DIRECTIONS FOR THE PLAN OF THE INVESTIGATION

IB Requirements:
A Plan of the investigation

This is a relatively brief but important section. A sharply focused question and a clearly structured plan will be more likely to produce a successful investigation.
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Students should:

• State the topic of the investigation, which should be formulated as a research question. It could be useful to provide a rationale for the choice of the selected topic for investigation (Why is this question worth investigating?)

• Define the scope of the investigation: identify four (4) or (5) themes or areas of investigation that need to be undertaken in order to successfully answer the research question.

• Explain the method of the investigation by stating the ways in which themes or areas will be analyzed. What kinds of primary sources do you intend to use and what kinds of information do you expect to get from them?

STEP BY STEP WRITING OF THE PLAN OF THE INVESTIGATION:

1. State the research question in bold. (Look at the sample on the back.)

2. State the purpose of the investigation. What you are attempting to analyze. DO NOT ANSWER YOUR RESEARCH QUESTION.

3. Define the scope of your research—the time period you are investigating.

4. State the context of your topic—how it was a part of the Cold War.

5. Identify the 4 to 5 themes/points that will be used to organize the investigation.

6. Identify the methods used in investigating the research question.

EXAMPLE OF A PLAN OF THE INVESTIGATION:

To what extent did the gulags of the Soviet Union evolve into a separate civilization within the Soviet Union?
The purpose of this investigation is to explore over time the development of the gulags. The gulags in question were operational during the rule of Josef Stalin from about 1930 to 1953.