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THE IB EXTENDED ESSAY Problems of supervision and How to help the student

THE IB EXTENDED ESSAY [Read-Only] - Wikispacesresearchstory.wikispaces.com/file/view/ee.pdf · BIOLOGY What causes cancer? EXAMPLE OF A BAD N HISTORY What would have happened to Turkey

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THE IB EXTENDED ESSAY

Problems of supervisionand

How to help the student

THE EXTENDED ESSAY

! What is it?! How do I get started?! Good and Bad Research Questions! Some Common Problems

Basic Facts

! Personal research by the student! On a question or hypothesis chosen by

the student, not assigned by the teacher

! In a subject or discipline listed by the IB (e.g., NOT Linguistics, Sociology or Mathematical Economics)

! In the format of a formal research paper

Basic Facts

! Length 4,000 words! not including appendices,

illustrations, bibliography, footnotes or endnotes

! with an abstract within 300 words

Basic Facts

! Required for the IB Diploma! Counts towards additional diploma

points along with Theory of Knowledge

! Assessed according to published criteria

WHO IS INVOLVED IN THE EXTENDED ESSAY?

! The student! The student’s supervisor! The IB Coordinator! The International Baccalaureate

Organization

HOW TO CHOOSE A RESEARCH TOPIC

! Decide which subject interests you the most.

! Without personal curiosity and interest, it’s impossible to do research.

HOW TO CHOOSE A RESEARCH TOPIC

In that subject, make a list of the topical areas in the subject that interest you the most.

Discuss this list with !your teacher!your friends !your parents and/or !anyone else who you think may be able to give you advice or be interested.

HOW TO CHOOSE A RESEARCH TOPIC

HOW TO CHOOSE A RESEARCH TOPIC

Choose an area from this list, and read more in this area - if possible, with advice from your supervisor.

HOW TO CHOOSE A RESEARCH TOPIC

! While reading, try and list questions that you are curious about.

! THIS MUST BE DONE RIGHT THROUGH THE RESEARCH PROCESS, SO....

KEEP A RESEARCH DIARY!

Ask yourself! what data you might need to answer

these questions! whether you will have access to the

data! whether you will need to find other

sources of data

See whether there has been any research by others in this area.

HOW TO CHOOSE A RESEARCH TOPIC

HOW TO CHOOSE A RESEARCH TOPIC

Consult the librarian for help with tracking down research papers or writings, and read the abstracts.

HOW TO CHOOSE A RESEARCH TOPIC

Ask what methods you will need to adopt to answer the questions you have in mind.

HOW TO CHOOSE A RESEARCH TOPIC

!Brainstorm!Draw spider diagrams of questions and issues and connections between them.

HOW TO CHOOSE A RESEARCH TOPIC

Narrow down the number and scope of your questions as you proceed.

HOW TO CHOOSE A RESEARCH TOPIC

Consult your supervisor at each stage, and in case of difficulty.

HOW TO CHOOSE A RESEARCH TOPIC

EXPECT TO CHANGE YOUR MIND SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE YOU FINALLY SETTLE ON A TOPIC.

! One formulated by the student out of his/her own curiosity or interest

! Non-trivial (i.e., substantial, not speculative or too limited in scope, not self-evident)

! Sharply enough focused so that the student can answer it in 4,000 words.

WHAT IS A GOOD RESEARCH QUESTION?

EXAMPLE OF A BAD RESEARCH QUESTION

ECONOMICS Does globalization affect Turkey?

EXAMPLE OF A BAD RESEARCH QUESTION

BIOLOGYWhat causes cancer?

EXAMPLE OF A BAD RESEARCH QUESTION

HISTORYWhat would have happened

to Turkey if the last Sultans had been more powerful?

EXAMPLE OF A BAD RESEARCH QUESTION

GEOGRAPHYDoes Istanbul have a central business district? (variant of an example in The Extended Essay, IBO, 1998)

EXAMPLE OF A GOOD RESEARCH QUESTION

ECONOMICS Is there a connexion

between international coffee prices and living standards in

Uganda?

