History · IA research questions
Written and cross-checked by IB Diploma graduates: Alexander (41), Alejandro (40), Martina (40), Victoria (38), Martin (35), Maria (34)
· Checked against official IB guidance · Editorial policy
The History IA is a 2200-word investigation of one clearly defined question, with three parts: evaluating two sources for origin, purpose, value and limitations; the investigation itself using a range of evidence; and a reflection on the methods of the historian. A strong question is specific, debatable, and at least ten years in the past.
Scope: Narrow the question to one event, decision or short period. Identify two contrasting primary or secondary sources you will evaluate in depth. Avoid topics with thin accessible evidence or heavy present-day controversy.
Approach · Weigh the plan's design flaws against command decisions and Allied resistance; evaluate a German staff document and a later historian's account.
Approach · Compare propaganda output with other factors (censorship, casualty management, patriotism); evaluate a wartime poster and a modern study.
Approach · Set hyperinflation and the Depression against political and constitutional weaknesses; evaluate a contemporary economic report and a historian's synthesis.
Approach · Compare Batista's loss of support, the 26th of July Movement's tactics, and US policy; evaluate a memoir and a scholarly history.
Approach · Weigh Marshall aid against indigenous recovery and currency reform; evaluate a US government source and a revisionist historian.
Approach · Compare Mao's stated aims with the factional politics of 1966–68; evaluate a Party document and a Western biography.
Approach · Set British timing and decisions against long-run communal politics; evaluate a Mountbatten-era document and a South Asian historian.
Approach · Compare colonial legacy, the civil war, elite planning and the failure of international response; evaluate a UN document and an academic account.
Approach · Weigh perestroika and glasnost against structural economic decline and nationalism; evaluate a Politburo record and a historian's overview.
Approach · Compare King's role with grassroots organising, legal strategy and federal politics; evaluate a speech and a movement history.
Approach · Weigh military unreadiness, public opinion and imperial commitments against the case for firmness; evaluate a Cabinet paper and a later assessment.
Approach · Compare foreign intervention, Republican disunity and Franco's strategy; evaluate a contemporary despatch and a scholarly history.
Primary-source references used to verify key assessment facts on this page. Last source check: September 22, 2026.
These History ideas are original iBacalao starting points, not official IB research questions. Check the current History subject guide, your assessment session and your school's safety/ethics rules before committing to a question.
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