The Geography IA is one of the more daunting IAs in the IB. Not only does it require you to have an in-depth understanding of geographical concepts and methods, but it also involves the use of statistics and Excel work to analyse and discuss data.
However, in this guide, I will cover the requirements of each of the six criteria and provide recommendations for selecting a topic to help you achieve a Grade 7 for the IA.
Topic Selection
Completing the Geography IA is a lengthy process, so it would be ideal to choose a topic that you have a genuine interest in. This assessment requires you to venture outside of the classroom to collect data, so it would be ideal to choose a topic that:
Does NOT require you to travel too far from school and...
Does NOT require extensive equipment for investigation
Criterion A
To begin with Criterion A of the Geography IA, it is important to write down the relevant topic and subtopic from the syllabus that your fieldwork question is related to. Additionally, you could also briefly describe how the aspect of your chosen sub-topic is linked to your fieldwork question and the purpose of conducting your research (i.e., Why is fieldwork investigation relevant to the modern world?). These recommendations will help you to first establish the geographic context of your fieldwork.
You should also include a map in Criterion A to showcase the location of your investigation. There are multiple ways to draw up your map – you can do it digitally (e.g., using an iPad) or on paper. One way to draw your map could be to first screenshot the location of your fieldwork on Google maps and then trace over the roads and other features using an iPad.
When drawing your map, it is essential to follow the BOLTSS convention, where you should include a:
Border
Orientation
Legend
Title
Scale
Source
In addition, describe the location of your fieldwork question with reference to your map and state why you are conducting your investigation at this location (e.g., for convenience or relevance to your topic).
Finally, link your fieldwork question to geographical theory, which can include academic studies or geographical models. Provide a brief outline of your geographical theory and use it to predict what you expect to find in your fieldwork investigation. In other words, use your geographical theory to create hypotheses.
Criterion B
Criterion B of the Geography IA is where you describe, explain and justify the appropriateness of your methods in investigating your fieldwork question. To begin, I would recommend outlining when you will conduct your investigation and how you will collect data at your fieldwork location.
You could also include a map showing your data collection sites. Furthermore, talk about the sampling technique for your investigation and outline why you have chosen this sampling technique (e.g. for convenience).
Following this, provide an outline of your equipment and justify how they will help you to answer your fieldwork question. This will ensure that your data collection methods are related to your theory, question, and hypotheses.
In addition, state how you will ensure you will use the equipment correctly (e.g., ensuring you will calibrate all equipment to improve accuracy). It would be good to also include annotated images of your equipment, where you can explain how the equipment works and how you will collect data from them.
Lastly, describe the statistical tests you will use. For instance, you can use statistical tests such as Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient, Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient, or multivariate analysis through an ANOVA test to generate a p value.
These statistical tests help you to determine the strength of the relationship between two variables. In Section B of your report, explain the purpose of these statistical tests and how you intend on calculating your results (e.g., using Excel or GDC calculator).
Throughout the entirety of section B, it is crucial that you link your methods (equipment and statistical tests) to your fieldwork question, hypotheses, and geographical theory.
Criterion C/D
Criterion C and D of your IA is where you provide graphical representations and analyses of your data, and how your findings ultimately relate to your fieldwork, question, hypotheses, and theory. Criterion C and D should be lengthiest part of your IA, so it is essential to be as detailed as possible in analysing trends and outliers in your IA.
To begin, I would recommend stating how much data you collected and to provide a brief overview of your data. You could provide an outline of the distribution of your data using graphs such as box and whisker plots.
After providing a brief outline of your data, you should present your data using a variety of relevant graphs. For example, scatter graphs are useful in showing the strength of the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. This graph is effective as it shows how a change in one variable affects the change in the other. Alternatively, bar charts are good for providing a comparison in metric value across the different subgroups of your data.
In addition to graphs, I would recommend including another map to show how the data varies across all your data collection sites and photos of what you have collected. For example, if one data collection site has a bad traffic score, include a picture of this site with annotations explaining why you have given this location a poor score.
In terms of structure for Criterion C and D, I would recommend presenting a graph, map and/or image followed by a paragraph analysing the data from each dependent variable. For example, you could talk about the trends and patterns found from these graphs/maps/images.
In addition, it would be useful to talk about the results from your statistical tests and the implication of these results in relation to your hypotheses. For instance, if you found a low p value in analysing the relationship between your independent and dependent variable, what does that imply?
In your analysis of the data, you should also take note of any outliers in your data and explain why these datapoints are anomalous to the rest of your dataset.
Finally, it is crucial to link all your data to your geographical theory, hypotheses, and fieldwork question. A helpful way to structure this is to answer the following questions:
Do your findings support the geographical theory?
Does your data support your hypotheses?
How do your results ultimately answer your fieldwork question?
Criterion E
In Criterion E, provide a clear conclusion to the fieldwork question and state whether your data supported all your hypotheses or not. Additionally, restate a few pieces of data (e.g., statistical results/values) from Criterion C/D to reinforce your conclusion. Finally, link all your data back to the theory and state whether your research supports or contradicts the geographical theory.
Criterion F
In Criterion F, you should explain the relevant strengths and/or weaknesses relating to:
Data collection methods
Formulation of the fieldwork question
Presentation of data
Choice of location
All your strengths and limitations should target all four points above. For your strengths, explain how they helped you to accurately collect data, present your data or answer the fieldwork question (i.e., the implication of your strengths).
For your weaknesses, talk about the problems encountered during data collection and data processing.
For example, if you only collected data during peak hour in a particular suburb, talk about how this approach limits the generalizability of the results to other times during the day.
For all weaknesses, provide a possible improvement and the implication of this improvement. For instance, if you increased your sample size, what is the impact of this improvement?
Finally, you should also state how you could extend your investigation in the future. This can include investigating another dependent variable relevant to your fieldwork question or collecting more primary or secondary data.
And that's it! From here, you should be well-equipped to get started on your IB Geography Internal Assessment. But if you're still scratching your head, wondering if there are any examples you can follow to achieve a high mark, make sure to check out our high-quality 23/25 IB Geography IA Example.
Or even better, click below to work with one of our expert IB Geography tutors who can guide you personally through the complete process of achieving top marks in your own Geography IA!
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