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Sprint 1

to a great research question

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The aim of this sprint is to arrive at a great research question that will allow you every opportunity to produce a successful extended essay.

Work through the steps below for your pathway. Each step builds on the last, guiding you from a broad interest to a sharply focused, supervisor-ready research question.

Interdisciplinary pathway

For students combining two DP subjects to explore a topic that is better investigated through the lenses of both subjects than through either alone (interdisciplinary extended essay). Many interdisciplinary essays examine a contemporary global issue through a local case study, but this is an option, not an IB requirement (EE guide, pp. 9 and 20).

Note: Neither ESS nor Literature and Performance can be used in the interdisciplinary pathway. Interdisciplinary essays must be submitted in English, French or Spanish (EE guide, p. 20).

1. Identify an issue that interests you

Start from a personal interest that would be better explored through two DP subjects than through one. The IB notes that the interdisciplinary pathway is worth considering if you want to focus on a contemporary issue of global significance (EE guide, p. 9), so a global issue is a good option but not a requirement. If you take that route, choose something taking place within your lifetime. Useful starting points:

Example: The global obesity epidemic.

2. Choose your interdisciplinary framework

Decide which of the five interdisciplinary frameworks best suits your topic. Your topic should broadly fit within one framework, though it could include aspects that relate to others:

  • Power, equality, justice
  • Culture, identity, expression
  • Movement, time, space
  • Evidence, measurement, innovation
  • Sustainability, development, change

Example: Sustainability, development, change, with the focus on development. A topic does not need to connect with all three words of a framework (EE guide, p. 23).

3. Confirm the two-subject approach

Does the issue benefit from being approached through two different subjects? You will need to explain and justify why combining two DP subjects works better than using one, as part of Criterion A: Framework for the essay (EE guide, p. 33). It is strongly recommended that you are studying at least one of the two subjects in the DP (EE guide, p. 21).

Example: How do biological factors (such as genetics and metabolism) and geographical factors (such as income and access to healthy food) combine to explain high obesity rates? → Biology + Geography.

4. Localise the issue (optional)

If you chose a global issue, identifying a local manifestation of it can make the essay manageable within 4,000 words. This is a useful strategy, not an IB requirement. “Local” is defined broadly: it means a specific example or case study, not necessarily somewhere geographically close to you.

Example: McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area of Texas, regularly ranked among the most overweight metropolitan areas in the United States.

5. Draft your research question

Your RQ must be phrased as a question, not a hypothesis or a statement of intent (EE guide, p. 84), and focused enough to answer within 4,000 words. Open-ended questions beginning how, why or to what extent work best (EE guide, p. 85). It should invite you to integrate knowledge, concepts, theories, perspectives or methods from both subjects (EE guide, p. 30).

Example: “To what extent do biological and geographical factors together explain high obesity rates in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area of Texas?”

6. Create a working title (optional)

The IB title page does not require a title: it shows your student code, research question, the two DP subjects with the interdisciplinary framework, and the word count (EE guide, p. 89). A short working title can still help you keep the focus clear. Convert your research question into a short statement that captures the key focus of the essay. It is not phrased as a question.

Example: “Understanding obesity in McAllen, Texas.”

7. Research question checks

  • Is it phrased as a question, not a statement or a hypothesis (EE guide, p. 84)?
  • Is the question worth asking? If it can be answered with a yes or no, it probably isn’t a good RQ.
  • Does it clearly benefit from a two-subject approach? Is it evident from the RQ that an interdisciplinary lens is needed?
  • Can you access sufficient data and sources from both subjects?
  • Is effective treatment possible within 4,000 words?
  • Is it clear, focused and arguable (EE guide, pp. 85 to 86)?

Subject-focused pathway

For students writing an EE in one DP subject, whether that is Geography, History, Biology, Economics, English Literature or any other DP subject. It is strongly recommended that you are already studying that subject in the DP (EE guide, p. 34).

