Instructions:
You are to select a controversy related to a social issue as the focus for your research paper. Below you will see some examples of broad topics which embody many controversies. While the list below is meant merely as examples, you may choose one of these topics for exploration in you wish.

civil wars
refugees
job security
maquiladoras
health care
online pornography
race relations
housing
public housing
welfare
investments
interest rates
the national debt
teenage gangs
funding public education
church/state relations
pollution
AIDS
medical care
the homeless
funding the arts
child abuse
drug abuse
genocide
immigration
foreign aid
entitlements
quality of education
funding higher education
religious persecution
sexual abuse
sex
abortion
care for the elderly
economy
Democrats vs. Republicans
crime
insurance costs
space research
medical research
funding the military
Israeli/Arab relations
censorship
political extremism
job training
sexism
gender issues
women’s rights
minority rights
influence of technology
ethics in (business, government, politics, education, etc.)
foreign affairs

Where to Begin
Once you have selected a topic, then begin to explore the topic for controversies related to it. A good place to start is with the series of books entitled Opposing Viewpoints. The Dallas County Community College District Online Catalog will give you a listing of each title in the series which is published and updated each year. From the DCCCD Online Catalog, select "Keyword" and do a search for "opposing viewpoints." The listing (some 900 hundred of them!) will be listed by social issue in alphabetical order  (starting with "abortion"). (Note that the DCCCD holdings are divided between the various campuses' libraries. It may be that you will need to request a work related to your topic through an inter-library loan request.)