General Topic Area Specific Topic Area Topic Ideas Research Question

How are children and families affected by parental

Child abandonement & abandonment, and how can they be helped to cope
Abuse Child abuse neglect with the consequences?
What are the factors/conditions that lead to child
abuse? How can kids be helped to tell about their
Abuse Child abuse Child Abuse abuse? What are the long-term effects of abuse?
Child discipline vs child Where is the line between discipline and abuse in
Abuse Child abuse abuse (latino community) Latino families in the U.S.?

How are children affected when they are in the

Effects of drug use around presence of drug use in the home or neighborhood,
Abuse Child abuse children and what can be done to diminish these effects?
What are the effects of domestic abuse on children
as they grow up, and how can they be helped to
Abuse Domestic abuse Domestic violence heal from the trauma?
Domestic violence against
Abuse Domestic Abuse men
What types of psychological problems come from
Abuse Domestic violence Domestic Violence witnessing domestic violence?
Difficulty in prosecution of What problems in law enforcement systems
domestic abusers in prevent victims of domestic violence from obtaining
homes due to regulations [help? justice? treatment?], and how can these
Abuse Domestic violence etc problems be addressed?
What are the conditions in elder care systems that
lead to abuse of patients, and wnat are ways to
Abuse Elder abuse Elder Abuse prevent this abuse?
What factors lead to higher rates of child abuse in
lower income communities, and what strategies are
Abuse Elder abuse Child abuse being used to fight this problem?
 Why are rates of sexualt assault so high on Native
Sexual Abuse in Native American reservations, and why is prosecution of
Abuse Sexual abuse American Communities perpetrators so difficult?
What are the effects of childhood sexual assault on
boys as they grow, and why is it so difficult to
Abuse Sexual abuse Sexual assault of males identify or stop?
What is the relationship between animal cruelty
Animals Animal cruelty Animal cruelty and violent behavior toward other people?
Why do pitbull attacks appear to be so common,
and what can be done to change the negative
Animals Animal cruelty Perceptions of Pitbulls perception of these dogs?
How is commercial product testing on animals a
Animals Animal testing Animal Testing form of abuse?
What are the ways to significantly lower the
number of animals in shelters [in L.A.] without
Animals Animal treatment Life as a shelter animal euthanasia?
What kinds of problems come as a result of puppy
Animals Animal treatment Animal abuse/Puppy mills mills, and should the practice be banned?
Why is college becoming more & more
unaffordable for so many Americans, and what will
be the impact of this unchecked rise on the
Economics College costs Rising costs of college country?
Financial aid for How will [certain qualified] undocumented
undocumented Financial aid for immigrants access to financial aid & in-state tuition
Economics Students undocumented Students rates benefit communities & economies?
Low Income communities
are limited in fulfilling their Why is poverty such an inescapable cycle, and
Economics Low income issues potential how can the cycle be broken for more families?
How did predatory lending practices contribute to
the housing crisis of 2008 and its impact on low-
Predatory Lending in Low income communities, and what is being done to
Economics Predatory lending Income Communities prevent future crises?
 What is the impact of cuts to arts programs on kids,
and what can be done to raise public awareness
Education Arts education Performing Arts in Schools about the importance of arts education?
What are the benefits of successful charter
Charter schools solving schools, and how can these practices be
Education Charters as a solution traditional school problems implemented in traditional schools?
Decolonizing American
Education Cultural relevance education system
What is the value of culturally relevant education
Culturally relevant Culturally Relevent for minority students, and how can CRE be
Education education Education integrated into schools?
How does the currect system of public education
How Education system is stifle innovation, and how can the system be
Education Education killing creativity changed to foster creativity?
What is the impact of poverty on academic
achievement, and how can the effects of poverty
Education Effects of poverty Effects of poverty on youth be combatted in education?
Why do marginalized groups face such significant
barriers to educational equity in the U.S., and how
Inequalities in will addressing these barriers benefit not just those
Education education Inequalities in Education marginalized, but the nationa as a whole?
Why do young men of color struggle to graduate
inequalities in Why don't minority boys from high school, and what can be done to help
Education education finish high school? more young men succeed?
How can comic books be used to increase student
engagement and understanding in school across
Education Relevant education Comics as tools for literacy disciplines?
What is the impact of ability tracking in education,
Special education & Tracking in public and how can public education push more students
Education tracking education to achieve at grade level?
 How are students with special needs treated by
Special Education school communities, and what can be done for
Education Students Children with disabilities more inclusion & emotional support?
How does standardized testing and school grading
Effects of educational Effects of educational impact excessive student competition & stress in
Education/Health stress stress in teens students?
Shark fishing, How will marine ecosystems & human lives be
Environmental Animals misconceptions affected by the overfishing of sharks?
What is the best way for California homeowners to
Environmental California drought Green architecture best deal with the drought?
What are the advantages & disadvantages of
Deforestation/carbon carbon offsets as a legitimate strategy to mitigate
Environmental Deforestation offsets the effects of deforestation?

