I need help on choosing a specific topic. The problem is, my topic is too general and need to narrow it down a bit. I want to down on shyness and/or social anxiety since they are somewhat the same in general, I think. I need lots of help, this is my first time doing a research paper.
'Some would say that social anxiety is the fear of crowds and people, because the person is anticipating embarrassment..You could focus on that topic, embarrassment- why does it happen? what is going on in the person's mind when they become anxious due to phobias?
Thank you for the idea. I was also wondering if I could maybe compare and contrast social anxiety and shyness? Is that too broad of a subject? or what about if genetics have anything to do with social anxiety/shyness? would that be a good topic?
Comparing social anxiety and shyness would be a good topic as long as you can find enough differences between them to make the comparison meaningful. If you can't, you might try comparing shyness and social anxiety to introversion (the desire to be alone even though you don't fear social situations).
Trying to determine whether shyness has a genetic component would also be a good topic. However, if you come up with an answer that is irrefutable-that is, if you find mountains of evidence that shyness has a genetic component-you might want to broaden the topic to include several different causes, such as the ways people are raised, where they're from, and what they believe about the world. Otherwise, you might end up spending most of the paper reproving something you've already proven just to fill space. Another way to avoid this problem would be arguing that genes are the most significant cause of shyness, then explaining why the other causes are less significant.
If comparing shyness and social anxiety or researching their causes doesn't appeal to you, there are several other topics you could look at. For example, you could research the costs of social anxiety for the people with it, the impact it has on their families, the strategies they use to compensate for their shyness, the ways people cure shyness, and the ways other people react to shyness. You could even look at shyness' benefits, which might include encouraging people tp pursue solitary but useful activities like writing. The trick is to find a topic that excites you and that you can research and make interesting observations about.
Shyness and social anxiety are like apples and crabapples. You can eat one, but not the other.
Shyness is a trait that many people share, whereas social anxiety is considered a treatable disorder.
Does shyness predict income? being single? married? how many kids? voting activity?
How does shyness predict some seemingly unrelated action? Toilet paper use? Makeup?
car preference?
How does social anxiety impact quality of life in a dorm? Should students be screened for illness such
as social anxiety before stepping foot in a dorm?
Do outlets, such as Facebook or Twitter, benefit persons who suffer from social anxiety?
Good luck with the research paper.
