Sprint 2 - to a detailed outline

Interdisciplinary pathway

For students combining two IB subjects to examine a globally significant issue through a local lens.

Your interdisciplinary EE title and research question

At this point, your title should already have been agreed and recorded on ManageBac. You need to have a title that frames your extended essay around a globally significant issue examined through two subject lenses. For example:

• Geography & Biology: "Understanding the Obesity Crisis in Texas"
• Economics & Environmental Systems: "The Cost of Fast Fashion in Dhaka, Bangladesh"
• Psychology & Global Politics: "Climate Anxiety and Political Engagement Among Youth in Stockholm"

The research question must be sharply focused, and effective treatment must be possible within 4000 words. For example: "To what extent can we understand the obesity crisis in Texas by analysing the biological and geographical factors?"

1. What is your RQ?
2. Highlight the globally significant issue in one colour, the localisation in another colour, Subject A in a third colour and Subject B in a fourth.

The materials, sources, data and evidence that support your research question

You need to show that you have sufficient data to analyse. Your interdisciplinary EE must be analytical — you need to be super careful that the overall feel of your essay is not descriptive.

3. Provide at least four significant sources of data/evidence for each subject area that will help you address your RQ. For each source, extract some key highlights.
   • These significant sources should include →
     • At least one source for each subject area should be sourced from online library databases, such as JSTOR, ScienceDirect, PubMed, or EBSCOhost. You could ask a librarian to help you with this.
     • Sources should be relevant to the specific methodologies and frameworks of both subjects.
     • Use Elicit, which will help you analyse research papers at superhuman speed. A free account is fine; sign in with Google and use your school account to find some additional research papers. Make sure you can download the documents as PDFs.
     • Try searching perplexity.ai for your RQ and explore some of the suggested sources as well as the related searches.

4. Add the sources of materials, data, and evidence to a table like the one at the bottom of this page, with each row representing a different item.

The introduction to your interdisciplinary EE — time to start writing! [At least 750 words, going beyond generalisations]

Write your introduction, then revise it into a second draft of around 1000 words. The introduction should frame your arguments clearly.

5. Describe and explain your significant global issue. Why is it significant? Why is it important? Is it contemporary? Ensure you have some dates, data, etc., that demonstrate the significant issue is occurring during your lifetime.
6. Describe and explain the localisation of this issue. Why have you chosen it? Why is it a good example?
7. What is your research question? Why is it worth asking?
8. Why does your research question require an interdisciplinary approach? What does each subject uniquely contribute that the other cannot?
9. Why are you using Subject A to look at this significant issue? Which key concepts, methodologies, models, or theories from this subject will you use?
10. Why are you using Subject B to look at this significant issue? Which key concepts, methodologies, models, or theories from this subject will you use?

Materials, sources, data and evidence [another 200 or so words here]

The discussions within your interdisciplinary EE need to do the following →

• Highlight the materials, sources, data and evidence from the two subjects you will be using, with some explanation of why they have been chosen.
• You must demonstrate that you have selected a suitable range of relevant sources.

Your concepts, theories, models, graphs and maps

You need to be making use of analytical tools appropriate to your subjects — this could include graphs, maps, diagrams, statistical tests, models, or other visual representations of your data.

At this stage, you should have already produced some of these as a 'proof of concept' for your intended arguments. These should be included at this point.

11. List the concepts, theories and models (from both subjects), graphs, maps, diagrams or other analytical tools you will be including in your interdisciplinary EE (you do not have to have produced them all at this point — but you should have produced some). Each needs a suitable title and a link to/description of the data you will use to produce it.

Structure — how will you plan to structure your interdisciplinary EE

Your interdisciplinary EE needs to have the following sections — but sections can be broken down further into sub-sections using subheadings:

• Introduction
• Methodology
• Analysis
• Conclusion
• Reference list or bibliography

You need to produce a section-by-section outline for your extended essay. Each section needs:

• section title
• an outline of the arguments that you will be making in it
• the data/map/graph/diagram that will be supporting your argument(s)
• intended word count

Subject-focused pathway

For students writing an EE in one IB subject — whether that is Geography, History, Biology, Economics, English, or any other DP subject.

