with the words “Low-Carb!” displayed prominently on the label. Is he making a smart choice that will help him lose weight and enjoy better health—or is he just buying into the latest diet fad? Over the past decade, increasing numbers of Americans have jumped on the low-carb bandwagon. Regardless of whether or not low-carb diets are most effective for weight loss, their potential benefits for weight loss must be weighed against other long-term health outcomes such as hypertension, the risk of heart disease, and cholesterol levels. Research findings in these areas are mixed. For this reason, people considering following a low-carbohydrate diet to lose weight should be advised of the potential risks in doing so.

Research on how low-carbohydrate diets affect cholesterol levels is inconclusive. Some researchers have found that low-carbohydrate diets raise levels of HDL, or “good” cholesterol (Ebbeling et al. 2093). Unfortunately, they may also raise levels of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, which is associated with heart disease (Ebbeling et al. 2094). A particular concern is that as dieters on a low-carbohydrate plan increase their intake of meats and dairy products—foods that are high in protein and fat—they are also likely to consume increased amounts of saturated fats, resulting in clogged arteries and again increasing the risk of heart disease. Studies have identified possible risks to cardiovascular health associated with low-carb diets, so the American Heart Association cautions that doctors cannot yet assess how following a low-carbohydrate diet affects patients’ health over a long-term period.

Some studies have found that following a low-carb diet helped lower patients’ blood pressure (Bell 32). Again, however, excessive consumption of foods high in saturated fats may, over time, lead to the development of clogged arteries and increase risk of hypertension. According to the American Heart Association, “a high carbohydrate diet that includes fruits, vegetables, nonfat dairy products and whole grains also has been shown to reduce blood pressure.” Eliminating those foods in a low-carb diet may raise blood pressure because intake of sodium may increase and intake of minerals like calcium, potassium, and magnesium, all of which are important for maintaining healthy blood pressure, may be decreased. Choosing lean meats over those high in fat and supplementing the diet with high-fiber, low glycemic index carbohydrates, such as leafy green vegetables, is a healthier plan for dieters to follow

Perhaps most surprisingly, low-carbohydrate diets are not necessarily advantageous for patients with Type II diabetes. According to Tracey Neithercott, some people with diabetes are better able to control their blood sugar when they reduce their carb intake, but others are not, and there are no studies that prove one single approach is best for everyone. One problem is that there are no long-term studies of a large scale that have examined this issue in detail. Neithercott advises diabetics to monitor blood sugar levels carefully and to consult with their health care provider or a registered dietitian to develop a plan for healthy eating.

Low-carb diets have garnered a great deal of positive attention, and it is not entirely undeserved. These diets do lead to rapid weight loss, and they often result in greater weight loss over a period of months than other diet plans. Significantly overweight or obese people may find low-carb eating plans the most effective for losing weight and reducing the risks associated with carrying excess body fat. However, because these diets are difficult for some people to adhere to and because their potential long-term health effects are still being debated, they are not necessarily the ideal choice for anyone who wants to lose weight. A moderately overweight person who wants to lose only a few pounds is best advised to choose whatever plan will help him stay active and consume fewer calories consistently—whether or not it involves eating low-carb ketchup.

Works Cited

Bell, John R. “Low Carb Beats Low Fat Diet for Early Losses but not Long Term.” OBGYN News 41.12 (2006): 32. Medline with Full Text (at EBSCOhost) . Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

Ebbeling, Charles B., et al. “Effects of a Low-glycemic Load vs Low-fat Diet in Obese Young Adults: A Randomized Trial.” Journal of the American Medical Association 297.19 (2007): 2092-2102. Medline with Full Text (at EBSCOhost) . Web. 25 Apr. 2014.

“High Protein Diets.” American Heart Association . American Heart Association, 2014. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.

Neithercott, Tracey. “Are Carbs the Enemy? The Debate Over Eating and Diabetes.” Diabetes Forecast: The Healthy Living Magazine . March 2011. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.

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Home » Humanities Research – Types, Methods and Examples

Humanities Research – Types, Methods and Examples

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Humanities Research

Definition:

Humanities research is a systematic and critical investigation of human culture, values, beliefs, and practices, including the study of literature, philosophy, history, art, languages, religion, and other aspects of human experience.

Types of Humanities Research

Types of Humanities Research are as follows:

Historical Research

This type of research involves studying the past to understand how societies and cultures have evolved over time. Historical research may involve examining primary sources such as documents, artifacts, and other cultural products, as well as secondary sources such as scholarly articles and books.

Cultural Studies

This type of research involves examining the cultural expressions and practices of a particular society or community. Cultural studies may involve analyzing literature, art, music, film, and other forms of cultural production to understand their social and cultural significance.

Linguistics Research

This type of research involves studying language and its role in shaping cultural and social practices. Linguistics research may involve analyzing the structure and use of language, as well as its historical development and cultural variations.

Anthropological Research

This type of research involves studying human cultures and societies from a comparative and cross-cultural perspective. Anthropological research may involve ethnographic fieldwork, participant observation, interviews, and other qualitative research methods.

Philosophy Research

This type of research involves examining fundamental questions about the nature of reality, knowledge, morality, and other philosophical concepts. Philosophy research may involve analyzing philosophical texts, conducting thought experiments, and engaging in philosophical discourse.

Art History Research

This type of research involves studying the history and significance of art and visual culture. Art history research may involve analyzing the formal and aesthetic qualities of art, as well as its historical context and cultural significance.

Literary Studies Research

This type of research involves analyzing literature and other forms of written expression. Literary studies research may involve examining the formal and structural qualities of literature, as well as its historical and cultural context.

Digital Humanities Research

This type of research involves using digital technologies to study and analyze cultural artifacts and practices. Digital humanities research may involve analyzing large datasets, creating digital archives, and using computational methods to study cultural phenomena.

Data Collection Methods

Data Collection Methods in Humanities Research are as follows:

• Interviews : This method involves conducting face-to-face, phone or virtual interviews with individuals who are knowledgeable about the research topic. Interviews may be structured, semi-structured, or unstructured, depending on the research questions and objectives. Interviews are often used in qualitative research to gain in-depth insights and perspectives.
• Surveys : This method involves distributing questionnaires or surveys to a sample of individuals or groups. Surveys may be conducted in person, through the mail, or online. Surveys are often used in quantitative research to collect data on attitudes, behaviors, and other characteristics of a population.
• Observations : This method involves observing and recording behavior or events in a natural or controlled setting. Observations may be structured or unstructured, and may involve the use of audio or video recording equipment. Observations are often used in qualitative research to collect data on social practices and behaviors.
• Archival Research: This method involves collecting data from historical documents, artifacts, and other cultural products. Archival research may involve accessing physical archives or online databases. Archival research is often used in historical and cultural studies to study the past.
• Case Studies : This method involves examining a single case or a small number of cases in depth. Case studies may involve collecting data through interviews, observations, and archival research. Case studies are often used in cultural studies, anthropology, and sociology to understand specific social or cultural phenomena.
• Focus Groups : This method involves bringing together a small group of individuals to discuss a particular topic or issue. Focus groups may be conducted in person or online, and are often used in qualitative research to gain insights into social and cultural practices and attitudes.
• Participatory Action Research : This method involves engaging with individuals or communities in the research process, with the goal of promoting social change or addressing a specific social problem. Participatory action research may involve conducting focus groups, interviews, or surveys, as well as involving participants in data analysis and interpretation.

Data Analysis Methods

Some common data analysis methods used in humanities research:

• Content Analysis : This method involves analyzing the content of texts or cultural artifacts to identify patterns, themes, and meanings. Content analysis is often used in literary studies, media studies, and cultural studies to analyze the meanings and representations conveyed in cultural products.
• Discourse Analysis: This method involves analyzing the use of language and discourse to understand social and cultural practices and identities. Discourse analysis may involve analyzing the structure, meaning, and power dynamics of language and discourse in different social contexts.
• Narrative Analysis: This method involves analyzing the structure, content, and meaning of narratives in different cultural contexts. Narrative analysis may involve analyzing the themes, symbols, and narrative devices used in literary texts or other cultural products.
• Ethnographic Analysis : This method involves analyzing ethnographic data collected through participant observation, interviews, and other qualitative methods. Ethnographic analysis may involve identifying patterns and themes in the data, as well as interpreting the meaning and significance of social and cultural practices.
• Statistical Analysis: This method involves using statistical methods to analyze quantitative data collected through surveys or other quantitative methods. Statistical analysis may involve using descriptive statistics to describe the characteristics of the data, or inferential statistics to test hypotheses and make inferences about a population.
• Network Analysis: This method involves analyzing the structure and dynamics of social networks to understand social and cultural practices and relationships. Network analysis may involve analyzing patterns of social interaction, communication, and influence.
• Visual Analysis : This method involves analyzing visual data, such as images, photographs, and art, to understand their cultural and social significance. Visual analysis may involve analyzing the formal and aesthetic qualities of visual products, as well as their historical and cultural context.

Examples of Humanities Research

Some Examples of Humanities Research are as follows:

• Literary research on diversity and representation: Scholars of literature are exploring the representation of different groups in literature and how those representations have changed over time. They are also studying how literature can promote empathy and understanding across different cultures and communities.
• Philosophical research on ethics and technology: Philosophers are examining the ethical implications of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology. They are asking questions about what it means to be human in a world where technology is becoming increasingly advanced.
• Anthropological research on cultural identity: Anthropologists are studying the ways in which culture shapes individual and collective identities. They are exploring how cultural practices and beliefs can shape social and political systems, as well as how individuals and communities resist or adapt to dominant cultural norms.
• Linguistic research on language and communication: Linguists are studying the ways in which language use and communication can impact social and political power dynamics. They are exploring how language can reinforce or challenge social hierarchies and how language use can reflect cultural values and norms.

How to Conduct Humanities Research

Conducting humanities research involves a number of steps, including:

• Define your research question or topic : Identify a question or topic that you want to explore in-depth. This can be a broad or narrow topic, depending on the scope of your research project.
• Conduct a literature review: Before beginning your research, read extensively on your topic. This will help you understand the existing scholarship and identify gaps in the literature that your research can address.
• Develop a research methodology: Determine the methods you will use to collect and analyze data, such as interviews, surveys, archival research, or textual analysis. Your methodology should be appropriate to your research question and topic.
• Collect data: Collect data using the methods you have chosen. This may involve conducting interviews, surveys, or archival research, or analyzing primary or secondary sources.
• Analyze data: Once you have collected data, analyze it using appropriate methods. This may involve coding, categorizing, or comparing data, or interpreting texts or other sources.
• Draw conclusions: Based on your analysis, draw conclusions about your research question or topic. These conclusions should be supported by your data and should contribute to existing scholarship.
• Communicate your findings : Communicate your findings through writing, presentations, or other forms of dissemination. Your work should be clearly written and accessible to a broad audience.

Applications of Humanities Research

Humanities research has many practical applications in various fields, including:

• Policy-making: Humanities research can inform policy-making by providing insights into social, cultural, and historical contexts. It can help policymakers understand the impact of policies on communities and identify potential unintended consequences.
• Education: Humanities research can inform curriculum development and pedagogy. It can provide insights into how to teach critical thinking, cross-cultural understanding, and communication skills.
• Cultural heritage preservation: Humanities research can help to preserve cultural heritage by documenting and analyzing cultural practices, traditions, and artifacts. It can also help to promote cultural tourism and support local economies.
• Business and industry: Humanities research can provide insights into consumer behavior, cultural preferences, and historical trends that can inform marketing, branding, and product design.
• Healthcare : Humanities research can contribute to the development of patient-centered healthcare by exploring the impact of social and cultural factors on health and illness. It can also help to promote cross-cultural understanding and empathy in healthcare settings.
• Social justice: Humanities research can contribute to social justice by providing insights into the experiences of marginalized communities, documenting historical injustices, and promoting cross-cultural understanding.

Purpose of Humanities Research

The purpose of humanities research is to deepen our understanding of human experience, culture, and history. Humanities research aims to explore the human condition and to provide insights into the diversity of human perspectives, values, and beliefs.

