DP2 - Interim Reflection Session

The Research Question (RQ)

What to avoid?

A research question for the EE must avoid being too simple. Your general "who, what, when, where" questions are absolutely 100% NOT going to work.

You should still be careful with terms like "why" and "how" as well -- they are not always guaranteed to invite analysis or evaluation of a topic.

What makes a good RQ?

A good RQ is something that meets the following requirements...

It is clear and focused. Meaning that it is not so broad that you can write about any number of topics. "How does The Things They Carried use motifs?" is way too broad, and more descriptive than analytical. "How does The Things They Carried use the motif of violence to communicate the psychological effects of war?" is a lot more focused. A focused question gives you a clear path to follow.
A good RQ is open-ended enough to invite quality research. This information can then be analyzed to help you in answering your RQ. An RQ with an obvious answer is not a good RQ -- who needs to research something obvious? An open-ended question could also invite debate, which would require students to explore different perspectives and interpretations (depending on the subject of your EE.)
A question that is conceptual is often looked at highly by examiners! This frequently has a positive effect not just on Criterion A (Focus & Method) but also on Criterion C (Critical Thinking) as conceptual ideas lend themselves nicely to analysis and evaluation (far better than purely factual information.)

The BEST Questions...

...will have a clear analytical focus -- it should be clear both to you and a reader / examiner what your analysis will focus on

...will have a clear conceptual lens, based on your subject (a history question should use historical concepts, etc.)

...can be set within a rich, detailed factual context (you'll need to introduce background and context for your question, and the more interesting and "rich" this is, the better it is for you. A simple question will not allow this type of context.)

Popular Choices

To what extent?

You'll see this a lot in your DP exams. Still, be careful with this term. Many, many EE's use it, but that doesn't mean it's always effective.

One good thing about "TWE" is that it invites analysis and evaluation: arguing an extent of something requires you to interpret and use the data/information you gather in your research. It may require you to consider alternate views at the same time.

If you want to avoid "to what extent," questions that start with "how far" or "how effective" can get at the same sort of analysis.

Why?

"Why" can often be a good choice, but it requires the rest of the question to be strong. Is the question narrow and focused? Is it clear? Does it invite debate and discussion? Does it require research to answer. If you can respond with "yes" to most of these, then perhaps "why" can work.

"How effective" or "How far"

Writing your research question like this forces you to really evaluate what your answer is going to be and gauge what level of acceptance/approval it will be. It leads towards a more persuasive argument because you need to justify that your final conclusion is what it is, instead of being a more binary answer.

What is...?

This is NOT how you should be phrasing your EE RQs. Doing so it only going to LIMIT what kind of answer you are capable of giving, making it harder to reach the high markbands for a better score.

Another option in some subjects is to ask "how effective" or "how efficient" or "how well" -- questions that ask you to make an evaluation often make good EE RQs. Questions that invite debate, or the discussion of multiple perspectives, also make excellent questions (in some subjects, but not all.)

Having trouble?

"Exploding Terms"

Take each part of a question and "explode" each word or term...

"How does depression affect people?" Which people? What type of depression? Are you interested more in the causes or effects of depression? When you say 'how,' what approach might you take to study or analyze this issue? By "exploding" the terms in a weaker RQ, you might be able to figure out a more specific question. This could become "how does seasonal affective disorder affect students' state of mind during darker winter months" or "how does post-natal depression affect women's ability to stay at work in the year after giving birth?"

Is your subject "worthy?"

Not every topic is suitable for an extended essay. This is a 4000-page, pre-collegiate research paper. Some people might have a research topic that reaches above the 'high school' level and into the college or university level of things (particularly if you're quite strong in a subject, or if you're hoping to extend knowledge you've gained from a previous research experience.)

To help you judge whether this topic, and your RQ, are worthy of an EE, you can ask some of the following questions...

Does my question have a useful, contemporary application?
Will coming to a conclusion on this topic help shed light on something important in the field, or in a different area?
Am I exploring the validity of a theory or a certain practice?
Will my research clarify significant misconceptions?
Is my topic important to a certain area of the world, or to a certain group of people?
Am I looking into a subject or topic that hasn't always received the attention it deserves?

These are just recommendations. There are certainly many viable subject/topic combinations where the above questions simply aren't relevant (many English B essays, for instance.)

For a World Studies Extended Essay, a key question has to be able to respond to the following:

Is my use of TWO DP subjects going to help me reach a better understanding of this topic and the global issue, or can I reach a similar understanding using only ONE DP subject? Basically, you need to be able to justify the use of TWO DP subjects -- if the question / topic does not benefit from an interdisciplinary approach, then we should reconsider that approach.

Below, from IB...

Developing a RQ.pdf

Final RQ Notes

It is normal for RQs to be revised and become stronger as you move through the EE process, BUT you want it to be as strong as possible at the start. Some subjects, like History, can see a weak RQ transform into something much stronger after students complete their research and organize their information. Other subjects, particular Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math, CS, etc., really need a good RQ in order for the rest of the process to work out. A weak Physics RQ might not help you set up the best experiment, or it may lead you in the wrong direction for your secondary research.

Don't just blindly start the process with a weak RQ. The time you spend strengthening your RQ early in the process pays dividends later on. Otherwise, you may find yourself re-doing months of work.

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