HistoricalInvestigationGuidelines
What is it?
A historicalinvestigationconsistingof awrittenaccountofbetween1,500and2,000words(no more,noless), divided into six sections:aplanof theinvestigation,asummaryof evidence,an evaluationof sources,an analysis, a conclusion, andabibliographyor listofsources.The investigationmustbe awrittenpieceandshouldbethe workof theindividualstudent.Group workis notpermitted.Itisworth20marks.
Whodoesit?
All higher level(HL) andstandard level(SL) historystudents.
Howmanywordsshouldtherebe in eachsection?
Thisisnotspecified, butasuggestionisA:100-150,B: 500-600,C:250-400,D:500-650,E:150-
200.Total1,500-2,000words.Youcannotbe overorunderthe wordcount,oryou will automaticallylose marks.
Howmanymarksisitworth?
It ismarkedoutof 20forbothHLandSLand weighted at20%(forHL) and25%(forSL) of the finalassessment.
Whatcanitbe about?
Anygenuine historytopic,butBaconmustagreeuponitwithyou. Mysuggestionisthat you chooseatopicofinterestfromtheIB20thcenturyhistorysyllabusthatmayhelp youwiththeIBexams. It maynotbe atopicyouhavepreviously researched(like for ExtendedEssay or aprevioushistoryclass).
Howmanysourcesdoyouneedtouse?
Asmanyas willproduceaneffectiveinvestigation.Only sourcesused in theinvestigationcanbe listedonyourworkscited page.Twoof thesewillbeselectedforevaluation(sectionCof the investigation).Isuggestaminimumof 6reallygood, variedsources.Maximumof 12?Your sourcesshouldbediverse– books,periodicals, Internet,interviews,video/audio,etc.
The workmustbeyour own.Sourcesmustbecited properly.
Examplesof thetypesof investigationsastudentmayundertake:
A Historical…
Topic or themeusing writtensourcesoravarietyofsources.
Topicbased onfieldwork;for exampleamuseum,battlefield, etc.
Problemusingdocuments(this couldincludenewspapers).
Projectbasedonlocal events,people,orplaces.
Projectbasedonoralinterviews
Investigationbasedoninterpretinganovel,film,pieceofart,etc
The following are examples of research questions:
•Why did the Pope crown Charlemagne Emperor in 800?
•What were the contributions of Genghis Khan to the rise of Mongol power?
•How historically accurate is the depiction of Saladin in the film Naser Salah el Dine, El (1963)?
•In what ways did the work of Henry the Navigator inspire Portuguese exploration?
•How did the geisha’s way of life change during the Meiji period?
•How did the experiences of British Second World War veterans serving in Europe compare with those in the Pacific?
•Why, and with what consequences for its citizens, was Dresden (any affected town could be substituted) bombed in 1945?
•In what ways did the Chinese communists use the traditional art form of opera to promote their ideology during the Cultural Revolution?
•To what extent did the experiences of Vietnam veterans in Tulsa, Oklahoma mirror the US public’s overall perception of the war?
•How did the coverage of the Falklands/Malvinas War differ in the British and Argentine press?
•To what extent were the Moscow Olympic Games of 1980 affected by Cold War tensions?
•How accurately can the battle of Teutoburg Forest be reconstructed through archeological fieldwork?
OutlineofProcess
1. Startbyidentifyingageneralareaofinterestinhistory.
Focus on a topic or event with a cut-off date that is at least 10 years before the submission date for
the investigation (therefore, an investigation submitted in 2010 would have a cut-off date of 2000;
an investigation submitted in 2016 would have a cut-off date of 2006)
2. Narrowitdown to aspecificquestion/areaofinvestigation. The question can become the title of
the investigation. Likely your question will berefinedatalaterstage.
3. Makesureyou canobtainsufficientresourcesforyourplannedinvestigation(I suggestatleast 5 or6good sources).Youmay notuseallof theminyourfinalinvestigation,butat leastyoucouldfindenough info).
4. Read widelyaroundtheareaofstudyand noteallresourcesused (This is the most important part of
research).
5. Lookforcompetingordifferinginterpretationsof your topic. IBlovesthis (historiography)
6. Reviewyour thesisquestionandrefineit if necessary.
7. Takenotesfromyourchosenresources,includingexactreferences.
8. CompletesectionA (theplan) andshow itto Bacon.
9. Re-readyournotes anddecidewheretheywould fitinto thesections of the investigation.
10. Completeyour investigation,accordingtoIBOguidelines.
Themethodologyof your researchiswhatthis investigationisallabout.Itisareportof the researchyou woulddoif youwereactuallygoingto writeafullresearchessayonyourtopic. Howwould yougoaboutansweringyourthesis?What sourceswouldyouuse?Wherewould youfind thosesources?And,ina nutshell,whatis your conclusion oranswertothe question based onyourlimitedresearch?
