EE WRITING STRATEGY
subject Choice
Extended Essays first step is the right choice of subject which is connected to the passion of the student, as per EE guide students should write EE in one of their HL subjects. Students can select an interdisciplinary approach to select EE subjects. This section will guide students through their initial phase of EE process.
Topic AND research question
- The topic of the extended essay is the subject, issue or theme that you are investigating within a specific DP subject or world studies area of study. The topic, which develops during the initial thinking about the EE, should later be reflected in the wording of the title.
- The title of the EE is a clear, summative statement that specifically focuses the topic being researched. It appears on the title page. A title should:
- be short, descriptive and succinct
- not be phrased as a question
- use key words that connect with the topic and the DP subject or world studies area of study
- attract the interest of the reader.
- The research question derives from the title and is expressed as a question that is intended to be answered through researching and writing the EE. It appears on the title page and could also be visible as a header throughout the essay. It should:
- be clear and focused
- provide a path through which you can undertake achievable research
- use key words that connect with the topic, the title, and the DP subject or world studies area of study
- support the development of an argument.(“Initial Guidance on Research and Writing”)
Literature Review
Before writing about any topic it is useful to find out what has already been said about the topic.
This allows you to:
As you do your literature review, you will certainly think about changing your initial research question. This is normal; don’t worry about it.
Lekanides (58)
This allows you to:
- Better understand the topic
- Make a link between your ideas (or methods) and those of others
- Consider whether your ideas challenge or support an existing consensus
- Situate your views within a context of existing viewpoints
- Track any major trends or patterns in terms of interpretation
- Allow you to identify the value and limitations of source material
As you do your literature review, you will certainly think about changing your initial research question. This is normal; don’t worry about it.
Lekanides (58)
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Primary and Secondary Data
While conducting research 2 important terms should be kept in mind
1. Data
2. Resources
Difference between data and source,- There is a very fine line between data and source, Data is gathered information used for analysis in EE whereas source is the thing, which helps you in gathering data. (“Is This Source or Information Good?”)
Types of Data -
Primary Data: It is collected for the first time by the researcher it is a reliable method which gives data of that time.
Secondary Data: It is already collected and produced by others therefore comparatively less reliable and is of past time
Ways to Gather-
Primary Data Secondary Data
Surveys Government publications
Observations Websites
Experiments Books
Questionnair Journals
Personal Interview Articles
Internal records
Primary vs. Secondary Sources
Primary sources: also include first-hand accounts that were documented later, such as autobiographies, memories, and oral histories. However, the most useful primary sources are usually considered to be those that were created closest to the time period you're researching. examples: Surveys, observations, experiments, questionnaires and personal interviews.
A Secondary source : of information is one that was created later by someone who did not experience first-hand or participate in the events or conditions you're researching. For the purposes of a historical research project, secondary sources are generally scholarly books and articles examples: publications, websites, books, journals, articles and internal records (“Is This Source or Information Good?”)
What types of primary research can be done?
Primary research can be carried through many different ways like -
Interviews: Interviews are one-on-one or small group question and answer sessions. Interviews will provide a lot of information from a small number of people and are useful when you want to get an expert or knowledgeable opinion on a subject.
Surveys: Surveys are a form of questioning that is more rigid than interviews and that involve larger groups of people. Surveys will provide a limited amount of information from a large group of people and are useful when you want to learn what a larger population thinks.
Observations: Observations involve taking organized notes about occurrences in the world. Observations provide you insight about specific people, events, or locales and are useful when you want to learn more about an event without the biased viewpoint of an interview.
Analysis: Analysis involves collecting data and organizing it in some fashion based on the criteria you develop. They are useful when you want to find some trend or pattern. A type of analysis would be to record commercials on three major television networks and analyze gender roles. (Purdue Writing Lab)
Interviews: Interviews are one-on-one or small group question and answer sessions. Interviews will provide a lot of information from a small number of people and are useful when you want to get an expert or knowledgeable opinion on a subject.
Surveys: Surveys are a form of questioning that is more rigid than interviews and that involve larger groups of people. Surveys will provide a limited amount of information from a large group of people and are useful when you want to learn what a larger population thinks.
Observations: Observations involve taking organized notes about occurrences in the world. Observations provide you insight about specific people, events, or locales and are useful when you want to learn more about an event without the biased viewpoint of an interview.
Analysis: Analysis involves collecting data and organizing it in some fashion based on the criteria you develop. They are useful when you want to find some trend or pattern. A type of analysis would be to record commercials on three major television networks and analyze gender roles. (Purdue Writing Lab)
Organizing
One of the important steps in the research is organizing information after accumulating it from different resources. An Extended Essay is written over a period of time, all the sources if organized well will make it easier to reference at the end of the process. There are many ways to organize the information collected below are some ways(information on this page is taken from the Oxford EE course companion).
- Note -Taking - Good note-taking in an organized manner helps in quick reference points when writing EE (Lekanides 41) Below are some examples of structured note-taking to minimize time spent on re-reading taken from EE course companion, students can make tables to note down source name, information of the source and heading of the source.
Evaluation
As per the IB EE guide - Using the internet as a resource for finding information is more and more commonplace, and it is a tremendous resource. However, it must be used critically and with care. One important thing to be aware of is that unlike resources found in a library in printed form, those found on the internet may not have been through a review or editing process.
Students should:
Students should:
- know appropriate search engines to use
- not rely exclusively on sources found on the internet
- have a clear and focused research question to help them search more directly on the internet (given the amount of information available it is easy to be overwhelmed)
- critically evaluate the reliability and validity of the information presented on the internet
- keep a detailed record of all references, in accordance with the IB’s minimum requirements, ensuring that the URL of where the source was located is written down correctly. This includes recording the date that the site was accessed. The Researcher's reflection space (RRS) is a good tool for supporting this practice. (“Home”)