It is the time of year again when we start thinking about writing Extended Essays. The blog post Thinking of Writing an ITGS Extended Essay? explains some of the things to consider when deciding whether or not to write an ITGS extended essay. This post is going to focus on topics that are suitable for an ITGS EE.
Note that the ideas listed below are topic ideas and areas, not Research Questions. They need refining into a specific and sharply focused Research Question before they are suitable for an extended essay. However, you receive marks in Criterion A for doing this, so I am not going to do it for you here!
Business and Employment EE topic ideas:
- The effectiveness of solutions to prevent online fraud
- The use of employee monitoring technology
- Cost savings of FOSS compared to commercial software
- The use of social networks by small businesses
Education EE topic ideas:
- The use of computer models to replace science experiments in schools
- The impacts of 1-1 computer programmes in schools
- The use of student information systems to improve teaching and learning
- The privacy impacts of student tracking systems
- Effective solutions to ensure appropriate technology use in a school
Environment EE topic ideas:
- The use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) when planning construction projects
- The awareness and impact of electronic waste
- The use of virtualisation as a method of reducing server power consumption
Health EE topic ideas:
- The use of tele-medicine to treat patients in rural areas
- The impacts of implementing electronic health records in a hospital
- The effectiveness of mobile phone technology for distributing health advice and education
- Software and hardware to help disabled users with poor eyesight
Home and Leisure EE topic ideas:
- The impact of software / music / film piracy
Politics & Government EE topic ideas:
- The impacts of open government sites on service provision
- The use of online technology for election campaigning
This is not a definitive list by any means – there are dozens, if not hundreds, of other possible topics. But remember – these are only topic areas. An extended essay (ITGS or otherwise) needs a sharply focused research question that can be addressed within the 4000 word limit.
ITGS Extended Essay help
There are several books available to help you complete the EE process.
- IB Extended Essay Course Book (IB Diploma Program)
- Extended Essay for the IB Diploma: Skills for Success
- An Extended Essay Guide: A guide to helping you through your IBDP Extended Essay
Hi,
I would like like ask you if i can use your posts on my blog with your reference as they are of great help to my students and me.
Thanks
Sure – but it would probably be better to just link directly to the posts, in case I make any additions or alterations to them.
Hey,
I wanted to ask if Social and Ethical of social networking is a good topic? Or can you help me in framing a proper research question related to social networking??
Well, it is rather vague. I would suggest you look more closely at some articles relating to social networking and check the list of specific ITGS social and ethical issues to see which issues are raised. This should help you better understand the topic options that are out there.
Hi,
I just wanted to know if you thought "Privacy issues of RFID Technology" would be a good topic. Thanks for the great post.
Hi,
It probably needs focusing down: RFID tags are used in a lot of areas and by a lot of different stakeholders (for example, everything from monitoring good in supermarkets to monitoring students). To achieve the level of detail required in the extended essay, you should definitely narrow things down.
Hello,
I would to know if Virtual Learning Environments are an appropriate IT system that I can write an EE about.
As an IT system Virtual Learning Environments fall into ITGS, definitely. In fact they are in section 2.2 of the syllabus (Education). However, you cannot just write an extended essay about an IT system – you need to add context so that you can examine the social and ethical impacts of the system in that context. For example, a good topic might be the use of VLEs in schools or the use of VLEs in prisons. Once you have a 'general' topic, then you need to refine it to produce the research question.
Hello,
I was wondering how you would approach the research question of To what extent has the development of new technologies accelerated the outsourcing of white collar jobs from the United States to Southeast Asia.
I'd say you need to narrow it down, a lot. "New technologies" is very vague (and remember that not all technology is information technology and therefore not suitable for ITGS). "White collar jobs" is also very broad. I would focus on a particular area of technology and a particular industry, and perhaps even narrow down the geographical area too.
Can someone please help me, i am trying to write an extended essay on e waste but dont know what exactly should i focus on?
Well, obviously you need to focus on social impacts….so start by finding out who is involved in the e-waste “situation” (the stakeholders). Then you will need to do a little bit of research on each to see how they are affected. This will probably lead you to discard some ideas. You should consider the quality and quantity of research material available, and also what *primary* research you can do. This will help you narrow things down. The focus should be quite narrow: something like “The impacts of e-waste on LEDCs and MEDCs and manufacturers of equipment across the world” is FAR too broad and would make a bad question.
Thanks alot!
I decided to write my extended essay in ITGS.
i’m interested in writing about the introduction of IT systems in schools, libraries. its effects on people life style.
IS IT A GOOD TOPIC???
IF YES, CAN ANYONE plz RE-FRAME THE QUESTION?
Hi there!
I’m thinking of writing my essay on ransomware yet I am having difficulty structuring a question. I would like to discuss the impacts of ransomware on different stakeholders and strategies used to tackle the problem of ransomware.
I was thinking of a question along the lines of “To what extent has the rise of ransomware changed the way technology is used”, however it is too broad and I’m not quite sure how to make it more specific.