ImportantDueDatesFeb. / Librarypre-research(2 or 3 classperiods)
March 10 / PreliminaryTopic /subjectapproval (ThesisStatementAssignment) Conference
March / Libraryresearch(3or4 class periods)
Early June / What is your plan for your investigationandlist ofsources
June / Libraryresearch/writingsession(2or3 classperiods)
Oct/Nov / Firstdraft
Nov/Dec / Conferences
Feb. / Finaldraft(2copies)
A. Plan of Investigation(100-150words)
Inorderto comeupwithagoodquestionorthesis,youmustdosomepre-research.Picka topic,researchit,comeupwith abasicquestion,readsomemoreaboutit, refineyour question,writesomeofyour paper,andthentweakthequestionabit more.Thequestion shouldbe specific,focused,detailedandtargeted.The more specific,thebetter!!!!
Scope:Yourplan mustincludeyourthesis,andyouneed to explainwhyyourtopicis important,whyitdeservesresearch,andwhyyou arenarrowingyourfocustoyourspecific thesis.Explainwhyyourresearchissobroad orso narrow.
Youwillneedto writeabout themethodsof yourresearch.Thisisnotanarrativeof howyou aregoing to drivetothelibrary,sitatacomputer,andtype insome words.Norisastoryabout howyoulookedthroughlots of periodmagazines.Itisanarrativeof howyouwould searchthroughspeechesofyourhistoricalfigure,lookfor whoattendedthespeeches,researchwhat thelocalandnational newspaperssaidaboutthespeech,finda copyof thespeech,lookfor video or audioof thespeech,etcetcetc. Whatisitthatyouneedtodoinordertoansweryour thesisquestion?Nomatterwhatyoudoor howyoudoit, your researchmusthavea clearly structured plan.You can’tdoitallon theinternet!
“I need tofindlettersfrom…” and why…
“I need tolook at otherswhowere there…” and why…
“I need toseepictures(satellite and aerial)of thegeographyof theareato betterunderstand…”
“I need tolocatepersonaljournalsfrom…” and why… “Iwillsort throughcourtrecordsto….”
ThePlanof Investigationmustinclude:
thesubjectof theinvestigationin theformof a question themethodsto beused intheinvestigation
B. Summaryof Evidence(research)(500-600words)
JUSTTHEFACTS.
Proveyoudid theresearch.Proveyoulooked throughavariety ofsources. Proveyou didn’t just sitatthe computerandsearchtheinternet.Proveyouwere thorough.Proveyouwenttoa museumandlooked at thearchives!Youmayevenwanttobullettheevidence,butmakesure youwritein sentenceform(thishelps your wordcount)! Whateveryou do, makesureyou cite allyoursources.Becareful,onlyusesomethinginyourinvestigationifitis meaningfuland providesevidencetohelpansweryourquestion.Justusing alaundrylistoflotsof factsand figuresandquotesfromlots of books or websitesdoes not help.Moreis notbetter.I would suggestprimaryANDsecondarysourcesforyourresearch.
Donot includeyouranalysis of thesources,and don’t actually answerthethesisin thissection. Youwilldothis later.Itis justanorganizedsummaryof thefactsyou foundfromthesources youdiscoveredinyourresearch.Youmayinclude quotesif you wantto,butmakesureyouput themin context.
Becareful- anyinformationyou useanywhereelsein the papermustbepresented inthis section.Youcan’t pull out new informationanduseitin your conclusion ifit doesnot also appearin yoursummaryofevidence!!Allinformation you summarizeshould help“prove” whatyour conclusionis and this proof will be used or explained in the Analysis (Section D).
Anyillustrations,documents,orotherrelevantevidenceshouldbe includedinanappendixand willnotbeincluded inthe word count.
ThissectionMUSTBE ORGANIZED (thematicallyor chronologically)and MUST BE REFERENCED andprovideevidenceof thoroughresearch.Itcanbe in eitherbulletedlistorcontinuous prose.
C. Evaluationof Sources(OPVL)(250-400words)
Thissectionshould bea critical evaluationof thetwo(2)mostimportantsourcesappropriateto theinvestigation andshould refertotheirORIGIN,PURPOSE,VALUE,andLIMITATION.More thentwosourcesmaybeevaluatedbut theemphasisshouldbeonthethoroughevaluationof twosourcesratherthanasuperficialevaluationofmorethan two. Youarethehistorian,so explain howusefulthesourceistoyou.Whatareits valuesandlimitations?
NOTE:The purposeof this sectionisto assesstheusefulnessofthesources;NOTtodescribe theircontentornature.
Youdonothavetocomparethetwosources.
“Limitation” –Look for limitationsthesourcehas. Important: if something is translated, we need to accept the translation as effective, therefore a translation is not a limitation.
D. Analysis(500-650words)
Thisisthesubstanceof thepaper.Theseareyourthoughtsaboutthesubject.Thisisyour analysis of thesources,yourfindings,your ideas.Youmaywanttopresentdiffering interpretationsof theanswerto yourquestion.