Humanities research can contribute to knowledge in various fields, including history, literature, philosophy, anthropology, and more. It can help us to understand how societies and cultures have evolved over time, how they have been shaped by various factors, and how they continue to change.

Humanities research also aims to promote critical thinking and creativity. It encourages us to question assumptions, to challenge dominant narratives, and to seek out new perspectives. Humanities research can help us to develop empathy and understanding for different cultures and communities, and to appreciate the richness and complexity of human experience.

Overall, the purpose of humanities research is to contribute to a deeper understanding of ourselves, our communities, and our world. It helps us to grapple with fundamental questions about the human experience and to develop the skills and insights needed to address the challenges of the future.

When to use Humanities Research

Humanities research can be used in various contexts where a deeper understanding of human experience, culture, and history is required. Here are some examples of when humanities research may be appropriate:

• Exploring social and cultural phenomena: Humanities research can be used to explore social and cultural phenomena such as art, literature, religion, and politics. It can help to understand how these phenomena have evolved over time and how they relate to broader social, cultural, and historical contexts.
• Understanding historical events: Humanities research can be used to understand historical events such as wars, revolutions, and social movements. It can provide insights into the motivations, experiences, and perspectives of the people involved, and help to contextualize these events within broader historical trends.
• Promoting cultural understanding : Humanities research can be used to promote cross-cultural understanding and to challenge stereotypes and biases. It can provide insights into the diversity of human experiences, values, and beliefs, and help to build empathy and mutual respect across different cultures and communities.
• Informing policy-making: Humanities research can be used to inform policy-making by providing insights into social, cultural, and historical contexts. It can help policymakers understand the impact of policies on communities and identify potential unintended consequences.
• Promoting innovation and creativity : Humanities research can be used to promote innovation and creativity in various fields. It can help to generate new ideas, perspectives, and approaches to complex problems, and to challenge conventional thinking and assumptions.

Characteristics of Humanities Research

Some of the key characteristics of humanities research:

• Focus on human experience: Humanities research focuses on the study of human experience, culture, and history. It aims to understand the human condition, explore human values and beliefs, and analyze the ways in which societies and cultures have evolved over time.
• Interpretive approach: Humanities research takes an interpretive approach to data analysis. It seeks to understand the meaning behind texts, artifacts, and cultural practices, and to explore the multiple perspectives and contexts that shape human experience.
• Contextualization : Humanities research emphasizes the importance of contextualization. It seeks to understand how social, cultural, and historical factors shape human experience, and to place individual phenomena within broader cultural and historical contexts.
• Subjectivity : Humanities research recognizes the subjective nature of human experience. It acknowledges that human values, beliefs, and experiences are shaped by individual perspectives, and that these perspectives can vary across cultures, communities, and time periods.
• Narrative analysis : Humanities research often uses narrative analysis to explore the stories, myths, and cultural narratives that shape human experience. It seeks to understand how these narratives are constructed, how they evolve over time, and how they influence individual and collective identity.
• Multi-disciplinary: Humanities research is often interdisciplinary, drawing on a range of disciplines such as history, literature, philosophy, anthropology, and more. It seeks to bring together different perspectives and approaches to understand complex human phenomena.

Advantages of Humanities Research

Some of the key advantages of humanities research:

• Promotes critical thinking: Humanities research encourages critical thinking by challenging assumptions and exploring different perspectives. It requires researchers to analyze and interpret complex texts, artifacts, and cultural practices, and to make connections between different phenomena.
• Enhances cultural understanding : Humanities research promotes cross-cultural understanding by exploring the diversity of human experiences, values, and beliefs. It helps to challenge stereotypes and biases and to build empathy and mutual respect across different cultures and communities.
• Builds historical awareness: Humanities research helps us to understand the historical context of current events and social issues. It provides insights into how societies and cultures have evolved over time and how they have been shaped by various factors, and helps us to contextualize current social, political, and cultural trends.
• Contributes to public discourse: Humanities research contributes to public discourse by providing insights into complex social, cultural, and historical phenomena. It helps to inform public policy and public debate by providing evidence-based analysis and insights into social issues and problems.
• Promotes creativity and innovation: Humanities research promotes creativity and innovation by challenging conventional thinking and assumptions. It encourages researchers to generate new ideas and perspectives and to explore alternative ways of understanding and addressing complex problems.
• Builds communication skills: Humanities research requires strong communication skills, including the ability to analyze and interpret complex texts, artifacts, and cultural practices, and to communicate findings and insights in a clear and compelling way.

Limitations of Humanities Research

Some of the key limitations of humanities research:

• Subjectivity: Humanities research relies heavily on interpretation and analysis, which are inherently subjective. Researchers bring their own perspectives, biases, and values to the analysis, which can affect the conclusions they draw.
• Lack of generalizability : Humanities research often focuses on specific texts, artifacts, or cultural practices, which can limit the generalizability of findings to other contexts. It is difficult to make broad generalizations based on limited samples, which can be a challenge when trying to draw broader conclusions.
• Limited quantitative data : Humanities research often relies on qualitative data, such as texts, images, and cultural practices, which can be difficult to quantify. This can make it difficult to conduct statistical analyses or to draw quantitative conclusions.
• Limited replicability: Humanities research often involves in-depth analysis of specific texts, artifacts, or cultural practices, which can make it difficult to replicate studies. This can make it challenging to test the validity of findings or to compare results across studies.
• Limited funding: Humanities research may not always receive the same level of funding as other types of research. This can make it challenging for researchers to conduct large-scale studies or to have access to the same resources as other researchers in different fields.
• Limited impact : Humanities research may not always have the same level of impact as research in other fields, particularly in terms of policy and practical applications. This can make it challenging for researchers to demonstrate the relevance and impact of their work.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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UCI Humanities Core

Spring: Research Project

Research Paper Rubric

UCI Libraries Humanities Core Research Guide Exemplary Sample Projects by Past HumCore Students Appointments at the CEWC

After evaluating multiple primary sources and surveying the scholarly conversation that surrounds potential topics, select a primary source related to our cycle theme of Worldbuilding. Conduct extensive research on the topic, and then compose an expository academic paper that makes an argument about your chosen primary source’s humanistic significance. How does the form or genre of the primary source shape its meaning? How did the primary source come to make meaning, in what contexts, and for what audiences? How do other scholars understand and interpret this primary source or ones like it? How does your own humanistic interpretation of the primary source enter a larger scholarly conversation? What world does this primary source imagine and/or work toward enacting?

Your primary source and research questions must be approved by your seminar instructor. As part of the process, you will engage and collaborate with your seminar and program community and produce a series of prewriting and reflective components, including activities in your Digital Archive: the Research Log and the Multimodal Work-in-Progress. The required process-oriented assignments will be determined by your seminar instructor and must be completed in the order assigned. Your final Research Paper must incorporate and engage in depth with at least 6 scholarly, peer-reviewed articles or books and should be 10–12 pages (approximately 3500–4000 words).

Learning Goals

• Reinforce and hone compositional skills acquired to date in Humanities Core: to make specific, clear, arguable claims; to produce unified, cohesive body paragraphs; to integrate well-selected evidence from primary and scholarly secondary sources; to exhibit fluid transitions between ideas; and to develop a rhetorically-effective title, introduction, and conclusion
• Adopt the appropriate stance, style, and genre conventions of humanistic research-based writing as well as the methodology/methodologies relevant to the chosen primary source (e.g., cultural/ethnic studies, literary, visual, filmic and media studies, historical, and/or philosophical analysis)
• Demonstrate the capacity to critically survey, read, and assess primary sources and scholarly conversations across a variety of genres and media
• Demonstrate advanced information literacy skills by locating, evaluating, and integrating information gathered from multiple sources (the university library, online academic databases, and digitized archival collections) into a research project
• Produce accurate, rhetorically effective, multimodal communication using the appropriate genres, stance, and citational practices of scholarly digital media
• Develop flexible and ethically responsible strategies for generating, revising, and editing research writing and online multimodal compositions
• Reflect critically on the experience of research, writing, and multimodal communication

Required Reading

You may find it worthwhile to revisit the chapters and appendices you read in the Humanities Core Handbook during the fall and winter quarters as you conduct research and draft your paper. The following chapters cover the research process in general:

Stewart, Robin. “Determining the Topic of a Humanistic Research Project.” Humanities Core Handbook , XanEdu, 2022, pp. 191–203.

Connell, Christine. “Engaging in a Scholarly Conversation.” Humanities Core Handbook , XanEdu, 2022, pp. 241–56.

Morse, Susan. “Developing Titles, Introductions, and Conclusions in Research Writing.” Humanities Core Handbook , XanEdu, 2022, pp. 257–70.

Additionally, the Handbook includes chapters that walk you through the terminology and methods that humanistic scholars employ when analyzing genres of primary sources which we haven’t yet covered in lectures this year.

If you intend to research a work of philosophy, plan to read:

Siakel, Daniel. “Analyzing Arguments.” Humanities Core Handbook , XanEdu, 2022, pp. 75–86.

If you intend to research about a film, plan to read:

Buhanan, Kurt. “Analyzing Film.” Humanities Core Handbook , XanEdu, 2022, pp. 204–218.

If you intend to research a video game, plan to read:

Ruberg, Bo. “Analyzing Video Games.” Humanities Core Handbook , XanEdu, 2022, pp. 219–229.

If you intend to research a built environment, plan to read:

Broadbent, Philip. “Analyzing Built Environments.” Humanities Core Handbook , XanEdu, 2022, pp. 228–240.

The Writing Process and Your Audiences for this Project

As you can likely tell from the Learning Goals detailed above, the spring Research Project is an integrative and cumulative experience of the Humanities Core program as a whole. We hope that you can take the academic writing skills and tools of rhetorical, literary, visual, historical, and cultural studies analysis that you have developed in the past two quarters—as well as those you will learn this spring—and apply them to a topic that interests and excites you. We invite you to take an expansive view of what the theme of worldbuilding can mean and how it relates to the work we do in humanities disciplines, just as our lecturing faculty members have done. While some of your secondary sources might come from disciplines outside of the humanities, the majority of your sources should reflect the kinds of interpretive methodologies that you have been learning about over the course of the year.

Even more so than the other academic expository essays you have written this year, the research project is all about the process. In your seminar, you will be completing a range of scaffolded assignments that will help you to select a feasible topic, identify and engage with secondary sources, and generate your own interpretive intervention into a larger scholarly conversation. Along the way, you will be writing for multiple audiences. Many of the assignments you will undertake in this process are part of formal academic genres; for example, the prospectus is a formal proposal to an academic supervisor or committee (in this case, your seminar instructor) that your research is feasible and will produce a worthwhile contribution to a field of study. The audience for your research project is first and foremost your HumCore seminar and program community: you should anticipate working closely with other students in peer research groups as you explore your topic and build your ideas. You should also envision yourself addressing lecturing faculty members and your seminar instructor, in as much as they are also immersed in the humanistic study of Worldbuilding and thus represent a preliminary scholarly community for your ideas. Perhaps more importantly, you should imagine yourself addressing the scholars in the field or fields you will be exploring, interacting and arguing with them across space and time through your writing. While we certainly don’t expect that you will be an expert in your field by June (though you will certainly be able to identify who is!), you should anticipate that you will likely know much more about your particular topic by the end of the quarter than your seminar instructor.

Digital Archive Research Log

For the last two quarters of Humanities Core, you have engaged with texts and ideas discussed in lectures, readings, and events by archiving your own multimodal reactions and collections of thoughts on your Digital Archive. This quarter, during the process of researching and writing your Research Paper, you will build on your collection and share research log entries documenting and reflecting on your own worldbuilding journey as a budding researcher, with its challenges and successes.

