How to Find Sources for a Biology EE
by Lindsay Martinez
For those of you who aren’t the strongest at writing or interpreting bodies of work to an IB level, a biology essay might be the route for you. Don’t let the name scare you away because if you put in the right amount of work, this essay could potentially be easier than writing an english or history essay. Science is also one of the more stereotypically difficult subjects, so most people avoid it when picking out their extended essay topic. However, writing a biology essay, when done correctly, can actually be very interesting and maybe even fun if you pick the right research question.
Sources for biology EE’s are usually, if not always, sources that show specific data points. Unless you’re conducting your own experiment and gathering data yourself (which usually scores higher than if you don’t conduct an experiment, wink wink), you need to find sources that give you certain data points.
You could use JSTOR and Google Scholar to find sources for your biology essay, but more specific to this subject, PubMed is a good resource when you want to find medical sources for your EE.
When you actually want to start looking up which sources to use, it’s good to be very specific to your research question. Biology sources are very basic in the sense that you just need to look up old studies that researched the same topic as you are. Chances are you’ll find at least a couple sources fairly quickly. So here are some things to consider when trying to find sources for your biology extended essay:
1. Similar Studies: When you’re trying to find data to prove a certain point, it’s good to look at other people that have conducted the same research, either to find data points or just use their findings and compare them to yours.
2. Be specific: Make sure to look for sources that talk about your topic specifically. It’s hard to implement studies that research other topics in a way that strengthens your argument, and there will more often than not be a source for your specific research question if you look for it.
3. Buzz Words: If there isn’t a study that researches your exact question, it’s good to find studies that research similar things or have similar characteristics to your research question. For example, if you’re studying the genetic prevalence in Crohn’s disease, you could look up “Crohn’s disease” or “genes in Crohn’s disease”.
These aren’t the only things that you can add to help strengthen your extended essay, but they’re the most basic and straightforward ones that you can use. You should try and find 5-10 sources so that your essay is well-rounded and researched.
When you’re actually writing out the Works Cited page for your EE, EasyBib is your best bet. Make sure that it’s written out in MLA format and that you have the sources in alphabetical order with a hanging indentation.
Overall, the extended essay isn’t as bad as people make it out to be as long as you know how to use the time you have. Don’t overthink it, don’t freak out, and get it done: good luck!