EXAMPLE OF A GOOD RESEARCH QUESTION

BIOLOGYThe ecology of snails in the Koç School

campus.

EXAMPLE OF A GOOD RESEARCH QUESTION

HISTORYThe establishment of foreign schools in

Turkey in the 19th century

EXAMPLE OF A GOOD RESEARCH QUESTION

GEOGRAPHYHow has migration affected land use

patterns in Van province?

COMMON PROBLEMS WITH EXTENDED ESSAYS

Students discover too late that there is too little data, or data is inaccessible.

COMMON PROBLEMS WITH EXTENDED ESSAYS

Bad pacing of the research and writing process

COMMON PROBLEMS WITH EXTENDED ESSAYS

PLAGIARISMThe use of the work of other authors(texts, data, creative productions,oral statements OR ideas) withoutproper acknowledgement, with theeffect that it appears to be theplagiarist’s own work or idea.

COMMON PROBLEMS WITH EXTENDED ESSAYS

Over-reliance on web-based sources

COMMON PROBLEMS WITH EXTENDED ESSAYS

Students discover too late that their knowledge of the subject is not deep enough.

COMMON PROBLEMS WITH EXTENDED ESSAYS

Ethical issues regarding gathering of data or performing of experiments

COMMON PROBLEMS WITH EXTENDED ESSAYS

No contribution by the student – the extended essay is a compilation of information from other sources.

EXTENDED ESSAY ADVISORY SESSION

with STUDENTSEnd of IB 1 or Beginning of IB 2

What does this session cover?

! Where you should be in the process now.

! What you need to do if you are not there.

! Possible problems at this stage, and what to do about them.

! Tips and pitfalls! Discussion with subject teachers and

librarian.

Where should you be in the EE process by now?

! You should have:! Assembled the material and bibliography for your

research! Performed experiments (where required)! Recorded data or observations on which your

research is based. ! Written up research notes! Outlined your analysis! Started writing the SECOND DRAFT

What you need to do if you are not there

! Decide whether you still want the IB diploma. If you do…

! Show your supervisor what you have done! Ask for advice. ! Spend more time on the EE research process

to complete what needs to be done up to the second draft.

! Submit a second draft with what you have, and try and improve on it AFTER it is returned to you with your supervisor’s comments.

What you SHOULD NOT do if you are not there

! DON’T PANIC!! Don’t give up. No extended essay

means NO IB DIPLOMA. ! Don’t PROCRASTINATE and DELAY, or

pretend that the problem will go away.

Possible Problems at this Stage 1

! You have not focused your research question appropriately for the size of the essay or the discipline.

! The direction of your research may be contrary to the guidelines.

! You have not identified resources for answering your research question.

! You have not completed readings or experiments or the gathering of data for your research.

! You find it difficult to organize, analyze or interpret the material or data required for your research.

! You find the material is insufficient or inconclusive for your research.

! You feel you don’t know enough in the discipline to be able to complete your research.

Possible Problems at this Stage 2

If you have not focused your research question appropriately for the size of the essay or the discipline…

! Remember that your research question needs to be addressed in 4,000 words.

! Remember that the essay has to be firmly in one of the disciplines taught in the IB, e.g., English, History, Peace & Conflict Studies; but not Cultural Studies, Mathematical Economics, etc.

! Seek your supervisor’s guidance. ! Relate your essay to a specific thing, such as a novel,

country, time, effect, law. The Ecology of Snails in the Koç School Campus is better than The Ecology of Turkey.

If the direction of your research is contrary to the guidelines…

! Check carefully from the Extended Essay Guide what the criteria for your essay are.

! Refocus the question and start again. (It may be too late to do this, so…)

! Complete the essay as you have started to the best of your ability, and hope for the best!

