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Extended Essay: Investigation

A guide for everything concerning the Extended Essay process.

Investigation

Investigation
The goal of your extended essay is to answer your research question, and you will develop that answer based on your investigation. Investigation or research may look different depending on what subject area you are writing in. But no matter what, you will likely need a mixture of primary and secondary sources to inform your thinking.

Types of Sources

Primary Sources These are any kind of source that has not previously been analyzed. It can be data that you collect from an experiment, a photograph, a text, a sound recording or video...virtually anything! In history papers primary sources are usually objects or writing from the time period you are looking at.
Secondary Sources These are any kind of source that provides someone else's findings or analysis of a topic. These can be scholarly articles from a database, a book about your topic, an encyclopedia entry, or textbook.

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You will most likely use a combination of these two kinds of sources. Secondary sources are easy to find using internet searches, and/or databases. These sources can provide you with different perspectives on your topic, and show you what other people have already said about it. They can also provide you with summaries of an event or era if you need some background information.

Primary sources can be a little trickier to find, but they will form the basis of your analysis. By looking at primary sources, you will draw your own conclusions in response to your research question, and then justify those ideas using the information from your secondary sources.

Finding Sources

Keep your search general: When you're searching for information in a database or on the web, it is best to start your search with as few search terms as possible. This makes it more likely that you will find something relevant. You can skim larger results for something that looks relevant.

  • Example: if you're topic is the impact of technology in World War I, start by searching just "World War I" 

Search synonyms and related concepts: Brainstorm other words that might be used to describe your topic. Also consider any related topics that may be relevant.

  • Example: If you only search for "World War I" you might miss any articles that refer to that event as "The Great War" or "WWI"
  • Example: Search an example of a technological development from World War I, such as the tank or poison gas.  

Use pre-organized information: Some databases have already created collections of resources based on one topic. Browse these topics and find some that pertain to your topic. This can save you time an energy when searching.

Evaluating Sources

It is essential to evaluate your sources to ensure they are reliable. For one thing, there is lots of misinformation out there -- things that are just plain wrong. But there are also a wide variety of interpretations and ideas floating around as well. These things may not be wrong but they certainly have biases. This can either help or hurt your analysis.  Be sure to consider:

  • Who wrote this?
  • Why did they write this?
  • Who is the intended audience?

 

Here are some easy strategies for finding reliable information on the internet:

  • Look for websites run by established institutions (governments, universities, libraries, authorities in your field etc…)
  • Steer clear of commercial sites (they want to make money)
  • Beware of bias (it changes your interpretation of information)
  • Check the date  (it might not be true anymore)
  • Consider the site's look (if it looks amateur, it probably is)
  • Avoid anonymous authors (why should you believe them?)

Databases

Web searching can be great! Google is much more forgiving than many databases, and has much more complex algorithms for delivering results. You will definitely want to search the web to find lots of information easily.

However, you will find more nuanced and more certainly reliable information when you use a database. Additionally, because databases are made specifically for doing research, there are tools such as topic finder, subject search, and a variety of result filters to you find the information you need.

Here are some great databases to start with! 

For any questions, email Mr. Mulvey at jmulvey3@schools.nyc.gov