First, think about the multimodal online genre you prefer for recording your reflections on one Research Log page of your Digital Archive. Options available to you include:

• An audio log, using your preferred app for recording your voice and embedding each recording on the page of your Google Site
• A video log, using your preferred app for recording video and embedding each recording on the page of your Google Site
• An illustrated log, or visual diary, using whatever physical or digital drawing materials you prefer and embedding (with a label or caption) on the page of your Google Site
• A webtext, combining various embedded (and properly cited) media with text you write

Each log entry should be about two minutes or the equivalent of 300 words long, and five entries are suggested. Your seminar instructor will instruct you in the expectations for your seminar.

Digital Archive Multimodal Work-in-Progress

As you near the last stages of your Research Paper, you will have the opportunity to share in the scholarly worldbuilding of Humanities Core by assembling and exchanging your in-progress research ideas with other students. The immediate “public” for this activity will be your Humanities Core seminar or, if arranged by your instructor, more than one Humanities Core seminar. As a culminating contribution to your collection of ideas on your Digital Archive, this activity should allow you to take advantage of the multimodal rhetorical skills you have developed this year with the aims of communicating your research ideas, your own contributions to scholarly conversations about worldbuilding, and your reflections on where your research progress has taken you; it will not be a final presentation since you will not have finished your Research Paper yet.

First, consider which online genre would best suit your research method or topic. Media modes available to you for showing your peers why your research is interesting include audio, video, images, and multimodal webtext. Whichever you select as most rhetorically effective, prepare to present your work-in-progress on one last page of your Digital Archive.

The content of your work-in-progress page, whether a short video essay, short audio essay, or multimodal webtext, should include the tentative title of your project, an introduction to the primary source and its context, an introduction to the scholarly conversation around the topic, an explanation of the methods and analytic concepts you are employing, and a thesis.

Your site visitors’ experience of your work-in-progress on your Digital Archive site (watching, listening, reading) should be about 5-10 minutes long. Be sure to update the navigation and homepage of your site so that the last page is easy to find.

Grade Allocation in Spring Writing Course

Your writing grade in Humanities Core this quarter will be allocated as follows:

The Work and Insights of Past HumCore Students

Many students find that the work they do in the spring quarter of Humanities Core inspires them to take additional coursework in a Humanities department. Humanities Core Research Projects have formed the foundation of many undergraduate honors theses. Past students have even reported that this project sparked their interest toward future graduate study. You can read award-winning examples from past cycles of Humanities Core on our Student Awards page ; be aware, however, that some past students were writing about a different theme than Worldbuilding and/or may have had different technical expectations in place for their projects.

The winners of last year’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Awards will share their insights on this process with you at our Annual UROP/Humanities Core Research Symposium on April 14 (please see the Calendar page on the Canvas Lecture site for more information).

Posted 7 March 2023

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Writing in Humanities: Do’s and Don’ts for Researchers

Academic writing in humanities plays a pivotal role in advancing the field and disseminating new ideas to a diverse global audience. With readers from various cultures and first languages, effective writing in humanities and sociology requires clarity, convention, and a structure that supports reader comprehension. To help researchers make their mark in influential international journals, we present five essential dos and five critical don’ts of effective academic writing in humanities and sociology to help researchers create a lucid narrative and showcase concepts that can strengthen your argument.

5 Dos to keep in mind when writing in humanities

Maintain focus on the problem statement.

When writing in humanities, remember to clearly state the aim of the study and the problem statement in the introduction, and refer back to this in later sections so that readers do not stray away from the key message.

Present relevant, interesting original work

Leading international journals will only publish work that is original and fills gaps in our current understanding. So, choose the topic of your research carefully to ensure your work is novel, relevant, and interesting.

Write in clear, concise, simple language

When writing in humanities, it’s always helpful to use short sentences that convey your message in a clear, easy-to-understand way. While you may be tempted to use technical jargon, steer clear of complex terms and convoluted phrases that can be confusing or even misleading for your audience.

Be aware of the target journal’s scope

Some journals focus on a certain aspect of the subject, while others publish work from related fields like anthropology, psychology, economics, political studies, and history. So, when writing in humanities, keep in mind the target journal’s scope, audience, and ensure your research can be understood by non-academics or peers from other fields.

Make your Abstract impactful and discoverable

Abstracts are perhaps the most important part of your manuscript and must be crafted with a lot of thought. Typically, keywords from the Abstract and research paper title are used to drive its success on search engines so use at least one phrase to indicate your problem statement, the methodological approach used and why it is important for readers and understand.

5 Don’ts when writing in humanities

Not including visuals to break the monotony of text.

Visuals are a great way to convey complex concepts at a glance, but these should be designed to clearly communicate ideas, without needing to refer to body text. Avoid complicated or ambiguous visuals, use high-definition images, include captions and legends, provide abbreviations and symbols where required, and appropriately cite copyrights, sources, or permissions.

Not adhering to ethical reporting guidelines

Academic writing in humanities often include human subjects, which requires appropriate permissions, ethical reporting, data sharing, and author identification. Adherence to the standards of the Declaration of Helsinki and the ASA’s Code of Ethics on informed consent is considered mandatory; neglecting to follow these ethical guidelines can be cause for manuscript rejection.

Not paying attention to analyses of results

Most reputed journals require authors to include an analysis of the study in the Discussion section; it is not enough to merely mention the validity of findings. This is a common reason for journal rejection among early career academics, who detail their findings and state the methods and approach but overlook this aspect in their humanities research paper.

Not addressing the limitations of the study

Humanities and sociology involve the study of human society and culture, with all its diversity and complexities. This makes it crucial to mention the limitations of your study in the final paragraphs of your humanities research paper to help readers understand the study’s purpose in the context of existing relevant international literature. Provide a brief summary of the issues you addressed, the restrictions your report uncovered, and how your research can benefit future studies in the field.

Not mentioning the impact and applications

Researchers aspire to conduct studies that are relevant and positively impacts our world, so when writing in humanities, highlight the value of your work. It is essential to explain why your study is relevant to readers and how it directly connects with existing themes and concepts. Highlighting your study’s potential applications, relevance and contribution allows readers to analyze your work from specific perspectives and understand its significance in the broader context.

Don’t miss the chance to learn more on how to write a good humanities research paper , where the writing style, structure, and presentation differs from other disciplines. And when you are writing in humanities, remember to write simply and clearly to connect with a diverse audience. By following the dos and avoiding the don’ts mentioned above, researchers writing in humanities can elevate their manuscripts, engage their readers, and leave a lasting impact on the field. Happy writing!

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How to Write a Research Paper

Use the links below to jump directly to any section of this guide:

Research Paper Fundamentals

How to choose a topic or question, how to create a working hypothesis or thesis, common research paper methodologies, how to gather and organize evidence , how to write an outline for your research paper, how to write a rough draft, how to revise your draft, how to produce a final draft, resources for teachers .

It is not fair to say that no one writes anymore. Just about everyone writes text messages, brief emails, or social media posts every single day. Yet, most people don't have a lot of practice with the formal, organized writing required for a good academic research paper. This guide contains links to a variety of resources that can help demystify the process. Some of these resources are intended for teachers; they contain exercises, activities, and teaching strategies. Other resources are intended for direct use by students who are struggling to write papers, or are looking for tips to make the process go more smoothly.

The resources in this section are designed to help students understand the different types of research papers, the general research process, and how to manage their time. Below, you'll find links from university writing centers, the trusted Purdue Online Writing Lab, and more.

What is an Academic Research Paper?

"Genre and the Research Paper" (Purdue OWL)

There are different types of research papers. Different types of scholarly questions will lend themselves to one format or another. This is a brief introduction to the two main genres of research paper: analytic and argumentative. 

"7 Most Popular Types of Research Papers" (Personal-writer.com)

This resource discusses formats that high school students commonly encounter, such as the compare and contrast essay and the definitional essay. Please note that the inclusion of this link is not an endorsement of this company's paid service.

How to Prepare and Plan Out Writing a Research Paper

Teachers can give their students a step-by-step guide like these to help them understand the different steps of the research paper process. These guides can be combined with the time management tools in the next subsection to help students come up with customized calendars for completing their papers.

"Ten Steps for Writing Research Papers" (American University)  

This resource from American University is a comprehensive guide to the research paper writing process, and includes examples of proper research questions and thesis topics.

"Steps in Writing a Research Paper" (SUNY Empire State College)

This guide breaks the research paper process into 11 steps. Each "step" links to a separate page, which describes the work entailed in completing it.

How to Manage Time Effectively

The links below will help students determine how much time is necessary to complete a paper. If your sources are not available online or at your local library, you'll need to leave extra time for the Interlibrary Loan process. Remember that, even if you do not need to consult secondary sources, you'll still need to leave yourself ample time to organize your thoughts.

"Research Paper Planner: Timeline" (Baylor University)

This interactive resource from Baylor University creates a suggested writing schedule based on how much time a student has to work on the assignment.

"Research Paper Planner" (UCLA)

UCLA's library offers this step-by-step guide to the research paper writing process, which also includes a suggested planning calendar.

There's a reason teachers spend a long time talking about choosing a good topic. Without a good topic and a well-formulated research question, it is almost impossible to write a clear and organized paper. The resources below will help you generate ideas and formulate precise questions.

"How to Select a Research Topic" (Univ. of Michigan-Flint)

This resource is designed for college students who are struggling to come up with an appropriate topic. A student who uses this resource and still feels unsure about his or her topic should consult the course instructor for further personalized assistance.

"25 Interesting Research Paper Topics to Get You Started" (Kibin)

This resource, which is probably most appropriate for high school students, provides a list of specific topics to help get students started. It is broken into subsections, such as "paper topics on local issues."

"Writing a Good Research Question" (Grand Canyon University)

This introduction to research questions includes some embedded videos, as well as links to scholarly articles on research questions. This resource would be most appropriate for teachers who are planning lessons on research paper fundamentals.

"How to Write a Research Question the Right Way" (Kibin)

This student-focused resource provides more detail on writing research questions. The language is accessible, and there are embedded videos and examples of good and bad questions.

It is important to have a rough hypothesis or thesis in mind at the beginning of the research process. People who have a sense of what they want to say will have an easier time sorting through scholarly sources and other information. The key, of course, is not to become too wedded to the draft hypothesis or thesis. Just about every working thesis gets changed during the research process.

CrashCourse Video: "Sociology Research Methods" (YouTube)

Although this video is tailored to sociology students, it is applicable to students in a variety of social science disciplines. This video does a good job demonstrating the connection between the brainstorming that goes into selecting a research question and the formulation of a working hypothesis.

"How to Write a Thesis Statement for an Analytical Essay" (YouTube)

Students writing analytical essays will not develop the same type of working hypothesis as students who are writing research papers in other disciplines. For these students, developing the working thesis may happen as a part of the rough draft (see the relevant section below). 

"Research Hypothesis" (Oakland Univ.)

This resource provides some examples of hypotheses in social science disciplines like Political Science and Criminal Justice. These sample hypotheses may also be useful for students in other soft social sciences and humanities disciplines like History.

When grading a research paper, instructors look for a consistent methodology. This section will help you understand different methodological approaches used in research papers. Students will get the most out of these resources if they use them to help prepare for conversations with teachers or discussions in class.

"Types of Research Designs" (USC)

A "research design," used for complex papers, is related to the paper's method. This resource contains introductions to a variety of popular research designs in the social sciences. Although it is not the most intuitive site to read, the information here is very valuable. 

"Major Research Methods" (YouTube)

Although this video is a bit on the dry side, it provides a comprehensive overview of the major research methodologies in a format that might be more accessible to students who have struggled with textbooks or other written resources.

"Humanities Research Strategies" (USC)

This is a portal where students can learn about four methodological approaches for humanities papers: Historical Methodologies, Textual Criticism, Conceptual Analysis, and the Synoptic method.

"Selected Major Social Science Research Methods: Overview" (National Academies Press)

This appendix from the book  Using Science as Evidence in Public Policy , printed by National Academies Press, introduces some methods used in social science papers.

"Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper: 6. The Methodology" (USC)

This resource from the University of Southern California's library contains tips for writing a methodology section in a research paper.