1. What interests you?

The EE takes approximately 40 hours of work (EE guide, p. 13), and you will find it easier to stay engaged with a topic that genuinely interests you. Think about what fascinates you within your subject: a concept, a debate, an unresolved question.

Examples:

  • Geography: The impact of heatwaves on urban populations
  • History: The legacy of the 1923 Greek-Turkish population exchange
  • Biology: The effect of microplastics on plant germination
  • Economics: Failures in urban housing rental markets

2. What is the big idea?

Identify the key concept, theory or framework from your subject that underpins your interest. Every subject has its own lens:

  • Geography: Place, Process, Power, Possibility; spatial analysis (a Geography essay must be spatial: EE subject-specific guidance, p. 18)
  • History: Cause, consequence, significance; competing historical interpretations (EE subject-specific guidance, p. 28)
  • Biology, Chemistry and Physics: Hypothesis testing, variables, experimental design
  • Economics: Equity, efficiency, economic well-being, sustainability (EE subject-specific guidance, p. 12)
  • English Literature: The effects a text achieves and the devices that create them; critical commentary (EE guide, p. 43)
  • Psychology: Biological, cognitive or sociocultural approaches, explored through a review of peer-reviewed research (EE subject-specific guidance, p. 37)
  • Philosophy: A distinctively philosophical method, such as conceptual analysis or phenomenology, built on rational argument (EE subject-specific guidance, p. 32)
  • Mathematics: A theoretical essay exploring mathematics beyond the syllabus, or a practical one using mathematics to investigate an issue (EE guide, p. 69)

3. Is there an issue or argument?

A good EE needs an argument, not just a description. Ask yourself: is there a genuine question worth investigating? Is there debate, tension or something to evaluate?

Example: Could changing how urban vegetation is managed mitigate the impacts of heatwaves?

4. Can you access data or evidence?

Think about what evidence you will need and whether you can realistically obtain it:

  • Every subject: you need secondary research (a review of the literature), whatever else you do (EE guide, p. 38).
  • Biology, Chemistry and Physics: your own experiments, or published data and databases. Can you control your variables, or find studies that used similar methods? (EE guide, p. 64)
  • Geography: fieldwork, secondary data or both. Where, when and how will you collect it, and will your sample be large enough to support a valid argument? (EE subject-specific guidance, p. 22)
  • History, English Literature, Economics and Philosophy: can you access enough primary sources, texts or data sets?
  • Psychology: the EE must be based on secondary sources only; collecting primary data is not permitted (EE guide, p. 56).

Example: Primary data on air temperature under tree canopy vs. open streets; secondary data on heatwave frequency in Switzerland.

5. Draft your research question

Your RQ tells the reader how you plan to analyse the issue. It must be phrased as a question, not a hypothesis or a statement of intent (EE guide, p. 84), and focused enough to answer within 4,000 words. Open-ended questions beginning how, why or to what extent work best (EE guide, p. 85).

Example: “To what extent could urban trees mitigate the impacts of heatwaves in urban areas, focusing on the tree-lined streets of Geneva, Switzerland?”

6. Create a working title (optional)

The IB title page does not require a title: it shows your student code, research question, DP subject and word count (EE guide, p. 89). A working title can still help you keep the focus clear. Your title is a simple statement that summarises the main focus of your essay. It is not phrased as a question; it tells the reader what your essay is about.

Example: “Potential cooling due to urban trees during heatwaves in Geneva, Switzerland.”

7. Research question checks

  • Is it phrased as a question, not a statement or a hypothesis (EE guide, p. 84)?
  • Is it clearly rooted in your subject? Could an examiner immediately identify which subject it belongs to?
  • Is it worth asking? If it can be answered with a yes or no, it probably isn’t a good RQ.
  • Is it sharply focused? Can it be treated effectively within 4,000 words?
  • Does it encourage an investigative or analytical approach?
  • Can subject-specific concepts, theories or frameworks be applied to it?
  • Is it clear, focused and arguable (EE guide, pp. 85 to 86)?