RESEARCHING
Meaningful, relevant and reliable research is essential to a successful Extended Essay process.
At the heart of every Extended Essay is the research question. All Extended Essay must have a research question with directs student inquiry. The focus of each Extended Essay is the ability of the student to answer their research question within their 4000 word limit.
It is therefore important that you create a clear research question that can be addressed in the word limit and that you present reliable, relevant and meaningful research to back up your points.
The extended essay criteria now makes references such as the use of "relevant" sources (Criterion A) and that the writing needs to demonstrate a sound "understanding and application" of the chosen source material (Criterion B). As such, it is imperative that students include a form of research and subsequently make clear how it was utilized in developing their argument.
Meaningful research usually follows a staged process that could be visually summed up up as follows:
We generally begin with a question (or hypothesis), move to a review of existing (and relevant) knowledge in our chosen field, decide upon a suitable method (or approach) with which to conduct our investigation, analyse the results or information gathered and finally arrive at a conclusion that, it is hoped addresses our initial question.
THE ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
One of the first steps in the EE research process is to create an annotated bibliography. This is an important assignment that allows you to do some initial research and show your supervisor how you are approaching your research and where/what types of sources you are accessing. You might quickly find that there aren't enough available sources for your topic or that you need to narrow or expand you topic based on the resources you are finding.
Your inital annotated bibliography of 5 entries will be part of your initial proposal to your supervisor. You are expected to expand this document to 10 sources by the end of the research portion of your EE.
LOCATING AND EVALUATING SOURCES
It is important to understand what types of sources are best suited to an EE in your subject area. Primary and secondary sources look different in different subject areas.
Certain EEs also have a minimum expectations when it comes to primary and secondary sourcing, while others may disallow one type.
The "Locating and Evaluating Sources" document will clarify what types of souces you need, what primary and secondary sources look like in your subject area and where you might find these sources.
ORGANZING YOUR NOTES
The Extended Essay is a long-term research project that requires you to continuously explore secondary and primary sources.
In order to ensure that you are able to properly cite your sources and include the most relevant and effective examples and research, you need a system to organize your notes.
Creating a "research journal" is am important step in this process. How you choose to organize this research journal is up to you but it should include the following in a clear, organized manner:
The source (with MLA citation)
The page number (when available) that the information came from
The summary or direct quotation from the source that you find interesting/useful
A note about how this might connect to your research question/thesis
THINKING ABOUT METHODOLOGIES
The term "methodology" is used to describe a system of methods used in a particular area of study or activity. When looking at methodologies with respect to EEs, we need to think about the methods we will use to collect, organize and analyse data as well as the methods we will use for planning, structuring and writing our final EEs.
Methodologies will vary depending on the type of EE you are writing. These methodologies may include conducting experiments, carrying out field work or interviews, doing literature reviews or reviewing collections of secondary source materials. It is important when carrying out your research and shaping your final essay that you consider the efficacy of different methodologies within our field of study.
Making sure that you are using the most effective methodologies is something you will need to discuss with your supervisor.
The two resources in this section will help you decide what methodologies might be best for and EE in your subject area and guide you on how to reflect on the strenghts and limitations of the methodologies you used in your final essay.