How to Determine the Best Methodology for You

Anyone who is new to writing research papers should be sure to select a method in consultation with their instructor. These resources can be used to help prepare for that discussion. They may also be used on their own by more advanced students.

"Choosing Appropriate Research Methodologies" (Palgrave Study Skills)

This friendly and approachable resource from Palgrave Macmillan can be used by students who are just starting to think about appropriate methodologies.

"How to Choose Your Research Methods" (NFER (UK))

This is another approachable resource students can use to help narrow down the most appropriate methods for their research projects.

The resources in this section introduce the process of gathering scholarly sources and collecting evidence. You'll find a range of material here, from introductory guides to advanced explications best suited to college students. Please consult the LitCharts  How to Do Academic Research guide for a more comprehensive list of resources devoted to finding scholarly literature.

Google Scholar

Students who have access to library websites with detailed research guides should start there, but people who do not have access to those resources can begin their search for secondary literature here.

"Gathering Appropriate Information" (Texas Gateway)

This resource from the Texas Gateway for online resources introduces students to the research process, and contains interactive exercises. The level of complexity is suitable for middle school, high school, and introductory college classrooms.

"An Overview of Quantitative and Qualitative Data Collection Methods" (NSF)

This PDF from the National Science Foundation goes into detail about best practices and pitfalls in data collection across multiple types of methodologies.

"Social Science Methods for Data Collection and Analysis" (Swiss FIT)

This resource is appropriate for advanced undergraduates or teachers looking to create lessons on research design and data collection. It covers techniques for gathering data via interviews, observations, and other methods.

"Collecting Data by In-depth Interviewing" (Leeds Univ.)

This resource contains enough information about conducting interviews to make it useful for teachers who want to create a lesson plan, but is also accessible enough for college juniors or seniors to make use of it on their own.

There is no "one size fits all" outlining technique. Some students might devote all their energy and attention to the outline in order to avoid the paper. Other students may benefit from being made to sit down and organize their thoughts into a lengthy sentence outline. The resources in this section include strategies and templates for multiple types of outlines. 

"Topic vs. Sentence Outlines" (UC Berkeley)

This resource introduces two basic approaches to outlining: the shorter topic-based approach, and the longer, more detailed sentence-based approach. This resource also contains videos on how to develop paper paragraphs from the sentence-based outline.

"Types of Outlines and Samples" (Purdue OWL)

The Purdue Online Writing Lab's guide is a slightly less detailed discussion of different types of outlines. It contains several sample outlines.

"Writing An Outline" (Austin C.C.)

This resource from a community college contains sample outlines from an American history class that students can use as models.

"How to Structure an Outline for a College Paper" (YouTube)

This brief (sub-2 minute) video from the ExpertVillage YouTube channel provides a model of outline writing for students who are struggling with the idea.

"Outlining" (Harvard)

This is a good resource to consult after completing a draft outline. It offers suggestions for making sure your outline avoids things like unnecessary repetition.

As with outlines, rough drafts can take on many different forms. These resources introduce teachers and students to the various approaches to writing a rough draft. This section also includes resources that will help you cite your sources appropriately according to the MLA, Chicago, and APA style manuals.

"Creating a Rough Draft for a Research Paper" (Univ. of Minnesota)

This resource is useful for teachers in particular, as it provides some suggested exercises to help students with writing a basic rough draft. 

Rough Draft Assignment (Duke of Definition)

This sample assignment, with a brief list of tips, was developed by a high school teacher who runs a very successful and well-reviewed page of educational resources.

"Creating the First Draft of Your Research Paper" (Concordia Univ.)

This resource will be helpful for perfectionists or procrastinators, as it opens by discussing the problem of avoiding writing. It also provides a short list of suggestions meant to get students writing.

Using Proper Citations

There is no such thing as a rough draft of a scholarly citation. These links to the three major citation guides will ensure that your citations follow the correct format. Please consult the LitCharts How to Cite Your Sources guide for more resources.

Chicago Manual of Style Citation Guide

Some call  The Chicago Manual of Style , which was first published in 1906, "the editors' Bible." The manual is now in its 17th edition, and is popular in the social sciences, historical journals, and some other fields in the humanities.

APA Citation Guide

According to the American Psychological Association, this guide was developed to aid reading comprehension, clarity of communication, and to reduce bias in language in the social and behavioral sciences. Its first full edition was published in 1952, and it is now in its sixth edition.

MLA Citation Guide

The Modern Language Association style is used most commonly within the liberal arts and humanities. The  MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing  was first published in 1985 and (as of 2008) is in its third edition.

Any professional scholar will tell you that the best research papers are made in the revision stage. No matter how strong your research question or working thesis, it is not possible to write a truly outstanding paper without devoting energy to revision. These resources provide examples of revision exercises for the classroom, as well as tips for students working independently.

"The Art of Revision" (Univ. of Arizona)

This resource provides a wealth of information and suggestions for both students and teachers. There is a list of suggested exercises that teachers might use in class, along with a revision checklist that is useful for teachers and students alike.

"Script for Workshop on Revision" (Vanderbilt University)

Vanderbilt's guide for leading a 50-minute revision workshop can serve as a model for teachers who wish to guide students through the revision process during classtime. 

"Revising Your Paper" (Univ. of Washington)

This detailed handout was designed for students who are beginning the revision process. It discusses different approaches and methods for revision, and also includes a detailed list of things students should look for while they revise.

"Revising Drafts" (UNC Writing Center)

This resource is designed for students and suggests things to look for during the revision process. It provides steps for the process and has a FAQ for students who have questions about why it is important to revise.

Conferencing with Writing Tutors and Instructors

No writer is so good that he or she can't benefit from meeting with instructors or peer tutors. These resources from university writing, learning, and communication centers provide suggestions for how to get the most out of these one-on-one meetings.

"Getting Feedback" (UNC Writing Center)

This very helpful resource talks about how to ask for feedback during the entire writing process. It contains possible questions that students might ask when developing an outline, during the revision process, and after the final draft has been graded.

"Prepare for Your Tutoring Session" (Otis College of Art and Design)

This guide from a university's student learning center contains a lot of helpful tips for getting the most out of working with a writing tutor.

"The Importance of Asking Your Professor" (Univ. of Waterloo)

This article from the university's Writing and Communication Centre's blog contains some suggestions for how and when to get help from professors and Teaching Assistants.

Once you've revised your first draft, you're well on your way to handing in a polished paper. These resources—each of them produced by writing professionals at colleges and universities—outline the steps required in order to produce a final draft. You'll find proofreading tips and checklists in text and video form.

"Developing a Final Draft of a Research Paper" (Univ. of Minnesota)

While this resource contains suggestions for revision, it also features a couple of helpful checklists for the last stages of completing a final draft.

Basic Final Draft Tips and Checklist (Univ. of Maryland-University College)

This short and accessible resource, part of UMUC's very thorough online guide to writing and research, contains a very basic checklist for students who are getting ready to turn in their final drafts.

Final Draft Checklist (Everett C.C.)

This is another accessible final draft checklist, appropriate for both high school and college students. It suggests reading your essay aloud at least once.

"How to Proofread Your Final Draft" (YouTube)

This video (approximately 5 minutes), produced by Eastern Washington University, gives students tips on proofreading final drafts.

"Proofreading Tips" (Georgia Southern-Armstrong)

This guide will help students learn how to spot common errors in their papers. It suggests focusing on content and editing for grammar and mechanics.

This final set of resources is intended specifically for high school and college instructors. It provides links to unit plans and classroom exercises that can help improve students' research and writing skills. You'll find resources that give an overview of the process, along with activities that focus on how to begin and how to carry out research. 

"Research Paper Complete Resources Pack" (Teachers Pay Teachers)

This packet of assignments, rubrics, and other resources is designed for high school students. The resources in this packet are aligned to Common Core standards.

"Research Paper—Complete Unit" (Teachers Pay Teachers)

This packet of assignments, notes, PowerPoints, and other resources has a 4/4 rating with over 700 ratings. It is designed for high school teachers, but might also be useful to college instructors who work with freshmen.

"Teaching Students to Write Good Papers" (Yale)

This resource from Yale's Center for Teaching and Learning is designed for college instructors, and it includes links to appropriate activities and exercises.

"Research Paper Writing: An Overview" (CUNY Brooklyn)

CUNY Brooklyn offers this complete lesson plan for introducing students to research papers. It includes an accompanying set of PowerPoint slides.

"Lesson Plan: How to Begin Writing a Research Paper" (San Jose State Univ.)

This lesson plan is designed for students in the health sciences, so teachers will have to modify it for their own needs. It includes a breakdown of the brainstorming, topic selection, and research question process. 

"Quantitative Techniques for Social Science Research" (Univ. of Pittsburgh)

This is a set of PowerPoint slides that can be used to introduce students to a variety of quantitative methods used in the social sciences.

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These essays are usually some type of analysis or interpretation which require that you develop a thesis and then prove that thesis in the body of the paper. These are the types of papers (in contrast to lab reports or marketing proposals) closest to the style you have written in high school and UNIV 190. However, avoid doing some of the things that are common in high school papers: 1) data dumping, 2) spending too much space on summary 3) using a strict five-paragraph structure or 4) using an unintegrated comparison or counterargument.

Thesis driven

Because these papers are thesis driven, you must spend time and attention on your thesis. Here are some of the most common problems:

• Ensuring that the thesis addresses the prompt
• Ensuring that the thesis is analytical or interpretive so that it is not simply a fact, but is a unique position that you’re staking out and will need to defend.
• Ensuring you are using the right style for your class. Some professors and fields prefer very bald styles: e.g. “In this paper, I argue…” They may also ask for an outline of the paper with the thesis. E.g. “I will first define the term, then demonstrate….” While other professors and fields require that you NEVER use words like “In this paper I argue…” nor give an outline. In the humanities, that is considered extremely bad style.

Analyzing a topic requires that you consider all of the following and then focus only on those which are the most appropriate:

• Comparison – consider what you main idea/thesis can be compared to. It is useful to compare to something completely different and to something quite similar. If a large portion of your paper requires comparison, be sure to use an integrated comparison. Don’t just talk about one item in one paragraph and the other item in another. Compare both according to some point in EACH paragraph.
• Classification–this is an extension of comparison. You classify when there are many similar items to compare. It is also a sort of vertical comparison. What broader or more general category does your idea/topic belong to?
• Cause/Effect, Reason/Result — Look for relationships
• Problem/Solution — This can be related to cause/effect or to comparison. What caused the problem? What effect will the solution have? Compare the alternative solutions to decide which is best.
• Ethos/Pathos/Logos/Kairos — Have you analyzed your topic from all perspectives? Ethos = Credibility including your analysis of the counterarguments, Pathos = Values, Logos =Reason, Kairos=Timeliness/Current Relevance
• try to use three different pieces of evidence to support each major point
• use examples of specific actions, people or places
• use quotes–be sure to integrate these by adding a sentence before or after to explain how you are using the quote as evidence. Many students make the mistake of paraphrasing or rephrasing the quote. That is not useful and doesn’t count as explanation. In fact, if you can paraphrase it, then there’s no point in quoting it. You use a quote because the words that author used are exactly the right words; i.e. there’s no better way to say it. In fact, you may use some space to explain why those words are so great.
• use numbers or facts

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Writing a research proposal

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Preparing a research proposal

Before you write a research proposal, the best first step would be to provide a 500 word outline of your proposed research project. Forward this to any academic you feel would best suit your project – you can find contact details for staff in the subject websites. If you receive a positive response, you should then look to submit a formal application in the form of a research proposal.

What is a research proposal?

Your research proposal needs to outline the nature of your proposed PhD study and give some indication of how you will conduct your research. It is an integral part of the PhD application process, so it is certainly worth investing time and energy into it.

Your research proposal should leave a positive first impression upon the reader about your ‘fitness’ to study a PhD. It is  your  project, so it is important to demonstrate leadership in this first stage of the application process. An ideal proposal should leave the reader feeling in no doubt that you have done some preliminary research about your subject and that you are knowledgeable and ready to tackle the challenges of the PhD.