What are the impacts, environmentally and socially,

Japanese Dolphin of the annual dolphin slaughter in Japan, and what
Environmental Endangered species Slaughter can be done to stop or curtail the practice?
How do green spaces benefit residents of low-
income communities, and what avenues are
available to increase green spaces in cities like
Lack of green space in Lawndale, Gardena, & Inglewood? (or "South LA
Environmental Green space cities area")
What are the direct and indirects effects of plastic
particulates on different coastal organisms, and
Effects of plastics on how can these particulates be prevented from
Environmental Pollution marine life reaching the ocean?
Marine pollution & ocean How does urban runoff affect coastal ecosystems
Environmental Pollution runoff and what can be done to combat this problem?
How did the 2010 Gulf Oil Disaster impact
ecosystems and the economy in the Gulf regions,
Environmental Pollution Gulf Oil Spill and who is to blame?
 What groups are affected most by lupus and why,
and why does there appear to be a lack of
Lack of Health Education: sufficient treatment for these groups that suffer with
Health Disease treatment Lupus the disease?
The relationship between
fast food and childhood What is the relationship between fast food and
Health Food-related issues obesity childhood
Undecided, obesity?
but will consider:
* What is a food desert?
* Where are they most commonly found? (What
people? Race/ethnicity? Socio-economic status?)
* How are people affected by this condition?
* What can be done to improve access to healthier
foods in deserts?
* What other factors compound the problems of
Health Food-related issues Food Deserts food deserts?
Why are poor people so addicted to fast food, what
are the consequences of this addiction, and who is
Health Food-related issues Food Deserts responsible?
Why is there an apparent lack of gender-specific
research in medicine [when it comes to gender-
Lack of gender-specific neutral disease/physiology], and how are women
Health Gender issues study in medicine affected by this lack of research?
Breast Cancer Risk in
women of different How/why is the health care system failing to care
Health Medical access socioeconomic statuses for women/families in poverty in the U.S.?
Why have Eastern Medicine practices not been
more integrated into Western Medicine, and what
Western Medicine vs needs to be done to include more of these
Health Medical options Eastern Medicine techniques?
What factors to increased stress in teens, and how
can they be equipped to deal with the effects of
Health Teenage Stress Medical Field stress?
 * What are the leading causes of homelessness in
LA, and how can these be addressed to genuinely
solve the issue?
* What resources are available to help house the
homeless, and why have they failed to help in a
Homelessness Homelessness Homelessness legitimate way?
Lack of medical attention How can society successfully help the homeless
for homeless with mental who are mentally ill without obstructing their civil
Homelessness Homelessness illnesses rights?
What are the major cause of homelessness, and
Homelessness Homelessness Homelessness what is being done to end homelessness?
What factors lead to homelessness among LGBT
teens, and what can be done to stop this increasing
Homelessness Homelessness LGBT Homeless LGBT Teens problem?
Taking into account the validity of multiple
Immigration crisis of perspectives on the issue, what can the United
Central American refugee States do to prevent future refugee crises as with
children at US/Mexico the recent influx of Central American immigrant
Immigration Immigration border children?
What are the common traits of successful
immigrants [of the immigrant from poverty or other
challenging conditions?] in the U.S. education
system, and how can this be used as a model to
Immigration Immigration Immigration and education help more immigrants succeed?
What is life like for the undocumented farmworker
Living as an in California, and what needs to be done to
Immigration Life as an immigrant undocumented immigrant improve working & living conditions?
What are the conditions that lead so many young
Gang violence/gang men to join gangs, and how can this cycle be
Law Gangs injunctions stopped?
What is the value of graffiti, and how can Los
The Criminalization of Angeles find a balance between respect for
Law Graffiti Graffitti property and art?
 What are the factors that lead an individual to
commit a mass shooting [at a school such as
Sandy Hook, Columbine, or UCSB], and how can
Law Guns Firearm Violence these tragedies be prevented?
Impact of Mexican
Drug Wars on Impact of Mexican Drug
California Wars on California How does the drug war in Mexico/Central America
Law Communities Communities impact life in California?
Why have American police forces become more
militarized in communities of color, and what is the
Law Police conduct Police brutality effect of this militarization on those communities?
