Guiding questions
The questions listed below are designed to use with students during their check-in and/or
reflection sessions.
Stage Focus Possible Guiding Questions
Initial Deciding on an area of research: ● What has motivated you to research this topic?
● Topic ● What do you already know about the topic?
● Possible methods ● What are some of the ideas/questions you have about
● Designing a research question this topic?
● Approach ● What background reading have you done, if any?
● Audience ● What are the EE requirements for the subject in
which your topic is located?
● Does your topic fit in with the chosen subject area
specifications?
● Do you understand the nature of the EE?
● Have you chosen a viable area of research?
● What sections of the guide might be helpful to you at
this time?
● Have you had any training in research skills?
● How are you planning to organize yourself and
manage your researcher’s reflection space?
● What do you think are the next steps in conducting
your research?
● Have you chosen a provisional research question that
meets the subject criteria?
● Where are you searching for reliable sources?
● Will you be able to collect sufficient resources to
effectively answer the research question?
● Will you need to revise your research question to
ensure it promotes an analytical approach?
● What challenges/obstacles have you encountered, if
any?
● What can you do about them?
● What background information and/or data do you
need to move forward to formulate a research
question?
● Have you developed a working research question?
● What preliminary research question or questions are
guiding your investigation?
● Have you been made aware of any ethical issues in
relation to the intended topic and proposed research
methods?
● Are there any ethical issues to be considered?
● Do you have a good grounding in the relevant
theories, methodologies or findings of the subject?
● What is your theoretical/conceptual base for this
topic?
● What approaches to the topic/research question have
you or might you develop for this topic? (See
Extended essay guide for subject examples.)
● Are you attaching drawings, MindMaps®, or
recordings that show your thinking in your RRS?
● What are the key resources you have investigated so
far? (Students may have developed an annotated
bibliography as part of the RRS.)
● What needs to be done next?
● When will you begin writing and how are you
planning to manage your time?
● What is the goal for the next meeting?
Interim ● Reviewing credible sources ● Where are you now in the research process?
● Reviewing a clear and refined ● What have you achieved so far and how did you
research question manage this?
● Reviewing methodology used ● What challenges have you faced and what strategies
● Reviewing the development of have you used to overcome these?
the essay ● Have you encountered any obstacles/problems in the
● Reviewing a viable argument research process and how have you overcome them?
on which to base the essay ● How are you conducting independent research and
adhering to the academic integrity policy?
● Is the research question clear and refined?
● How has your understanding of the question/topic
changed?
● What changes need to be made in order to complete
this research?
● What have you learned that might affect the way you
continue?
● Are there any inconsistencies in your argument and
analysis?
● Is your argument well structured and coherent?
● Have you provided enough evidence to support a
reasoned argument?
● Have you critically evaluated this research?
● Will the examiner be able to follow your line of
argument throughout the essay?
● Are there any last-minute adjustments or changes
that you might make to improve your essay?
Final ● Celebration of the completion ● To what extent were your initial ideas realized?
of the essay ● Were your original plans/ideas realistic and
● Outcome of the process appropriate?
● ATL skills learned ● What do you think your successes were in this
● Reflection on what has been process?
learned both in terms of the ● What was the most rewarding aspect of the entire
research topic and process process?
● How will this experience prepare you for future work
of this nature (in college or employment?)