Your EE title and research question

At this point, your title should already have been agreed and recorded on ManageBac. You need to have a title that frames your extended essay. For example:

• Geography: "Potential cooling due to urban trees during heat waves in Geneva, Switzerland"
• History: "The impact of the 1923 population exchange on Greek-Turkish relations in Thessaloniki"
• Biology: "The effect of microplastic concentration on the germination rate of Lepidium sativum"
• Economics: "Market failure in the Swiss housing rental market: a case study of Geneva"

The research question must be sharply focused, and effective treatment must be possible within 4000 words. For example: "To what extent could urban trees mitigate the impacts of heat waves in urban areas, focusing on the tree-lined streets of Geneva, Switzerland?"

1. What is your RQ?

The materials, sources, data and evidence that support your research question

You need to show that you have sufficient data to analyse. Your EE must be analytical — you need to be super careful that the overall feel of your essay is not descriptive.

2. If your subject involves primary data collection (e.g. Geography, Biology, Psychology), outline the data sets you will collect, where, when and how many. If your subject relies on secondary/textual sources (e.g. History, English, Economics), outline the primary texts, documents, or data sets you will be working with.
3. Provide at least six significant sources of secondary data/evidence that will help you address your RQ. For each source, extract some key highlights.
   • These significant sources should include →
     • At least one source should be sourced from online library databases, such as JSTOR, ScienceDirect, PubMed, or EBSCOhost. You could ask a librarian to help you with this.
     • Sources should be relevant to the specific methodologies and frameworks of your subject. For example, a Geography EE should include sources with a strong spatial element; a History EE should include primary source documents; a Science EE should include peer-reviewed experimental studies.
     • Use Elicit, which will help you analyse research papers at superhuman speed. A free account is fine; sign in with Google and use your school account to find some additional research papers. Make sure you can download the documents as PDFs.
     • Try searching perplexity.ai for your RQ and explore some of the suggested sources as well as the related searches.

4. Add the sources of materials, data, and evidence to a table like the one at the bottom of this page, with each row representing a different item.

The introduction to your EE — time to start writing! [At least 750 words, going beyond generalisations]

Write your introduction, then revise it into a second draft of around 800 words. The introduction establishes the context for your research and tells the reader what to expect. It should be a hard-hitting section that goes beyond generalisations. For example, if examining urban trees and heat waves in Geneva, you might write:

• One paragraph on the broader global context of your topic (supported by data)
• One paragraph narrowing to the specific context or location of your study
• One paragraph outlining the approaches, debates, or frameworks relevant to your subject

5. What is your research question? Why is it worth asking?

The introduction should make clear the focus of the essay, the scope of the research, an indication of the sources to be used, and an insight into the line of argument to be taken. It should express:

• What is the subject-specific framework behind your extended essay? What models, theories, concepts, or analytical approaches from your subject will you be using?
• What is the broader significance of your topic, and how does your research question narrow this down to something focused and manageable?
• Why is your research question worth asking? Why do the arguments that you are going to make matter?

Materials, sources, data and evidence [another 200 or so words here]

The discussions within your EE need to do the following →

• Highlight the materials, sources, data and evidence you will be using, with some explanation of why they have been chosen.
• You must show clearly that you have chosen a suitable range of relevant sources.

Your analytical tools — graphs, maps, diagrams and more

You need to be making use of analytical tools appropriate to your subject. Depending on your EE, this could include:

• Geography/Sciences: personally produced maps, graphs, statistical tests, field sketches
• History: timelines, source analysis tables, historiographical comparisons
• Economics: supply/demand diagrams, data visualisations, economic models
• English/Languages: close-reading annotations, comparative analysis frameworks
• Psychology: experimental designs, statistical outputs, methodological frameworks

At this stage, you should have already produced some of these as a 'proof of concept' for your intended arguments. These should be included at this point.

6. List the analytical tools, graphs, maps, diagrams or other visual/structural elements you will be including in your extended essay (you do not have to have produced them all at this point — but you should have produced some). Each needs a suitable title and a link to/description of the data you will use to produce it.

Structure — how will you plan to structure your EE

Your EE needs to have the following sections — but sections can be broken down further into sub-sections using subheadings:

• Introduction
• Methodology (if applicable to your subject)
• Analysis / Discussion / Body
• Conclusion
• Reference list or bibliography

Note: the exact section titles may vary by subject. For example, a History EE may use "Investigation" rather than "Analysis", and an English EE may not require a separate "Methodology" section. Follow subject-specific guidance from your supervisor.

You need to produce a section-by-section outline for your extended essay. Each section needs:

• section title
• an outline of the arguments that you will be making in it
• the data/evidence/analysis that will be supporting your argument(s)
• intended word count