! Remember that NO ESSAY MEANS NO IB DIPLOMA.

If you have not identified all necessary resources…

! Tell your supervisor, and ask for advice.

! Seek help from the librarian to find various sources of information and/or ideas.

! Find people or institutions outside school that may be able to help you, and approach them.

If you have not completed readings or gathering data…

! Submit a second draft on the basis of what is available, and try to improve in the third draft.

OR! Complete the readings or data

collection in time for your second draft.

If you find it difficult to organize, analyze or interpret the material or data required for your

research…

! Seek your supervisor’s advice.! Consider whether you need to re-word or

re-think your research question. ! Look for theoretical frameworks or tools in

your discipline that can help you analyze or interpret the material you have available.

If you find the material is inconclusive for your research…

! Speak to your supervisor.! Re-examine the material and see whether

you are missing something.! Re-examine the theoretical “spectacles”

with which you are viewing the material.! Examine why it is inconclusive as part of

the analysis and discussion in your essay.

If you feel you don’t know enough in the discipline to be able to complete your

research…

! Seek help from your supervisor to find out what ideas, concepts, frameworks, tools or techniques will help you address the research question.

! Read more in the discipline in which you are doing the research.

! Seek help from professors or graduate students at universities to teach you what you need to know. (Your supervisor will probably not teach you, but may help you teach yourself. )

TIPS AND PITS! Tips:

! Make sure your question is narrowly focused.! It helps to exceed by about 20-30% the word limit

in the first few drafts, and cut it back to the maximum of 4,000 for the final.

! Keep assessing each draft of your essay against the General and Subject Criteria in the Extended Essay Guide, or ask your supervisor to do so.

! Record ALL sources that you consult and use, and cite them carefully.

TIPS AND PITS! More Tips:

! Keep a Research Diary or Journal or Notebook, especially a pocket-sized one that you can carry about and record any ideas that occur to you anywhere.

! Frequently draw spider diagrams to get the bigger picture, and make links that you know of, and look for other possible links that you may have missed.

! Make sure that you present, analyze and interpret data – not just present them!

! Use the technical vocabulary and concepts of the discipline in which you are working - don’t write like a journalist.

TIPS AND PITS

! STILL more tips:! Remember that if you give up on the essay, you

still need to hand in a Yearly Project, and you disqualify yourself from the IB Diploma. So…

! Complete the essay as best you can, even if you run into problems. That way you will have learnt something valuable!

! Write the Introduction LAST, so that you can give the reader a clear statement of the research question, and how you have addressed it (a “roadmap” of the essay).

TIPS AND PITS

! Pitfalls: ! Don’t neglect to refer to BOTH sections of

your Extended Essay Guide FREQUENTLY. ! DON’T leave everything till the last. The

deadlines for drafts are there to help you pace your work. They are not a monument to my alleged sadism!

! Do NOT rely entirely or mostly on web based resources because of they often tend to be unreliable.

TIPS AND PITS

! MORE Pitfalls!!KEEP BACKKEEP BACK--UPS (note the plural) UPS (note the plural) OF ALL YOUR WORK.OF ALL YOUR WORK. You will be You will be surprised how well your computer surprised how well your computer knows when to crash. knows when to crash.

!!BEWARE OF PLAGIARISMBEWARE OF PLAGIARISM(especially the unintentional kind)! The (especially the unintentional kind)! The consequences are consequences are UNPLEASANTUNPLEASANT. .

HELPFUL WEBSITES! http://www.hamilton.edu/academic/Resource/WC/index.html! http://sja.ucdavis.edu/avoid.htm#guidelines

! http://web.mit.edu/writing/index.html MIT Writing Centre. Many of the pages here have restricted access.

! http://webster.commnet.edu/mla/index.shtml This is a comprehensive guide to writing research papers which also contains the MLA style guide whose citation conventions you to adopt in writing your essay. In addition, it also contains sections on plagiarism and citation.