Identify the Context (6pts)

This criterion assesses the extent to which the student establishes and explores an environmental issue (either local or global) for an investigation and develops this to state a relevant and focused research question.

Environmental issue:

In this section you are framing the investigation by giving relevant background information on the larger environmental topic and your variables.
Begin with the more general information and get more and more specific, pointing out the link between your variables.
Be sure to explain the connection between the larger environmental issue and your research question. Include a discussion of the relevancy of the information we will gain from the results, and why we care about this research.

Research question:

State your research question. The research question should include both variables. You can start with a general statement, but be sure to follow up with a sentence or two that gives more specific information about the variables.
- For example: What would be the economic and environmental impacts of an solar farm farm in the Czech Republic? The economic impacts to be considered will be the overall cost of the project in light of grants awarded through the ČEZ and long term cost impacts of energy cost. The environmental impacts will include an analysis of wildlife displacement and greenhouse gas emissions.
- For example: How does temperature affect the amount of diffusion of carbon dioxide on a body of water? As carbon dioxide, when diffused into water, creates carbonic acid, the diffusion of carbon dioxide will be measured by the change in pH of water when exposed to high levels of carbon dioxide. Greater drops in pH will indicate a greater diffusion of carbon dioxide into the water.

Identifying the Context (20%)

MAY 2023 SUBJECT REPORT (IB's feedback on what students did well, and did not)

"The majority of RQs were relevant to ESS, and often included the environmental issue (EI). Students generally perform well in this criterion. The students can provide the context for the RQ by discussing the EI. Common areas of weakness are unfocused or broad RQs, a too general EI and poor linking of the EI to the RQ asked.

RQs in general could be more focused, many were vague e.g. 'testing water quality or measuring air pollution'. Some EIs are still only focused on human health. This is not appropriate for ESS. The choice of the EI should inform the decision on the wording and focus of the RQ. The third aspect making the connection is essential here."

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