IB Social and Cultural Anthropology IA

May 19, 2022

This is the complete guide on IB Social and Cultural Anthropology IA. Whether you’ve are thinking of studying this segment of the IB program or you’re already a few days into the subject, this post will give you more insight into the subject and point you in the right direction.  

An Internal Assessment, mandatory for SL and HL students, enable students to demonstrate their ability to use their skills and knowledge and to pursue personal interests without being constrained by time or other limits connected to the examination.

Due to the nature of the research, students must consider ethical implications of doing research with individuals as far as IB Social and Cultural Anthropology IA subject is concerned.

In this guide, you’ll learn about:

  • IB SCA IA at Standard Level
  • IB SCA IA at Higher Level
  • The assessment objectives of IB SCA IA
  • The ethical considerations for IB SCA IA

Let’s get started.

IB Social and Cultural Anthropology IA at SL Level

The following is what you need to know about IB SCA at Standard Level: 

1. Observation and Critique Exercise

Observation and critique provide students with a hands-on introduction to anthropological methodologies and concepts. It teaches students to appreciate challenges and opportunities inherent in data collection and to reflect critically on both.

The goal of this activity is to encourage students to reflect on their observation and reporting procedures. It should emphasize the selective nature of the activities and explain the merits and downsides of various anthropological methodologies.

Note that observation and critique exercise is a non-graded IB task.

2. Requirements

You’re obliged to complete the following tasks during the first year:

  • Watch an activity in its natural environment or context without assessment criteria B to D for the exercise.
  • Write a report on a one-hour observation. The report should not be more than 700 word long.
  • Conduct an observation and write a report of the observation within the first six weeks. Your teacher will keep the report until you complete the critique, which should not be more than 800 words long.

Although you can complete the observation in a group setting, each applicant must make his or her own observations. Additionally, the Written Report and Critique must be the candidate’s own work.

3. The Critique

Comment on the Written Report by conducting an analysis and review. You should handle the issues of observation and recording, and use course knowledge to interpret your results.

There’s no official structure for the critique because the outline of the assignment depends on how you did the observation and prepared the report. However, you must refer to evaluation criteria B to D.

IB Social and Cultural Anthropology IA at Higher Level

Fieldwork in IB SCA IA accounts for 25% of the total marks. 

By studying IB SCA IA, you’ll gain experience in anthropological research and the technique used in the field. Participating in data collection and evaluation is a critical part in the process. Fieldwork enables you to:

  • Use anthropological methodologies and tactics to collect relevant data
  • Understand the methodological and ethical complexities inherent in fieldwork
  • Learn how to collect data and display it in an anthropological manner
  • Form conclusions based on fieldwork

Requirements

Your IB teacher expects you to conduct minimal fieldwork and gather data using one or more approaches. You must then provide a written report of no more than 2,000 words. 

You can do the fieldwork in groups if you wish to. In such a case, you and your fellow IB student have to agree on a similar subject and generate data to which all of you will have access. However, the written report should be your individual work, interpretation, and analysis.

Fieldwork Selection

In IB SCA IA, you have to pick your own study subject. While selecting your own topic should be fascinating, your IB teacher must review the topic, confirm that it meets the criteria for internal evaluation, and then approve or reject the topic. If approved, you can start the fieldwork.

Begin your study by concentrating on a setting that hosts specialized activities for specified groups, more open public areas with certain functions, or a problem such as gender roles or ethnicity.

However, you should establish the starting points following the first selection of a context or issue. Contextual fieldwork initiatives must incorporate anthropological concerns, or they will remain shallow.

Most importantly, you must be aware of ethical rules and maintain discretion when doing your research.

Data Collection

After establishing the topic and context, it is necessary to investigate data collection methods and approaches, chosen in accordance to specific objectives and the types of data, which can be qualitative and/or quantitative.

Ethnographers gather data using different methods, including:

  • Interviews
  • Observation
  • Note-taking
  • Audio/visual recording
  • Censuses
  • Questionnaires and
  • Material culture collection

Additionally, you can collect data in a number of formats that demonstrate facets of a specific civilization and culture at a certain time or location. These may take the shape of expressive forms and internal narratives such as music, literature, correspondence, and movies.