Give your proposal your utmost attention and time, but also be realistic ‐ you are not expected to know everything at this stage. Your proposal can also be flexible. It is not a contract. Always ask someone else to read your proposal before you submit it, and to offer you some critical but supportive feedback.

Remember that a research proposal is about what  you  want to study; it immediately reflects your initial understanding of, and commitment to, PhD study. A research proposal can and should make a positive and powerful first impression about your potential to become a good researcher.

Importantly, the main purpose is to enable the university to assess whether you are a good ‘match’ for our supervisors and our areas of research expertise.

Therefore, in a good research proposal you will need to demonstrate two main things:

• that you are capable of  independent critical thinking and analysis
• that you are capable of  communicating your ideas clearly

Applying for a PhD is like applying for a job, you are not applying for a taught programme.

When you start a PhD you will become a valued researcher in an academic department. Through your research proposal your colleagues want to know whether they can work with you, and whether your ideas are focussed, interesting and realistic. Try and impress them!

Your proposal should be indicative and it should  outline  your areas of interest and your general insight into the research topic. You are  not  expected to be an expert and to be familiar with all the specific details of your subject. However, you are expected to have a good level of knowledge about the subject and where you might make a valuable contribution to research. The perfect research proposal should leave the reader interested, excited and wanting to find out more about your ideas, and about you!

6 steps to a successful research proposal

A good research proposal should not be complicated. However, it can be challenging to write and it is important to get right. A PhD is challenging, so it is good training working on your research proposal. Although there is no exact prescribed format for a general research proposal (across all subjects), a research proposal should generally include  six  main sections, as detailed below:

1)      A clear working title for your research project

• What will you call your project?
• What key words would describe your proposal?

2)      A clear statement about what you want to work on and why it is important, interesting, relevant and realistic

• What are your main research objectives? These could be articulated as hypotheses, propositions, research questions, or problems to solve
• What difference do you think your research will make?
• Why does this research excite you?
• What research ‘gaps’ will you be filling by undertaking your project?
• How might your research ‘add value’ to the subject?
• Is your research achievable in the time allocated? (e.g. 3 years full‐time)

3)      Some background knowledge and context of the area in which you wish to work, including key literature, key people, key research findings

• How does your work link to the work of others in the same field or related fields?
• Would your work support or contest the work of others?
• How does your work relate to the expertise within the department you are applying to?

4)      Some consideration of the methods/approach you might use

• How will you conduct your research?
• Will you use existing theories, new methods/approaches or develop new methods/approaches?
• How might you design your project to get the best results/findings?

5)      Some indication of the strategy and timetable for your research project and any research challenges you may face

• What would be the main stages of your project?
• What would you be expecting to do in each year of your PhD?
• What challenges might you encounter and how might your overcome these?

6)      A list of the key references which support your research proposal

• References should be listed in the appropriate convention for your subject area (e.g. Harvard). Such references should be used throughout your research proposal to demonstrate that you have read and understood the work of others
• Other relevant material that you are aware of, but not actually used in writing your proposal, can also be added as a bibliography

All of the above six sections are important but section 2 is particularly important because in any research project, establishing your main purpose represents the whole basis for completing the research programme. Therefore, the value of your proposed research is assessed in relation to your research aims and objectives.

How long should a good research proposal be?

A good research proposal is as long as it takes, but a guide would be 1000-2000 words. Remember that it is meant to be an accurate overview, not a thesis, so you need to provide enough detail for the reader to understand it. A paragraph would not be enough and 5000 words likely too much.

The '3Cs' rule

When you have written your research proposal, ask a friend to read it critically and provide you with feedback. Also, ask yourself whether it follows the '3Cs' rule:

CLEAR : is what you have written intelligible and clearly articulated? Does it make sense, or is it vague and confusing? Does your proposal leave the reader with a clear sense of the purpose and direction of your research project?

CONCISE : have you written your proposal in a succinct and focussed way?

COHERENT : does your proposal link together well so that it tells the reader a short story about what you want to do, why you want to do it and how you will do it?

If you can answer all of these questions with confidence, you have probably put together a good proposal.

What this handout is about

This handout provides definitions and examples of the two main types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. It also provides guidelines for constructing an abstract and general tips for you to keep in mind when drafting. Finally, it includes a few examples of abstracts broken down into their component parts.

What is an abstract?

An abstract is a self-contained, short, and powerful statement that describes a larger work. Components vary according to discipline. An abstract of a social science or scientific work may contain the scope, purpose, results, and contents of the work. An abstract of a humanities work may contain the thesis, background, and conclusion of the larger work. An abstract is not a review, nor does it evaluate the work being abstracted. While it contains key words found in the larger work, the abstract is an original document rather than an excerpted passage.

Why write an abstract?

You may write an abstract for various reasons. The two most important are selection and indexing. Abstracts allow readers who may be interested in a longer work to quickly decide whether it is worth their time to read it. Also, many online databases use abstracts to index larger works. Therefore, abstracts should contain keywords and phrases that allow for easy searching.

Say you are beginning a research project on how Brazilian newspapers helped Brazil’s ultra-liberal president Luiz Ignácio da Silva wrest power from the traditional, conservative power base. A good first place to start your research is to search Dissertation Abstracts International for all dissertations that deal with the interaction between newspapers and politics. “Newspapers and politics” returned 569 hits. A more selective search of “newspapers and Brazil” returned 22 hits. That is still a fair number of dissertations. Titles can sometimes help winnow the field, but many titles are not very descriptive. For example, one dissertation is titled “Rhetoric and Riot in Rio de Janeiro.” It is unclear from the title what this dissertation has to do with newspapers in Brazil. One option would be to download or order the entire dissertation on the chance that it might speak specifically to the topic. A better option is to read the abstract. In this case, the abstract reveals the main focus of the dissertation:

This dissertation examines the role of newspaper editors in the political turmoil and strife that characterized late First Empire Rio de Janeiro (1827-1831). Newspaper editors and their journals helped change the political culture of late First Empire Rio de Janeiro by involving the people in the discussion of state. This change in political culture is apparent in Emperor Pedro I’s gradual loss of control over the mechanisms of power. As the newspapers became more numerous and powerful, the Emperor lost his legitimacy in the eyes of the people. To explore the role of the newspapers in the political events of the late First Empire, this dissertation analyzes all available newspapers published in Rio de Janeiro from 1827 to 1831. Newspapers and their editors were leading forces in the effort to remove power from the hands of the ruling elite and place it under the control of the people. In the process, newspapers helped change how politics operated in the constitutional monarchy of Brazil.

From this abstract you now know that although the dissertation has nothing to do with modern Brazilian politics, it does cover the role of newspapers in changing traditional mechanisms of power. After reading the abstract, you can make an informed judgment about whether the dissertation would be worthwhile to read.

Besides selection, the other main purpose of the abstract is for indexing. Most article databases in the online catalog of the library enable you to search abstracts. This allows for quick retrieval by users and limits the extraneous items recalled by a “full-text” search. However, for an abstract to be useful in an online retrieval system, it must incorporate the key terms that a potential researcher would use to search. For example, if you search Dissertation Abstracts International using the keywords “France” “revolution” and “politics,” the search engine would search through all the abstracts in the database that included those three words. Without an abstract, the search engine would be forced to search titles, which, as we have seen, may not be fruitful, or else search the full text. It’s likely that a lot more than 60 dissertations have been written with those three words somewhere in the body of the entire work. By incorporating keywords into the abstract, the author emphasizes the central topics of the work and gives prospective readers enough information to make an informed judgment about the applicability of the work.

When do people write abstracts?

• when submitting articles to journals, especially online journals
• when applying for research grants
• when writing a book proposal
• when completing the Ph.D. dissertation or M.A. thesis
• when writing a proposal for a conference paper
• when writing a proposal for a book chapter

Most often, the author of the entire work (or prospective work) writes the abstract. However, there are professional abstracting services that hire writers to draft abstracts of other people’s work. In a work with multiple authors, the first author usually writes the abstract. Undergraduates are sometimes asked to draft abstracts of books/articles for classmates who have not read the larger work.

Types of abstracts

There are two types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. They have different aims, so as a consequence they have different components and styles. There is also a third type called critical, but it is rarely used. If you want to find out more about writing a critique or a review of a work, see the UNC Writing Center handout on writing a literature review . If you are unsure which type of abstract you should write, ask your instructor (if the abstract is for a class) or read other abstracts in your field or in the journal where you are submitting your article.

Descriptive abstracts

A descriptive abstract indicates the type of information found in the work. It makes no judgments about the work, nor does it provide results or conclusions of the research. It does incorporate key words found in the text and may include the purpose, methods, and scope of the research. Essentially, the descriptive abstract describes the work being abstracted. Some people consider it an outline of the work, rather than a summary. Descriptive abstracts are usually very short—100 words or less.

Informative abstracts

The majority of abstracts are informative. While they still do not critique or evaluate a work, they do more than describe it. A good informative abstract acts as a surrogate for the work itself. That is, the writer presents and explains all the main arguments and the important results and evidence in the complete article/paper/book. An informative abstract includes the information that can be found in a descriptive abstract (purpose, methods, scope) but also includes the results and conclusions of the research and the recommendations of the author. The length varies according to discipline, but an informative abstract is rarely more than 10% of the length of the entire work. In the case of a longer work, it may be much less.

Here are examples of a descriptive and an informative abstract of this handout on abstracts . Descriptive abstract:

The two most common abstract types—descriptive and informative—are described and examples of each are provided.

Informative abstract:

Abstracts present the essential elements of a longer work in a short and powerful statement. The purpose of an abstract is to provide prospective readers the opportunity to judge the relevance of the longer work to their projects. Abstracts also include the key terms found in the longer work and the purpose and methods of the research. Authors abstract various longer works, including book proposals, dissertations, and online journal articles. There are two main types of abstracts: descriptive and informative. A descriptive abstract briefly describes the longer work, while an informative abstract presents all the main arguments and important results. This handout provides examples of various types of abstracts and instructions on how to construct one.

Which type should I use?

Your best bet in this case is to ask your instructor or refer to the instructions provided by the publisher. You can also make a guess based on the length allowed; i.e., 100-120 words = descriptive; 250+ words = informative.

How do I write an abstract?

The format of your abstract will depend on the work being abstracted. An abstract of a scientific research paper will contain elements not found in an abstract of a literature article, and vice versa. However, all abstracts share several mandatory components, and there are also some optional parts that you can decide to include or not. When preparing to draft your abstract, keep the following key process elements in mind:

• Reason for writing: What is the importance of the research? Why would a reader be interested in the larger work?
• Problem: What problem does this work attempt to solve? What is the scope of the project? What is the main argument/thesis/claim?
• Methodology: An abstract of a scientific work may include specific models or approaches used in the larger study. Other abstracts may describe the types of evidence used in the research.
• Results: Again, an abstract of a scientific work may include specific data that indicates the results of the project. Other abstracts may discuss the findings in a more general way.
• Implications: What changes should be implemented as a result of the findings of the work? How does this work add to the body of knowledge on the topic?

(This list of elements is adapted with permission from Philip Koopman, “How to Write an Abstract.” )

All abstracts include:

• A full citation of the source, preceding the abstract.
• The most important information first.
• The same type and style of language found in the original, including technical language.
• Key words and phrases that quickly identify the content and focus of the work.
• Clear, concise, and powerful language.

Abstracts may include:

• The thesis of the work, usually in the first sentence.
• Background information that places the work in the larger body of literature.
• The same chronological structure as the original work.

How not to write an abstract:

• Do not refer extensively to other works.
• Do not add information not contained in the original work.
• Do not define terms.

If you are abstracting your own writing

When abstracting your own work, it may be difficult to condense a piece of writing that you have agonized over for weeks (or months, or even years) into a 250-word statement. There are some tricks that you could use to make it easier, however.