Whateveryoudo, youshould trytoplaceitinhistoricalcontext.Thiswilladdweightand perspectiveto yourstudy.Whatelsewasgoingonatthetime?Takealargerviewthanjust your bit of information…whatassociated eventsmay lendthemselvestoanunderstanding of thehistoricalimportanceof your subject?
Youareelaboratingonandanalyzing whatyou wroteaboutin sectionB.Theelementsyou identifiedinsectionB willnowbebrokendowninto keyissuesorpoints.Nowyouare analyzingwhatallthefactsfromsectionBmean.Howaretheyrelated?Howdotheyconflict with eachother?Whatdotheymean?Whatisyour interpretationof thefacts?
The analysis shouldinclude:
theimportanceof theinvestigation initshistoricalcontext analysis of theevidence
ifappropriate,differentinterpretations (historiography or historical debate)
E. Conclusion(150-200words)
The conclusion mustbeclearlystatedand consistentwith theevidencepresented.Youshould NOTINCLUDEANYNEWINFORMATIONNOTALREADYPRESENTEDEARLIERIN YOUR PAPER.
Thisisa follow-upto sectionD.It requiresanansweror conclusion,basedontheevidence alreadypresented(again, nonewevidenceorsurprises) whicheitherpartiallyof fullyaddresses thequestionstatedor implied in theinvestigation.
This shouldbeconsistentwith therestof yourpaper.
F. Listof Sources(not countedinwordcount)
A bibliographyorlist of sourcesmustbeincludedalthoughit willnotcountin total wordcount.
Allsources,whetherwrittenorotherwise(includinginterviews)should belisted.Thismustbe alphabetized.Formatdoesnotmatter,aslongasyouareconsistent and useonlyoneformat!
Whereshouldyouresearch??
1. National Archives
2. Databases (JSTOR, Ebsco)
3. Professionaljournals (mostrecentresearchonly)
4. Governmentwebsites(.gov)
5. Educationalwebsites(universities)(.edu)
6. Books
7. Museums(HagleyandWinterthurhavegreatlibrariesdependingonyourtopic)
8. PublicArchives
9. Vacationing—plan a visit to a place of interest (planning required)
10. Etc.
CHECK THESOURCE.MAKESUREITIS RELIABLE.
LasttimeI checked,a thirdgrader’spaperwasnotareliablesourceforahistoricalinvestigation suchasthis,nomatterhowgoodhissourceswereif Daddy wrotethepaper!
Finalthoughts…
Thehardestpartandmosttime- consumingpartof theinvestigationistheactualresearch.Writingthispaper istheeasypart becauseitisonly about theprocessof howyouaredoing your research.In fact it should takeyoumuch moretimeresearching, reading,andsifting throughsourcesthanwriting1500-2000words.Asyouresearch,your topicorquestionmayevolve.Thisisagoodthing.Keepcomingbacktomeandlet meknowwhereyouarein theprocess.1)Iamcurious,2)Imaybe abletohelpyou and 3) I will help you avoid the I think I want to change my topic in December 2015syndrome.
Proveto IBthat you knowhowtodomeaningfulresearchandyou willscorewell. Followmy tipsandsuggestions,payattentiontotheattachedmarkrubricandyou candetermineyour own score+/- 1 mark.
Followingtheformat,Iguaranteeeveryonecangetatleast 12 marksforthis workif youmake somewhatof an effort!Most(Ibelieveall) ofyou should easilybe ator above15marks!! Unliketheexamsin May,your scoreiscompletelyinyourhands!Spendsometimeonthis, followtheguidelines,anddoagoodjob!
Giveyourselflotsof timetodo theresearch!!!!Spendtimeatthelibrary–St. Mary’s, Dal, MSVU, NSCAD, Bedford Public,etc.Youmaybeabletowritetheinvestigationinashortperiodof time,buttheresearchwilltaketime!
AssessmentCriteriaforHistoricalInvestigation
A. / PlanofInvestigation / 3 marksB. / SummaryofEvidence / 6 marks
C. / Evaluationof Sources / 5 marks
D. / Analysis / 6 marks
E. / Conclusion / 2 marks
F. / Sourcesand word limit / 3 marks
TOTAL / 25 marks
Checklist
It may be useful to refer to this checklist before submitting your historical investigation.
TaskCompleted
Does the front cover have your name, candidate
session number, word count and thesis
question/statement?
Are all the pages numbered?
Have you completed section A, plan of the
investigation?
Have you completed section B, summary of
evidence?
Have you completed section C, evaluation
of sources?
Have you completed section D, analysis?
Have you completed section E, conclusion?
Have you completed section F, sources and
word limit?
Have you completed all six sections of the
investigation thoroughly?
Does your bibliography contain all the sources
used?
Is your bibliography set out in alphabetical order?
Is your investigation within the word limit of
1,500–2,000 words?
Has your teacher asked you to sign the relevant forms?