EXTENDED ESSAY
EXTENDED ESSAY
Every IB Diploma student must complete an extended essay (EE) and should you choose to base yours around Design, this page will help to guide you through choosing an appropriate essay focus, research question and the planning process.
The topic you select should be relevant and related to Design in some way which could mean that it is an essay that explores an area or topic in design or something that provides a solution. Either way, it must follow the design cycle. Speak to your EE supervisor, or visit the IB website to learn more about appropriate topics in Design Technology.
Finally, it really helps if you have a genuine interest in your chosen topic.
Your EE should be organised and focused around a research question. This is what guides your inquiry and is the reason for doing said inquiry.
Your Research Question should be:
Related to Design Technology content: You should be able to connect it to at least one DT topic
Specific enough that authentic research can be undertaken
Provide a lens or perspective through which to engage with the inquiry
Stated somewhere in the introduction
Your EE will consist of primary and secondary research. This research should be used to form the foundation of your analysis.
Be sure you understand the difference between primary and secondary research. Do not base your EE solely on secondary research.
Your sources for primary research should be relevant to the design inquiry. Make sure you use appropriate sources, and that they are cited.
Your EE needs to be based on primary research. The results of this research should be analyzed within the context of the problem.
Primary research can take the form of:
testing various existing products to determine their performance characteristics
testing various materials to determine their performance characteristics
testing various models, that you design, to determine their performance characteristics
interviewing several experts in the field in order to understand the scope of a problem or design context.
This EE option will have a product or system that works towards solving a problem as the focus and end goal.
This type of EE should follow the following format:
Introduction: Describe the design problem and the context; Introduce the RQ; Identify parameters or specifications for a solution
Develop Ideas: Include several sketches that outline possible solutions; *These do not need to be as extensive as those for your IA.
Create a Solution: Include planning drawings and evidence of the final manufactured product
Present the Solution for testing and evaluation by the user group; gather testing data.
Evaluate the success of the solution in solving or understanding the RQ, and suggest improvements
This EE option will focus on a process, material, or product in order to analyse and evaluate it.
This type of EE should follow the following format:
Introduction: Describe the design problem and the context; Introduce the RQ; Identify the direct connections to the DT Topic areas
Develop a testing method and apparatus. This should allow you to gather accurate and detailed data.
Gather data using testing apparatus, gather and record the data
Analyse and evaluate the data, and connect it back to the DT Topic areas.
An example research question from this type of EE is:
"To what extent can design systems reduce plastic waste specific to board markers used at ISHCMC?"
OR
"To what extent can design systems improve the flow of human traffic, specific to student movement at ISHCMC?"
An example research question from this type of EE is:
"To what extent has technology empowered the sensory impaired in the workplace?
OR
"To what extent have designs of the past influenced the success of those in the future, specific to the work of Dieter Rams and Jony Ive"