"you don't need to research this to see that it's obviously true" is actually an incredibly important category of topic to research—because if you're right, the

"you don't need to research this to see that it's obviously true" is actually an incredibly important category of topic to research—because if you're right, then you have documented, peer-reviewed proof of what we believe to be true, which people can cite for writing their own papers...and if you're wrong...well, then, you've demonstrated something novel and possibly opened up a new area of research within your field.