100+ IB Extended Essay Ideas to Kickstart Your Research

The Extended Essay (EE) is your chance to dive deep into a topic you're genuinely passionate about. It's a 4,000-word, independent research project that is a core part of the IB Diploma. But let's be honest, the hardest part is often just choosing a topic. A great EE topic isn't just interesting; it's focused, researchable, and allows for deep analysis, not just a simple report.

Feeling stuck? Don't worry. We've compiled a huge list of ideas across all the IB subject groups to get your creative and critical thoughts flowing. Use these starter questions to narrow your focus and find an angle that truly excites you.

Interdisciplinary Topics

Want to really push the boundaries? Interdisciplinary EEs combine methodologies from two subjects to tackle complex questions. They are challenging but can be incredibly rewarding.

• ESS & Economics: To what extent can sustainable tourism models balance economic growth with environmental preservation in a specific coastal region?
• Science & Ethics: An investigation into the ethical implications of CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology versus its potential for disease prevention.
• History & Literature: How did the socio-political context of the Cold War shape the themes and characterization in the spy novels of John le Carré?
• Computer Science & Global Politics: An analysis of how social media algorithms contribute to political polarization and the formation of 'echo chambers'.
• Maths & Music: How can the addition of sine curves be used to mathematically model and analyze the harmony in traditional Chinese versus Western musical scales?

Group 1: Language and Literature

This is your space to perform deep textual analysis, exploring how language shapes meaning, narrative, and our understanding of the world.

English A: Language & Literature

• Idea: Compare literary techniques in two works.
  • Starter Question: How do the portrayals of female characters in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and Charles Dickens's Great Expectations reflect or challenge Victorian ideals of womanhood?
• Idea: Analyze a single text's narrative structure or symbolism.
  • Starter Question: How does Shakespeare's use of soliloquies in Hamlet reveal the protagonist's psychological deterioration?
• Idea: Examine the representation of a social issue in modern literature.
  • Starter Question: To what extent does Ocean Vuong's On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous challenge traditional notions of masculinity through its poetic prose?

Language Acquisition (e.g., English B, Spanish B)

• Idea: Investigate language and cultural identity.
  • Starter Question: How does the use of code-switching in contemporary Mexican-American literature reflect the complexities of cultural identity?
• Idea: Analyze language as a tool of persuasion.
  • Starter Question: How is language used as a tool for persuasion in political speeches from [Country X] during [Period Y]?
• Idea: Explore the impact of technology on language.
  • Starter Question: How has the influence of social media impacted the evolution of informal written communication among teenagers in [Language X]?

Group 3: Individuals and Societies

These subjects let you explore human experience, behavior, and the complex structures we create in society.

History

• Idea: Analyze a significant historical event within a specific timeframe.
  • Starter Question: To what extent did propaganda posters influence public opinion in Britain during 1914-1916?
• Idea: Examine the role of technology in historical change.
  • Starter Question: How did the telegraph influence military strategies and communication during the American Civil War?
• Idea: Assess the impact of a political turning point.
  • Starter Question: In what ways was the Suez Crisis of 1956 a significant turning point for British foreign policy in the Middle East?

Economics

• Idea: Explore the relationship between government policies and economic indicators.
  • Starter Question: To what extent have changes in the central bank's interest rate affected consumer spending patterns in [Country X] between [Year] and [Year]?
• Idea: Investigate market structures or consumer behavior.
  • Starter Question: To what extent has the rise of ride-sharing services like Uber affected taxi fare price elasticity of demand in [Your City]?
• Idea: Apply economic theory to a real-world problem.
  • Starter Question: To what extent can Game Theory be used to model the pricing strategies of major supermarket chains in [Country Y]?

Psychology

• Idea: Investigate the impact of technology on human behavior.
  • Starter Question: What is the impact of social media usage on the self-esteem and body image of female adolescents?
• Idea: Analyze cognitive processes or biases.
  • Starter Question: To what extent do cognitive biases, such as confirmation bias, contribute to the phenomenon of climate change denial?

Geography

• Idea: Examine the relationship between human activity and the environment.
  • Starter Question: How does the process of urbanization affect the biodiversity of native bird species in [Your Local Area]?
• Idea: Analyze the impact of natural phenomena on human communities.
  • Starter Question: What is the impact of rising sea levels on the social and economic infrastructure of coastal communities in [Specific Location]?
• Idea: Investigate factors influencing spatial patterns of inequality.
  • Starter Question: What geographic factors influence the spatial patterns of income inequality within [Specific City or Region]?