Reverse outlining:

This technique is commonly used when you are having trouble organizing your own writing. The process involves writing down the main idea of each paragraph on a separate piece of paper– see our short video . For the purposes of writing an abstract, try grouping the main ideas of each section of the paper into a single sentence. Practice grouping ideas using webbing or color coding .

For a scientific paper, you may have sections titled Purpose, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Each one of these sections will be longer than one paragraph, but each is grouped around a central idea. Use reverse outlining to discover the central idea in each section and then distill these ideas into one statement.

Cut and paste:

To create a first draft of an abstract of your own work, you can read through the entire paper and cut and paste sentences that capture key passages. This technique is useful for social science research with findings that cannot be encapsulated by neat numbers or concrete results. A well-written humanities draft will have a clear and direct thesis statement and informative topic sentences for paragraphs or sections. Isolate these sentences in a separate document and work on revising them into a unified paragraph.

If you are abstracting someone else’s writing

When abstracting something you have not written, you cannot summarize key ideas just by cutting and pasting. Instead, you must determine what a prospective reader would want to know about the work. There are a few techniques that will help you in this process:

Identify key terms:

Search through the entire document for key terms that identify the purpose, scope, and methods of the work. Pay close attention to the Introduction (or Purpose) and the Conclusion (or Discussion). These sections should contain all the main ideas and key terms in the paper. When writing the abstract, be sure to incorporate the key terms.

Highlight key phrases and sentences:

Instead of cutting and pasting the actual words, try highlighting sentences or phrases that appear to be central to the work. Then, in a separate document, rewrite the sentences and phrases in your own words.

Don’t look back:

After reading the entire work, put it aside and write a paragraph about the work without referring to it. In the first draft, you may not remember all the key terms or the results, but you will remember what the main point of the work was. Remember not to include any information you did not get from the work being abstracted.

Revise, revise, revise

No matter what type of abstract you are writing, or whether you are abstracting your own work or someone else’s, the most important step in writing an abstract is to revise early and often. When revising, delete all extraneous words and incorporate meaningful and powerful words. The idea is to be as clear and complete as possible in the shortest possible amount of space. The Word Count feature of Microsoft Word can help you keep track of how long your abstract is and help you hit your target length.

Example 1: Humanities abstract

Kenneth Tait Andrews, “‘Freedom is a constant struggle’: The dynamics and consequences of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement, 1960-1984” Ph.D. State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1997 DAI-A 59/02, p. 620, Aug 1998

This dissertation examines the impacts of social movements through a multi-layered study of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement from its peak in the early 1960s through the early 1980s. By examining this historically important case, I clarify the process by which movements transform social structures and the constraints movements face when they try to do so. The time period studied includes the expansion of voting rights and gains in black political power, the desegregation of public schools and the emergence of white-flight academies, and the rise and fall of federal anti-poverty programs. I use two major research strategies: (1) a quantitative analysis of county-level data and (2) three case studies. Data have been collected from archives, interviews, newspapers, and published reports. This dissertation challenges the argument that movements are inconsequential. Some view federal agencies, courts, political parties, or economic elites as the agents driving institutional change, but typically these groups acted in response to the leverage brought to bear by the civil rights movement. The Mississippi movement attempted to forge independent structures for sustaining challenges to local inequities and injustices. By propelling change in an array of local institutions, movement infrastructures had an enduring legacy in Mississippi.

Now let’s break down this abstract into its component parts to see how the author has distilled his entire dissertation into a ~200 word abstract.

What the dissertation does This dissertation examines the impacts of social movements through a multi-layered study of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement from its peak in the early 1960s through the early 1980s. By examining this historically important case, I clarify the process by which movements transform social structures and the constraints movements face when they try to do so.

How the dissertation does it The time period studied in this dissertation includes the expansion of voting rights and gains in black political power, the desegregation of public schools and the emergence of white-flight academies, and the rise and fall of federal anti-poverty programs. I use two major research strategies: (1) a quantitative analysis of county-level data and (2) three case studies.

What materials are used Data have been collected from archives, interviews, newspapers, and published reports.

Conclusion This dissertation challenges the argument that movements are inconsequential. Some view federal agencies, courts, political parties, or economic elites as the agents driving institutional change, but typically these groups acted in response to movement demands and the leverage brought to bear by the civil rights movement. The Mississippi movement attempted to forge independent structures for sustaining challenges to local inequities and injustices. By propelling change in an array of local institutions, movement infrastructures had an enduring legacy in Mississippi.

Keywords social movements Civil Rights Movement Mississippi voting rights desegregation

Example 2: Science Abstract

Luis Lehner, “Gravitational radiation from black hole spacetimes” Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh, 1998 DAI-B 59/06, p. 2797, Dec 1998

The problem of detecting gravitational radiation is receiving considerable attention with the construction of new detectors in the United States, Europe, and Japan. The theoretical modeling of the wave forms that would be produced in particular systems will expedite the search for and analysis of detected signals. The characteristic formulation of GR is implemented to obtain an algorithm capable of evolving black holes in 3D asymptotically flat spacetimes. Using compactification techniques, future null infinity is included in the evolved region, which enables the unambiguous calculation of the radiation produced by some compact source. A module to calculate the waveforms is constructed and included in the evolution algorithm. This code is shown to be second-order convergent and to handle highly non-linear spacetimes. In particular, we have shown that the code can handle spacetimes whose radiation is equivalent to a galaxy converting its whole mass into gravitational radiation in one second. We further use the characteristic formulation to treat the region close to the singularity in black hole spacetimes. The code carefully excises a region surrounding the singularity and accurately evolves generic black hole spacetimes with apparently unlimited stability.

This science abstract covers much of the same ground as the humanities one, but it asks slightly different questions.

Why do this study The problem of detecting gravitational radiation is receiving considerable attention with the construction of new detectors in the United States, Europe, and Japan. The theoretical modeling of the wave forms that would be produced in particular systems will expedite the search and analysis of the detected signals.

What the study does The characteristic formulation of GR is implemented to obtain an algorithm capable of evolving black holes in 3D asymptotically flat spacetimes. Using compactification techniques, future null infinity is included in the evolved region, which enables the unambiguous calculation of the radiation produced by some compact source. A module to calculate the waveforms is constructed and included in the evolution algorithm.

Results This code is shown to be second-order convergent and to handle highly non-linear spacetimes. In particular, we have shown that the code can handle spacetimes whose radiation is equivalent to a galaxy converting its whole mass into gravitational radiation in one second. We further use the characteristic formulation to treat the region close to the singularity in black hole spacetimes. The code carefully excises a region surrounding the singularity and accurately evolves generic black hole spacetimes with apparently unlimited stability.

Keywords gravitational radiation (GR) spacetimes black holes

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Belcher, Wendy Laura. 2009. Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks: A Guide to Academic Publishing Success. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Press.

Koopman, Philip. 1997. “How to Write an Abstract.” Carnegie Mellon University. October 1997. http://users.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/essays/abstract.html .

Lancaster, F.W. 2003. Indexing And Abstracting in Theory and Practice , 3rd ed. London: Facet Publishing.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Organizing Research for Arts and Humanities Papers and Theses

• General Guide Information
• Developing a Topic
• What are Primary and Secondary Sources
• What are Scholarly and Non-Scholarly Sources
• Writing an Abstract
• Writing Academic Book Reviews
• Writing A Literature Review
• Using Images and other Media

Critical Engagement

Note: these recommendations are geared toward researchers in the arts or humanities.

Developing a research topic is an iterative process, even for a short paper. This is a process that emerges in stages, and one which requires critical (but not criticizing) engagement with the evidence, literature, and prior research. The evidence can be an object, an artifact, a historic event, an idea, a theoretical framework, or existing interpretations.

Ultimately, you want to be able to pose a research question that you will then investigate in your paper.

If you are writing a paper for a course, the initial critical ideas and theoretical frameworks may come from your course readings. Pay attention to footnotes and bibliographies in your readings, because they can help you identify other potential sources of information.

As you are thinking about your topic, consider what, if anything, has already been written. If a lot of literature exists on your topic, you will need to narrow your topic down, and decide how to make it interesting for your reader. Regurgitating or synthesizing what has already been said is very unlikely to be exciting both for you and for those who will be reading your wok. If there is little or no literature on your topic, you will need to think how to frame it so as to take advantage of existing theories in the discipline. You may also be able to take advantage of existing scholarship on related topics.

Types of Research Papers

There are two common types of research papers in the arts and humanities: expository and argumentative . In an expository paper you develop an idea or critical "reading" of something, and then support your idea or "reading" with evidence. In an argumentative essay you propose an argument or a framework to engage in a dialog with and to refute an existing interpretation, and provide evidence to support your argument/interpretation, as well as evidence to refute an existing argument/interpretation. For further elaboration on expository and argumentative papers, as well and for examples of both types of essays, check the book titled The Art of Writing About Art , co-authored by Suzanne Hudson and Nancy Noonan-Morrissey, originally published in 2001. Note that particular disciplines in the arts or humanities may have other specialized types of frameworks for research.

Also, remember that a research paper is not "merely an elaborately footnoted presentation of what a dozen scholars have already said about a topic; it is a thoughtful evaluation of the available evidence , and so is, finally, an expression of what the author [i.e., you] thinks the evidence adds up to." [Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing About Art (New York: Pearson/Longman, 2005), 238-239.]

If you select a broad topic

If a lot has been written on your topic, perhaps you should consider the following:

• why are you interested in this topic?
• is there something specific you want to address?
• can you offer a different or a more nuanced interpretation?
• is there a specific theoretical or methodological perspective that you would like to apply?
• can you shed more light on specific evidence or detail(s)?
• review scholarship cited in the footnotes/bibliographies of your readings and see if there are lacunae you can address.

If you stick with a broad topic, you run into the danger of over-generalizing or summarizing existing scholarship, both of which have limited value in contemporary arts and humanities research papers. Summarizing is generally useful for providing background information, as well as for literature reviews. However, it should not constitute the bulk of your paper.

If you select a narrow or a very new topic

If you are interested in something very specific or very new, you may find that little has been written about it. You might even find that the same information gets repeated everywhere, because nothing else is available. Consider this an opportunity for you to do unique research, and think of the following:

• is there a broader or a related topic that you can investigate in order to circle back and hone in on your chosen topic?
• can your topic be critically examined within an existing theoretical or methodological framework?
• are you able to draw on another field of study to investigate your topic?
• review scholarship cited in the footnotes/bibliographies of the readings. - in other words, engage in citation chaining.
• if the pertinent readings you find are not scholarly (this is not necessarily a bad thing), evaluate how you can use them to develop a more scholarly and critical context for investigating your topic.

Citing sources

Remember to keep track of your sources, regardless of the stage of your research. The USC Libraries have an excellent guide to citation styles  and to citation management software . 

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Sample Abstract - Humanities

Memoirs of genocide: from poland to sudan.

Jasmine Angelini-Knoll Under the direction of Dr. Kenneth Waltzer, Jewish Studies Program

For this project, related to my research assistance for Dr. Kenneth Waltzer in his work on "The Rescue of Children and Youth in Buchenwald," I will look at several different memoirs rooted in experiences of mass violence undergone by children and youth. I want to draw parallels between memoirs of youthful survivors who lived through the Nazi Holocaust in Europe, and the “Lost Boys,” who survived recent violent conflict in Sudan. My sample of memoirs includes works in French by Polish Jewish boys who survived the Holocaust in ghettos and work camps, finally winding up in Buchenwald. The Sudanese memoirs trace the paths of boys as they fled from destroyed homes to refugee camps. They are written in English, often involving the collaboration of American authors. Besides engaging each story individually, the exploration of these works urges broader questions about memory of horrific violence. How is memory presented and organized in memoir? What is emphasized and why? What are the motivations for speaking as witnesses of horror and survivors of violence? What are the implications of personal memoir for the larger task of preventing violence and genocide? These stories are diverse—they take place in worlds and times apart, they involve different actors and contexts. Yet they are also connected, involving experiences by youth of mass violence, survival, and finally efforts to represent memory years later as warning, as remembrance, and as an effort to help others understand.

