Researching and writing on any topic is extremely difficult. Any dedicated student will spend hours online or in the library searching for information to make a case on whatever topic they are working on. Before this happens, students will have to take time to carefully consider what it is they want to research and write about to begin with. This is where this list helps. The following are 150 ethical research paper topics that encourage debate and are the most talked about issues in 2023.
Current Ethical Topics for 2023
The field of ethics is constantly evolving as the world changes politically, environmentally (you may also check out our environment research topics), scientifically, and so much more. This natural evolution poses hurdles for students looking for ethics research paper topics that do not become outdated by the time they finish school. Here is a list of ideas to consider:
- Should government officials release their taxes publicly?
- Should capital punishment be banned?
- Should election day be a national holiday?
- Should Covid-19 vaccines be mandatory?
- How does money influence vaccine distribution?
- What are the biggest concerns with accounting?
- Should big businesses pay more taxes?
- Should Amazon pay its employees more money?
- Should the richest 1 percent pay more taxes?
- Should social media outlets monitor speech?
Interesting Ethics Debate Topics
A written assignment should always reflect personal interests while pushing the envelope when it comes to academic research. It may not be so easy to come up with assignment ideas by yourself. So, we have put a handful of ideas for you to consider:
- Is it ethical to cheat on a test if you know the subject matter?
- Should students refrain from paying back their student loans?
- Are affirmative action policies fair to all students?
- Should teachers refrain from befriending their students?
- Is it ever okay to write a paper for another student?
- Should we remove the use of technology in the classroom?
- Should higher learning be free for everyone?
- Is freedom of speech a necessity in a civilized society?
- Is it morally justifiable to own automatic weapons?
- Is American democracy truly free from corruption?
Ethical Controversial Topics
Ethics can bring out the best and worst in us. With proper research, one can make a great argument despite the most controversial topics. This a collection of topics for ethics paper that will push the limits of academia:
- Should assault weapons be banned?
- Should gun purchases be restricted in states?
- Is it okay to have armed guards in public schools?
- Should campus police have the right to carry guns?
- Should abortion be illegal at the federal level?
- Should birth control be given to teenagers?
- Should birth control be made free for all?
- Should celebrities get special legal protections?
- Should parents control children’s religious choices?
- Are teachers selfish for not wanting to open schools?
Medical Ethics Topics for Grad Students
Issues related to medical ethics have been around since the start of this field of science. This is a list of medical ethics paper topics perfect for graduate students seeking a degree in medicine:
- Should patients be allowed to receive assisted suicide?
- Should patients be allowed to skip the organ list?
- Is it ethical for patients to deny transplants based on race?
- Should doctors be transparent about their personal lives?
- Can the government prevent treatment in patients?
- Should people in prison receive better healthcare?
- Is there discrimination against patients with AIDS?
- Is it ethical for doctors to genetically engineer fetuses?
- Should parents be allowed to get abortions in the third term?
- Should doctors keep parents from viewing their children’s records?
The above list of medical ethics topics covers a wide range of areas that can pique the interest of diverse audiences. Choose something that explores a new field of study or challenges an existing hypothesis. Just be sure you conduct ample research to ensure you present the most current information.
Computer Ethics Topics for Today’s World
When it comes to computer ethics topics, you should always turn to those that you are genuinely interested in. The more invested you are in your assignment the better your writing will be. Here are a handful of suggestions to consider:
- Is it ethical to develop AI technologies?
- What would the impact be for people if computers replaced their jobs?
- Should computers be automatically equipped with tools to prevent cybercrimes?
- Should governments impose bans on the dark web?
- Should governments impose bigger penalties on cybercriminals?
- Is it ethical to send computer viruses targeting corrupt governments?
- Should governments use computer viruses in warfare?
- Should governments spy on civilians’ computer use?
- Is it ethical to spy on your kids’ computer behavior?
- Is government-imposed wiretapping a violation of rights?
Professional Sports Ethics Topics
There are numerous areas in sports where the questions of ethical practices are in high debate. If this is something you find interesting the following ethics topics for discussion are for your consideration:
- Should professional athletes be allowed to bet on sports?
- Should the MLB allow Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame?
- Did the 1919 “Black Sox” ruin baseball?
- Should the use of cocaine as a medication be allowed in sports?
- Is it right to prevent players from using PEDs during training?
- Should players of the steroid era be removed from all records?
- Should sports adopt an Affirmative Action move to improve diversity?
- How ethical is the Rooney Rule in the NFL?
- How ethical is it to penalize players for making derogatory remarks?
- Should fans be banned for taunting players?
Sports offers several ethical questions that make for a great debate. Just have a look at what goes on every day when watching national sports shows. Just be sure you conduct in-depth research.
Environmental Ethics Topics
The environment has been at the forefront of many people’s concerns. Those that are conscious of how important the environment is locally and globally may want to consider the following ethics topics:
- Should environmentalists follow their personal beliefs when science disagrees?
- Should governments spend more money on public works or the environment?
- How much should governments spend to protect the environment?
- Should the environment be compromised to help the economy?
- Should we spend less on the environment to boost local communities?
- Should environmental “non-person” lands be increased?
- Can environmentalists affect national politics?
- Is it right to impose environmental restrictions on businesses?
- What is the basis of ethical responsibility in the corporate world?
- What are the ethical implications of deep ecology?
Military Ethics Paper Topics
Do you think ethics plays an important role in military actions for your country? If you do, these ethical essay topics might interest you for a great assignment:
- Can governments wage war without congressional support?
- Can the U.S. wage war with its allies?
- When should the U.S. refrain from entering a conflict?
- Should the military be banned from entering civilian zones?