Business Management

• Idea: Examine corporate culture and employee motivation.
  • Starter Question: To what extent does the corporate culture at [Company X] impact employee motivation and productivity compared to [Company Y]?
• Idea: Assess the effectiveness of a specific marketing strategy.
  • Starter Question: How effective are social media influencer campaigns in influencing the purchasing behavior of Gen Z consumers for fashion brands?
• Idea: Analyze the impact of e-commerce on a traditional business model.
  • Starter Question: What has been the impact of e-commerce growth on the profitability and market share of traditional 'brick-and-mortar' bookstores in [Region Z]?

Global Politics

• Idea: Investigate the role of international organizations.
  • Starter Question: To what extent have UN peacekeeping missions been effective in promoting long-term stability in a specific post-conflict region?
• Idea: Explore contemporary political issues and their effects.
  • Starter Question: How does the rise of digital activism impact political participation and policy change among young people in [Country X]?

Group 4: The Sciences

A science EE is your chance to be a real scientist. You'll typically design an experiment, collect data (primary or secondary), and use scientific methodology to answer a focused research question.

Biology

• Idea: Investigating factors affecting plant growth.
  • Starter Question: How does varying light intensity influence the rate of photosynthesis, measured by chlorophyll absorption, in Ocimum basilicum?
• Idea: Examining human physiology.
  • Starter Question: What is the effect of varied exercise intensity on the heart rate recovery time in 16-18 year old students?
• Idea: Exploring environmental biology.
  • Starter Question: How does microplastic pollution in a local water source affect the feeding behavior and mortality rate of Daphnia?

Chemistry

• Idea: Analyzing the chemical properties of everyday substances.
  • Starter Question: How does temperature and storage time impact the ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) concentration in commercially sold orange juice?
• Idea: Investigating environmental chemistry.
  • Starter Question: To what extent can thin-layer chromatography be used to detect and quantify the level of adulterants in different brands of olive oil?
• Idea: Exploring extraction techniques.
  • Starter Question: To what extent does the type of solvent (ethanol vs. propanone) and its water ratio affect the total phenolic content extracted from Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary)?

Physics

• Idea: Designing experiments related to mechanics.
  • Starter Question: How does the angle of release of a simple pendulum affect its period, and to what extent does this deviation align with theoretical models for large-angle oscillations?
• Idea: Investigating phenomena in electricity or modern physics.
  • Starter Question: An investigation into the relationship between the temperature of a superconductor and its critical current density.
• Idea: Analyzing physical properties of systems.
  • Starter Question: How does the velocity of a bicycle affect its stability when subjected to a lateral force?

Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS)

• Idea: Examining human impact on specific ecosystems.
  • Starter Question: To what extent has the introduction of the invasive species [e.g., Japanese Knotweed] reduced native plant biodiversity in a local wetland ecosystem?
• Idea: Evaluating waste management strategies.
  • Starter Question: A comparative study of the effectiveness of different plastic waste management strategies in two coastal cities.

Group 5: Mathematics

A Math EE is not about just solving a problem; it's about exploring a mathematical concept, idea, or application in great depth, demonstrating your own understanding and analysis.

• Idea: Applying mathematical models to real-world phenomena.
  • Starter Question: How accurately can differential equations be used to model population growth in a specific urban area, and what are the model's limitations?
• Idea: Investigating mathematical concepts and their applications.
  • Starter Question: To what extent do the mathematical properties of elliptic curves provide security in modern cryptographic algorithms?
• Idea: Exploring the mathematics of games or probability.
  • Starter Question: An investigation into the application of probability and expected value to determine an optimal strategy in the game of Blackjack.

Group 6: The Arts

Here you can integrate analysis of artworks, films, or music with disciplined research and critical evaluation of their context and meaning.

Visual Arts

• Idea: Analyze the work of a particular artist or art movement.
  • Starter Question: How does Frida Kahlo use self-portraiture as a vehicle to explore and express her personal identity and physical suffering?
• Idea: Investigate the influence of culture or identity on art.
  • Starter Question: To what extent have traditional African sculptural forms manifested in and influenced the modernist works of Henry Moore?

Music

• Idea: Explore the fusion of different musical genres.
  • Starter Question: How has the improvisational language of jazz influenced the harmonic and melodic structures in contemporary pop music?
• Idea: Investigate music and technology.
  • Starter Question: At what level of data compression in digital music files (MP3) does the change in audio quality become perceptibly unacceptable to the human ear?

Film

• Idea: Analyze the narrative techniques of a director.
  • Starter Question: How does director Christopher Nolan utilize non-linear narrative techniques in films like Memento and Inception to manipulate audience perception and create suspense?
• Idea: Examine the use of visual language to convey themes.
  • Starter Question: What specific visual techniques (color palette, composition, character design) do Studio Ghibli films use to portray powerful environmentalist themes?