The IA criteria
The internal assessment criteria
The internal assessment criteria, examined in more detail below, are designed to assess the different aspects of this study.
There are six assessment criteria.
- Identifying the context (CXT) (6)
- Planning (PLA) (6)
- Results, analysis and conclusion (RAC) (6)
- Discussion and evaluation (DEV) (6)
- Applications (APP) (3)
- Communication (COM) (3)
Each criterion aims to assess different aspects of the student’s research abilities. The sections are differently weighted to emphasize the relative contribution of each aspect to the overall quality of the investigation. As the investigation and, therefore, the approaches to the investigation, will be individual to each student, the marking criteria are not designed to be a tick chart markscheme and each section is meant to be seen within the context of the whole. As such, a certain degree of interpretation is inevitable.
Identifying the context (CXT)(6)
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.
Guidance for the use of the internal assessment criteria: Identifying the context
This criterion assesses the development of the purpose of the study. You will be expected to show an understanding of the broader environmental issue and then develop your idea for a focused research question. The essential point here is that you are able to explain the broader issue and then distill this to create a focused research question that has relevance to the broader issue but is at a meaningful scale for the time frame of the investigation and the resources available to the student. To score highly, you will need to be able to justify the connection between your own study and the bigger problem that was the stimulus for your investigation.
Planning (PLA)(6)
This criterion assesses the extent to which the student has developed appropriate methods to gather data that is relevant to the research question. This data could be primary or secondary, qualitative or quantitative, and may utilize techniques associated with both experimental or social science methods of inquiry. There is an assessment of safety, environmental and ethical considerations where applicable.
*Repeatable, in this context, means that sufficient detail is provided for the reader to be able to replicate the data collection for another environment or society. It does not necessarily mean repeatable in the sense of replicating it under laboratory conditions to obtain a number of runs or repeats in which all the control variables are exactly the same.
Guidance for the use of the internal assessment criteria: Planning
Here, the emphasis is on the development of the methodology of the investigation. ESS allows for a broad range of studies that could be scientific or social-science based. The criterion has been designed to allow for assessment of a wide range of types of study. So, for example, when justifying the choice of the sampling strategy, this could mean explaining the method of sampling recipients in a questionnaire, but could also mean the selection of the number of repeats and the control of variables in a laboratory test. The important idea is that the methodology is appropriate to the focused research question, that there is sufficient data generated to lead to a conclusion, and that the rationale is explained clearly.
Many ESS studies will involve ethical or safety considerations. You must address this, where necessary, paying attention to the IB animal experimentation policy (which includes guidelines on working with human subjects), and should write about your strategies for upholding safety and/or ethical standards in the report.
Results, analysis and conclusion (RAC)(6)
This criterion assesses the extent to which the student has collected, recorded, processed and interpreted the data in ways that are relevant to the research question. The patterns in the data are correctly interpreted to reach a valid conclusion.
Guidance for the use of the internal assessment criteria: Results, analysis and conclusion
This criterion assesses the extent to which you have collected and appropriately analysed the data. If there is insufficient data then any treatment will be superficial. It is hoped that you would recognize the potential for such a lack and revisit the method before you arrive at the data collection or analysis. Alternatively, a lack of primary data could be supplemented by the use of secondary data from data banks or simulations to provide sufficient material for analysis.
Any treatment of the data must be appropriate to the focus of the investigation in an attempt to answer the research question. Guidance for the collection and analysis of data is given in the section above. The conclusions drawn must be based on the evidence from the data rather than on assumptions. Given the scope of the internal assessment and the time allocated, it is more than likely that variability in the data will lead to a tentative conclusion and may identify patterns or trends rather than establishing causal links. This should be recognized and the extent of the variability be considered in the conclusion. Where possible, the variability should be demonstrated and explained, and its impact on the conclusion fully acknowledged. Please note, by “conclusion”, is meant a deduction based on the direct interpretation of the data such as “What does the graph show?” or “Does any statistical test used support the conclusion?” Any overview of the data in the light of the broader context will be assessed in the criterion for discussion and evaluation.
Discussion and evaluation (DEV)(6)
This criterion assesses the extent to which the student discusses the conclusion in the context of the environmental issue, and carries out an evaluation of the investigation.
Guidance for the use of the internal assessment criteria: Discussion and evaluation
This criterion requires you to reflect on your study. In the first instance, you should evaluate the methodology of your research, discussing the strengths, weaknesses and limitations of the process. Any research project at this level is likely to be influenced by limitations, and the focus here is to identify these and to reflect on how they have impacted on the conclusion of the study. It might also be that weaknesses in the experimental design that became evident as a result of carrying out the study are discussed here. It is worth noting that although there is no requirement that the report is organized according to the headings of the criteria, consideration of the validity of the data will be assessed as part of the conclusion, and evaluation of the methodology will be assessed in this discussion criterion.
You must also reflect on the outcomes of your investigation in relation to the broader environmental issue, which was raised at the beginning of the internal assessment process. To what extent do your findings support or contrast with information available in the literature? What reasons can you suggest for any similarities or differences? It is at this stage that the focused research question is now widened to re-address the broader environmental issue or concern.
Applications (APP)(3)
This criterion assesses the extent to which the student identifies and evaluates one way to apply the outcomes of the investigation in relation to the broader environmental issue that was identified at the start of the project.
Guidance for the use of the internal assessment criteria: Applications
For this criterion, you are expected to reflect on the results of your study in the light of the broader environmental issue and suggest how your findings could be applied to address the environmental issue, or to propose a potential solution to one aspect of the issue. This criterion is therefore concerned with the synthesis of new ideas based on research findings. The suggestion might be based in the local context of the study itself, or might have relevance in a wider field, depending on the nature of the initial research question and the quality of the data obtained. In order to score highly, you must justify and evaluate your suggestion rather than just stating a proposal.
Communication (COM)(3)
This criterion assesses whether the report has been presented in a way that supports effective communication in terms of structure, coherence and clarity. The focus, process and outcomes of the report are all well presented.
Guidance for the use of the internal assessment criteria: Communication
The marking points for communication take the entire report into consideration. If a report is clearly written and logically presented there should be no need for the teacher to reread it. The information and explanations should be targeted at the question in hand rather than a general exposition of the subject area; in other words, it should be focused. The vocabulary should be subject specific and of a quality appropriate to the Diploma Programme. The subject-specific conventions that can be expected are the correct formats for graphs, tables and cell headings, and the correct use of units. This is not to say that the presentation needs to be faultless to gain full marks. Minor errors are acceptable as long as they do not have a significant bearing on understanding or interpretation of the results.
A report that exceeds the given word limit is likely to be penalized in this section for not being concise.