You’re right, it is too broad. It sounds obvious, but tighten up the bits which are too broad. “Technology” and “is used” are prime candidates. Which technology? And used where? The impacts of ransomware will be somewhat different for home users compared to large businesses. That second question might depend a fair bit on your initial research. Even last week a Canadian university paid ransomware authors to get their data back: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36478650
Hi,
could “To what extent is the design process dependent on CAD/CAM software’s for prototyping a product.” be a RQ for EE.
Do let me know.
I’d look to see if you can incorporate some of the ITGS social and ethical issues into the question. “Dependent” isn’t really much of an impact – something either “is dependent” or isn’t, which doesn’t offer you a lot of opportunity to explore the question in depth. It might also be a good idea to narrow it down to a particular industry / type of product – obviously which one would depend on your primary research sources.
Hello there!
I have this one topic I have been thinking about writing an ITGS Extended Essay on, but I am not certain if it’s completely appropriate. I will elaborate.
I want to write an essay about the advances of Physically Based Rendering and the effects it had (is still having?) on the field of computer graphics and rendering. (It is not the research question yet, I will narrow it down to something neat and specific later.) It is a subject that I’m knowledgeable about, and I’m confident I should be able to reach some people related to the field to conduct my research. (In fact I originally intended to write a CS EE on the subject, but some of the essay requirements related to that particular subject made me realize that it was unfeasible.) However, I a little worried that it might be a little /too/ niche and insignificant for the ITGS subject. It is the “society” part that worries me a little here. This new trend of rendering methods, while groundbreaking and completely flipping some aspects of computer graphics upside down, may not have the same impact on an average person as implementing electronic health records in a hospital or student tracking systems in schools.
Furthermore, however you look at it, computer graphics are already a discipline born from information technology, so it really only boils down to one kind of information technology enriching another, something I’m not sure is acceptable as a topic. I am also not completely sure if there are any ethical sides to it at all (although I could probably dig something here, as the opponents on PBR claim that due to introduction of standardized physical parameters it makes all the graphics look the same, which I could potentially spin as an issue against artistic freedom or something to this effect).
It would really help me if you could advise me on this. I don’t think there’s anyone knowledgeable about ITGS on my continent (let alone my school).
I think you’ve really answered your own question there. I agree – it is very niche. That is not necessarily a problem, but I wonder if the impacts of the technology are rather “one dimensional” – it doesn’t seem to me like there would be a lot to analyse. A CS EE would probably need an algorithmic angle, but you say CS has already been discounted?
Yes, I would say so unfortunately. The levels of programming and mathematics/physics involved in rendering processes are a bit of an obstacle for me, and I was more interested in practical implications of the technology rater then the meanders of algorithms involved anyway. It would also be somewhat problematic to compare different rendering systems in terms of output in an exact objective “data-ish” way (other then maybe measuring their performance I guess), since their effectiveness is directly related to subjective human perception.
This said, the implications of the physically based rendering technology aren’t necessarily as one dimensional as they might seem – although they might be contained socially to the group of computer artists and their customers/recipients. I’ve noticed that there are already some topics on the list that are related to businesses and cost savings related to the use of open software, and as such also have their social scopes limited (to entrepreneurs and companies).
In terms of there not being enough to analyse however I think it’s not quite true. PBR completely changes the way many aspects of computer graphics are handled, not only in terms of internal processing but also content creation. I was thinking about spinning it in such a way as to prove that PBR reduces the amount of work required significantly, averting the existing trend of requiring more and more manpower to produce top-shelf content as the standards of technology improve. I suppose that I could then, in turn, link it to allowing smaller parties to create content comparable to AAA-companies and thus allowing more creative freedom or something to this effect. So, as you can see, the impacts can be pretty complex!
Thank you a lot for responding! It helps me to know that at least I’m not going into it completely blind anymore.
Hello there
i have one question regarding the topics, is it okay if i use lets say Pokemon GO as my ee topic or would it be better to find something else?
It depends a large amount on what your research question would be. The EE needs to be an investigation rather than a descriptive report, so your first line of thought should be which aspect of Pokemon Go you want to investigate / research.
Hello there i was wondering if this question, “Are the use of Apps on mobile phones actually resourceful or are a waste of time, money and resources?” is too vague and if it needs a bit of tweaking. I had ideas to set up questionnaires, which i would give to random people, helping me collect my data. Should i make the question more specific to what kind of apps i am talking about or make general?
Please help
Yes, it definitely needs tweaking. I’d say there are a few issues. First of all, the answer to the question is obvious: thousands of companies create and use apps all over the world – if they were a ‘waste of time, money, and resources’, wouldn’t at least one of them have realised it by now? So the answer to your EE question is ‘Yes, they are. Somewhere. To some people’. So one problem is that the question is binary – it has a yes/no answer.
Which brings us to another problem – you need more focus on a specific type of app, area (e.g. education, health), and stakeholder. 4000 words is not a lot, so you really need to narrow this down.