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220 Best Humanities Research Topics to Get Started

Table of Contents

Humanities is a broad academic discipline that deals with the various facets of culture and human society. It mainly involves the study of languages, philosophy, literature, religion, art, history, law, archaeology, and anthropology. If you are a humanities student, then as a part of your course, you will have to submit a research paper on any interesting topic related to the subject. In case, you are unsure what topic to choose for your humanities research paper, then check this blog post. For your convenience, here, we have presented a list of the great humanities research topics in various categories. Also, we have shared a few significant tips for selecting a good humanities research topic.

Without wasting your time, explore this blog post and get more ideas for humanities research paper writing.

Tips for Selecting a Good Humanities Research Topic

Before jumping into the humanities research topics list, first, let us take a look at how to select a good humanities research topic.

Usually, when it comes to research paper writing assignments, your professors will share some writing prompts for you to choose from. But, at certain times, they will allow you to select a topic on your own. In such a scenario, you may get confused about what topic to choose.

If you are given a chance to select the humanities research topic of your choice, follow the below-mentioned tips. It would help you identify an ideal humanities research topic.

• Pick a practical research topic.
• Choose a topic that belongs to your area of interest.
• Go with a topic that is related to both the current and historical perspectives.
• Give preference to the topic that is impactful to society.
• Never pick a topic with no or less research scope.
• Select a topic that is matching to the research methodology of your choice.
• Consider a topic that is interesting and informative to your readers.
• Choose a research topic that has extensive information and credible sources for reference.
• Select a topic that contains valid facts, evidence, or examples supporting your major points of discussion.

Besides all these steps, before finalizing your research topic, check whether the topic you have identified stands in line with the writing guidelines of your professor or university. Once you have chosen a perfect humanities research topic, start writing the research paper by using your writing skills, after conducting deep research.

List of the Best Humanities Research Topics

To write a humanities research paper, you can choose a topic from any discipline such as arts, religion, philosophy, medicine, etc.

Especially, to make your topic selection process simple and help you save time, below we have added a list of outstanding humanities research paper ideas on various categories. Go through the entire list carefully and pick any topic that is convenient for you to research and write about.

Basic Humanities Research Paper Topics

• Assess the best strategies for negotiations during wars.
• How do body image issues change with age?
• Does book reading make people more social?
• How does economic prosperity affect the feeling of patriotism?
• Explain the effects of gender-based violence on children’s personalities.
• Explain how social media affect America’s political decisions.
• What are the social changes in developed nations?
• Research the effectiveness of the UN in fostering global peace.
• Discuss the negative impacts of teen pregnancies.
• What is the role of America in Europe’s restoration after WWII?
• Discuss the role of artists in a time of war
• Application of the views of Socrates to western democracy in the 21 st Century
• Evaluation of Appalachian language and its academic power
• Critical analysis of the role of conflicts in violence
• Why building resilience is important for ensuring environmental sustainability?
• Perspective pathways to greater human flourishing
• Regional Identity and Appalachian Language
• The 18th Century Conventions of Feminism and Jane Austen
• How can the theories of Socrates be applied to 21st-century Western Democracy?
• Briefly discuss the historical tension between religion and science with examples

Excellent Humanities Project Ideas

• Compare human and animal sacrifice in religion.
• Are fast foods spoiling traditional food cultures?
• What are the pros and cons of studying gender issues in school?
• How photography is framing public opinion in the 21st century?
• Investigate the role of the justice system in advancing equality.
• Compare African socialism in the 1950 and 1970s.
• Discuss the environmental foundations necessary for humanities.
• Explain the pros and cons of studying humanities.
• Discuss how cultural stereotypes are developed by superstitions.
• Why is it hard to stop bullying in school?
• Research why language is essential for any society to thrive.
• What impact do graphic novels have on literacy?
• Assess human communication and behavior.
• How oral history has affected modern culture?
• How science fiction has invaded the mainstream culture around the world?
• How do intersectionality and gender bias affect inclusion and diversity in the workplace?
• Describe the current status of transgender and other sexual minority communities in Canada
• Discuss some common social justice issues across every country in the world
• Humanity is the best religion and the essence of human existence: Explain
• Impact of the feminism movement on society

Great Humanities Research Paper Topics

• Discuss the link between bureaucracy and the law-making process.
• Write about the executive power in the US.
• What are the ethical issues involved in media advertising?
• Explain the connection between Italian fashion and Chinese culture.
• Discuss the impact of dual nationality on political views.
• Analyze the effects of poverty in rural communities.
• How Twitter has transformed into a powerful political platform?
• Is capitalism the best system?
• What is the impact of the Neolithic revolution on people’s cognitive abilities?
• Discuss the effects of daily family routines on a child’s development.
• How to differentiate the humanities from the social sciences?
• Explain the role of capitalism and communism in the study of humanities.
• What are the global political and economic issues that affect the study of humanities?
• Discuss the effects of irresponsible teenage behavior in society.
• Discuss the pros and cons of early marriages.
• Analyze the humanities curriculum in the U.S.A.
• Write about the origin of humanities in Classical Greek.
• What are the factors that inhibit the study of anthropological linguistics?
• Explain the factors that modify the behavior of individuals and society.
• Explain the impact of the Me Too movement on the girl-child.

Captivating Humanities Research Topics

• What are the effects of Consumerism on sustainability?
• Write about the fashion trends in society.
• Research the social problems faced by people who are with disabilities.
• Why does cultural appropriation always result in political contests?
• Should poverty be treated as a social issue?
• What are the benefits of countercultures in society?
• How to prevent the fight for resources in families using the conflict theory?
• What is the role of the bible in the development of US democracy?
• Explain the major differences between interstate conflicts and wars.
• Using the critical race theory analyze the Black Lives Matter activist movement.
• Analyze the impact of different class systems on associations.
• What are the various clashes between different social classes in the world?
• Discuss the effect of various social movements in advocating for change.
• What is the ultimate cause of criminal organizations in different societies?
• Explain the effect of technology on preserving historical facts.
• Explore the reaction of people towards social policies.
• Discuss the differences between sects and cults.
• What is the impact of the separation of humanities from the realm of the divine?
• Discuss the role of critical thinking and effective communication in humanities.
• What is the role of early Middle Ages Church Fathers in humanities?

Humanities Research Topics in Philosophy

• Discuss election ethics.
• What are the main causes of war?
• Prepare a case study of Europe in the 20th century based on the application of socialism.
• Discuss the inference of learning philosophy for the growth of a society.
• Discuss the implications of scientific realism on judgment by scientists.
• How to eradicate corruption in society?
• Explore mind philosophy and problems with dualism.
• Discuss the main challenges involved in regulating the environment using laws.
• Are morals relative to society or culture?
• Using Aristotle’s perspectives define a perfect government.

Humanities and Arts Research Paper Topics

• How does art education make people think differently?
• Discuss the effect of music on modern culture and society.
• Explain the impact of the Cultural Revolution on Chinese art.
• Compare the themes in modern and traditional Caribbean music.
• What is water puppetry in Vietnamese tradition?
• Analyze the Mayan art and society.
• Explain the music and political propaganda in the 20th century.
• Compare the role of liberal arts education in the 20th and 21st centuries.
• What is the use of totem masks in Papua New Guinea art?
• Discuss the causes of the decline of art in medieval Europe.
• Explain how Japanese art influenced that country’s clothing.
• How the modern art is related to American suffering?
• What is the effect of the printing press on the wide-scale spread of art?
• What is the influence of ancient art on current artistic trends?
• Describe the ancient Greek and Roman motifs in modern architectural works.
• Discuss the effects of social media on digital art and the spread of ideas.
• Explain the K-pop music style and subculture.
• Explain the impact of mythology on the sculptures of Ancient Greece.
• Depict war in 20th-century art.
• Should advertisements be seen as a form of modern art?

Medical Humanities Research Topics

• Can exercise ruin a person’s health?
• Should a doctor be allowed to offer medical help against the desires of the guardian?
• Discuss the impact of various medical and technological advances.
• Explain how to deal with end-of-life issues in medicine.
• How are medical addictions portrayed in literature?
• Where the people with mental issues should be treated- in or outside their communities?
• Explain the history of abortion throughout the 20th century.
• What is the relationship between medicine and humanities?
• Examine the practice of medicine across different cultures.
• Is it ethical to use animals for testing drugs?
• Discuss the ethics of medical advances.
• Explain the medical practices in the field of battle.
• Discuss the criminal charges for medical malpractice throughout the 21st century.
• How do humanities affect the use of alternative medicines?
• Discuss the religious impact on the medical community.

Digital Humanities Research Paper Topics

• Why do social media make people feel lonely as opposed to connecting them?
• How to incorporate digital technologies in archiving archaeological data?
• Discuss the history of computing in the humanities.
• Explain the effect of Modern devices and technology on people’s relationships.
• Evaluate the nature and extent of the digital revolution.
• What are the effects of video games on violence in society?
• Have a closer look at humanities studies and the age of information technology.
• Discuss the history of the printing press and its role in spreading ideas.
• How do modern gadgets affect people’s mental health?
• Should we adopt a scientific approach to the problem of alcoholism?
• Does digital technology offer a better life?
• Explore the potential of digital academic data.
• Discuss the future of digital communication.
• Explain how data visualization tools are changing people’s opinions.
• Discuss the change in people’s jobs because of technological developments.

Humanities Research Topics on Religion

• Discuss the conflict between religion and social order.
• Compare the two most ancient religions in society.
• What is the role of religion in contemporary society?
• Explain the concept of reincarnation in different religions.
• What is the major reason for the emergence of new religions?
• What is the importance of the church in the well-being of society?
• Compare funeral rituals in two religions of your choice.
• Explain the difference between new and older religious movements.
• Discuss the positive changes that can be achieved through religious practices.
• Analyze the concept of Goddess and God in religion.
• Explain the similarities between religions around the world.
• What is the effect of sacrificial traditions in ancient religions on today’s society?
• Discuss female clergy in religions.
• What is the relationship between religion and science?
• Explain the role of religion and mythology in the study of humanities.

Amazing Humanities Research Ideas

• What are the effects of cultural assimilation?
• Explain why the topic of abortion is a live wire in most societies.
• What is the role of poverty in facilitating violence and civil unrest?
• Why has online dating twisted the necessity of marriage?
• Why is pop music gaining acceptance among the general population?
• Is cultural segmentation a good thing?
• Prepare a case study of mass media and fear during terrorist attacks.
• How to handle the institutional crisis?
• Why social theories are significant in the field of humanities?
• What is the role of gender in determining leadership positions in society?
• Explain the social issues that affect students in colleges and universities.
• Analyze the effects of the great migration.
• Why are primarily teenagers and youths resistant to their parents?
• Explain the consequences of intersectionality and discrimination in any society.
• Compare pop music and classical music

Read more: Great Human Rights Topics For Writing Academic Papers

Outstanding Humanities Research Topics

• Write about Western humanities in the 21 st
• Discuss symbolism in television sci-fi shows.
• Explain the evolution of socialist movements throughout the world.
• Write about humanities in the computer age and mass information.
• How does online publishing affect humanities?
• Describe the Bible’s representation of humanities and culture.
• Write about community volunteer programs and their impact on youths.
• Discuss the influence of science on humanities over the centuries.
• Present the different definitions of freedom from around the world.
• Why the tools for cultural analysis are essential for humanities?
• Alternative dispute resolution mechanism for the settlement of environmental disputes in Nigeria: A Study of Ojodu Community, Lagos State
• Describe the scarily lucrative business model of human trafficking
• Technical Change And Productivity in the Manufacturing Industry in Imo State of Nigeria
• How the military force of a nation can promote human security in conflict situations?
• Analyze the governance and service delivery of the local government in the Kiruhura District of Uganda

Top-rated Humanities Dissertation Topics

• What are the challenges faced by adult graduates with learning technologies?
• Explain the impact of the internet on the emotional maturity of the students.
• How do the qualities of family life affect parent-child relationships?
• Assess the link between classroom quality and learning results in kindergarten.
• Is creativity a type of fantasy?
• What are the major causes of the Cold War?
• Discuss the effect of adoption on parent-child relationships.
• Investigate how racism affects a family unit.
• What are the political and social implications of design?
• Explain the future of humanity in an extraterrestrial world.
• Examining the most effective tactics for wartime negotiations: Utilize three 20th-century example studies.
• When should kids start receiving sex education?
• Offspring of multinational marriages facing identification challenges.
• Who is responsible for defending human rights on a global scale? A study of the International Criminal Court’s efficacy.
• The major reason for misunderstandings in social media communication is a lack of face-to-face encounters.

