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Your guide to excelling in Essays and Research Projects
Reference: IB Business Management Guide- First Assessment 2024
Internal assessment (IA) is a crucial component of the business management curriculum for both Standard Level (SL) and Higher Level (HL) students. Unlike external examinations, which assess students under timed conditions, the IA allows students to showcase their ability to apply business management theories, tools, and knowledge to real-world problems. The IA encourages students to pursue their personal interests within the field of business, fostering a deeper engagement with the subject matter. Furthermore, the IA serves as a practical demonstration of the student’s analytical, research, and critical thinking skills, which are key competencies in business management.
The IA should not be treated as an isolated project conducted after the course has been taught. Instead, it should be integrated into the normal classroom environment, providing students with continuous opportunities to develop their research question, refine their methodologies, and consult with their teachers. The IA contributes 30% of the final grade in SL and 20% in HL, underscoring its significance in the overall assessment structure. Given this weight, it is important that teachers allocate sufficient time and resources to the preparation and completion of the IA.
The main objective of the IA is to develop a business research project that addresses a real issue or problem faced by an organization, viewed through one of the four conceptual lenses: change, creativity, ethics, or sustainability. By focusing on a real-world issue, students are encouraged to apply business management theories in a practical context, which helps to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and real-life business applications.
Although the IA is meant to be the student’s own work, it is not expected that students will undertake the project in isolation without guidance. Teachers play a vital role in the planning and execution of the IA, from helping students refine their research questions to ensuring that they meet the project requirements. Teachers must ensure that students are well-versed in the assessment criteria, so they understand how to structure their work to meet these standards.
The process begins with the teacher helping students choose a suitable topic and guiding them through the planning stages. This ensures that the chosen topic is appropriate, feasible for research, and broad enough to allow students to explore multiple aspects of business management. As part of their learning, students are encouraged to seek feedback from their teachers throughout the process. Teachers can provide oral or written feedback on one draft of the project but must avoid editing the student’s work directly. This feedback should focus on how students can improve their analysis, structure, and use of supporting documents, rather than providing specific corrections.
It is also the teacher’s responsibility to explain key concepts related to academic integrity, such as authenticity and intellectual property. Students must understand that the work they submit must be entirely their own and free from plagiarism. Collaboration is permitted to some extent, such as in discussions, but students must be able to differentiate between legitimate collaboration and collusion, which is considered academic malpractice.
Before submission, teachers authenticate each student’s work, ensuring there are no known instances of malpractice, such as plagiarism or collusion. Once a student submits their final version of the IA, it cannot be retracted or revised. This emphasizes the importance of careful planning and revision throughout the process, as students must ensure their final submission meets all requirements.
Given that the IA accounts for a significant portion of the final grade, sufficient time must be allocated to the teaching of the necessary knowledge, skills, and concepts required to complete the project. Teachers should dedicate approximately 20 hours of class time to the IA for both SL and HL students. This time is divided among various activities, including:
By allocating time for these tasks, teachers ensure that students have a thorough understanding of the IA and are well-prepared to carry out the work. Regular check-ins and progress reviews also help to identify potential issues early, allowing students to make adjustments before the final submission.
The IA requires students to select a real business issue or problem related to the syllabus content. The project must focus on a single business organization, though it can also explore industry-wide issues that impact the organization. The student must develop a clear research question, which serves as the focal point of the entire project. This research question can be either forward-looking (predictive) or backward-looking (evaluative), depending on the nature of the business issue under investigation.
Once the research question is established, students are required to gather both primary and secondary research. Primary research involves first-hand data collection, such as interviews, surveys, or focus groups, while secondary research relies on existing sources like news articles, financial reports, and statistical data. The IA must include three to five supporting documents, which provide the foundation for the project’s analysis and conclusions. These documents must be relevant to the research question, offer depth and breadth of information, and present a range of perspectives on the issue. Importantly, these documents must be contemporary, meaning they should have been published within three years of the project’s submission to the International Baccalaureate (IB).
Students must also limit their IA to 1,800 words. This word limit excludes the bibliography, appendices, tables, figures, and citations. Moderators will not read beyond the 1,800-word limit, so it is crucial that students structure their work efficiently to ensure all relevant information is included within the limit. If the word count is exceeded, the teacher’s assessment will be based only on the first 1,800 words.
The IA must be analyzed through one of four key concepts: change, creativity, ethics, or sustainability. These concepts serve as the “lens” through which the business issue is examined. Students are required to make explicit reference to the chosen key concept in their analysis and explain how it relates to the business issue. Five marks are allocated specifically for the identification and use of the key concept, making it an essential component of the project.
For example, if a student chooses “change” as the key concept, they might investigate how a company could adapt its operations to changing market conditions. Alternatively, if “ethics” is selected, the student might explore how a company’s ethical practices impact its public image and financial performance.
The key concept should be integrated throughout the entire project, from the initial research question to the final conclusions. It is not necessary for the key concept to be explicitly stated in the research question, but it must be clearly indicated on the title page and woven into the analysis.
The selection of supporting documents is critical to the success of the IA. Students must select three to five documents that provide in-depth information relevant to the research question. These documents must present a variety of viewpoints and ideas to offer a balanced analysis of the business issue. Supporting documents should be recent, preferably published within three years of the project’s submission. They can include primary sources like survey results and interview transcripts, as well as secondary sources like financial reports, government statistics, and newspaper articles.
Students must attach their supporting documents to the IA and highlight the relevant sections that are directly used in the project. If the document is not in the language of instruction, the highlighted portions must be translated into the student’s registered language. Supporting documents must be carefully referenced in the project using appropriate citation methods.
