Choosing a topic and research question

5 steps to generating a research question

Step 1 - What subject to pick?

Generally speaking, many IB students from around the world pick from one of their HL subject options, as these may be subject areas that they are more confident in. While that makes sense, do consider you SL subject options, as they may have topics that you are interested in.

It is important, however, to pick a subject that you are currently studying, as you will have the knowledge and skills from that subject to apply in your extended essay.

Before you finalise your subject, however, you should read the EE subject guide for that particular subject, so that you familiarise yourself with the requirements of that subject.

You can access the EE subject guides here.

Step 2 - Choosing a topic

After choosing the subject for your extended essay, the next step in the research process is to decide what topic your research is going to focus on.

To identify a topic, you should do the following:

List or brainstorm, using a mindmap, what are possible topics there are for your extended essay?
In your list or mindmap, note down what you already know about those topics?
Identify any sources articles, textbook pages that give you some insight into the topic. If you are doing a broader search, consider which words would be good search terms and keywords?

Step 3 - Preliminary research into topics

After deciding on some topics of interest students should undertake some general reading around the topic / issue.

Questions that students must consider at this stage are:

What has already been written about this topic?
Is it easy to find sources of information?
Is there a range of different sources available?
Is there a range of views or perspectives on the topic?
Is my topic appropriate for the subject I am considering?
Why am I interested in this area and why is it important?
What possible and interesting questions have emerged from my initial reading?
Are there any ethical issues that I need to consider?
What possible methods or approaches might be used for research in this area and why?

Step 4 - Devising possible research questions

"All students, regardless of the subject chosen, must frame their research question as a question. A hypothesis or statement of intent is not acceptable. The reason for this is that a question helps students to retain focus throughout the essay.

A research question is a clear and focused question centred on a research topic. Research questions usually emerge when questions are asked about a particular issue that a student is interested in or curious about.

A research question helps to focus the research, providing a path through which students will undertake the research and writing process. A clear and well-focused research question, which has a specific aim, will allow a student to work towards developing a reasoned argument within the scope of the task, rather than the kind of “all about” essay that an unfocused research question can lead to.

Sometimes students may need to revise their research question; therefore, a research question should always be considered provisional until they have enough research data to make a reasoned argument." (IB EE Guide P.75)

Sample research questions

The following table gives guidance on the difference between unclear and unfocused research questions and those that are appropriately clear and focused, lending themselves to in-depth research (IB EE Guide, P.76).

Here are some examples of extended essay research questions

One of the things you may notice is that a lot of extended essay research questions begin with "To what extent..."

There are, however, many other ways to frame you research question that you can consider (Oxford EE course companion, p17):

Step 5 - Select and refine your research question

Important tips about your research question:

understand the RQ will not be perfect for sometime; it evolves as your research progresses
avoid mindlessly picking 'To what extent...' as your RQ without considering alternatives. There are other question starter ideas above on this page
your RQ must be a question - be sure to use a question mark

Topic to Research Question from IU.pdf

EE - Practice exercise - Formulating research questions.docx

EE research question feasibility checklist.docx

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