An extended essay (EE) in individuals and societies is intended for students who are interested in undertaking research in an area of business management, economics, geography, global politics, history, ITGS, philosophy, psychology, social and cultural anthropology or world religions.
The individuals and societies EE is intended to encourage the systematic and critical study of:
human experience and behaviour
physical, economic and social environments
the history and development of social and cultural institutions.
Students’ choice of topic should enable them to recognize that the content and methodologies of the subjects are contestable and that their study requires critical thinking.
Students must have sufficient grounding in the subject under which they submit their essay: reading a textbook or consulting an encyclopedia while writing the EE will not compensate for a lack of proper background knowledge.
An extended essay (EE) in business management gives students an opportunity to carry out in-depth research in an area of personal interest relating to business management.
The EE gives students an opportunity to develop research skills by:
reviewing business theories, concepts and principles
critically analysing their use and application in the business world and their resultant impact on business activity.
The EE requires the application of business management theories, tools and techniques to produce a coherent and structured analytical essay that effectively addresses the research question.
An extended essay (EE) in economics provides students with an opportunity to:
undertake in-depth research in economics in an area of personal interest to them
develop research skills
apply economic theory to real-world situations
make inferences based on real-world data
analyse and evaluate the outcomes of their research.
The outcome of the research should be a coherent and structured analytical essay that effectively addresses the particular research question.
An extended essay (EE) in global politics gives students an opportunity to undertake an in-depth analysis of a significant, contemporary global political issue.
Students should choose a topic that will allow them to demonstrate their:
knowledge
research skills
critical thinking skills.
The outcome should be a substantial, coherent and structured essay that utilizes relevant key concepts, theoretical foundations and approaches to global politics to effectively answer a specific research question.
Global politics is an interdisciplinary subject, reflecting the complex nature of many contemporary political issues. Nonetheless, it has its own theoretical and conceptual frames, terminology, methods and literature. It is essential for students undertaking an EE in global politics to have knowledge and understanding of these. Global politics is not a residual category for essays that do not fit into any other subject.
The EE gives students an opportunity to undertake in-depth research in an area of interest to them, of local, regional or global significance.
The outcome of the research should be a coherent and structured essay that effectively addresses a particular issue expressed as a research question.
The question should encourage an investigation that lends itself to analysis and critical commentary. Students should avoid straightforward “What” and “How” questions as they tend to lead to narrative treatment. Terms such as “How significant…?” or “How successful…?” are more likely to engage students in analysis.
“To what extent…?” requires an analytical answer, but if students choose this or a similar term, they need to ensure that their task does also require them to consider other factors to answer the question.
An extended essay (EE) in psychology gives students the opportunity to:
investigate in depth a topic of their choice within the subject
develop their skills in research, analysis and evaluation, and communication
increase their understanding of behaviour from a psychology perspective.
Psychology may be defined as “the study of behaviour”. The subject involves studying the behaviours of humans and non-human animals and has a range of specialist terms, methods and literature.
It is therefore essential for students undertaking an EE in psychology to:
have a sound understanding of the subject and its methodologies
choose a topic amenable to psychological investigation and analysis.
Students who have not studied psychology formally should not undertake the EE, unless they can demonstrate that they have sufficient knowledge and understanding of the subject.
Schools where psychology is not taught must be aware that students who submit an EE in psychology with no formal exposure to the subject may compromise their level of achievement.