- Should the President be banned from initiating martial law?
- Is it ethical to prevent females from entering forward zones?
- Is it ethical to ban the LGBTQ community from joining the Army?
- Should wars be waged for religious purposes?
- Should war crimes be made stricter?
- What are the problems with “Supreme Emergencies”?
Ethical Dilemma Topics
College students should be able to present a high-level argument on any given topic When it comes to choosing ethical debates topics, they are more likely to stick with ideas that are easy to deal with. The following list makes for a great starting point:
- Is it acceptable to steal food to feed your family?
- Would you tell the IRS you received an item worth more than it was?
- Would you donate an organ to a stranger if you knew a family member also needed it?
- Would you monopolize a cure for cancer?
- Would you return a wallet if you could easily track down its owner?
- If you find a debit card in a cash machine, do you turn it into the bank?
- Should the top 1% pay more taxes to fund programs helping the poor?
- Should animals be harvested in crowded and dirty conditions?
- Should the U.S. make abortion legal at the federal level?
- Should gay marriage be made legal across the country?
Engineering Ethics Topics
Ethical arguments topics aren’t always easy to come by. Students often struggle to find anything interesting to write about. The following list covers a wide area in this field and is easy to research on the web:
- What are the challenges to training responsible engineers?
- Is it ethical to genetically alter children’s characteristics?
- Why is whistleblowing so important in engineering ethics?
- What is the goal of engineering ethics?
- What are the major principles of ethics in the field of engineering?
- How can engineering ethics be improved through education?
- Why do engineers bring up the “Why Not” question?
- How did the study of ethics in engineering spread quickly in Europe?
- What are the major facets of engineering ethics?
- What approaches should instructors take to advance engineering ethics?
Ethics Topics in Nursing
You may not have known but there are ethical issues topics related to the nursing field. Many students getting into this profession must submit original research concerning the way certain practices should be conducted to ensure patient rights. Here are a few to consider:
- What is the Code of Ethics as it relates to nursing?
- Should the Code of Ethics be updated?
- What role do ethics play in nursing?
- What are some cases of ethical malpractice?
- Should nurses ever disobey a doctor’s orders?
- Is it ethical for nurses to break rules to make patients more comfortable?
- What are the major facets of the Code of Ethics?
- How does the use of opioids affect nursing?
- Should the placement of a G-Tube be used on stroke patients?
- Should nurses ever disobey advance directives?
Interesting Applied Ethics Topics
Do you want to write papers or essays on interesting ethical topics? If yes, this category has the best ideas for you to explore for an assignment in this area:
- Are people morally obligated to help the less fortunate?
- How does prior knowledge help us apply ethical actions?
- Why are people less inclined to take the moral high ground?
- Does the U.S. have a moral obligation to help developing countries?
- Should we address the homeless problem in large cities?
- If we can help the poor, should we?
- Do we need to protect the environment for the future?
- Is it unethical to support the porn industry?
- Are we exploiting minors through legal prostitution?
- What is meant by the moral double-effect?
Most of these ideas are easy to research and write about because the information is readily available online. Just be sure that you check that the sources you use come from reputable and trustworthy places.
Ethical Paper Topics on Government
Ethics research topics are extremely popular in today’s landscape of social media and up-to-the-minute news. One must simply get on the web or turn on the TV to find a debate concerning the ethics of politics. Here is a list of 10 ideas to consider:
- Should governments deal with climate change?
- Should we hold countries for crimes committed in the past?
- Can the government deny the free press at events?
- Should the government deny access to the press?
- Is the Presidential right to pardon a moral issue?
- Is the government to blame for the slowing economy?
- Can Presidents face criminal charges after leaving office?
- Should the government control what is said in the press?
- Do you think more control be centralized?
- Should the government encourage ethical leadership?
Make sure you conduct adequate research on each of these topics. You need to back-up your claims for these government-related topics with evidence and examples from trustworthy academic resources.
Ethical Topics in Healthcare
As students start to get the hang of thinking critically and researching sources for evidence and examples, they may want to challenge themselves with the following more interesting ethics topics:
- Should end of care patients have the right to determine their wishes?
- Are patients being treated equally regardless of healthcare coverage?
- Should patients with better healthcare coverage receive better treatments?
- Is the way healthcare is distributing vaccines ethical?
- What things count as non-maleficence harms to avoid?
- Are do-not-resuscitate orders ethical?
- When should healthcare providers reconsider DNR orders?
- Is doctor-patient confidentiality ethical?
- Should doctors accused of malpractice be placed on leave?
- Should doctors maintain mental health and wellness to continue to practice?
Great Biomedical Ethics Topics
A thesis in biomedical ethics is usually a complex work that many graduate students must complete to earn their degree. It is often considered the culmination of original work within a specific field and helps students earn the respect of others within that field:
- What are the biggest concerns with tissue engineering?
- Is it ethical to engineer tissue for cell transplantation?
- What are transdermal patches and why are scientists concerned?
- Should patients have the right to deny surgery done using robotics?
- Should patients opt to use nanorobots to treat cancer?
- What should doctors do if patients refuse to get tested for AIDS?
- When is the right time to report a patient’s HIV status to authorities?
- Is there a moral obligation to report AIDs patients to the Public Health Dept.?
- What are the ethics during public health emergencies?
- Did the President have an obligation to speak truthfully about the pandemic?
Choosing the right ethics paper topics can make or break your assignment. Your choice matters: you don’t want to choose something too broad or something too narrow. This can be quite overwhelming and will put you in a bad position to achieve the grade you want. Take any of the ethics essay topics listed above or contact our assignment help service for a custom-made list of ethical topics for papers at any level.