What circumstances increase the rates of police
Law Police conduct Police brutality & race brutality against minorities?
Why do police officers use excessive force, and
what can communities do to decrease the
Law Police conduct Police Misconduct incidences of violent policing?
How real [serious] is the issue of police brutality in
Law Police conduct Police brutality the United States?
What causes police officers to use excessive or
deadly force, and how does this affect the
Law Police conduct Police brutality community and its relations with police?
What causes police officers to use excessive or
deadly force, and how does this affect the
Law Police conduct Police brutality community and its relations with police?
Why are local police forces becoming more
militarized, and what is the impact of this process
Law Police conduct Police brutality on communities served by these forces?
How are children of parents in prison affected, and
Effects of incarceration of what can be done to help the kids cope & avoid
Law Prisons parents on children following their parents' paths?
 How does recidivism and the industrial prison
Recidivism & the complex affect inmates and their families, and how
Law Prisons monetization of prisoners does it benefit corporations?
What is the connection/relationship between The
American Private Prison System and recidivism
Law Prisons Privitization of Prisons rates today?
What makes re-entry programs for released
prisoners so effective, and why have these
Law Prisons Recidivism programs not been more widely implemented?
How do girls become victims of child sex trafficking
Law Sex trafficking Sex Trafficking in California, and how can they escape?
What are the effects of the use of racial
Portrayal of African stereotypes in film & TV on African Americans, and
Media Cultural portrayals Americans in Media what can be done to counteract those effects?
What is the impact of negative representations of
African American minorities in film & tv, & what are the best ways to
Media Cultural stereotyping stereotyping in media minimize these representations & impacts?
What are the effects of stereotyping of Asians in
Asian stereotyping in television & movies, and how can Asian Americans
Media Cultural stereotyping media deal with these stereotypes?
Why are Latinas so narrowly stereotyped in film &
tv? What are the effects of this stereotyping on the
Portrayal of Latinas in audience? How can the negative effects of this
Media Ethnic portrayal Media stereotyping be minimized?
Corruption in Music -
Cheating bands out of
money or changing How have record companies taken advantage of
musicians to fit the label's musicians and their work, and what effect has this
Media Music business expectations etc had on the listening public?
Mysogyny in How can women be creative and independent with
Cosplay/Comic Mysogyny in their physical appearance without fear of being
Media Conventions Media/Cosplay objectified?
 Mysogyny in Why does society seem to accept that women bear
Cosplay/Comic Mysogyny in some responsibility for sexual harassment and
Media Conventions Media/Cosplay assault?
How does the culture of "conventions" and
Mysogyny in "cosplay" highlight the larger societal issue of
Cosplay/Comic Mysogyny in women's supposed culpability in mysogyny and
Media Conventions Media/Cosplay sexual harassment and assault?
Diversity in the modeling
Media Race-related industry
What are the effects of violent video games on
Effects of video game children, & how can parents help their kids avoid
Media Video games violence potential problems from these games?
What are the negative effects of video game
violence on teenage behavior, and what needs to
Media Video games Video game violence be done to limit these effects?
Why is it such a challenge for veterans with PTSD
How to effectively treat to receive proper treatment, and what can be done
Military PTSD Veterans PTSD - Military to ensure this does not continue?
Why is it such a challenge for veterans with PTSD
to receive proper treatment, and what can be done
Military PTSD Veterans PTSD - Military to ensure this does not continue?
Why is it such a challenge for OEF and OIF
Treatment of Veterans Inadequate Military Aid for veterans to receive adequate treatment, and what
Military (broad) Veterans can be done to ensure this does not continue?
Lack of Funding for Why do emergency services in CA face such
Funding for Emergency Services shortages in funding, and what is being done to
Politics emergency services (Firefighters budgets cut) make up for the shortfall?
 How has religion made peace impossible in Israel?
How can Palestinians and Israelis coexist
peacefully? What is the best way to work toward
lasting peace in Israel? Based on the current
events in Israel, should its government be
Politics Geopolitical The Israeli/Gaza Conflict removed?
Why is nuclear power the wrong choice for global
Politics Nuclear power plants Nuclear Power Plants energy needs of today?