I want write my ITGS EE on how 3D-printing has helped athletes with disabilities – prosthetic limbs (health) but have no idea how to narrow down my research question. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Actually, your initial idea does seem quite focused to me: you have a clear stakeholder (athletes with disabilities rather than something vague like “people”), and you have a clear technology too. It might be wise to focus it on a single team or sport, which brings me to my main concern: are you sure this is actually happening? I’d suggest doing some reason to find some concrete examples of athletes who have used 3D-printed limbs (I’d be very interested to learn about these examples too, if you post the links as comments). Good luck!
I thought it was but now realize may be not!
“Pistorius’ bio-engineered carbon-fiber prosthetics are not actually 3D printed (it will be a while yet before 3D printing materials are capable of absorbing the same strains as carb0n-fiber), it won’t be long before they are.”http://blog.stratasys.com/2012/08/12/3d-printing-and-the-london-olympics/
I will keep looking as this was published in 2012.
So far I have found this:
Denise Schindler to become world’s first Paralympic cyclist to use 3D-printed prosthesis
https://www.dezeen.com/2016/05/12/video-interview-denise-schindler-worlds-first-paralympic-cyclist-3d-printed-prosthesis-autodesk-movie/
Do I need more examples? Can I use journal articles about the ethics of all prosthetics in sports/athletes to examine the ethics of 3D prosthetics?
Hello!
I am trying to do an ITGS EE on ‘to what extent does technology help people with traumatic brain injuries?’ I am deciding whether to focus on diagnostic technology or rehabilitation. I would like some guidance. Thanks!
I’d say your focus would depend on several factors – probably the most important being the available of sources. I’d spend some time doing some initial research. If you can’t find any reading on (for example) rehabilitation, that would automatically strike it from the list of possibilities.
Hello, For my extended essay, my question that I have now is “How are networks effected by security issues?”. I am getting quite a good amount of information on networks and how they can be affected by security. It was suggested to me that I could relate this to file torrenting. I am finding quite a large amount of current events about torrenting and how it works and how it effects copyright laws. Thanks.
It sounds to me like you are going too broad. Torrents may raise security issues, but security and copyright are two completely different issues. Your question itself is quite broad (“security issues”). Is there a way you can narrow it down some more? 4000 words is not as many as you think.
I think that I may push more towards making the topic torrents and make the social ethical concern policies and form a question from that, does that sound good?
It sounds a bit more focused. I think you’re still going to need to narrow it down to a stakeholder or group of stakeholders though. Who is affected by this issue?
Hi,
I am planning to write EE on “effects of using anime on students”. I will be covering the social and ethical aspects of it. I will be conducting research on my school students first. Please suggest is it ok or do iI need to change it.
Thanks
I don’t really understand what you mean by “using anime”. Do you mean watching anime? If so, I don’t really see how it involves information technology specifically (since anime was largely hand drawn, at least originally).
What I mean is anime games and how it is effecting the behavior of students…
Personally I’d usually advise students to avoid topics like this. I would consider the following questions and see how well you are able to answer them: what would be your primary source of data? Where would you get your secondary data? Are these sources reliable? How do you quantify “behaviour”? How can you link changes in a person’s behaviour with (a) video games and (b) one specific type of video game?
Thanks a lot I will certainly work on these first ….
Hi, i am writing my extended essay on ITGS, i am doing my research on the benefits that RFID and IT healthcare sytems could bring to the it sector in my country, that lakes for these technologies. what do your recommend me to do my essay on? should i focus on the economic factors? or is it better to do my essay on an existing system?
A large amount will depend on what sources you have available – for both secondary and primary data. There is no point focusing on what particular area if there is no research you can perform.
I always think it is best to focus on an existing system – but you could easily examine existing RFID systems in other places and analyse how well they would fit into your country / context.
Hello, I am currently writing my extended essay in ITGS with the topic of an analysis and comparison of VR as a training tool in the field of medicine and education. Will this be a suitable RQ in the EE? Thank you.
hi there
can you please advice me whether the topic “Could game based learning teach the subject of mathematics to primary kids more effectively than traditional school based teachers?” a good topic, and if so how do i proceed with the topic regarding primary research and secondary research.
thanks
Hi there. Potentially the topic could be a good one. I would advise you to consider replacing the word “Could” with a command term though. It is possible to answer a “Could” question with a yes/no – which would leave you with 3999 words to write!
Hi, I’m writing my extended essay about Phet simulations, and I want to check if these can replace some experiments that are done in the lab. The social and ethical question would be reliability.
could i do an ee on the effects of networks AND the software and hardware applications on agricultural industry.
To me that sounds like a huge topic, too large for 4000 words. A lot of students don’t realise how little 4000 words is once you start writing. I’d recommend narrowing the topic.
Hi I was thinking of writing my extended essay on financial technology, Is that a topic I can work with?
At the early stage of the EE, the answer is usually “it depends”. You’ll need to do more research into the types of technology you might want to cover, the situation, and most importantly, the potential social and ethical impacts that may arise from it. Only then will you know whether this is a suitable topic for an ITGS EE.