Extended Essays written in one of the Group 4 disciplines must be undertaken thoughtfully.
Overview for Group 4 EE's:
- Must take the form of a research paper involving a hypothesis , model, or critical analysis. Remember the scientific method.
- Must demonstrate argumentation, comparison, or the extraction of relevant information or data
- A correctly formatted and executed lab report could meet this criteria.
- Must have an emphasis on a specific branch of science—Biology, Chemistry, or Physics
The purpose SHOULD NOT BE to inform the reader about a specific topic, nor should it be a summary of the latest discoveries in the specific branch of science.
You should be personally involved with the subject matter and not simply an informant.
While not mandatory, performing an experiment will help to ensure your involvement.
Research Approaches
- Data-Based: location and extraction of raw or processed data, not collected directly by the student, which is then further defined and analyzed.
- Experimental: design and implementation of an experiment, then personal collection and analysis of the data.
- Theoretical (numerical): development of a quantitative or semi-quantitative description of some physical phenomenon, exercise of the model, predictions about its behavior and limitations.
- Survey: formulation of a cohesive, ordered, analytical and supported (qualitative and quantitative) discussion of the topic.
- Combination: a mixture of these approaches
Firsthand Experiments
- Choose sensible and feasible experiments that do not require extensive lengths of time for the construction of the apparatus.
- Highly sophisticated instruments are not required.
- It is recommended that the experiment be carried out under the direction of a school supervisor.
- If the research is carried out at a research institute or university under the guidance of an external supervisor, a cover letter outlining the nature of the supervision and the level of guidance provided must be submitted.
Research Topics
- Choose a research topic that can be treated effectively within the word limit and is not of a trivial nature.
- Can be in the form of a question:
- Do wine bottles of different shapes behave as helmholtz resonators?
- Can be presented as a statement or a hypothesis:
- The objective is to establish the relationship between power and temperature of an incandescent lamp.
Sample Research Questions
- Can a program of training at high altitude have an impact on the fitness of the athlete? (Biology)
- Does the time it takes to brew a cup of tea using a specific brand of tea leaves significantly alter the amount of caffeine dissolved in the drink? (Chemistry)
- Is it possible to determine the presence of a black hole at the center of the Milky Way? (Physics)