Each approach gives a partial picture and so cannot be utilized in isolation or without critical thought. It is important to study such information from an anthropological perspective. The amount of data obtained during fieldwork is frequently large, and it is used sparingly in the analysis and writing up of the fieldwork’s conclusions.

Reports

Students must more emphasis on methodology, which includes the selection of research themes and methodologies as well as the use and evaluation of the topics and procedures.

The IB makes no specific requirements regarding the structure of the report. The internal evaluation criteria stress the following:

  • Comparative and critical evaluation of the methods and strategies used in relation to the type of data presented
  • Reflection on the fieldwork experience, with an emphasis on practical and ethical considerations
  • Proper data presentation and analysis

IB SCA IA Assessment Objectives

The IB Social and Cultural Anthropology IA is a subject taught in SL and HL levels. There are four assessment objectives for this:

Knowledge and Understanding

Show that you know and understand the terms and concepts in anthropology, specified themes in cultural and social organization, processes and patterns of chance in culture and society, and identified ethnographic materials.

At Higher Level, you need to show that you know and understand the theoretical perspective in anthropology and the theories linked to these perspectives.

Application and Interpretation

In application and interpretation, IB examines your ability to:

  • Use anthropological concepts and ethnographic examples to construct reasonable arguments
  • Identify the key concepts found in unfamiliar anthropological materials
  • Use ethical, methodological, reflexive issues in research to analyze anthropological material
  • Analyze the point of view of an observer in the materials

They will also evaluate your ability to use theoretical perspectives or anthropological theory to formulate an argument.

Synthesis and Evaluation 

Besides demonstrating anthropological imaginations and insights, IB looks at how you compare and contrast different characteristics of cultures and societies.

At the HL level, IB assess whether you recognize the theoretical perspectives in materials, not to mention how you use them to evaluate results.

Selection & Use of Skills Relevant to IB SCA

Here, IB examines your ability to identify relevant context, issue, or question for investigation. Also, the assessment examines the skills and technique you use for a specific anthropological research question or issue, and how you gather, present, analyze, and interpret data.

Ethical Considerations for IB SCA IA

SCA students should keep these ethical criteria in mind prior to undertaking fieldwork and during the duration of the project:

  • Avoid causing injury to those who assist with fieldwork.
  • Maintain the confidentiality of participants in fieldwork, unless they explicitly agree that you can disclose their information.
  • Do not utilize data for purposes other than those for which they were acquired.
  • Show that you care about the well-being of people and the environment.
  • Establish and maintain a working connection with the subjects of your research in order for other researchers to continue working with them.
  • Securely store all data obtained to ensure confidentiality.
  • Before you begin, get informed consent from the individuals who will be the subjects of the research, in a form that is suitable for the setting. 
  • Be candid about your training’s limitations.
  • Give sufficient information about the research’s objectives and procedures.
  • Fieldwork with minors requires a prior written agreement from parents. Students must guarantee that parents are aware of the potential consequences likely to befall children participants.
  • Do not fabricate fieldwork data. Accurately and thoroughly summarize your study’s findings.
  • Communicate your study results to the individuals that assisted you throughout your fieldwork.

The same criteria apply to fieldwork done online.

IB SCA IA Guidelines and Authenticity

The IB SCA IA should be your own work. However, your IB teacher will play an important role during the planning stage and when working on the internally assessed work. During this time, you can ask your teacher for guidance, so you can acquire knowledge that will help you do well in your IB SCA IA. 

As part of the learning process, your teacher might counsel you on your initial drafts, after which you must present the final version of the assignment. 

All work submitted to the IB for moderation or assessment must be authorized by the instructor and must not contain any instances of known or suspected misconduct. You, the IB student, must sign the coversheet for internal evaluation to certify that the work you have done in your IB SCA IA is legitimate and represents the final edition of your assignment.

Students at SL may do the observation as a group exercise, but each student must complete separate observations. Additionally, the written report and critique must be the student’s own work.

Students can conduct fieldwork in groups at HL. They may decide on a common subject and create a corpus of data to which they all have access. The written report, on the other hand, must be wholly the student’s own work based on own interpretation and analysis.

About the author 

Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.

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