Identify Sources

Research

A good extended essay is the result of good research, solid sources and meaningful notes. This chapter shows you what good sources look like, where to look for material and how to manage your bibliography.

Many of the tips in this chapter encourage you to develop research skills, such as making notes, searching the net and documenting your development. If the extended essay is like an iceberg, the paper you submit is only the tip and the research is the part below the water that is rarely seen.

IB suggested that students should use both primary and secondary sources for their research. However, students should use secondary data as the basis of their EE, supported where appropriate by primary research.

Research skills and habitsWriting an extended essay requires certain skills, such as the abilities to gather sources, take notes and write coherently.

In order to develop these skills, one must develop certain habits. What kinds of habits are we talking about?

For example:

You will probably have to schedule time to work on your EE, so managing your calendar is important.
You will probably have to find sources in the library or online, so it's important to know your librarian and your way around the Internet.
You will probably need to annotate versions of your essay, so you'll need a printer and (coloured) pens.
In brief, good habits lead to a good essay.

When writing your EE, it is important to recognize the difference between primary and secondary sources

Primary vs Secondary sources

Note: Often secondary and primary sources are relative concepts.

Typical secondary sources may be primary sources depending on the research topic.

Intellectual history topics
For example, although scholarly journal articles are usually considered secondary sources, if one's topic is the history of human rights, then journal articles on human rights will be primary sources in this instance. Similarly, research on the thinking of a scholar will include her published journal articles as primary sources.
Historical topics
Magazine articles are secondary sources, but for someone researching the view of judicial punishment in the 1920s, magazines from that time period are primary sources. Indeed, any older publication, such as those prior to the 20th century, is very often automatically considered a primary source.
Newspapers may be either primary or secondary
Most articles in newspapers are secondary, but reporters may be considered as witnesses to an event. Any topic on the media coverage of an event or phenomenon would treat newspapers as a primary source. There are so many articles and types of articles in newspapers that they can often be considered both primary and secondary.(Zakir Hossain)

Tips

The quality of the sources you use can determine the success of your EE.
In a sense, the bibliography is a starting point for the EE, not an end point.
Research is circular, not linear. The discovery of a source may make you question your research question, or suggest new lines of inquiry.

Traits of a good primary source

authentic
interesting
original

Traits of a good secondary source

reliable
authoritative
informative

Evaluating your sources

It is very important to check your sources with this evaluation tool. It will show you if your sources are reliable and current. Use the document I created to evaluate your sources. It can be used for newspaper articles, blogs, websites etc....

CRAAP TEST

How to search effectively use Boolean Search. An easy way to narrow down and customise your search.

Tips on Online Search

Many students start the research process online, by using Google or another search engine. Mitchel Kapor famously said: “Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant.” So how does one filter this stream of information? Here are some tips.

Start offline before going online – Have you discussed your research topic with someone already? Have you made a mind map about the topic? These activities will help you organise thoughts before entering search terms into a search engine.
Search engines have settings – Do you know when to use quotation marks for an online search? Are you signed into Google when using Google? What Boolean operators does your search engine use by default (‘and’ or ‘or’)? Are you limiting yourself to articles in one language, are you fluent enough to read pages and papers in other languages? Go to ‘settings’ or ‘advanced search’ in your search engine and you’ll see a range of options. Play with these to see how your results are affected.
You get what you pay for – Although there are a lot of good, free resources out there, you’ll find a relationship between quality and price. For example, the quality of articles on Ebsco Host and Jstor is far better than those of SparkNotes. Schools and libraries have access to subscriptions to journals and sites, and you can use them. Also keep in mind that ‘free’ information is often supported by advertising. Do you know the difference between organic search results and sponsored search results?
Know the nature of information – Are you hunting for something biographical, historical or factual? Then you can filter out blogs and opinion pieces. Ask yourself: Who would publish the information you’re looking for? Why would they publish it? Answering such questions will help you refine your search.
Keep wading to a minimum – Before you dive into an article or webpage, you’ll find yourself wading through a sea of search results. If you cannot find what you’re looking for in the first 10-15 search results, you probably need to refine your search terms or phrases.
Follow the trail – Sources have sources. For example Wikipedia pages include their references at the bottom of the page. Scientific articles include their lists of references. Literary papers include a list of works cited. Studies in history include a bibliography. Going to your source’s sources will give you a better understanding of the topic, or two aspects of it.
Avoid baby words – Instead of searching for ‘What’s in milk?’ try ‘milk composition’. While you’re at it, try ‘milk production’, ‘milk nutritional information’ and ‘milk facts’. In brief, synonyms are important. This relates back to knowing the nature of knowledge and refining your research question. Ask yourself, "What terms do 'experts' in this subject use when writing about this topic?"
Ctrl F – When viewing a document or webpage, your can conduct a quick search by holding down the control key, ‘Crtl’, and the letter ‘f’. Your browser or word processing software will highlight and take you to all appearances of the word(s) you’re looking for.
PDFs and ‘look inside’ – Do you know the title of the article or essay that you’re looking for? Try searching for the title in combination with "filetype:PDF." You can often peek at all or parts of print materials using Google Books or the ‘Look Inside’ option on Amazon. (S.T)