Self-deprecation due to
media standards of beauty What impact does media imagery have on teen
Psychology Body image (women, teens, and men) girls in the U.S., and how can teens deal with it?
What role does media play in the development of
Eating Disorders and eating disorders in young women, and how can
Psychology Body image Media girls be equipped to combat this influence?
What are the consequences of girls sending
sexually explicit photos to boys, and what can be
Psychology Body image Sexting done to stop this dangerous practice?

Media influence on women What impact does media imagery have on teen
Psychology Body image & beauty standards girls in the U.S., and how can teens deal with it?
What impact does sexualized media imagery have
Media influence on women on teen girls in the U.S., and how can teens deal
Psychology Body image & beauty standards with it?

Media influence on women Why do so many adolescent girls struggle to be

Psychology Body image & beauty standards happy with their appearance?
Where does the modern standard of beauty for
Media influence on women women in America come from, and how can the
Psychology Body image & beauty standards importance of this standard be diminished?
 How has American [media culture] contributed to a
Factors that lead to eating rise in eating disorders in [teenage, adolescent?]
Psychology Body image disoders girls, and what can be done to arrest the problem?
What factors drive women to cosmetic surgery,
what are the unintended consequences of the
Cosmetic surgery surgery, and how can women be helped to improve
Psychology Body image addiction self-esteem?

Media influence on What is the impact of media and products targeted

women/standards of at young girls on these girls, and what can be done
Psychology Body image beauty to help girls understand that Barbie isn't real?
How does cultural reinforcement of established
gender norms affect children as they grow, and
what can be done to help teens cope and help
Psychology Gender roles Gender roles families find understanding?
How does cultural reinforcement of established
gender norms affect children as they grow, and
what can be done to help teens cope and help
Psychology Gender roles Feminism, gender roles families find understanding?
What are the ways that mental illness is monetized
by the psychiatric care system, and how does this
practice affect the lives and care of those the
Psychology Mental illness Marketing of mental illness system purports to serve?
What are the conditions that lead to school
shootings, and how can future incidents be
Psychology Mental illness School Shootings prevented?
Effects of disabled children How does having a child with a disability affect the
Psychology Mental illness on siblings family?
What mental health services are available in
schools in low income communities, and how does
Mental health services in this impact teens struggling with mental health
Psychology Mental illness low-income communities issues?
 How does the stigma and misconceptions of
Misconceptions of Mental depression affect the overall understanding and
Psychology Mental illness Illness treatment of this illness?
Arts used for healing Arts used for healing How can art be used as a form of therapy for
Psychology/Education trauma trauma victims of trauma?
What are the effects of an increasingly
Hypersexualization in hypersexualized global mass media, and what
Psychology/Media Body image Media must be done to counteract these effects?
How is rape of women tacitly encouraged in
American culture, and what needs to be done to
Psychology/Media Rape culture Rape Culture change this?

Race Categories on What is it like to live as a person of mixed racial

Standardized Tests (You heritage in the U.S., and what role does narrow
Race Race categories have to choose 1) categorization play in the lives of these individuals?
What are the impacts of colorism and how has it
shaped the African American community today, and
Race Race categories Colorism how can all shades of ethnicity be celebrated?
How does the ignorance or denial of the
persistance of racism in America allow it to
Racism/Contradictions of continue & thereby prevent the country from
Race Racism America healing racial divides?