Original open practice with worked answers. These cases support the current introductory lessons; they are not reserved assessments or official IB tasks.
1 · Narrow a question
R1
A student wants to study whether school lunches are healthy but can access only published menus. Write a narrower question and explain one limit of those data.
Answer and reasoning · Resposta e raciocínio
A feasible question might compare the listed food groups in one school’s menus over four named weeks. Menus show planned provision, not what students ate or the exact nutrients consumed. The conclusion must match those available data.
2 · Check independence
R2
Two news articles and a charity page all quote the same transport survey. How should you use them as evidence?
Answer and reasoning · Resposta e raciocínio
Trace and evaluate the original survey. The three pages may offer different interpretations but do not provide three independent datasets. Record the survey’s sample, date and method before relying on its result.
3 · Pilot a method
R3
A pilot finds that two observers classify the same images differently. What should the researcher do before the full study?
Answer and reasoning · Resposta e raciocínio
Define the categories clearly, compare disputed examples and repeat a small check. Explain the classification rule and remaining uncertainty. Collecting more images before resolving the rule would multiply inconsistent observations.
4 · Choose a feasible comparison
R4
A student can access three editions of one local newspaper but proposes to explain a century of national reporting. Suggest a feasible question and a limit.
Answer and reasoning · Resposta e raciocínio
A question could compare how those three named editions frame a particular local event, using a defined method for selecting and analysing passages. The evidence cannot represent a century or all national newspapers. Check that the chosen subject permits the approach and explain the selected dates and missing perspectives.
5 · Paraphrase and credit
R5
A draft rewrites a scholar’s interpretation using different words and gives no citation. The student says that quotation marks are unnecessary, so no reference is needed. Explain the correction.
Answer and reasoning · Resposta e raciocínio
A paraphrase usually needs no quotation marks when it is actually written in the student’s own words, but the borrowed idea still requires a traceable citation. If distinctive wording is retained, mark and cite the quotation as well. Keep the student’s analysis separate from the source’s claim and follow the applicable citation convention.
6 · An inconvenient observation
R6
Five recorded values are 10, 11, 10, 12 and 18. A student deletes 18 because it does not fit the expected pattern. Explain a defensible response.
Answer and reasoning · Resposta e raciocínio
Retain the original record and investigate whether a documented measurement or recording error explains 18. Unexpectedness alone is not grounds for deletion. Apply a justified, documented exclusion rule if appropriate, show its effect and discuss the uncertainty. Do not change the record to make the expected conclusion look stronger.
7 · Explain the research decision
R7
An archive denies access to a planned source collection. The researcher changes to publicly available documents. What should a decision record explain?
Answer and reasoning · Resposta e raciocínio
Record the actual access restriction, alternatives considered, the reason for the new source choice and how it changes the question or possible conclusion. Evaluate whether the public documents can answer the revised question using the subject’s methods. Explain what earlier feasibility checks would improve next time; a list of dates alone does not show that learning.
8 · Use the correct assessment version
R8
A pupil taking an earlier examination sees a subject brief labelled first assessment 2027 and copies its reflection requirements. What should happen before using those requirements?
Answer and reasoning · Resposta e raciocínio
Check the pupil’s examination session and its applicable full guide with the supervisor. Use the forms, criteria and reflection process that apply to that session rather than assuming the acquired 2027 brief governs every cohort. A general practice account of research decisions does not replace the required supervised process.
9 · Evaluate the evidence-to-claim connection
R9
A reading-app advertisement promises better reading for every child. A report says 24 of 30 voluntary users found its dictionary useful. Explain a supported conclusion and one unanswered question.
Answer and reasoning · Resposta e raciocínio
The report supports the finding that 24 of those 30 users reported a useful dictionary, subject to checking the collection process. It does not measure every aspect of reading or cover all children. A question about comprehension progress would need an appropriate measure and relevant evidence; an advertisement is not independent confirmation of its promised effect.
10 · Trace sources and preserve meaning
R10
A town council page and two articles quote one 40-person survey: 28 respondents preferred a Saturday library session. A draft says three independent studies show that all residents want weekend opening. Explain how to revise the evidence record and conclusion.
Answer and reasoning · Resposta e raciocínio
Trace all three pages to the same survey and count one dataset. Record which source you inspected, its date, sampling method, exact question and a locator for the result. Preserve the finding as 28 of 40 respondents preferring a Saturday session, with source credit; it does not describe all residents or every weekend day. Explain the inference separately and investigate sampling before widening the claim. Do not invent results or cite an unseen original as inspected.