Skip to content
In today’s academic realm, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is pivotal in sculpting the foundational step of the Extended Essay (EE)—formulating a compelling Research Question (RQ). Leading AI platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Bard stand at the forefront of this endeavor, offering expansive information access and analytical prowess. These primary AI tools are not just cost-effective but are also crucial in enhancing research without overshadowing the student’s own acumen. Our guidance is designed to empower students to utilize AI effectively in pinpointing a sharp and significant RQ, enhancing their research journey while valuing their unique insights.
In today’s academic realm, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is pivotal in sculpting the foundational step of the Extended Essay (EE)—formulating a compelling Research Question (RQ). Leading AI platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Bard stand at the forefront of this endeavor, offering expansive information access and analytical prowess. These primary AI tools are not just cost-effective but are also crucial in enhancing research without overshadowing the student’s own acumen. Our guidance is designed to empower students to utilize AI effectively in pinpointing a sharp and significant RQ, enhancing their research journey while valuing their unique insights.
Using AI to Craft a Powerful Research Question
In the journey of conducting an Extended Essay (EE), framing a powerful research question (RQ) is paramount. AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini offer innovative ways to refine your RQ through a dynamic question-and-answer (Q&A) process. This interactive guide illustrates how a structured dialogue with AI can fine-tune your focus and inspire a deeper exploration of your chosen topic.
A Dynamic Q&A Process with AI
Ask the AI to generate questions relevant to your topic. This collaborative Q&A involves responding to each question and prompting the AI for the next, progressively narrowing down your focus. So the process can be requesting AI to ask you one question, then after you answer, ask another one and continue doing so for a minimum of, e.g., 10 or 20 questions until the preliminary RQ is found.
Exploratory Depth: Engaging in a dynamic Q&A with AI opens up pathways to untapped areas of investigation, encouraging a comprehensive understanding of the topic.
Idea Generation: This interactive dialogue acts as a creative catalyst, sparking new ideas and perspectives that might not surface in solitary brainstorming.
Refinement and Focus: The back-and-forth process naturally leads to a more precise and impactful RQ by systematically filtering broader ideas into a pinpointed inquiry.
It’s vital to blend AI’s insights with traditional research methods and inputs from your EE supervisor. This holistic approach ensures your RQ is robust, researchable, and poised for significant academic inquiry. Remember, AI is a tool to augment your intellectual journey, not to replace the valuable human insights garnered from academic mentors and scholarly resources. Keep the entire discussion with the AI in one thread, as it can remember all the discussions within that thread. Feed your teacher’s feedback into the thread so you can have a productive discussion and implement the feedback effectively.
CITATIONS
You can use GPTs like Consensus and ask them to “always cite references” when using them or “back up the argument with scientific writings”. Websites like Perplexity can also be very helpful in finding the right references. I recommend investing money on the website (20 $/month that you can upload unlimited files and images that can act as references and a library for you until the work is done), but the free version is also competent. Keep a version of all the references used in your hard drive also.
If you want to have a free hand in finding references yourself, the best place for a school student might be Google Scholar.
Reading every article’s conclusion and Abstract will give you a good overview and help your writing.
AVOIDING AI PITFALLS
AI is a Tool, Not a Mastermind: AI cannot replace your own critical thinking and subject knowledge. Use it as a brainstorming partner, idea generator, and a way to refine your thoughts, not as the sole source of your research direction.
The “Hallucination” Effect: AI language models can sometimes generate responses that sound plausible but are inaccurate or misleading. This is known as “hallucination.” Always fact-check and verify information suggested by AI.
Bias in, Bias Out: AI models are trained on massive datasets that can contain biases. Be aware that suggestions may inadvertently reflect these biases. Maintain a critical eye and ensure your own analysis is free from any biased perspectives.
Fact-checking is Key: Never rely solely on AI-generated information. Cross-reference prompts and ideas with scholarly sources, academic journals, and your supervisor and tutor’s expertise.
Provide Context: The more specific your initial input to the AI, the more relevant its responses will be. Provide context, background information, and even examples of good RQs in your subject area to get the most useful feedback.Garbage in, Garbage out! Learn prompting!
Use Multiple Sources: Utilize several AI tools (like ChatGPT, Claude & Bard) and compare the outputs. This can help identify potential inconsistencies or biases across the board.
Conclusion
WHERE TO FIND US
Vancouver Office
2030 Marine Drive,
North Vancouver, BC, V7P 1V7, Canada
Email: info@ibaptutoring.com
Seattle Office
5608 17th Avenue NW, Suite 1578
Seattle, WA 98107, USA
Email: info@ibaptutoring.com
Toronto Office
99 Yorkville Avenue
Toronto, ON M5R 1C1, Canada
Email: info@ibaptutoring.com