Research questions, evidence and academic integrity
International Baccalaureate · IB Diploma · Extended Essay Topic 1 3:32 English narration · English + 中文 subtitles burned in
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The Extended Essay is an independent research project in one subject: an essay of up to four thousand words, about forty hours of work.
拓展论文是在一个学科里独立完成的研究项目：一篇不超过四千词的论文，大约四十小时的工作量。
A supervisor at your school guides you but does not write for you, and you meet for three reflection sessions.
学校的指导老师引导你，但不替你写，你们要进行三次反思会谈。
In 1923 one dollar bought about four point two trillion German marks, and workers ran to the shops before prices rose again.
1923 年，一美元能换约 4.2 万亿德国马克，工人领到工资就赶在涨价前冲去商店。
Why?
为什么？
The consequences of the First World War is a topic for a whole book.
“第一次世界大战的后果”是一整本书的题目。
Whether the reparations caused the hyperinflation more than the central bank did is a question you can answer in four thousand words.
“赔款是否比德国央行的决定更多地导致了恶性通胀”则是一个四千词内能回答的问题。
Narrow in stages.
分阶段缩小范围。
Start with the treaty's consequences, a topic for a book.
从和约的后果开始，这是一本书的题目。
Cut to the treaty and the German economy, still a whole field.
缩小到和约与德国经济，仍然是一个领域。
Then cut to one arguable question: the reparations clauses and the 1923 hyperinflation.
再缩小到一个可以论证的问题：赔款条款与 1923 年的恶性通胀。
A good research question passes three tests.
好的研究问题要通过三项检验。
It is focused: one case, one period, one angle.
聚焦：一个案例、一个时期、一个角度。
It is arguable: more than one reasonable answer, so you must argue, not describe.
可论证：有不止一个合理答案，所以你必须论证而不只是描述。
And it is researchable: you can reach enough sources or data in the time you have.
可研究：在你的时间里能获得足够的资料或数据。
Was the Treaty of Versailles unfair is too wide; to what extent did the reparations cause the 1923 hyperinflation is focused.
“凡尔赛和约公平吗”太宽泛；“赔款在多大程度上导致了 1923 年的恶性通胀”就很聚焦。
How pollution affects rivers becomes the oxygen above and below one factory outlet.
“污染如何影响河流”变成“一个工厂排污口上下游的溶解氧”。
And what makes advertising effective becomes how four phone adverts from 2023 use family to persuade.
“什么让广告有效”变成“四则 2023 年手机广告如何用家庭来说服观众”。
Primary sources are the raw material: documents, data you collect, a novel or an experiment.
一手资料是原始材料：文献、你收集的数据、一部小说或一个实验。
Secondary sources are what experts have written about it.
二手资料是专家对它们的论述。
Use them to show the debate, not to copy their answers.
用二手资料展示学术争论，而不是照搬别人的答案。
Ask four questions of every source. Who made it?
对每一份资料都问四个问题：谁写的？
When? For whom?
什么时候？
And so, how reliable is it?
写给谁？ 因此它有多可靠？
A government report written for voters needs different handling from a private diary.
写给选民看的政府报告和私人日记，需要不同的处理方式。
Plan the word budget before you write.
动笔前先规划字数。
Five hundred words set out the question and what historians have said.
五百词提出问题并介绍史学观点。
Two thousand five hundred go to two contested chapters.
两千五百词用于两个有争议的章节。
Seven hundred answer the counterargument, and three hundred conclude.
七百词回应反方观点，三百词作结论。
Academic integrity means being honest about where every idea comes from.
学术诚信就是如实说明每个观点的来源。
Cite every time you use someone's words, ideas, data or images, at the point you use them.
每次使用别人的文字、观点、数据或图片，都要在使用处注明出处。
Keep one style and a bibliography.
统一引用格式并列出参考书目。
Paraphrase still needs a citation.
改写也需要引用。
And no one else, including an AI tool, writes the essay for you.
任何人，包括 AI 工具，都不能替你写论文。
You meet your supervisor three times: at the start, to discuss your topic and plan; while writing, about problems and your draft; and after you hand in, in a short interview about what you learned and what you would do differently.
你和指导老师见三次面：开始时，讨论题目和计划；写作中，讨论遇到的问题和草稿；交稿后，进行简短面谈，谈你学到了什么、哪些地方会换种做法。
A real reflection names a decision.
真正的反思要说出一个决定。
The bank's records were not in a language the student could read, so they narrowed the question to the reparations and relied on two historians for the bank.
这位学生读不懂央行档案的语言，于是把问题缩小到赔款方面，央行部分依靠两位历史学家的研究。
The lesson: a question must fit the sources you can actually use.
收获是：问题必须与你真正能用的资料相匹配。
To finish: a focused, arguable, researchable question; sources you evaluate and use to argue; a word plan that serves the argument; citations wherever you use a source; and reflections that show real decisions.
总结：一个聚焦、可论证、可研究的问题；经过评估、用于论证的资料；服务于论证的字数规划；凡用资料必注出处；以及展示真实决定的反思。