It is worth noting that textbooks and class notes are not considered valid supporting documents for the IA. Instead, students are encouraged to use contemporary, real-world sources to ground their analysis in current business practices.
The IA should be presented as a well-organized, structured piece of writing. It should include the following elements:
The IA must be effectively presented with a title page, table of contents, appropriate headings, subheadings, and numbered pages. The word count, as mentioned earlier, must not exceed 1,800 words. Certain elements, such as acknowledgments, tables, figures, and bibliography, are excluded from the word count. Students should take care to ensure that all references and citations are formatted correctly, following the guidelines provided by the IB.
9. Assessment Criteria
This criterion assesses how effectively the student integrates one of the four key concepts—change, creativity, ethics, or sustainability—into their analysis of the business issue throughout the internal assessment.
Level Descriptors:
0 Marks: The work does not meet the required standard, or the key concept identified is not one of the four specified concepts (change, creativity, ethics, or sustainability).
1 Mark: The student demonstrates basic knowledge of the key concept but does not apply it effectively in the analysis.
2 Marks: The student describes the connection between the key concept and the organization under study but does not analyze it in depth.
3 Marks: The student analyzes the connection between the key concept and the organization under study, but this integration is somewhat superficial or limited in scope.
4 Marks: The student partially integrates the analysis of the key concept throughout the internal assessment, providing a more coherent connection between the concept and the business issue.
5 Marks: The student effectively and thoroughly integrates the analysis of the key concept throughout the entire internal assessment, making it central to the understanding of the business issue.
Criterion B: Supporting Documents
This criterion assesses the selection and use of supporting documents in the IA. Students must choose 3–5 relevant and contemporary documents that address the research question with sufficient depth and breadth.
Level Descriptors:
0 Marks: The work does not meet the required standard.
1 Mark: There are only one or two, or more than five supporting documents, or the selected documents are of marginal relevance to the research question.
2 Marks: The student provides 3–5 supporting documents, but some lack relevance or depth in addressing the research question.
3 Marks: The selected supporting documents are relevant and provide an adequate depth of information, though there may be some limitations in breadth or variety.
4 Marks: The supporting documents are relevant, sufficiently in-depth, and provide a range of ideas and views on the research question, allowing for a more nuanced analysis of the business issue.
This criterion measures how well students select and apply appropriate business management tools and theories to analyze their research question. These tools and theories should be relevant and effectively contribute to the student’s analysis of the business issue.
Level Descriptors:
0 Marks: The work does not meet the required standard.
1 Mark: The selection and application of business management tools and theories are limited, or the tools and theories chosen are not relevant to the research question.
2 Marks: The student selects some relevant business management tools and theories, but their application to the research question is superficial and lacks depth.
3 Marks: The business management tools and theories are adequately selected and applied to the research question. However, the relevance of these tools to the research question is not always clear or consistent.
4 Marks: The selected business management tools and theories are effectively applied, with clear relevance to the research question, enhancing the depth of analysis.
This criterion measures the extent to which students can select and use data from their supporting documents to analyze and evaluate the research question. The quality of the analysis is crucial, as it demonstrates the student’s ability to interpret data and draw meaningful conclusions from it.
Level Descriptors:
0 Marks: The work does not meet the required standard.
1 Mark: There is limited selection and use of data from the supporting documents, with little to no analysis or evaluation.
2 Marks: The use of data is superficial, leading to limited analysis and evaluation.
3 Marks: The selection and use of data is adequate, with some analysis and evaluation of the research question.
4 Marks: The use of data is sufficient, leading to a mostly effective analysis and evaluation, with some integration of ideas.
5 Marks: The use of data is effective, leading to thorough analysis and evaluation, with sustained integration of ideas and consideration of the assumptions underlying the arguments and their implications.
This criterion assesses the student’s ability to draw a conclusion that is consistent with the evidence presented in their IA and whether the conclusion explicitly answers the research question. The conclusion should synthesize the analysis in the body of the project, rather than introducing new facts or arguments.
Level Descriptors:
0 Marks: The work does not meet the required standard.
1 Mark: The conclusions are either inconsistent with the evidence presented or are superficial.
2 Marks: Some conclusions are consistent with the evidence, but there may be gaps in the analysis.
3 Marks: The conclusions are consistent with the evidence and explicitly answer the research question.
This criterion assesses the overall organization of the IA. The research project should be structured logically, with a clear flow from one section to the next. This structure allows the reader to follow the student’s argument and understand the progression of their research.
Level Descriptors:
0 Marks: The work does not meet the required standard.
1 Mark: The project has a limited structure, which may affect the clarity of the analysis.
2 Marks: The project has an appropriate structure, supporting a clear and logical flow of ideas.
This criterion focuses on the technical presentation of the research project. Students are expected to include all required elements, such as a title page, table of contents, appropriate headings, and numbered pages. The project should be neatly presented, adhering to the word count and formatting requirements.
Level Descriptors:
0 Marks: The work does not meet the required standard.
1 Mark: One or more required elements (e.g., title page, table of contents, etc.) are missing.
2 Marks: All required elements of a well-presented research project are included.
The IA is assessed holistically based on the criteria above, with teachers using a “best-fit” approach when determining marks. This means that while a student may perform well in one criterion and less well in another, the overall assessment should reflect their strongest performance in each category.
Students are encouraged to aim for high achievement across all criteria, as the top-level descriptors do not imply perfection but represent an achievable standard of excellence. Teachers are advised to use the entire mark range if the work demonstrates the qualities described by the descriptors.
By adhering to these guidelines and understanding the importance of each criterion, students can develop a well-structured and comprehensive business research project that demonstrates their knowledge and skills in business management.
Reference: IB Business Management Guide- First Assessment 2024