Read more: Interesting Dissertation Topics to Consider for Academic Writing

Informative Humanities Research Ideas

• Answering the challenging inquiries What is the main reason for the conflicts between Israel and Palestine? Can it or it be dealt with?
• How Twitter has become a potent political tool.
• Do gender and spirituality go together?
• Should the United States be held accountable for the severe harm that its use of atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused to Japan?
• Should social media use be controlled to lessen the risk of addiction and other adverse effects?
• Discuss the role played by NGOs and free-of-cost education service delivery organizations to develop underdeveloped nations
• Participation motives and competitive orientation of football players in the Kenyan Women’s Premier League
• Analyze the central idea of marriage in African Religio-Culture with reference to the Maasai of Kajiado County, Kenya
• Critical analysis of women’s political participation: a case of Bomachoge constituency in Kenya (1963-2013)
• Association between paternal illicit drug and alcohol consumption, complementary feeding and children’s nutrition status

Awesome Humanities Research Topics

• A critical look at the different branches of anthropology
• Explain the various changes in human societies through time.
• How to propagate a self-sufficient system of human values in the society
• What is the impact of breaking down humanities into other majors?
• Discuss the notion of different societies concerning aging
• Elaborate on the impact of the myths and misconceptions about coronavirus
• Discuss the political aspects that relate to social interactions
• Explore the field of Geography and its relationship to humanities
• A systematic review of the issues affecting rational arguments
• Evaluate the process that led to the unification of Germany

Out of the different ideas suggested in this blog, select any topic of your choice and draft a brilliant humanities research paper. In case, you need help with humanities research paper topic selection and writing, get in touch with us immediately.

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Introduction Thesis Statement: The use of DNA in a criminal prosecution has helped advance justice for both victims and suspects by, among other things, eliminating the possibility of wrongful conviction due to inaccurate identification. This way, it has also tremendously helped the law enforcement agencies in the criminal justice system in fighting and solving crime through effective investigation of offenses. However, there are also legal -particularly human rights- and ethical challenges regarding DNA application in criminal prosecution (Naughton & Gabe 245).

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Summer 2024 NEH Humanities Initiatives Undergraduate Research Award Program

Daniel Rojas Lindsay E. Paul

Daniel Rojas

Dyson | Communication Studies

Faculty Mentor: Erica L. Johnson

Project Title: Sandy Archive

I am researching the effects that Hurricane Sandy had on lower Manhattan. For those interested in this project some things to understand would be the before and after effects that the city has dealt as a result of flooding. On the Digital Commons website at Pace University, students can find a section in the Dyson department called “Cultural Histories of Lower Manhattan: The Ground Beneath Our Feet” which will give insights about the history of lower Manhattan and give more nuance that students or researchers have not thought about before. It is important to reflect on the community or communities that we get ourselves involved in. The topic of a storm like Sandy is important to highlight because this event left a domino effect of climate change that we still see to this day. The catastrophe that was about to befall New York City was not anticipated. In addition to losing electricity, many New Yorkers were left without access to food, clean water, or medical care. Resulting in 44 resident deaths, 19 billion dollars in damages, and economic losses.

Therefore, I want to highlight the threat climate change poses to the city and how crucial it is to keep in mind that these damages are likely to occur soon if the city does not make the necessary investments to safeguard itself from floods in the future. There have been several projects to protect lower Manhattan in a U shape that constructs barriers that go above sea level and become more accessible for the public. The most damaged districts in lower Manhattan were those that had been reclaimed by landfills, as well as low-lying coastline locations like apartment complexes and local businesses. Large areas oflower Manhattan flooded, causing a long-lasting conversation on infrastructure.

In creating a witness account of the storm, I try to look for images using social media like Twitter or Instagram, that way we can see more real-life day-to-day events that took place. News channels have interviews with local businesses and people around neighborhoods that have shared their experiences. I would like people to get familiar with the threat that climate change poses on the city and how important it is to remember this disaster that parallels the near future if the city does not invest to protect itself from future floodings. Furthermore, I would like to highlight how different communities were affected, how the City did not provide enough resources, and the people having to use their good will to help those in need, the most vulnerable New Yorkers.The city as a whole depends very much on community and rehabilitation, as well as the residents who live and own small businesses. Without methods to address the risks that Sandy revealed in those areas climate change is probably going to make it worse in the future. New York City was not prepared for Hurricane Sandy and I wish for this research to reflect how communities come together to help rebuild and prosper.

Lindsay E. Paul

Dyson | Film & Screen Studies; English Language & Literature

Faculty Mentor: Kelley Kreitz

Project Title: Self-Published Women: How Anaïs Nin’s Personal Printing Press Popularized Feminist Writing in the United States

Female writers have been historically underrepresented in the Western literary canon because of a lack of resources and access to publishing. This has led to a lack of appreciation and understanding of feminine writing or the écriture féminine style which further perpetuates the gender biases evident in the literary world.

‘Écriture féminine’ is a term created by the French philosopher Hélène Cixous to identify a form of writing that is distinct from the male gaze. It identifies the female psyche and mode of storytelling as different from that of men. Anaïs Nin, a French-born American writer is an exemplar of the “women’s writing” genre. Throughout her life, she struggled to get her body of work published because the male dominated publishing industry did not find value in the strong feminine motifs present in her novels and diaries.

After moving to New York City in 1939, she made many attempts to have her work become published but was unsuccessful. Ultimately, she established her own printing press at 17 East 13th Street so that she could self publish her early works and earn recognition from other publishers. This would eventually bring her work to larger audiences and establish her as an important figure in the art world. The time she spent at her printing press in Lower Manhattan was vital to securing her place as a published author as well as legitimizing the écriture feminine form.

Through my research, I will understand and analyze how the location, time, and dedication involved with Anaïs Nin’s printing press changed the way female writing is comprehended in the Western literary canon today. I will achieve this research by accessing archival works, reaching out to interview feminist academics for perspective, and reading and analyzing the significance of independent printing presses.

My familiarity with the field of journalism and past research experiences in my academic work including “Subverting the Cinema Spectacle: Ideological Hypnosis and the Camera Obscura,” and “Female Friendship in Toni Morrison’s Sula ” will aid my approach to this research. I intend to write a research paper that synthesizes and explores the significance of Nin’s printing press within the context of literary history and how her time in Lower Manhattan benefited this history.

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A massive, Stanford-led study has found that a brief exercise addressing common concerns about belonging in college increased first-year completion rates on students’ local campus, especially for students in racial-ethnic and social-class groups that were less likely historically to complete the first year at that school.

In a new study, psychologist Gregory Walton sheds light on the relationship between the psychological mindsets students use to navigate college and their opportunities to belong in higher education settings (Image credit: L.A. Cicero)

In the new paper published in Science , Stanford psychologist Gregory Walton – joined by 36 collaborators from 24 other institutions – sheds light on the relationship between the psychological mindsets students use to navigate college and the opportunities students have in higher education settings.

“If colleges don’t offer students adequate opportunities to belong, then just working with students psychologically won’t move the needle – and we need to create better settings,” said Walton, a professor of psychology in the School of Humanities and Sciences . “At the same time, many students have reasonable concerns about whether ‘people like me’ can belong in my college but do have opportunities. That’s where the intervention helps.”

Acknowledging uncertainties about social belonging

Coming to college is hard. Many students feel homesick at one time or another, or struggle sometimes to make friends, to find an academic direction, or to talk with professors. Some students, particularly those from groups that have historically been excluded in higher education, may see these experiences as confirming that “people like me” don’t belong. As Walton’s previous research has found , this uncertainty about belonging can undermine academic performance and achievement, which left unaddressed can perpetuate inequalities into adult life .

“Past research has focused on canonical groups, like African American students or first-generation college students. It’s as if being, say, African American is the same thing everywhere. But we know that’s not true. One of the innovations here is to understand that any given group has different vulnerabilities and different opportunities in different settings.” —Gregory Walton Professor of Psychology

For over two decades, Walton has developed a range of interventions to help students surface and address belonging worries. This project was conducted by the College Transition Collaborative (CTC), a group founded in 2014 at Stanford by Walton together with former Stanford post-doctoral scholar Christine Logel (now at the University of Waterloo), and former Stanford graduate students Mary Murphy (Indiana University) and David Yeager (University of Texas at Austin). CTC recently spun out of Stanford and became the Equity Accelerator, led by Murphy.

Here, the social-belonging intervention is put to its largest test. With some 22 colleges and universities across the country and a diverse sample of 26,911 students participating, Walton and his collaborators were able to examine the conditions that made the intervention more or less effective.

The researchers took a unique approach in their analyses. Rather than compare students by single, broad categories – such as Black or first-generation college students – the scholars broke the sample into what they called “local-identity groups” – students of a given race-ethnicity, with a given first-generation status, at a given college, in a given cohort. That allowed them to study the nuances of identity and belonging in different college settings.

“Past research has focused on canonical groups, like African American students or first-generation college students,” said Walton. “It’s as if being, say, African American is the same thing everywhere. But we know that’s not true. One of the innovations here is to understand that any given group has different vulnerabilities and different opportunities in different settings. We map that.”

Offering students adaptive ideas about belonging at college

The intervention was administered online to students before matriculation.

First, students saw results of a survey of older students about how worries about belonging were normal and improved over time. Then, they read personal narratives from diverse students about their worries about belonging and what helped lessen them.

For example, one narrative read: “I found a comfort zone by exploring my interests and taking the leap into an active life on campus. But this took time and before I found my niche here there were times when I felt quite lonely.”

Last, students were asked to reflect on these stories and write an essay for future students about belonging concerns, and how they are normal and improve with time.

“What we’re doing here is offering students the idea that it’s normal to worry at first about whether you belong, and it can get better with time,” said Walton. “Then students can try out that idea in their world and see if it holds and if they can use it to grow their belonging.”

Overall, the scholars found that when the intervention was administered in a supportive environment, first-year full-time completion rates for students in groups that had been persisting at lower rates rose by two percentage points, an impressive impact for an online exercise that took less than 30 minutes to complete (the average time students spent on a key aspect of the exercise – sharing their story – was just 7½ minutes).

The intervention is not enough on its own

Walton uses a “seed and soil” metaphor to understand the relationship between psychological messages and school contexts.

In this analogy, sharing a hopeful way to think about belonging (planting a “high-quality seed”) will make a difference only in contexts in which that way of thinking is true and useful (in “fertile soil”).

But if the soil is inhospitable for a given group – for example, if racial, gender, or social class biases or other barriers make it prohibitive for students to build friendships, find mentors, develop an academic direction, or see their group valued and respected on campus – the seed will wither. Students will drop the idea, and it won’t help them succeed.

The findings generalize to 749 four-year institutions in the United States, which together welcome over a million new students to college each year. If every institution offered incoming students the belonging exercise, an estimated 12,136 additional students would complete the first year of college full time each year. And the results point to the possibility of larger gains if colleges expand opportunities for belonging.

“What’s key is for institutions to look at the student groups they are trying to serve, and ask how well they’re doing with the expectation that they will be doing well with some groups but not as well with others,” said Walton. “How can you expand opportunities for belonging for all groups? And how can you convey the truth of the belonging message in compelling and authentic ways for everyone?”

The belonging module is freely available to all colleges and universities in the United States and Canada at https://perts.net/orientation/cb .

Media Contacts

Melissa De Witte, Stanford News Service: (650) 723-6438, [email protected]